Re[2]: what constituted discrimination? -Reply
Marty Henry (mhenry@mcrel.org)
Mon, 16 Mar 98 10:14:03 -0700
What it's called in the long run doesn't help our students on a
day-to-day basis. They have to deal with it in whatever terms. How we
deal with it has long-term impact on our children and on the issue of
equity in the schools. I know the emotion that is embodied in working
with your child trying to obtain the best education possible for her
or him. I also know that it is death to progress if you aleniate the
school administration or the teacher. It sounds like you have hit a
stone wall with the teacher. What have you done to discuss it with the
administrator? Are you documenting all of your interactions with each
staff person? Keep track of the conversations, dates, times, documents
you took, who said what. This will be necessary as you take the case
farther. Have you checked into the grievance policy? What does the
school policy say about discrimination? Your student should have a
copy of the policy as it relates to students and there should be
something in it that you could hook on to. If there isn't, maybe you
should work through the board to include one.
The suggestion of an informationl article in the paper is very
interesting. It might just alert some of the community to the issue in
the broadest sense and will begin to build a groundwork of
knowledgable people on the issue. You might also send a copy
personally to each board member, for their information, of course.
By the teacher's response, it sounds like he(she) was threatened by
your request. Would it do any good to revisit the issue with the
teacher following the assignment completion just to let him or her
know that your intentions were honorable and not meant to put the
person down, but to allow a broader perspective on such an
"interesting" assignment? Sometimes these people, if you can get them
on your side, become your best advocates.
I know this is not the approach that has been advocated on this list.
What I do know is that if you can solve the problem on the smallest
scale possible, you both win. Changes are made in the school for all
students and your child is not the center of some legal suit.
I also realize that some things never get changed that way and
sometimes it is necessary to take it to the courts. This takes a lot
of time but is often the only way possible to make permanent change.
Wherever you are and whatever you decide to do, we are with you in
your efforts.
Marty Henry
mhenry@mcrel.org
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: what constituted discrimination? -Reply
Author: <edequity@tristram.edc.org> at Internet-Mail
Date: 3/13/98 11:12 AM
yes it's true that TITLE IX excludes textbooks and although the reasons are
understandable the fact remains that there is a BIG problem because the
textbooks are not just biased but almost altogehter EXCLUDE women, and
textbook
curriculum is the CENTRAL CORE of children's education. So it is a problem
that we have here that TEACHES children to DISCRIMINATE and have gender biased
attitudes regarding women or other groups based on what is being taught in
text-book curriculum. We all know that the ''so called encouragement'' that
teachers have been given ''to add and be inclusive in their curriculums'' is
not being put into practice
by most teachers. There is great recentment and utter contempt by some
teachers
that we have approached regarding adding women to their ''lists''. Now if we
stand outside the context of the writen word'' in the textbooks and
instructional materials
and we see that the teachers continues a pattern of refusal to be inclusive,
or non-biased'' because she/he refuses to teach more fairly ...they say we
have NOT
discrimination but BIAS....where does one end and the other START ? I say they
are one and the same... I SAY THAT because that is what it comes down to, I
don't care how many legal and non-legal definitions you give it.!!!!!!!!!
LESEMANN <C123S105L@aol.com>