Need advice on response to R-W'er who pulled inappropriate prank

[callous taoboy]

I went to a geology class today as part of my school district's continuing education requirements. The instructor seemed nice, had a good sense of humor and seemed to know how to best reach children. Her suggestions for lessons were good, and she provided each of us(about 50 teachers) a thick notebook of lesson plans and a bag of rock samples.

It was close to lunch time and she was covering a lesson called, "Barnyard Mystery," in which the class has to decide which of four farm animals stole some vegetables based on soil samples taken from their fur, feathers or hooves. Cool lesson. Then she went on to explain that for higher grade levels you can do one called, "Murder on the Beach," which involves the class in a similar scenario as the Barnyard Mystery but with human suspects. She was using her power point and she explained that when she did this one with middle school gifted children she had three suspects, and she presented each one (actual photographs from a magazine) on the screen for us. One was a Hispanic cowboy-looking guy with a caption that said, "Shoot, I got the sand on my boots from cleaning out the barn...". The second suspect was a young blond with the caption, "I was just playing beach volley ball all day and that's why I have sand on my feet...".

The third was President Clinton with a caption, "I did not murder that woman..." The whole class was silent, and then about half of them started guffawing (my colleagues, all but one, included). I was literally stunned by this. I looked at my fellow liberal colleague and she was red in the face and looking at me like, "can you believe this." I didn't hear the rest of her lesson before we broke for lunch because I was seeing red. I did leave at lunch and did not go back. I fantasized about Pie-ing her after lunch, but I can't afford to get fired.

I felt like her prank was low-class, unprofessional and crass. She is connected to geologists who work with the petroleum industry.

I am tired of this kind of shit happening in places where I am basically a captive audience. Last week I walked out on my dentist for having religious propaganda and a huge, gilt-framed poster commemorating *'s second inauguration in his waiting area.

What would you do now if you were me? Blow it off? Let our superintendent know? Also, I have her e-mail address and she is still due some feedback from me re: her presentation. What should I say?

[Jilly Beans]

1. I would approach her and ask her to remove the Clinton remark

from her lesson, because she alienates people by making the lesson political.

If she agrees and apologizes, then drop it. If she brushes you off, go to the superintendent and complain.

And certainly, in your feedback to her, tell her that the presentation was great, until she made it political, at which point she lost you.

[villager]

2. first of all, great user name

makes me want to revive "Loud Sue."

Second, some feedback is definitely required -- that's why this kind of passive/agressive bullying keeps happening, and is spreading... because no one speaks out about it...

[loudsue]

33. Thank you!

But I'm already revived! Have been for years!

:kick:

[Bluebear]

3. Yes, let your superintendent know....

and email her telling her that suggesting that incorporating cheap partisan political shots into a lesson plan aimed at children is at best sophomoric and at worst scandalous as it teaches disrespect for the office of President. Also add that after you and several colleagues were shocked by this juvenile display you didn't absorb anything else of her "lesson" so you can't comment further.

[rodeodance]

4. I always teach my students to try to resolve issues with the person first

before going to the top.

[Lautremont]

5. I think this is one to just let go of.

Or else make clever anti-bush jokes of your own. I don't think you can go to a supervisor without looking like a bit of a crank - not that you're wrong to be annoyed. Far from it. Just roll your eyes and fight fire with fire whenever you can. That's my advice.

[Jade Fox]

6. That is appalling....

No, you should not let it pass.

I had a similar thing happen at work when someone posted a joke on the
office email which revolved around the idea of Hillary Clinton being
assasinated as funny. I responded by saying I thought the joke was
ugly. That person has never posted jokes again, to my relief and I
think others as well.

I would try telling this person that you voted for Clinton (as did the
majority of American voters) and you find what she did offensive.

[Toucano]

19. Technically

Clinton did not win a majority of votes in 1992 or 1996.

He had 43% in 1992 and 49% in 1996.

[Bronco69]

7. Tell her how completely inappropriate her Clinton comment was

and CC your superintendent.

[callous taoboy]

12. This is my inclination, Bronco:

I am tired of this crap, and I do not enjoy being insulted (as it clearly was a jab at Democrats) while trying to satisfy requirements in my contract.

[Ilsa]

8. Take the high road as the previous posters

suggested. IF she gets nasty about it, remind her of how many people, American and foreign, have died on Bush*'s watch.

[whistle]

9. Ah shucks it's just a RW neo-con fundie fun'in with you'all....

...sounds totally harmless. Besides, by baiting 50 teachers in that manner, this fundie can use the laws of natural selection to thin out the ranks of all whistle-blowers:sarcasm: :rant:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

10. I would definitely let your superintendent know

And I would tell the instructor just what you said here: Your prank was low-class, unprofessional and crass. It lowered the value of your seminar as well as my opinion of you as an instructor.

If you're afraid of repercussion skip the email to her but do alert your super - she's using that to teach kids?!?!?!?!?!?

:grr:

[MissWaverly]

11. report her to the Superintendent most definitely

By not reporting you are allowing a blurring of the boundaries,
I am continually astonished at how bald faced lies, and inflammatory propaganda are accepted as long as they have a right wing slant. At the very least, this has set a dangerous precedent to those children that this sort of objectionable behavior is acceptable and it's accusations against a former president who did an honorable job in office is even more galling. The accusation of killing came I believe straight out of oxycotin's mouth and have no basis in reality.

[tanyev]

13. You should definitely say something,

even if only a mention that it was disrespectful to the office of the President. Think how livid a right-winger would be if it had been a joke at Bush's expense. They would be calling for her head. One of the reasons they keep getting away with it is that they don't get called on it. Draw a line in that sand.

[callous taoboy]

14. I appreciate everyone's feedback and

will be back tomorrow to see if there are any other offerings. You all have a great weekend!

[zalinda]

15. Maybe you should give her a dose of her own

medicine. Tell her thanks for the great lesson plan, and the great idea to use a President's pic. But, you're going to update the lesson and exchange Clinton's pic for Bush's to illustrate the horrors of war.

zalinda

PS: That was as unprofessional, as it comes.

[soup]

20. Yep. Sand on his shoes from searching for WMDs. n/t

[callous taoboy]

21. Zalinda and Soup....Excellent!

I'm at Ruta Maya coffee house in Austin. JEEEbus I love Austin.

[roguevalley]

16. Write to her and cc a copy to her boss. She reps her company

and tell them that the majority of your class was offended with a vengence. Tell her. Tell her she cannot any longer do this shit without consequences, if only in blows to her reputation. Put her reputation in it. She will get it.

[Jon8503]

17. That Pisses Me Off As Well - My suggestion is that you get this

out for one; I would say Air America Radio; the other the DNC; also every other organization you can think of.

If this had been just the opposite, can you imagine the right wing airwaves going berserk.

Please, please don't let this just go.

We as dems in general have been way too passive for too long. We have to draw the line in the sand for these kind of things.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

[callous taoboy]

22. I'm on it, Jon8503.

[Cats Against Frist]

18. I generally go by the "the idea isn't to restrict speech, but provide more

specch" rule. Don't go to her supervisor. Tell her that it made you uncomfortable, and if she pulls something like it again, simply stand up and do your best Chimpy McCokespoon impression (I usually like: "it's excacly that, it means its sov-ern. It's a sov-ern en-tit-ty.")

It would be better than ratting to try to get someone else to make her stop. "Tattling" never sits right with me. I prefer direct action. It's a hell of a lot more fun, anyway, and you can make someone look like a real idiot. Then, if she threatens to kick you out of class, you can both go to the supervisor and lodge your complaint, then.

[sam sarrha]

49. "Them" could be fishing for liberals and progresives..dont expose yourself

you might end up with no job. I have been fired from 3 jobs after seriously long lectures about god and jesus... the last one they were taunting me, calling me Dalai Lama, like a curse word from a playground bully, just before you get your ass kicked by his gang.. preceded by a fierce hateful shop group lecture from the big boss about someone dribbling pee in the mens bathroom.. and if we didn't learn to pee like men we would have to squat like women.. while staring at me. which became obvious to the others, this tirade went on and on and on.. and they fired me on the way out after work.

it was because i had a 'Free Tibet' bumper sticker. I just love living in the F'n South.

[raccoon]

53. Good gosh, any way you could sue?

Course being in the South myself I know that "employee rights"
is an oxymoron here. I just wish you could sue the morons, sam sarrha.

[DulceDecorum]

23. Someone beat me to it

(Tell her that the joke would be more if she put up a picture of Dubya saying,
"I went looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq
and all I came home with was this sand on my feet."

HAW HAW.)

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Yes, speak up

I am a teacher too and you and I both know there were teachers at that workshop who will take that lesson verbatim and go back and present it to their students. Partisan politics do NOT belong in public schools.

Your supt needs to know about the inappropriate content in these lessons and this woman's employers need to remind her that digs at Clinton - or any other politician - are NOT appropriate in a lesson for public school students.

Good luck and please come back and tell us what happened.

BTW, good for you for walking out. That sent a powerful message.

[callous taoboy]

25. Thanks, Proud.

I think that there may have been several people there that felt as I did.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. I know if it was me

I would say something. And I would focus more on the political statement in the lesson than the fact that I was insulted that she was disrespecting Clinton. I would keep my own personal opinions out of it.

This really makes me mad. Partisan political statements do NOT belong in classrooms. Remember, our job as educators is to teach kids HOW to think, not to tell them WHAT to believe.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Reminds me of a presentation I saw at a national Math conference.

The presenter gave us all a handout of story problems. They were 'adult oriented'. All of the problems had something to do with alcohol or picking up dates in bars. They were funny but my friend and I looked at each other and wondered how many of the other teachers in that meeting would take those problems home and run them off for their class. Then when they got called on the content, they would say "Well I got this from (the national math organization)!"

So we decided to be tattle tales and showed these problems to the math org board members at this conference. They were appalled and asked the presenters to stop passing them out.

I wish I had saved this handout. One of the problems was something like this: Susie went to a tavern to look for cute men. She ordered a bloody mary with 1/4 ounce of vodka in it. An hour later, she was sitting next to the cutest guy at the tavern and was drinking her 5th bloody mary. How many ounces of alcohol had she drank? :crazy:

[NNN0LHI]

26. Don't get mad. Get even. Be imaginative n/t

[seabeyond]

28. instead of walking out without saying something, will you please

speak up

i personally am just tired of the right call me everything in the book then expect me to say, you are right, or giggle with them about my evilness. i am just not going to turn the other cheek on this anymore than the man, that is now trying to put women in their place, and we arent suppose to be bothered with it


you know that quit being so sensitive bullshit

[RetroLounge]

30. I would have stood up in class and raised hell

embarrassed her in front of everyone.

It would have been totally innappropriate had she used bush* instead.

It doesn't belong in the class.

RL

[callous taoboy]

31. Update:

I have been in e-mail contact with the instructor. Read if interested and give me some feedback:

Ms. xxxxxx:
I did not get a chance to fill out my feedback form at your class on
Saturday in xxxxxxxx because I chose not to return after lunch. I felt that your crass "joke" about President Bill Clinton was about as low-class and inappropriate as it gets, and it was deeply insulting to me. I sincerely hope that you have not used this gag with students. Aren't we educators supposed to show respect toward the office of President? Prior to this I was enjoying your presentation.

I came to your presentation to learn more about geology and to satisfy my school district's continuing ed. requirements, not to be insulted by political party ideology.

By the way, it would have been a much better joke had it been President George W. Bush on the screen with the caption, "I got sand on my boots from looking for those weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." However, I would have found that completely inappropriate in this setting as well.

I have Cced a copy of this letter to my principal, and with her permission I will also voice my concern with our superintendent. I will also be e-mailing the American Association of Petroleum Geologists to express my disappointment with your poor choice.

Sincerely:
xxxxxxxxxx
Third Grade Teacher
xxxxxxxxx Elementary School

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. xxxxxxxx,
I am so sorry you were so offended by the joke about former President Bill Clinton. I utilized him as a celebrity, not as a politician. One aspect that makes my workshop acclaimed is the humor, which not only adds to most people's enjoyment, but actually aids in memory retention; memory is enhanced with increased emotion. The workshop lasts 6 hours and is mostly centered around rocks and dirt; I feel humor is a necessity.

Please note that the only students I teach are the teachers at a workshop. My three suspects are mere examples I use IN THE WORKSHOP while explaining the forensic geology project. More importantly, please remember the premise of the entire workshop, "Tell me...I forget, Show me...I remember, Involve me...I understand". To involve the students, the STUDENTS are to bring in the three photos to be suspects. The students will also be formulating the alibis.

I am unhappy that you think you know my political ideology. I am a logical thinker; my thinking is driven by logic. I see good and bad things about leaders in both major political parties. I analyze these things, assign an order of importance to them, and make a decision before voting. I know that many people are emotional thinkers, whose thinking is driven by emotion. They are likely to see one political party as all good and the other as all bad. You might have wrongly assumed I was such, but I am not.

I actually wrote the workshop before Bush went on the hunt for weapons of mass destruction, but I think it would be funny to add in your suggestion of his sandy shoes being from that hunt in Iraq - verbally after the laugh I get from Clinton dies down. I think it will be funny, and also might appease any who think I am trying to put in political party ideology.

I do not like to make anyone uncomfortable or unhappy, and I am especially sorry that you missed the second half of the workshop. I hope you find the remainder of the lessons to be adequately explained by reading the manual - it was written with that in mind - to be useful as a refresher each year.

Sincerely, xxxxxxxxxxx

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Ms. xxxxxxxxx:
I appreciate your reply and accept your apology. You need to know that I was not the only one there who felt that using Bill Clinton in a derogatory joke was in bad form. I have told many people (colleagues, my Republican father, friends) now about the joke verbatim, and they, too, did not see the humor in it nor did they feel it was appropriate in an educational forum with people of various political affiliations in attendance. The people I've told had the same reaction I did: stunned silence. I mean, come on: "No, I did not murder that woman." That is really crass, so crass that it appears politically motivated despite your intentions. Maybe you've gotten lots of laughs from it from other audiences, but chances are good you've also insulted a good many Democrat. I, for one, am just tired of the Clinton- bashing because it is plain ridiculous, but there is not much I can do about that. I can choose to turn off the T.V. or not listen to right-wing radio or walk away from certain conversations, but when you are a student in a class you are basically there to listen to whatever comes your way. I enjoy bashing Bush every opportunity I can, but I make sure that I never do it around people who voted for him and certainly don't make anti-Bush jokes or statements in my classroom. These are some very contentious times, politically, and I just feel that digs at one political party is not a good idea in an educational forum. Whether or not you use my Bush idea in conjunction with the Clinton-as-liar/murderer is, of course, up to you but I think dropping the use of politicians in jokes when in mixed company would be best. Or, maybe you should try leaving the gag as it is except swap out Clinton's picture with Bush's to see what kind of a reaction you get. My bet would be that you'd raise the ire of most of your audience. Your humor was great up until that gag, making the gag seem all the more hurtful.

Sincerely:
xxxxxxxxxx



So, what think you all?
Callous

[progressoid]

32. Good Job!

This was just wrong on so many levels. Maybe she could substitute OJ Simpson or Nixon for Clinton, & see how many people think thats funny. They are both celebrities too.

[tashidelek]

36. so many "celebrities" to choose from

Thanks for sharing this uncomfortable episode, but it definitely fits with what I have been reading on the more, dare I say, conservative boards.

Problem is, some of them REALLY do equate Clinton's presidency with murder. You know, to cover up all of the crimes they never were able to prove. They have webpages dedicated to identifying how many people he supposedly had taken out. You know, to cover up those crimes in whitewater and, and, ... other Ken Star specials. Ultimately of course, they PROVED that Bill (and Hillary) did nothing wrong, although they (and we) were tortured for years, and they spent millions on the investigation. Yeah. They are still smarting over that failure, to be sure. To me, that's what would have been MOST upsetting about the (not so subtle) Clinton equals murder theme. Hah hah...yeah, right.

What is really shocking is that they don't have ANY hesitation to say this out loud in public now. And expect you to treat "Bill" like any other "celebrity" who can be smeared with anything they choose to throw at him. Do we choose to throw back??? Oh, no, that's our "president" we are talking about, not some "celebrity."

Really doesn't seem so much like a joke, does it? Thanks for sharing this, and I'm afraid it is really just the tip of the iceberg.

[seabeyond]

34. very nice callous, once again, all in jest

why would you take seriously. really just funnin. i am logical, you are emotional.

but i am thankful that you spoke up. i would like to see this person switch to a bush joke alone and see the response herself? how quiet the room is.

i am a logical thinker..........hm, whatever

well good for you. you made her think

[sam sarrha]

54. check out these links.. something maybe more incidious and pevasive.

She works for a Fascist Petrolium Corporation linked to the Fashist pResident... http://www.indybay.org/print.php?id=1719333

and the Video from Pat Robertson, financed by the Christian Felloship, that falsely, with absurd made up evidence, accused him of dozens of murders..
http://www.insider-magazine.com/ChristianMafia.htm

[July]

42. You did a fantastic job in trying to wake her up.

I have one suggestion, if you find yourself in continued email contact with this person. I hope you will underline the fact that she called Clinton (jokingly, but still ...) a MURDERER. Not a liar or an adulterer, which could be defended as true, though irrelevant and inappropriate, but a MURDERER. She should be called on that. It is beyond the pale.

And I think she is being disingenuous when she calls Clinton a "celebrity." He is a former president -- and one who retained real popularity among the people, unlike Bush -- even DURING the impeachment farce. If it's about Clinton, it's about politics, not entertainment, and she risks regularly offending anyone who voted for him or supported him during and after the impeachment.

Your emails are great, very clear and forceful.

[cybildisobedience]

55. Bingo

That is exactly the point. She elevated Clinton's so-called crime from lying about an affair, to MURDER. That's not because he's a "celebrity." It's because she ascribes every negative emotion she can to him.
And by the way, can you imagine if people referred to Bush as a celebrity, instead of a president (someone's president, not mine)?
They'd be screaming bloody murder that we didn't respect "the office."

Callous, you did a great job articulating your anger and responding to her bogus excuse. You called her on it, she's backpedaling, and she called her on THAT. Don't let up -- you've got her on the ropes now.

[Aussie_expat]

48. Is there hidden meaning behind this paragraph?

"I am unhappy that you think you know my political ideology. I am a logical thinker; my thinking is driven by logic. I see good and bad things about leaders in both major political parties. I analyze these things, assign an order of importance to them, and make a decision before voting. I know that many people are emotional thinkers, whose thinking is driven by emotion. They are likely to see one political party as all good and the other as all bad. You might have wrongly assumed I was such, but I am not."

[callous taoboy]

59. Yup, I'm being a crank. That's the message. n/t

[raccoon]

52. Way to go, Callous! nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

65. Good letter

I think you got his attention.

The point I would keep driving at is that partisan politics have no place in education. PERIOD.

Also remind him that even though he encourages teachers to adapt his materials to use in their classrooms, in reality, many will not do this. They will take those materials to school on Monday and use them exactly as he presented them in the training session, regardless of what he says.

[Terran1212]

35. There is no reason for you to report this, I think

It is simply her views and she's poking some fun let it go.

[neuvocat]

37. You mean like Wolf Blitzer.

Yeah sure. Mighty childish behavior there.

[cry baby]

38. Once again, we should bend over and take up the ***?

No, that time is gone. That was a mean thing to say in the classroom and she should be called on the carpet for it.

I enjoyed the post and the courage of the poster.

[Lerkfish]

40. would you ALSO advise that if it were Bush saying:

I did NOT commit genocide on an entire country in order to further my political goals. Heck, Hitler is my idol.

see?

[callous taoboy]

41. Terran, I don't have religion, I reject it in fact:

So progressive politics, for good or ill, is the closest thing I have to religion right now. Insulting Clinton, or Kerry, or Paul Wellstone etc. is, for me, synonymous to insulting someone else's religious icon.

And as other posters have stated, it's just the idea that someone such as this instructor should feel comfortable enough just to toss an image of Clinton on the screen tagging him as either a liar or murderer or both. Absolutely beyond the pale, for me and at least two of my colleagues.

[July]

43. The way conservatives "let it go" when someone --

say, a college professor -- simply expresses his views or pokes fun?

I think calling a former president a murderer in a presentation on geology is inappropriate.

[ProfessorGAC]

47. Huh?

This is incredibly unprofessional. The only purpose of the statement was to provoke a response based upon the subject which was totally irrelevant to the matter at hand.

At least(!) 50% of the population would disagree with it so it is a remark intended to provoke outrage, not just humor.

Good presenters and educators simply don't do such things. It's not funny and she SHOULDN'T just let it go.
The Professor

[sam sarrha]

51. The Woman insinuated a president murdered a woman.. on taxpayers money

your tax dollar and mine.. working for a company that obviously supports the present administration/and 'vice' versa.

this is a serious allegation and conflict of interest. poking fun is not allowed in a civil society when it involves falsely acusing someone of murder, unless you belileve the propaganda swill pat robertson and the Christian Fellowship Fascist propaganda video put out that accused him of murdering scores of people.. all on made up evidence.. the video was really pathetic. that comment is representitive of a contenued peopaganda mill against Clinton to demonize him and try to prevent his echonomic program from being reconsidered in face of the TOTAL FAILURE of Bu$h's lack of a program, he just set the Fascist Corporations on us like a bunch of monkies at a salad bar.

Intollerance has its place...Directly In The Face Of FASCISM!
link: http://www.indybay.org/print.php?id=1719333

link for Christian Fellowship/ChristianMafia:
http://www.insider-magazine.com/Christian Mafia.htm

[seabeyond]

62. hey callous, you need to den another email

with this information.

[libertypirate]

39. Tell her directly...

That because you found her example offensive and distracting from her point to give you another example that refrains from political references.

--------------------

I really think people are very shallow and should be told when they are being so. She should know that when she uses such political examples she is only teaching the half of the class that isn't offended. Which means she isn't doing her job, and she might want to know from a student before a supervisor.


Anyway Goodluck

[July]

45. That's a good point, libertypirate.

I didn't even think of the "tune them out" effect, even though Callous Taoboys actually LEFT the presentation! You underline the fact that she doesn't accomplish what her email says she is trying to do, which is to facilitate learning.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

44. What a shame

She sounds like a talented woman, and yet her reply to your e-mail sounds just like the typical kool-aid drinker. She is so superior and logical, in her opinion.

I think you did the right thing. I have been observing some friends and family of my own for the past few years, and have seen personality changes. Nice people turning into callous, insensitive people who now think they are superior, they either listen to right-wing radio or belong to one of those right-wing churches, or both. They don't even know how they have changed.

[callous taoboy]

57. Me too, SpaceCat:

Both of my brothers, old lefties from the 60's, have been reprogrammed. I don't know them any more, really, and cannot count on consistency of opinion from them at all.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

61. I have a friend who joined a church last year

and is now acting completely different and weird. They got hold of him after a real bitter divorce and filled his head with that promise-keeper type stuff about what a man is supposed to be. I honestly feel like I live in 1930s Germany, because he is the fifth person I care about who has changed into a different person, either a religious fanatic or a dittohead.

The common theme is they were much nicer people before, but now they openly hate either other races or nationalities or women or gays or a combination of the aforesaid people. And they act like programmed zombies, like you say. I suppose they must have had these hatreds already and now Rush/O'Reilly/Hannity etc. and/or their church has made them feel proud of it.

[dryan]

46. Who hired....

the school board of your community needs to know what happened as well. A professional trainer being paid with taxpayers' fund should not be using it for a personal attack.

[ryan_cats]

50. What a loser

I love the guy, Clinton but even if I didn't, is alienating over half your audience smart?

[GoldenOldie]

56. To "let it go," is to accept and condone

In her response to you that she had written her program prior to George W. Bush entering the office seems very lame. What teacher/educator/orator would use outdated content, especially for young children who would have no idea of Clinton "celebrity" status.

If no one is willing to question comments made by these individuals/bullies, they take that as total acceptance of what they are spouting and it just makes them stronger.

She is no different than the bully on the playground but she has become an educated professional who has learned the power of words in controlling and molding others to her way of thinking.

I have always been somewhat of an activist and now during my golden years I have become even stronger in my determination of not standing by and being the quiet mouse who allows others to be rude, demanding, controlling or insufferable to others or myself. There are ways to let them know without being a bully yourself that you know what they are doing and it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It forces them to look at themselves and although I may never change them, I am positive that a few have been weakened in their attacks on others.

I would only pray that all children would be fortunate enough to have a teacher of your integrity.

[callous taoboy]

58. Kind words, GoldenOldie. Thanks! n/t

[AngryAmish]

60. Destroy her

Use any means.

[Tesha]

63. Until people start standing up, RIGHT THEN AND THERE, this will go on.

They do this because they get away with it. You swallowed your anger
and left quietly.

Next time, STAND UP RIGHT THEN AND THERE AND TELL HER OFF!

Public embarrassment of the perpetrators is the only way to stop
this sort of stuff.

Tesha

[callous taoboy]

64. Oh, man....Get this:

I e-mailed her the following, and I guess it was a little ballsy asking for favors given that I told her I was going to go to the principal and superintendent with my complaint. But I need those credits and they are hard to come by!

I wrote:
"Would it be possible to get the certificate from your class in order to fulfill my credit requirements? I do plan to use the lessons and the rock samples next week since we are in the middle of our Earth Science unit."

Sincerely:
XXXXXXXXX

----------------------------------------------------------------------
She wrote:
"Sure, I'll send the certificate, but first let me know to whom you sent things."


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now I thought she had meant, "...let me know to whom you 'send' things." As in, where do I send the certificate.

So I wrote back:
"Thank you very much. You can send it to:
XXXXXXXXX Elementary School
XXXXXXXX St.
City and State and zip"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I just got this back from her:
"But first let me know to whom you sent things."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is getting strange, don't you think? Is she nervous, quid pro quo....? What do y'all think? :shrug:

[amazona]

66. I think she is extorting you

You won't get the certificate from this lady. You did walk out, I'd just accept I will have to re-do this requirement at another time.

At this time, I would seriously consider turning over the entire email exchange to a supervisor with a comment like, "I may have made a mistake in asking for the certificate, but I don't want my request to be confused with an attempt to exchange the certificate for a withdrawal of my complaint. This seems like it would be bordering on the unethical to me."

Or is there anyone else in your school system with more experience who can advise you on what to do next? I don't think any good can come of an unethical quid pro pro, do you?

Good luck.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[callous taoboy]

67. This reeks of something unethical on her part.

And I am shocked!
:eyes: