A Shrewdness of Apes

An Okie teacher banished to the Midwest. "Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire."-- William Butler Yeats

Monday, January 28, 2008

How do I get off this ride?

Let me be blunt with you, oh internets: for some reason, I have provoked churlishness from a colleague, Redneck Mother.

I have endeavored to ignore his incessant gender stereotyping (and besides, I guess this stereotype is correct-- he and his pals think baked beans are a fun thing to give someone with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and think it's funny not to warn someone that their zipper is is as open as the mouth of a dead bass during a presentation to the school board, but I am not one of them.) I try not to get defensive or annoyed, but really, friends, here's the deal, expressed just so I don't explode:

RM gets paranoid when other people ask anyone but him for assistance. He excludes department members that he doesn't like from curriculum writing workshops. He refers to any and all spine-possessing women as "feminazis," and "dykes," which is oh-so-original if it wasn't a) wrong and b) insulting and c) pitiable. Another favorite term is "faggot." He teaches by the dictum, "If it bleeds, it leads:" if it's a not a battle or a massacre or an act of aggression, it doesn't interest him.

His sense of humor laughs at the pain or misfortune of others, and is openly homophobic when it's not focused on boogers, flatulence, incontinence, impotence, physical deformities, and calling people words that are also used to describe female anatomical parts in the most insulting way possible. He picks on people, and when they take offense, claims he's "kidding," which fools no one.

I am living with this, but I am not liking it; but now that I have written this, I can move on. Thanks.

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8 Comments:

At 1/28/08, 11:50 PM, Blogger Cheryl said...

Wow. And is RM not aware that this type of behavior is against the law?

 
At 1/29/08, 5:18 AM, Blogger Mrs. Chili said...

People like that operate completely on fear. I try to remember that; they're insecure about themselves and their place in the world and have to put people down in order to feel the least bit worthy. It makes me sad for them.

 
At 1/29/08, 9:00 AM, Blogger Amerloc said...

Can you imagine having attained that stage of life without ever having matured into adulthood? I can only feel that he's missing so very much.

http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_1_single_young_men.html

 
At 1/29/08, 5:13 PM, Blogger Mrs. Bluebird said...

This is an adult you're talking about, right? Because I could have sworn you were talking about a seventh grade boy. One who, if I'd caught him doing some of the behavior you mentioned, would find himself in front of an assistant principal.

 
At 1/29/08, 7:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have 7th graders who acted like this at the beginning of the year.

I sat them down, and explained that this was not proper behavior, and that this was not an appropriate way to kid around. I also explained that if I *ever* caught them doing it again, mommy and daddy would be having a nice conference with me, where they would be explaining during the meeting WHY mommy and daddy had to come in.

None of my kids repeated the behavior - in fact, I later overheard them giving the same lecture (in their own words) to their friends who don't have me. Was all I could do not to bust out laughing, but I was *so* proud of 'em!

I can offer the same lecture to RM if you'd like ;)

 
At 1/30/08, 10:45 AM, Blogger nothing said...

Having just witnessed two incredibly drunk but well-dressed 60-ish-year-olds drive up to a coffee shop and harass my friends (all of whom solemnly wish to not suffer fools) in the most fantastically Neanderthal fashion, I don't know that the age of a transgressor will ever shock me again.

When the low bar is hitting you in the head, however, you'd think the embarrassment and pain alone would be an impetus for change...?

 
At 1/30/08, 1:23 PM, Blogger Ms. Jhee said...

Oh dear. This entry grabbed my eye because we are on the ethics section in my educator class. I am glad that you can use your sense of humor to deal with an otherwise unbearable situation. How is it that RM has yet to be fired? A bit of nepotism or political intrigue perhaps? I really enjoy reading your entries. They are inspiring and witty. I wish more teachers that I actually met displayed such wit!

 
At 6/12/18, 12:38 PM, Anonymous Emma Hope said...

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