"These people are your colleagues with big degrees yet haven't worked a day in their life? What does that even mean?"
I was speaking figuratively. These people are theoretical not practical. They might "wave their degrees around" (or put it on their business card) as if everyone else should bow down to them. Some of these people are hard to work with because they need to do everything themselves or think they know everything aka closed minded. Or they might refuse or avoid certain tasks because they think it's beneath their degree. Surely, you have come across people like this?
"You may be showing a great lack of insight on the subject. There are many students in schools that can't handle the material that no amount of "doing a better job" will change. For example, don't expect a D student to become a calculus wiz just because you put more effort into teaching him or her."
I realize that there are always going to be students that simply can' t handle the material. I even said that. By doing a better job I meant that she should try to seek new ways of teaching people. If her methods aren't working with some people then she could try others. Or accept that she cannot reach everyone. Being "crazy" or exasperated over this doesn't help her own situation or her students.
"What makes you think she's close-minded? If she had said that there are some really great female students in her classes but the majority of students at the bottom of her classes have been female, that would observation make her close-minded?"
When someone's job or life is driving them crazy, it tells me that they've given up and have no more creativity left. This indicates a close-minded person to me because they are used to looking at or doing things one way. They cannot or will not see any other options or points of view. How do you teach people or succeed at anything when you have this negative attitude? She said she's observed the issues for years, but it sounds like she has not done anything to change it. I don't expect her to single-handedly improve black student's situations, but what has she personally done?
"What does "live in the real world" mean to you? What does "actually willing to help students" mean to you and what makes you think she doesn't do that?"
The real world is one where you learn by actual hands on experience versus theory. I'm sure you've heard the saying that "those that can do, those can not, teach."
Whether what she said was racist or not isn't even the issue to me. The bigger problem I see is with the education system itself. You have educators like this with a negative attitude and can't seem to find any way to engage with students. Worse off, it seems that she can't see things from different perspectives. The reason the education system exists is to teach people how to think creatively, critically and be open to new ideas and viewpoints. It seems to me that she can't do those things.
I don't have kids, but I wouldn't want someone like that teaching them. They'd turn them into mindless drones. There are enough of those people being pumped out of universities right now.