Over the years, students have claimed that I was too hard, hated them personally, was trying to date them or their mother, and even that they were failed because their team beat my favorite team. But the new claim surprised the shit out of me.
Apparently, I’m a racist. Last term, I was hauled into the chair’s office and informed that two students had leveled that claim. The reason was that in my Intro to Hamster Fur Weaving class I demonstrated that old patterns of racial behavior between differing groups of hamsters still exist. I asked them to research and discuss this in light of current events in hamster communities.
It did not matter that the students were never there and could not pass. All that mattered was that a claim was filed. I was informed that my position was at risk and that every move I made would be watched. Well watch this. I have invited a large L Lesbian to the class next week to talk about gender expectations in hamster communities.
I`m thinking about showing up for that class in drag.
Actually not a bad idea, then if they try to fire you there is a way to fight it ;) pick a empire waste dress, They are more flattering!
ReplyDelete8Obviously I don't know the details, and I'm not a sociologist, but it seems the real problem here is that from you students' perspective, you stated a theory about human behavior as if it is a fact, and then you demanded your students do research to support your fact. Research that made them uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteIf you're a middle-aged white guy and your students are people of color, or women, or both, this might raise red flags.
I'm not saying you're a racist. I'm just saying that at the very least you may have been clumsy.
And I know you're kidding, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you show up in drag when the "large L" Lesbian shows up to talk, she will be really really pissed at you. And you do not want to get on the wrong side of a "large L" Lesbian. She will fuck you up.
Want my advice? You didn't ask but I'm going to give it. Apologize. At least for giving offense. Acting surly in these sorts of situations never, ever turns out well.
You're smarting and I get that. But unless you're an adjunct, in which case you're not being paid enough to deal with this and I encourage you to abandon ship immediately, like, in the middle of the semester, don't shoot yourself in the foot.
I mean, your other foot.
Now you know why I'm glad I teach physics, which is universally despised by everyone.
ReplyDeleteNot true. Some students despite it twice as much as others.
DeleteI think some people are very uncomfortable discussing race in this country (not an experience I've noticed in other countries). They seem to equate any discussion of race with racism. I teach classes on race and gender and encounter this every year. Contextualizing such discussions takes more time than actual discussion time to help people feel "comfortable enough" to even acknowledge that they differentiate people based on ethnicity or race.
ReplyDeleteMy experience with being accused of racism is that because our placement process has placed more people of color into our developmental sequence of writing classes (based on anonymously on a combination of GPA, SAT/ACT scores and graded placement essays, where no one's race is evident), my department is now considered racist b/c we teach those developmental courses.
Good luck coming up with an outfit to wear to the L Lesbian lecture. :o)
Over the years that I was teaching, I was convinced that students sometimes accused instructors of bias as a way of excusing their laziness, sloppiness, or complete lack of talent with the hope of, thereby, being awarded a decent grade as compensation.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there were times when allegations could be made about an instructor, with correspondingly dire consequences, but that person wasn't allowed to know many details, if any. The reason was, as certain administrators believed, he or she might get even with their accusers. In that place, an accusation was as good as a conviction and the accused was guilty until proven innocent.
Unfortunately, for much of the time I was there, the staff association proved to be completely useless and the poor instructor would have had to fight it out on their own. By the way, someone working for that same staff association once described the institution as a "toxic workplace", which was putting it mildly.
Sarcastic Bastard, I love your name.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in grad school, I TA'd for a lecturer who was also charged with racism. She was a very nice, very aware, very caring person. She was queer, raised in a city, and very educated on issues of racee and the complications of perception in the classroom.
And yet, despite how lovely she is, she was totally being accidentally racist in lecture.
She kept talking about European immigrants as "we." She focused on experiences of one race and generalized about all people from that angle. She lectured on "African society" in one day, generalizing that all Africans practiced female genital mutilation and witchcraft. What needed delicate precision was practiced with vague generalities. Any woman of color or person who felt "othered" would naturally feel out of place and possibly uncomfortable in attending lecture.
When she was brought up on these charges, I testified about the accidental nature of the situation. I recommended some changes she make to her lectures. They decided to renew her contract, which was good, for she is a lovely person with some good ideas who just made some mistakes in class.
However, she then let a white TA go and replaced that TA with a black grad student. Just in case, and just for appearances. Tokenism.
See? Lovely, but unfortunately and accidentally racist.
Or maybe lovely and smart enough to cover her ass?
DeleteSell tickets. I'd give you $10 to see it.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but the idea of hamsters practicing 'racial behavior,' in old form or new, is racist. People don't behave according to race. With hamsters, I believe we are talking about breeds, so maybe we are talking about new breeds of hamsters that exhibit the traits of older breeds?
ReplyDeleteIf you're talking about people, did you mean old patterns of racIST behavior (behavior vis a vis other races?)? Old patterns of cultural behavior associated with specific communities?
I'm not saying you deserve getting hounded by your chair -- I am saying that yes, if you used the idea of "racial behavior" to organize a research project, that is, well, racist.
Overheard in a hallway during student elections: "I voted for the only white sounding name on the ballot." Racism is a learned behavior and one that has shown itself in the university classroom in an area where it is best if you are a straight white rich Christian conservative male. As I don't fit that list in a couple areas, I do have a dog in this fight and I will not say "sorry" and shut up.
DeleteBy the way, I do look good in drag.
Kisses
Also, that graphic leaves a lot to be desired.
ReplyDeleteF&T: It's a man dressed in drag, as the OP threatens. It's a graphic I chose. Don't blame the poster.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIt's an old graphic from RYS, one that surely Cal made for a different purpose. I didn't want to use an image of someone that might be recognized. I meant no offense. I've removed the graphic entirely.
ReplyDeleteYour worried about offending someone with a graphic? If that offended them then they need to lurk someplace else.
Delete