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Another absurd firing.

luvyeah

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Old but relevant:





Late last month, Greg Patton, the professor, was teaching a lesson on “filler words” in other languages -- think “err,” “um” or “like” in English -- in his master’s-level course on communication for management.

“Taking a break between ideas can help bring the audience in,” Patton said, according to a recording of one of the Zoom course sections and a transcription that appeared next to him on screen. “In China,” for instance, he continued, “the common pause word is ‘that that that.’ So in China it might be ne ga, ne ga, ne ga.”
“It is simply unacceptable for faculty to use words in class that can marginalize, hurt and harm the psychological safety of our students,” Garrett wrote. Patton “repeated several times a Chinese word that sounds very similar to a vile racial slur in English. Understandably, this caused great pain and upset among students, and for that I am deeply sorry.”
 

explorerzip

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When someone prefaces their sentence with "I hate to say it" you know they haven't put any thought to what they're about to say. They are about to put their foot in their mouth.

People that say this and especially academics are actually very closed minded and often need to be right. In my experience with friends or colleagues with big degrees: MBA, PHD, etc. they are often know-it-alls and stubborn. You can never have any discussion with them because they have to be right regardless of opposing views. They know how to take tests, write papers, but have never actually worked a day in their life.

I think it's hilarious that someone making big bucks and likely a golden pension is going crazy every semester over this. She has come across students that can't handle the material over the years or decades she's been teaching. An open-minded and humble person would ask themselves what how they can to do their job better and help students succeed, which is her damn job. It's far easier to whine and do the same thing over and over again expect different results. Teachers have to realize that there will be students that just can't get the material no matter what. That's just reality and not a reason to be anxious over it.

It's no wonder why people (especially the young) are so polarized or radicalized because we have close-minded teachers like this. That's why I have no confidence in the education system.

I don't think she should be terminated just for the one offence. There should be a full review to find out if there are any other complaints against her. Having said that, I am kind of glad that she's gone and it's got nothing to do with what she said. She needs to live in the real world for a bit because teaching is apparently too tough for her to handle. We need to have teachers that are 1. actually willing to help students and 2. expose people to different ways of thinking about things.

If that is too much for her to handle then she has no business as a professor.
 
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Mr.Know-It-All

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People that say this and especially academics are actually very closed minded and often need to be right. In my experience with friends or colleagues with big degrees: MBA, PHD, etc. they are often know-it-alls and stubborn. You can never have any discussion with them because they have to be right regardless of opposing views. They know how to take tests, write papers, but have never actually worked a day in their life.
These people are your colleagues with big degrees yet haven't worked a day in their life? What does that even mean?

I think it's hilarious that someone making big bucks and likely a golden pension is going crazy every semester over this. She has come across students that can't handle the material over the years or decades she's been teaching. An open-minded and humble person would ask themselves what how they can to do their job better and help students succeed, which is her damn job. It's far easier to whine and do the same thing over and over again expect different results. Teachers have to realize that there will be students that just can't get the material no matter what. That's just reality and not a reason to be anxious over it.
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.

It's no wonder why people (especially the young) are so polarized or radicalized because we have close-minded teachers like this. That's why I have no confidence in the education system.
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?

I don't think she should be terminated just for the one offence. There should be a full review to find out if there are any other complaints against her. Having said that, I am kind of glad that she's gone and it's got nothing to do with what she said. She needs to live in the real world for a bit because teaching is apparently too tough for her to handle. We need to have teachers that are 1. actually willing to help students and 2. expose people to different ways of thinking about things.

If that is too much for her to handle then she has no business as a professor.
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?
 
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explorerzip

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"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.
 

nottyboi

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Its not absurd. The fact that she identifed students by their colour and grouped them shows she is a card carrying RACIST.
 

t.o.leafs.fan

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There're lots of unknowns in this case that we'll never have the background on. This could easily be a case of affirmative action gone wrong. This is a real situation where less qualified racial students are permitted to a program to fill a pre-set quota and in many cases these students are in over their heads which is never a good situation. These types of students have a high drop out rate and general poor performance. The conversation could very easily be not a racist one but one based on reality/ an honest conversation but needs to be held off camera in this day and age.
 
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wazup

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There're lots of unknowns in this case that we'll never have the background on. This could easily be a case of affirmative action gone wrong. This is a real situation where less qualified racial students are permitted to a program to fill a pre-set quota and in many cases these students are in over their heads which is never a good situation. These types of students have a high drop out rate and general poor performance. The conversation could very easily be not a racist one but one based on reality/ an honest conversation but needs to be held off camera in this day and age.
I've reported this as an extremely racist and bigoted post 😂. Even the slightest criticism of any minority is deemed racist, this lady was giving her truth.
 

avocat

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She's an idiot, and is only an adjunct, or part time Professor.I find it more interesting that her "business" is as a mediator. She should not be involved in education, and I bet is also a terrible mediator.
 

rhuarc29

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Good logic exercise: if you want to know if something is racist or sexist, try flipping it around.
What she said was insensitive, which is different from racist. If her Black students are statistically and habitually lower scorers, then what she said was accurate.
The article doesn't go into the context of the conversation they were having. Was she commenting on the problem of admitting racialized students based on skin color rather than wholly merit? I agree, that's a problem.
We don't even know if what she said is factually correct. If it's not, only then would I suspect she is playing into racial stereotypes. But media very rarely portrays these things in an even-handed manner, so it's difficult to tell.
 
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explorerzip

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This is a real situation where less qualified racial students are permitted to a program to fill a pre-set quota and in many cases these students are in over their heads which is never a good situation. These types of students have a high drop out rate and general poor performance.
These are valid points and we can have an intelligent discussion about them. She's part of the mechanism that can address these issues. I don't think she's even wiling to talk about the actual issues. She just let this issue fester and drive her crazy.
 

explorerzip

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She's an idiot, and is only an adjunct, or part time Professor.I find it more interesting that her "business" is as a mediator. She should not be involved in education, and I bet is also a terrible mediator.
It is ironic that her business supposedly helps people to avoid disputes when she runs head first into one. I've come across many of these so-called experts or coaches that talk a good game. When you dig a bit deeper you find they don't actually know much.
 
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lomotil

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America will always be this way like a dog chasing it’s tales. Less “qualified “ students are admitted to schools due to affirmative action and are taught by less “qualified“ academics like her and the result is a uniquely made in America story which continues to play on
 

kherg007

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A bloke in Washington DC govt got sacked for saying "niggardly" which is a Norse word meaning penurious or "cheap" (he said it in context of allocating money in a budget discussion) - it is a word that existed in Scandinavian languages long before the Norse knew african people existed. Yet, because it sounded like the word you suspect...he lost his job.
 

avocat

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Let's not forget the USC Business Professor demonstrating in his communication for management class that a Chinese "filler" word (e.g. umm, atah, or that) may also sounds like an offienseive word in another language such as the N word.
 
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