done. done, I'm DONE.

[luciazephyr]

One: I have a massive headcold. Fever, congestion, bone-weariness, the whole nine yards. I was hoping to have MoC's next chapter done by now, but with illness and school, looks like it'll be delayed. Sorry.

Two: I am so fucking DONE with my religions class. Ready for the next installment in the continuing saga of my asshole privileged teacher?

So two weeks ago, we were covering Judaism in class and in every discussion topic, we're encouraged to share our personal experience and beliefs. So I go into my nominally Jewish childhood, explain out traditions and how it colored my cultural identity. Everyone seems to enjoy it, so I started getting back into the class after feeling very alienated.

Last week was Christianity. Knowing I was playing with sharks, I tentatively questioned a few students assuptions about their Christian faith (I'm the only non-Christian in class). Some scary person was looking forward to the next Great Flood (or whatever God decided to do instead of that, as God promised no reruns on the Flood thing) because we were hurting God's heart and would be made "pure" again. I asked her what would happen in this scenario to a good person who wasn't Christian.

I got an email on the third thanking me for asking my questions to the group. I felt encouraged and thought, hey, maybe I had this teacher wrong the whole time! Now he seems to be okay with my input in discussions. So I kept answering posts to be and posing questions to my fellow students.

On the fifth, I get another email from him saying he won't permit me to bait the other students and promote my own beliefs over them. saywhatnow.

I ask him to explain because, um, there's mixed signals and then there's diametrically opposed signals.

He suggests I drop the class because it doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for.

I just. What? How the. With the. What the. I mean.

So yeah. I'm just so done right now. Fuck this class, fuck my privileged teacher, fuck my classmates for being so incapable of even the smallest amount of self-examination over their beliefs.

To misquote Ani DiFranco, he's gonna put his two cents in 'cause he's a Christian son, but I'm gonna put in three 'cause history owes me one.

Comments

[thene]

wooooooooow. :/

Is there anyone you can complain to? A head of department or someone?

[binz]

dude, that is definitely take it to the dean level bullshit. try the department head first (unless that's him, or you're not comfortable in the atmosphere-- i.e. head is another minister, etc), but seriously keep taking that further up. keep your emails, screenshot any online discussions and fight. that's a fucking joke. it sucks to have to do that, but even if the education you're getting out of it is shit, it's your money and your time and your right not to be treated like ass.

[samjohnsson]

Okay, seriously. I know I've been harping at you about this for a while, but here we go again.

I'm not responding, by the way, as a student. I am responding as a college-level instructor with five years experience at a major state university, having taught classes from ten students to four hundred.

That response and behavior, especially knowing you're the only non-Christian in the classroom, means you have an argument for a hostile learning environment. If you have all communication from the professor - including screenshots of what you're putting on the forums - then it is an actionable situation that needs to be brought to the chair of the department and/or dean of the college and/or the student legal advisory office and/or your academic advisor.

If I knew what school* you were at, I could give you a starting point. Contrariwise, if you have an actual faculty member whom you trust, ask them in confidentiality what the process for reporting potential discrimination by a teacher is.

*if you want to send me this in an email, samjohnsson (á) gmail

[kethrua.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, that bites. I wish I could do something to actually help, but I can't, so I'm going to try to get chapter 17 of the Changes AU posted this evening. Feel better soon.