What I Did Today

[Kami]

Lol... Can we read this letter? And do tell us all about what happened!!! *anxiousy*

[Kirobaito]

I don't have a copy of the letter, but here's pretty much it:

Ms. Holt:

I don't think there should be a question that I don't like you. You are the worst teacher I have ever had.

Ya wanna know why? There are many reasons. First of all, you have constantly disrespected me and my friends. I think it is because we are white. You know, it is possible for an African-American to be racist.

I have learned nothing in your class.

[taken out for irrelevance]

Learn to teach. Learn to do the job you wanted to do. And, perhaps, you will receive respect from the students and faculty. I assure you, that if you don't begin to show courtesy and respect towards me and my friends, I will try to have you fired. I have done it before, and I am not afraid to do it again.

I am not the only person who feels this way.

Casey Graham

So there it is. I had a long conversation; of course, she denied every word of it. Nothing is going to change. She still won't respect me or do the job she is paid to do.

[Del Murder]

Ah, well that explains it. Once you throw down the race card the crap hits the fan. That's probably the most overly sensitive subject in the world. Hopefully everything works out, though.

[Shlup]

You have two choices:

1) Press the issue and stand up for yourself. Do your best to, intelligently and calmly, let her superiors know how you feel, giving them specific examples.
2) Shut up about it and move on.

It doesn't really matter either way. High school sucks, there's not much you can do about that, but once you graduate its over and no one cares anymore. You can do poorly, go to the cheaper and easier community college, and then transfer to a better school to get your degree.

[Kirobaito]

Well, she made herself look like a complete asshole. When I say "racist," she treats the African-Americans in the class much differently than everyone else. When we discussed the whole race issue, she said "I treat all people equally. I judge them on the student, not the color." I'm not sure how we got to the next part, but she ended up saying, "There aren't a whole lot of African-American female role models in the world, so I am trying to act as one toward these students, of course I am going to favor them," or something like that. She pretty much claimed that she treated all students equally, then gave an excuse on why she didn't. I could hear Dr. Evil in my head saying "....right...."

That's not the only problem I have had with her, there's the fact that she has discussed with the A-A girls in the class about how this guy had looked down her shirt, quite loudly. This woman is 45+ years old, and I do not want to hear that. Also, yesterday, some random student from the hall came in and said "Ms Holt., that slit is high." He reached down to touch her thigh. She casually slapped his hand away, with a smile on her face, almost flirtatious-like. Quite frankly, I don't wanna hear or see that from my teacher. That is completely inappropriate.

Originally posted by Schlup
You can do poorly, go to the cheaper and easier community college.

**chokes on his own saliva** ...Com...munity...college? I'm 1st in my class, I have never been in trouble, besides this, in my life. I have near perfect attendance. I can only hope that I will go to a college more prestigious that a...community...college. So there. :chop:

She also claims that the reason I'm not learning anything is because she teaches in a different style than I learn at. There are 39 students in the class (which is just horrendous), and she must go with the majority. Actually, she teaches the way the black girls in the class can learn, which there are 5 of 6 of them. The majority of the students are getting anything out of the class either, it's overwhelming. I've never had a good English teacher, so I guess this is par for the course.

I'm just happy she made herself look this stupid. Every single time I would bring up a point, she would try to change the subject. I was laughing so hard in my head throughout the conference. It will be fun going back to class tomorrow.

[Talus]

...Com...munity...college? I'm 1st in my class, I have never been in trouble, besides this, in my life. I have near perfect attendance. I can only hope that I will go to a college more prestigious that a...community...college. So there.

You're joking right?

[Kirobaito]

No. I have a 4.79 GPA. 3 years ago I scored a 1100 on my SAT.

[Stayin Dizzy]

Wow, fantastic scholastics I must admit. If I were you I would fight for it. Firstly you need to sneak a tape recorder into class and catch her downsizing/crtisizing/verbally attacking you on tape. Once you have hard evidence request a meeting before the board of directors. Inform them that you have an issue that needs to be addressed, you have evidence, and would like to meet with them before taking this evidence to the press. Make a copy of the tape and leave it with someone you trust, but not a friend (I'd go with a grandparent). Bring witnesses, and state your case before the board. Tell them that you would like a full performance review done on her, and an evaluation of her lesson plans/grading system, and you would like to switch out of the class. If they are not willing to cooperate, tell them "How well, are teachers treating your kids?" sounds like a beautiful headline. They will either A: Give in to your request to save public humiliation, or B: you can meet with the local newspaper, tell them everything, and expose the tape.

My best friend had to go through this with a harassing teacher, and everthing worked out fine. For you its a win/win scenario. You get your way, or you embarrass the school and teacher. Unless you are blowing this all out of proportion. If you seriously feel attacked in the situation though, go for it. Good luck in whatever path you take though.

[Del Murder]

I don't agree with Daryn's tape recorder idea. I say you just let it go. You got to pick your battles, and you'll be out of her class in less than a year.

I had similar academics to yours KB and believe me I've gotten into more than my fair share of disciplinary trouble. Colleges don't even see that stuff so don't let it scare you.

[Kirobaito]

Oh, I'm not scared; I wasn't even suspended or anything. It'll be nothing, besides the fact that instead of words coming out of her mouth, I hear both Charlie Brown's teacher's voice and a little man inside my head screaming "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She definitely treated me better today, extra special. She was scared to disagree with my public insults for fear that she would get fired. This is gonna be a fun final six weeks.

[Dragonflame]

That's awesome! I want to write threatening letters to my teachers now. I have some really crappy ones. Maybe a letter would help.

[Talus]

No. I have a 4.79 GPA. 3 years ago I scored a 1100 on my SAT.

I was actually referring to your downplay on community college. If you think that you're better than someone who attends community college you're wrong.

[Kirobaito]

I don't think I'm better than someone who goes to community college. It's just not the place for me.

[fire_of_avalon]

I don't think I'm better than someone who goes to community college. It's just not the place for me.

Sorry to say, but your post did seem a bit condescending. I personally have many intelligent friends attending community college. Don't see it as a wasted degree, see it as a stepping stone towards something better, that is if you don't already.

The tape recording idea is a bad one, you can be sued over that in a number of ways including invasion of privacy and compromising the confidentiality of a classroom.

[Kirobaito]

Don't take offense in what I said; I just don't think I need that stepping stone.

Yeah, the tape recorder idea is stupid. The school saw how stupid and worthless of a teacher she was, and perhaps they will do something by the end of the year. My school is going through a lot of changes: a transfer of power from one "regime" to the other, if you will. One teacher is being "retired", that is, fired. There will probably be several others. Strangely enough, all of the teachers that are going to be possibly fired are those of mine. The school wants to put more emphasis on high academics, thus, the teachers teaching those high academic classes can't teach them.