Should this teacher be fired?

[MaryAnnDVC]

Teacher Accused Of Making Racist Comment To Black Student
Student's Mother Wants Teacher Fired

PROVIDENCE -- A social studies teacher was accused Tuesday of making anti-social comments in class, News Channel 10 reported.

Administrators at Keith Junior High in New Bedford said they are looking into a student's allegations against teacher Joseph Rego. The student claims that Rego, when commenting on slavery to a black student, said, "If I were rich, you would be my servant."

The girl's mother is considering filing a lawsuit against the city, and she wants Rego fired.

The NAACP is looking into the case.

 

[Beth76]

You know, if the mother wasn't filing a lawsuit against the city I might be more apt to take her side. Definitely an inappropriate thing to say. Should he be fired? I don't really think so.

 

[princess lovers mom]

opening a big can of worms with this one....

without a video or audiotape in the room it will be he said, she said...perhaps the teacher was illustrating a point for the discussion...it WAS true then that blacks were slaves...apparently he said you "would" be my servant, not that she IS.....

 

[Maleficent13]

Definitely not enough information there to make a judgement call. What was the context and point of the statement she made?

 

[Shannon G]

I agree that we don't know enough about the context in which this was said to make a judgement call. Maybe the teacher was describing the days of slavery, and said this an example of what things were like then...for example, "In the days of slavery, if I were rich, you would be my servant." If it were said in that type of context, there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[Sleepy]

Geez, isn't an apology enough these days?

 

[bubba's mom]

no--i don't think the man should lose his job............

 

[missypie]

Context is everything. But the teacher should apologize to the child.

 

[DoeWDW]

Originally posted by Shannon G
I agree that we don't know enough about the context in which this was said to make a judgement call. Maybe the teacher was describing the days of slavery, and said this an example of what things were like then...for example, "In the days of slavery, if I were rich, you would be my servant." If it were said in that type of context, there's nothing wrong with it.

I totally agree with Shannon's comment. It's all about the context in which the statement was made.

 

[BuckNaked]

Originally posted by missypie
Context is everything. But the teacher should apologize to the child.

To me, this would also depend on the context of the statement. If it was a situation like the one Shannon G. used as an example, I would see no reason for the teacher to apologize.

 

[Crankyshank]

I think the teacher should apologize.
I find it hard to believe a teacher in New Bedford would be stupid enough to make a comment like that.
For those who aren't familiar with it, the city population is pretty mixed, and has been having some violent crime issues.

 

[BuckNaked]

Do you believe that context has no part to play in whether or not the teacher was right or wrong?

 

[Amberle3]

Originally posted by MaryAnnDVC
when commenting on slavery to a black student, said, "If I were rich, you would be my servant."

Was this in the classroom? Were they studying about history and slavery at the time? Would it have been less offensive to the child/parent if the teacher had pointed to a white student and said "If she were rich, you would be her servant"?

If it was in a classroom setting, or being used as an example for illustrative purposes, then I see no problem with it. Slavery is a vile, abhorant thing - but if we don't learn about that aspect of our history then how are we ever to fully understand how far we've come, and how far we still have to go?

Now if the comment wasn't in that kind of context, and the teacher was in the hallway and said to the student "Man I wish we still allowed slavery, if I were rich you would be my servant" then that would be totally inappropriate.

I'm a People's Court fan, I watch it every day. There was a black man being sued for damages related to an assault yesterday. His defense was that the plaintiff was racist. And when the judge was about to rule in favour of the plaintiff, and it was obvious she was about to, he started making comments that whenever a black person was in her court they were going to lose (implying that she was racist too). My point? Yes there are some very real problems with racism still, but there are also *some* people who will play that card any time something doesn't go their way.

Without more facts on this story, we don't know what's going on here.

 

[shelbyjosh]

Give me a break......

But if it was a black teacher saying something like that to a white student, we all know they would get away with it. The whole idea of it disgusts me. Period.

 

[piratesmate]

If the context was to make a point in the midst of the lesson, then no apology should be needed and the teacher did nothing wrong.

If the area is having problems right now, then perhaps this is what is needed! Usually the point of such lessons (IF it was the lesson) is to provoke thought in the students. How is it right for a person to be someone's servant or slave based solely on appearance/race/ethnicity? Obviously, it's not! If the students react strongly to the suggestion, perhaps they've gotten the point?

To me, racism works both ways. IMHO the student exhibited racism by assuming the teacher was making a derogatory remark.

 

[Serena]

Ok, to give her the benefit of the doubt, or a half a second anyway.

The teacher said something the student and parent didn't like. Normal procedures would be to speak with the teacher, then if that didn't work out like she wanted, to speak with the principal. If that didn't work out like she wanted, then to speak with the school board.
If the teacher said something inappropriate, someone would have agreed with her and done something with the teacher. He would have been suspended, made to take some tolerance classes something.
Ok, either she took all those steps and no one agreed with her, or she skipped all those steps. Either way, I think she's just out for money and took the first opportunity possible.
In any case, I'd throw out the case.

 

[mikeymars]

Originally posted by missypie
Context is everything. But the teacher should apologize to the child.

The above seems to be a contradiction in terms.

Short of knowing the exact context the statement was made in, how can one state an apology is required? If the teacher was making a hypothetical historic statement (e.g., if we were back in the 18th or early 19th century, this is how I would have addressed our relationship), then the problem here isn't the teacher, it's a student and mother who are ignoring that and being knee-jerk simplistically literal.

Only if the teacher was intentionally "badgering" the student could one justify an apology - and short of a courtroom-level investigation. I don't think we're ever going to know whether that (or the former "proper context") was the case.