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Case: Was Alex too Friendly?
My good friend Alex, who is a White person from Central America, has been teaching biology at a high school for two years. The school where he works serves a majority Black student population. One of the strengths of Alex is his ability to connect with people and establish good relationships. He used his skills in his new school, too, to form close relationships with his students. He believes that a teacher should be like a friend to the students for the students to trust and relate to the teacher. He gained popularity among teachers and students as a great biology teacher. One specific incident got him in great trouble. As he was walking from his car to the school building one morning, students greeted him with smiley faces and friendly attitudes. Most students greeted him by saying things like "What's up Mr. A?" "What is going on dude?" "How you doing buddy?" Alex found these appropriate and responded to students similarly every day. This specific morning, one student greeted Alex by saying "What's up nigga?" and Alex responded to the student using the same phrase. The next day he found out that the student and his family filed a complaint against Alex for using the "n word." The principal asked Alex to submit a written explanation in his defense and that his position at this school was at jeopardy. Alex asked for help, and I am not sure what to tell him.
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
It seems as though this is a wake up call for Alex. As much as we want to connect with our students, there is a fine line between being a professional. I believe it is not acceptable to become "friends" with your students. They are the student, and you are the teacher. You are there to teach and to be a role model to them. I think that the teacher should explain he did not mean the word to offend anyone, and that he was simply using it in common language with the student. He should apologize for the word. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Good solution, Alex was being overly friendly in this case. |
| Rated On: October 14, 2014 7:40 pm |
| Rated By: Megan Lee |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Suggesting apology is the bare minimum, the solution shows some promise. |
| Rated On: October 31, 2021 8:20 am |
| Rated By: aPeQyG |
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