Comments
Please wait...
Comments are closed.
Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.
is a proud member of the
network
network
All contents © Noisy Creek, Inc.
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
Oh please, give us some examples why don't you, and for fun, use ebonics.
Interestingly the SPS is still involved with litigation over a Nathan Hale teacher's termination because the moldy environs of Hale left her medically unable to continue working. The SPS did not believe it and terminated the teacher.
Here are some additional bits of information that may help future commentors from undue contempt:
The teacher's sensitivity was a recent development.
The teacher did send messages to the students' homes advising them of her newly developed sensitivity and asking families to reduce their children's use of fragrances.
Mr. Mudede's daughter spent part of a day in another classroom when the teacher had a reaction to the hair treatment, and then the child returned to class the next day with the hair treatment again.
Regardless of the teacher's relative sensitivity to the student's culture, where is the student's family's sensitivity to the teacher's legitimate health concerns?
Aside from all of the conjecture about how the teacher addressed the problem - and nearly everything written about it here is conjecture - how and why did this become about race and culture when we are talking about a physiological reaction to a chemical? How does a student's choice in cosmetics take precendence over the teacher's health?
What solution seems most reasonable?
A) The teacher is re-assigned - disrupting the entire class
B) The student is re-assigned - disrupting the student's school year
C) The student makes another choice in hair treatment - disrupting the student's free choice in cosmetics
D) The student persists in the use of the hair treatment - resulting in the teacher's health being compromised
I'm thinking the student should just put something else in her hair. What principle does that compromise? What principle puts one person's choice in cosmetics over another person's health?
Are you kidding? That's the only reason The Stranger hired Mudede, to make everything about race; you think all those white guys working there know that olive oil, balsamic and a touch of virulent anti-racism make for a great dressing?
However, now Holden has started blogging for Mudede, thereby kicking their token house black out to work in the fields again so, c'est la vie.
I had a feeling that Charles was leaving a lot out in order to make himself (and his daughter) look the victim.
"It's funny but a lot of the concerns voiced in early posts on this thread have been addressed. A lot of the people who were ranting at the teacher were simply wrong.
Here are some additional bits of information that may help future commentors from undue contempt:
The teacher's sensitivity was a recent development.
The teacher did send messages to the students' homes advising them of her newly developed sensitivity and asking families to reduce their children's use of fragrances.
Mr. Mudede's daughter spent part of a day in another classroom when the teacher had a reaction to the hair treatment, and then the child returned to class the next day with the hair treatment again.
Regardless of the teacher's relative sensitivity to the student's culture, where is the student's family's sensitivity to the teacher's legitimate health concerns?
Aside from all of the conjecture about how the teacher addressed the problem - and nearly everything written about it here is conjecture - how and why did this become about race and culture when we are talking about a physiological reaction to a chemical? How does a student's choice in cosmetics take precendence over the teacher's health?
What solution seems most reasonable?
A) The teacher is re-assigned - disrupting the entire class
B) The student is re-assigned - disrupting the student's school year
C) The student makes another choice in hair treatment - disrupting the student's free choice in cosmetics
D) The student persists in the use of the hair treatment - resulting in the teacher's health being compromised
I'm thinking the student should just put something else in her hair. What principle does that compromise? What principle puts one person's choice in cosmetics over another person's health?"
So it's Mudede who is the self-centered, narrow-minded, selfish, bigot for not caring about his daughter's teacher's health. Go figure.
And Asian girls carry white dolls because...? Maybe because they parents don't want their kids to behave black. Just look at Cambodians and Filipinos.
Mudede and the Stranger editors should be fucking ashamed for allowing this bullshit to be published.
Was the teacher's response in poor form? Yes
Now put yourself in the teacher's shoes...You've sent messages to the parents of the students in your class, explaining that due to recent construction at your home, you have an increased sensitivity and/or allergies to fragrances in cosmetics. You have asked said parents to please have the students reduce and/or avoid the use of those cosmetics as it makes you nauseous to the point of fainting. You have determined that the most nauseating odor comes from a product that one particular student uses. That same student comes to class the next day wearing the same offending product in her hair. You remove the student from the class in order to avoid becoming ill, and thereby disrupting the class for the other 25+ students.
How is that any different than removing a student who is disrupting the class in any other manner? A loud/rowdy student would be removed. A student who is wearing inappropriate/offensive clothing would be removed. A student who disobeyed the teacher would be removed.
Now ask yourselves...Was the teacher's response in poor form? Probably. Was it understandable given the circumstances? Completely.
HOWEVER..was the teacher's response racist? You've got to be fucking kidding me...
A student's ACTIONS disrupted the (white) teacher's ability to function in the classroom thereby disrupting the entire class. The student, who happens to be black (and 8 years old--an age where seemingly her parents can control what she wears in her hair), chose to wear a cosmetic that had previously been identified as offensive to the general health of the teacher (and possibly others). The student was removed from the classroom for the sake of continuing the studies of the remaining members of the class.
But (the girl's father) Charles Mudede has logic is so fucking flawed, due in large part to his hyper-sensitivity about race, that he cannot see his (seemingly) smart, productive daughter's opportunities via the APP, but rather how a white teacher has devised an evil plan to perpetuate discrimination against black people!
Rather than FOLLOWING THROUGH on attempts to speak with the school administration about the situation, he used his position of power via the "media" to stir up support for his PERCEPTION of this "racist" attack on his daughter by publishing an article in the Stranger and contacting KIRO 7 to do a story on the incident (where ironically, there is no mention of race WHATSOEVER).
Mudede has now lawyered up for a big battle over something that should not even be an issue, except that this man thinks that we still live in the 50's. His "cause" has been taken over by another hack on the Stranger staff, so as not to expose himself for the fraud he is.
Most disturbing, though, is that his daughter has been kept out of the classroom for over a week while daddy postures about the sky falling...
Do your daughter, the school and all of us a favor Mudede...resign and STFU
The crew seemed to get all their facts from the Stranger. The school district is unable to respond due to the legal stuff.
I sure hope the teacher is guilty, because if s/he's not, everyone is going to think s/he is anyway.
I won't...but you're right, the spoon-fed morons will think she's guilty, with or without facts. After all, everyones knows the charge of racism is more important than anything. Just look at me!
Why has slog completely ignored this important story? IT IS NATIONAL NEWS YOU STONED LIBERAL DIPSHITS!
Good luck with your lawsuit, too, I'm sure they'll pay you off no matter what. Then every teacher who ever teaches your daughter, from now on, will treat her like kyptonite and will never chastise, criticize, argue or question her. She'll grow up protected from reality and real life, in a safe bubble where any questioning or challenging of her can be ignored as 'racism'.
She will have the emotional development of an 8 year old. Like her father.
My solutions? Open the doors. Walk away from the odor. Tell kids to put offending items away (sharpies, nail polish, perfume spray bottles, etc.). Hold my breath while near students who smell too strongly.
Three times in 15 years I have asked school counselors to address hygiene issues because these kids were so consistently bad smelling. Once, I addressed it myself after class. I would never, ever mention a kid's smell during class or in front of anyone else. Students are self-conscious enough: public shaming about their smell is the last thing I would do. I consider my sensitivity my problem, unless kids seem like they might really be neglecting their personal hygiene in a major way, day after day.
And yes, I have called a sub a few times over the years when I have a terrible migraine that won't allow me to continue to teach for the day. That teacher is unforgiveable to put herself first and be so incredibly racially insensitive. She needs a different career.
Really? You've heard her side of the story because no one else has.
hold your breath near Mudede's kid and he'll call you a racist.
On the other hand, the teacher acting the way she did could easily have been as a result of inexperience or general loserishness rather than racism.
I used to work down the hall from some women who liked to burn scented candles in their office. I could not abide the smell from thirty feet away. I could not work while that smell was present, and I was not in the same room with them. My wife likes scented candles as well, but none are burned in our house because I would be driven insane. This is just to say that the smell of different products have different impact on different people and smell brings up powerful reactions in people. I can't tolerate being in a room with scented candles, but I doubt that I could get a note from my doctor to that effect.
The teacher certainly handled things poorly and there are lots of things she should have done differently, but you know, teachers handle things poorly all the time. Your daughter is going to have other teachers handle other things poorly in the future. That will be true whether you continue to have her enrolled in classes where she is the only black child or whether you put her in a class with all black students and teachers. There is no question that the teacher should be corrected on her behavior so that she knows how to better handle things like this in the future, but her behavior was not necessarily due to racism.
You are going to have to decide how you are going to handle incidents like this in the future. If your daughter continues to be the only black student in her classes, does it meant that every time in the future a teacher handles something poorly it will be because your daughter is the only black student in the class? Or will you be open to the idea that the teachers handle things poorly with lots of different kids and sometimes the kid involved will be yours, but every time the kid involved is yours there will be a racial difference as long as she is the only black student?
Every student has something go poorly with one or more teachers. I have some doozies in my own past including in an AP class in high school. That teacher and I were the same race and she lied and acted unfairly and I eventually had to finish the school year in another non-AP class (although I still got to take the AP exam). This kind of behavior does not require racial animus. It can come about just because teachers are imperfect.
I hope it's the latter, that every thing that goes wrong for her in life is because she's black. Then she can be a 25 year old, unemployed, single mother of three who goes nuts at every school meeting I attend because, goddammit, everyone's racist towards her.
funny how some story like this would make you reflect about your own life and its issues about race....
what's your motivation?
ah mixed/black people. always complainin' about somethin'.
here it is:
http://tinyurl.com/y9fw4x3
I think they are probably correct in saying the teacher isn't racist and race has nothing to do with the thinking of this teacher. But really that's probably the problem. It shows deep ignorance to kick a black girl out of the classroom due to her hair product.
"because the district would not tolerate employment of a teacher that has racial animosity towards a student." is just a blatant strawman.
Good one. (Are you familiar with The Stranger? Writers becoming part of the story is their bread and butter.)
Charles is mad, but he wasn't in the classroom that day. We haven't heard from the people who were there, with the exception of one child—and that via hearsay.
I'm not saying Charles doesn't have other information—I'm sure he does, and has reasons for proceeding as he has—but WE the readers, commenters, KING, KIRO, the Seattle Times and all the other uncritical parrots, we are getting outraged over what is essentially a wisp of second-hand information.
We are not even getting basic CORRECT facts about the school, the "advanced" program, the size and ethnic constitution of the classrooms, or the school's rules and procedures. I know enough of the facts to notice significant mistakes, mischaracterizations, and omissions—but that's the job of a journalist, isn't it: Who-What-When-Where-Why. Seems simple enough, but apparently it's not the province of our local newsmongers.
Now this casually constructed narrative and all its damage is going viral. My disgust at this has nothing whatever to do with the original incident, whatever that was. Despite all this ugly brouhaha, I know nothing about what happened at school that day.
All you who were there, feel free to fill us in.
Some thoughts to consider if they haven't already been brought forward (I haven't read many posts here yet):
Inclusion between Gen. Ed. and APP students is a part of a greater effort to bridge cultural gaps, which is an ongoing issue in APP.
This teacher has a detailed history of medical issues, directly relevant to this event.
The student isn't in her class because her parents are waiting for medical confirmation rather than compromise; meanwhile they seem to imply in one interview that the choice rested solely with the school.
Typical of SSD that they hire new administrators at the very top but cant afford books and supplies for students.
In all seriousness, I don't think the intent of the teacher matters in determining if it was racist or not; it's the effect. This sucked for the little girl. And what parent wouldn't use the full weight of their personal and professional power to help their child? I haven't read frequently enough to have an opinion about Charles, but I do have some choice words for anyone who tells a parent, upset about their child, to stfu. Actually, "stfu" are the words.
This changes things somewhat. I don't know if Mr. Mudede and his wife had used this product before during the school year and never had a reaction from the teacher and she only had a reaction this time BECAUSE of her heightened sensitivities because of her remodel. In that case, if she is so acutely sensitive, she might have given thought to moving in with a friend or relative during the remodel and not putting the entire responsibility on a roomful of kids and their parents.
That said, I think it coy and unworthy of Mr. Mudede to make the comment about not wanting to come back to school and having the teacher vomit or faint at the sight of his child. It doesn't help the situation and, I would think, the idea is to help all concerned and not make the situation worse. Thank goodness there are only 2 weeks left of school.
We had nearly 130 comments on this issue at our blog. Clearly, it hits a nerve somewhere.
See, it's all about how black people 'feel'!
Facts, evidence, intent? For black people, irrelevant! That's right folks, let's keep treating blacks like 4 yr olds!
http://tinyurl.com/2d4g2wv
"The district agrees that it is not acceptable for a teacher in our district to ask a student to leave a classroom for the reasons that this child was asked to leave,” says Kevin O’Neill, senior assistant general counsel for Seattle Public Schools...."
Followed by:
"O’Neill also says he doesn’t know 'the reasons that this child was asked to leave.'"
The reason was unacceptable, but they don't know the reason.
Good luck.
I'm sure the teacher will pay for her poor handling of the situation. Now I wonder if the lawyers will get rich by the poor handling of the aftermath. This little girl is really learning some lessons isn't she? Her parents and the school district should be ashamed of themselves.
It is her parents keeping her out of school.
Here lies the idea of intention. The teacher may argue very convincingly that she did not intend for her actions to be about race or racist. As with sexual harassment, intention does not matter. The results were racist and what the child experienced was racism. Educators--from teachers to school board--need to understand the complexities of race and racism and how they fit into this system. We are all part of the system, which is hard to admit, but we must admit it and self-examine. Very few people are intentionally racist, but it still exists and people are part of it.
This is an 8 year-old child, and what has been done is horrendous for her well-being and the well-being of other students, who get a racist message, whether or not it was intended to be racist. She deserves an apology from all of the adults involved and the school needs to get on the ball with adapting culturally relevant pedagogy and training for everyone (and not for the sake of good PR).
Almost every haircare product I can think of has DMDM hydantoin in it, it keeps mold from growing in your shampoo, which means it will last longer than 2 weeks on the shelf.
Dimethicone provides that smooth gloss and detangling agent, most frizz serums are nothing but dimethicone, DMDM hydantoin, fragrance, and if you're lucky, a few vitamins and herbal extracts.
I'm not buying the "chemical sensitivity" complaint. The teacher should have excused herself, opened a door or window, gotten a desk fan, dealt with it! I understand smell and our associations and reactions to it are deep in the illogical limbic system, but this woman is a teacher in an AP class. Therefore, ~allegedly~ mind you, she's not stupid. If she can't logically figure out how to deal with an unpleasant stimulus, why on earth is she in a public school? Dry erase markers, adhesives, cleaning products, cardboard, paper, trees, pollen, unwashed children, pencil shavings, grass, rubber gym supplies, dust, the list goes on and on...if someone truly were chemically sensitive, this is not the environment for them.
I call foul. A stupid teacher had a stupid prejudice, perhaps dating back to when Great-Uncle Jimbo made some snarky comment about Jerry-curl when she was a child, and this teacher acted on it. Acted on a prejudice.
It certainly deserves a review and at ther VERY least, some sensitivity training.
And I *don't* mean of her olfactory nerves.
Not to detract from the story or anything, but there;s nothing I can add that hasn't already been said. I fully support Charles and his family.
But thanks for the fish thing. I have an anaphylactic allergy to fish (not shellfish) and people, while accomodating, do comment on how they've never heard of it. In fact, until you said something on the Slog, I was the only person I had ever heard of having this allergy. There are others, yay!
And Lyllyth - South Indians consume and wear coconut oil in their hair and have been for a long, long time. More often then not, their hair is long, thick and shiny. I'd say they were onto something.
I cannot stand the smell of Simple Green cleaner--if I walk into a building where it is being used, I have to leave or I get dizzy and nauseous. I think I must be allergic to some ingredient.
So God only knows what made this woman sick, but she should have called the principal and told them she was ill, then pulled the students' parents aside later and said she was having a bad reaction to something in the girls' hair-care product, and ask if they would mind trying a different brand.
It's not the same thing at all as just "stinky" kids--if something makes you sick, it makes you sick. But how you deal with it is the issue. Walk away, clear your head, then later ask the involved party if a compromise can be worked out.
Rosanna McCoy
New York City
Thanks for the mention. ;)
She could SOOOOO step out into the hallway, within vision distance, but out of range of whatever was really bothering her.
They have phones in classrooms, she could call one of the office staff or the librarian or the counselor or the principal. I bet she could even use her cellphone, in the hallway, 15 feet away from her class while watching them until someone else could drop by...if she were creative enough to think of it.
Nope. No excuse. Certainly not the one you offer.
This is not a racist act. It's fucking JUNE! Don't you think that if she had racial issues it would have come out a tad bit earlier??? Yeah. I think so. Kids have been sent out of class millions of times for many things and now (because of one black racist's article, used to blow off some steam because he has guilt about only sleeping with white woman (i know people who know him personally and say this is true - I mean what's that about? Issues? Think about it.) what teacher can ever send ANY kid out of class without consequence now? And, how can Seattle ever get out of this trap?! Can't you find something REAL to bitch about, writer? I don't even want to give him the credit to utter his name - plus, my gag reflex kicks in. People, the product has a WARNING sign on the label, meaning; DON'T WEAR THIS AROUND SENSITIVE, ALLERGIC PEOPLE. What's-his-name is a dick. (just had to throw that in). OH, and a little personal note - My daughter is mixed, most people do not think she is even partially white. She's 'African American' and 'Caucasian' (said with a sort of snide, polite, kind-o-fake accent) dare I say 'Black and White' in your politically correct world? Shame, shame, shame. Go back to where you belong, writer, and stop causing more problems in an already difficult area. In closing, I'm so happy to be out of there.
That's because they are HIGHLY TOXIC!
From the website "Skin Deep"
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product…
Ingredients in this product are linked to:
Developmental/reproductive toxicity
Violations, restrictions & warnings
Allergies/immunotoxicity
Other concerns for ingredients used in this product:
Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Miscellaneous, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Enhanced skin absorption, Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes
I have a caregiver who is from Somalia - some of the hair products are highly fragranced. I have severe asthma and have a violent reaction to them.
"Organic" does not really mean healthy for you or your child. You need to check the ingredients before you yell racism. There are 80,000 chemicals in use today. Only 200 of them have been tested and the ingredients in "fragrance" are so toxic that they are kept secret. CNN is doing a special on Toxic America.
The ingredients in this product include: Water - Aqua, Coconut Oil - Cocos Nucifera, Sorbitol, Trimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol , Petrolatum, Cyclomethicone, Peanut Oil - Arachi Hypogaea , Castor Oil - Ricinus Communis, Cetyl Esters, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Olive Oil - Olea Europaea, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, DMDM Hydantoin, Propylene Glycol, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, Carbomer , Cetearyl Alcohol , Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, PEG-25 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Fragrance - Parfum , Benzyl Alcohol , Benzyl Salicylate , Geraniol, Hexylcinnamicaldehyde, Lillial, D'Limonene, Linalool, Lyral, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone, BHT , Blue No. 1 - CI 42090, Yellow No. 5 - CI 19140
This particular product is HIGHLY TOXIC.
Skin Deep is a good source to check the toxicity of hair products. http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product…
Sometimes it isn't racism.
The teacher doesn't have to prove any disability to you, we have laws that protect people's privacy in such situations. The teacher may have handled the situation poorly but there would have not been situation if the poor child's parents had heeded the request (possibly multiple requests) of the school which in my opinion not only makes you a poor parent but an asshole for trying to throw the teacher to dogs to cover up your poor choices.
Any one want to take bets on the chances of Charles ever apologizing?
I can see where one might jump to a conclusion of racism, but what about taking a look at the ingredients of said product BEFORE doing any jumping?
The product contains the following:
Water - Aqua, Coconut Oil - Cocos Nucifera, Sorbitol, Trimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol , Petrolatum, Cyclomethicone, Peanut Oil - Arachi Hypogaea , Castor Oil - Ricinus Communis, Cetyl Esters, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Olive Oil - Olea Europaea, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, DMDM Hydantoin, Propylene Glycol, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, Carbomer , Cetearyl Alcohol , Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, PEG-25 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Fragrance - Parfum , Benzyl Alcohol , Benzyl Salicylate , Geraniol, Hexylcinnamicaldehyde, Lillial, D'Limonene, Linalool, Lyral, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone, BHT , Blue No. 1 - CI 42090, Yellow No. 5 - CI 19140
I happen to see the word "FRAGRANCE" in that list of ingredients, along with several other choice chemicals that are quite likely to cause someone to have a serious adverse reaction. While the front of the label leads you to think you are using only OLIVE OIL, that is NOT the case. IF you wanted to use only olive oil, you could do so. My mother used to give my father hair treatments with warmed olive oil all the time when I was a kid. This product only leads you to believe it is olive oil.
Again, please look at the ingredients. Study them. Really get to know what that BENIGN-SOUNDING word "fragrance" truly hides. The list of toxic chemicals in any one "fragrance" is amazing, but not if you know that our modern fragrances are derived from petrochemicals. Often, the very chemicals that are toxic wastes to the industry who has cleverly turned them into pesticides, flavors and fragrances.
The industry loves to tell you it's products are "nature identical" but those who are already chemically injured will be just as quick to tell you that line is HORSEFEATHERS!
So, before jumping to conclusions, let us look at an old statistic that showed us that the fragrance industry targets kids, babies, teens, blacks and Hispanics and the last two demographics happen to also have the highest rates of asthma. Fragrances are notoriously harmful to asthmatics . . . often CAUSING asthma as well as triggering asthma.
Maybe the teacher was not only trying to save her health but also the health of your daughter and other students. Certainly, had I been in that classroom, my health would have been compromised seriously.
Just another way to view this situation. But it starts with checking the ingredients and keeping an opened mind.
We ALL are stakeholders when it comes to breathing!
Sincerely,
barb wilkie
EHN president emerita
Classrooms where chemicals are used like science or art classrooms are required to have special venilation systems and certain chemicals are banned outright because of this sort of thing. Hair dressers are deemed to have one of the most hazardous jobs on the planet because of some if the stuff they are forced to work with. Their rate of occupational illness is high.
If the teacher was having a potent response to the chemical, that teacher may not have been able to handle it better.
When I was in fourth grade, my school didn't have a gifted program so I took fifth grade language arts. I had a teacher (who was AA like me) who disliked me because I was talkative and disrupted other students. One day she had enough and put me back in the fourth grade class. I took it really personal and wanted my mother to go to bat for me, but she sided with my teacher. That had an affect on me for years, where I just said screw it and by junior high I hardly tried any more.
If my situation had this affect on me, what will this do to this girl, regardless of race? For me, that's the most important aspect of this story.
From the product's list of ingredients, that is one gnarly brew, indeed. I'm forgetting the exact details of this article (I read it a while back) but as I recall, all the students/parents were given a note that said the teacher had chemical sensitivities, and they knew they couldn't wear scented products. In light of that, I think it's quite a stretch to say the teacher had racist motivation when she had a negative reaction, as was predicted beforehand...
From the product's list of ingredients, that is one gnarly brew, indeed. I'm forgetting the exact details of this article (I read it a while back) but as I recall, all the students/parents were given a note that said the teacher had chemical sensitivities, and they knew they couldn't wear scented products. In light of that, I think it's quite a stretch to say the teacher had racist motivation when she had a negative reaction, as was predicted beforehand...