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SAFE SCHOOLS COALITION THANKS TEACHER FOR OBJECTING TO GAY SLUR ... IT SHOULD NEVER BE DONE WITH A COUNTER-SLUR |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 16, 2003
Contact: Beth Reis
Cell: 206-715-1601
Contact: Frieda Takamura
Phone: 253-765-7062
Contact: Marsha Botzer
SAFE SCHOOLS COALITION THANKS TEACHER FOR OBJECTING TO GAY SLUR ... IT SHOULD NEVER BE DONE WITH A COUNTER-SLUR
SEATTLE - It is appropriate for a teacher to intervene when a student uses a homophobic, sexist or racist remark - but it should never, ever be done with a counter-slur.
On behalf of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, we want to commend first-year teacher Brian Emanuels for trying to take steps to correct the pejorative use of the term "gay" that so many adults choose to ignore. We need to say, too, however, that the WAY in which Mr. Emanuels intervened was inappropriate. It is NOT the wish of the LGBT community to have its allies use counter-punches when a student steps over the line and expresses a prejudice. Using a racial epithet as a means of empathy-building doesn't work and is frankly wrong.
We would like to see the Seattle Public Schools provide training for every employee regarding appropriate, healthy, productive ways to uphold its anti-harassment policy. We think it would be extremely unfortunate if this teacher's hurtful way of correcting a student - and its community-wide and administrative repercussions -- led other teachers to fear intervening at all. There are absolutely ways to explain how wrong something is without using another slur as an analogy. Let's make sure every educator has had a chance to see them modeled and to practice them.
We appreciate Mr. Emanuels' trying to do something in the face of a student's expression of prejudice. And we stand with the NAACP and others in expressing our tremendous distress at his choice of words.
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PDF file of Safe Schools Coalition press statement on our letterhead: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/Clevelandteacher-pressrelease.pdf
Supplementary info: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/IfTheseWereRacialSlurs.PDF
Related articles:
Teacher suspended after racial epithet http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Racial%20Slur
Racial slur in class brings outcry, unlikely to get Seattle teacher fired
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134748989_slur16m.htmlTeacher regrets racial slur: Educator says he was trying to make point after 'gay' remark
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/122270_teacher16.htmlAn issue deeper than black or white
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/122294_robert16.html