September 29, 2015

Teacher gets placed on leave for using too precise a metaphor

Fusion - Pending an internal human resources investigation, a high school history teacher has been placed on administrative leave at Heritage High School in Newport News, Virginia after allegedly using a racial epithet during a classroom discussion about stereotypes, WTKR 3 reports.

Lynn Pierce’s U.S. history class was recently discussing the name of the Washington NFL franchise when the remarks were made.
WTKR spoke with Pierce off camera:
Pierce told us she was doing a lesson on Native Americans, and a student asked her ‘What’s the big deal with calling them Redskins?’–referring to the football team.

Using the team as an example, Pierce told NewsChannel 3 that she tried explaining why it’s inappropriate to use prejudicial and stereotypical names about any racial group.

She then said, “What would you think if someone started a team called the Newport News N****rs?”
In a call with Fusion, Michelle Price, Heritage High School’s director of public information, confirmed that a teacher was under investigation for comments made in the classroom after several students made complaints...

... Price informed me that teacher in question, who WTKR reports has worked at the school for over 40 years, is white and the group of high school juniors and seniors present at the time (“about 24, 25 kids”) is predominantly black.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm an inveterate iconoclast in my writing and in my interpersonal behavior. The metaphor in question was, as you intimate, precise, and by definition, "accurate". That said, I have never been aware that the term "redskins" in recent times has been charged with heavy racist overtones, even though it can be found to have been used that way historically. However, this current incident comes with a special contextual consideration, the "N.." word being so heavily fraught with toxins in our immediate public social environment. The teacher simply made a foolish tactical blunder. Did he/she even know her students? Kids have no greater social perspective, no sophistication!!

Anonymous said...

Come sojourn out West Mr Kraus. Come out West and have your awareness recharged a bit. Might not hurt to read up a bit on the topic before you do. Here's a good start:

https://www.hcn.org/articles/a-shooting-of-two-native-american-men-raises-questions-about-race

http://www.colorlines.com/articles/racism-core-native-teen-suicides-pine-ridge

http://www.rollcall.com/news/speaking_the_truth_to_stop_racism_against_native_americans_commentary-242137-1.html?pg=1&dczone=opinion

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-first-nations-people-allies-mark-orange-shirt-day-1.3251133

http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/native.html