My name is Tiffany Martínez. As a McNair Fellow and student scholar, I’ve presented at national conferences in San Francisco, San Diego, and Miami. I have crafted a critical reflection piece that was published in a peer-reviewed journal managed by the Pell Institute for the Study of Higher Education and Council for Opportunity in Education. I have consistently juggled at least two jobs and maintained the status of a full-time student and Dean’s list recipient since my first year at Suffolk University. I have used this past summer to supervise a teen girls empower program and craft a thirty page intensive research project funded by the federal government. As a first generation college student, first generation U.S. citizen, and aspiring professor I have confronted a number of obstacles in order to earn every accomplishment and award I have accumulated. In the face of struggle, I have persevered and continuously produced content that is of high caliber.
I name these accomplishments because I understand the vitality of credentials in a society where people like me are not set up to succeed. My last name and appearance immediately instills a set of biases before I have the chance to open my mouth. These stereotypes and generalizations forced on marginalized communities are at times debilitating and painful. As a minority in my classrooms, I continuously hear my peers and professors use language that both covertly and overtly oppresses the communities I belong to. Therefore, I do not always feel safe when I attempt to advocate for my people in these spaces. In the journey to become a successful student, I swallow the “momentary” pain from these interactions and set my emotions aside so I can function productively as a student.
Today is different. At eight o’clock this morning, I felt both disrespected and invalidated. For years I have spent ample time dissecting the internalized racism that causes me to doubt myself, my abilities, and my aspirations. As a student in an institution extremely populated with high-income white counterparts, I have felt the bitter taste of not belonging. It took until I used my cloud of doubt and my sociological training to realize that my insecurities are rooted in the systems I navigate every day. I am just as capable if not more so than those around me and my accomplishments are earned.
This morning, my professor handed me back a paper (a literature review) in front of my entire class and exclaimed “this is not your language.” On the top of the page they wrote in blue ink: “Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste.” The period was included. They assumed that the work I turned in was not my own. My professor did not ask me if it was my language, instead they immediately blamed me in front of peers. On the second page the professor circled the word “hence” and wrote in between the typed lines “This is not your word.” The word “not” was underlined. Twice. My professor assumed someone like me would never use language like that. As I stood in the front of the class while a professor challenged my intelligence I could just imagine them reading my paper in their home thinking could someone like her write something like this?
In this interaction, my undergraduate career was both challenged and critiqued. It is worth repeating how my professor assumed I could not use the word “hence,” a simple transitory word that connected two relating statements. The professor assumed I could not produce quality research. The professor read a few pages that reflected my comprehension of complex sociological theories and terms and invalidated it all. Their blue pen was the catalyst that opened an ocean of self-doubt that I worked so hard to destroy. In front of my peers, I was criticized by a person who had the academic position I aimed to acquire. I am hurting because my professor assumed that the only way I could produce content as good as this was to “cut and paste.” I am hurting because for a brief moment I believed them.
Instead of working on my English paper that is due tomorrow, I felt it crucial to reflect on the pain that I am sick of swallowing. My work is a reflection of my growth in a society that sees me as the other. For too long I have others assume I am weak, unintelligent, and incapable of my own success. Another element of this invalidation is that as I sit here with teary eyes describing the distress I am too familiar with, the professor has probably forgotten all about it. My heartache can not be universally understood and until it is, I have to continue to fight. At this moment, there are students who will never understand the desolation that follows an underlined “not.” There are students who will be assumed capable without the need to list their credentials in the beginning of a reflective piece. How many degrees do I need for someone to believe I am an academic?
At this moment, I am in the process of advocating for myself to prove the merit of my content to people who will never understand what it is like to be someone like me. Some of you won’t understand how every word that I use to describe this moment was diligently selected in a way that would properly reflect my intellect. I understand that no matter how hard I try or how well I write, these biases will continue to exist around me. I understand that my need to fight against these social norms is necessary.
In reality, I am tired and I am exhausted. On one hand, this experience solidifies my desire to keep going and earn a PhD but on the other it is a confirmation of how I always knew others saw me. I am so emotional about this paper because in the phrase “this is not your word,” I look down at a blue inked reflection of how I see myself when I am most suspicious of my own success. The grade on my paper was not a letter, but two words: “needs work.” And it’s true. I am going to graduate in May and enter a grad program that will probably not have many people who look like me. The entire field of academia is broken and erases the narratives of people like me. We all have work to do to fix the lack of diversity and understanding among marginalized communities. We all have work to do.
Academia needs work.
TIFFANY MARTÍNEZ 
Speaking as a professor of almost 30 years…. I am appalled that your professor did this to you. It is unconscionable and if I were you I would notify the local news media and the lead official at your university about the racist and sexist behavior that you are being subjected to.
Again, I’m sorry someone did this to you. What a dicksnot he must be.
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It’s sad to hear of a teacher forgetting their first duty: to encourage.
When I was at uni I in Australia, I was asked to write an essay explaining my personal philosophy of education (at the ripe old age of 19). In a sudden inspiration I compared preparing for life to packing a suitcase for a holiday to a mystery destination. Even I thought it was pretty clever. My Teacher’s feedback? ‘This is not your idea. I don’t know where I’ve seen it but I’ve seen it somewhere.’
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A teacher’s first duty is to teach, and that requires correcting people. She’s an adult who should be able to handle the blunt critique her prof gave without whining about it and calling racism.
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Yes, teaching is an important duty of teachers. But how do you teach without encouraging? My interpretation of this situation is h. Believing in people is harder.
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Teaching is hard, I know. It can be easy to lose faith in people after you’ve been burned so many times. The hardest part is continuing to have faith in our students when they have lost faith in themselves. This also, I think, is a duty.
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A teacher’s duty is to accept that students are reaching beyond their comfort zones, trying to use new vocabulary, not repeat the same words again and again, and not assume that certain words are not typical of particular students. Who knows? Could this possibly teach students that they can succeed with support rather than criticism?
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Too many I, me, myself, mine in this text. Denotes an egocentric overly proud individual. Hence, you have bigger problems imho than that teacher’s disbelief in your skills. Regarde a toi.
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It’s a first-person essay on her personal blog. Of course there’s going to be a lot of “I, me myself and mine.” And why shouldn’t she be proud. She’s an accomplished young person and an excellent writer.
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Spoken like a privileged white male.
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That’s racist.
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What pronoun would you rather the author used to narrate a personal encounter? “We”? “You”? And how apt to subliminally marginalized their perspective by accusing them of egocentrism. Shameful!!
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You also have bigger problems. Perhaps schedule a doctor’s appointment for your cranial-colon blockage.
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For “Nick” you sure got your panties in a bunch. Apparently, she further cemented into reality the status of beta male you exude.
Here is a French word for you, sweet cheeks….. douche.
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Nick, you’re a prick.
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One can always identify an English speaking (but not comprehending) pseudo-intellectual by their pretentious French phrases.
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Reblogged this on Stephanie L. Canizales.
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Print this essay twice. Make two full-color copies of the paper that your professor returned. Put them in two envelopes addressed to the head of that professor’s department and to the dean of instruction. Request appointments with each and deliver them in person.
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Ugh, I feel for you. Fucking racists.
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“They” is an acceptable singular pronoun. Language, you see, is a fluid social contract. Words convey meaning, and therefore they change with the vicissitudes of the social context in which they are used. But you won’t change. You’re still an asshole.
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If a professor had “dare” say something like that to me…it would have been on! It was unprofessional and insensitive to accuse anyone of plagiarism without reasonable doubt. “Hence”? You people underestimate how well we really know you! GTFOH
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Either you’re full of bluster, or you better go ahead and plan on how to spend your days in the pokey, there cowgirl.
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Reblogged this on Natura Salvatierra and commented:
“Some of you won’t understand how every word that I use to describe this moment was diligently selected in a way that would properly reflect my intellect.”
THIS. This act of walking on egg shells, meticulously choosing our words and steps defines our lives as Latinxs in academia. We know that in the end, any error or misstep becomes a reflection of all Latinxs. Dealing with these microaggressions makes succeeding in academia even more of a difficult task. It is so much sweeter, however, once we have hurdled over these obstacles and achieved success. Fuerza mi gente!
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The thing is, tho…
First, we’re challenged in interpreting this rant in the totality of its context by the fact that her name, and internet fame, are entangled with her remarks. (Calm down, I’m prepared for the ration of shit I’ll get for that observation.) I get it: “what gives me the right to jump right to questioning her larger motives for expressing herself, perhaps my own academiclatinaphobia? But the point I’m making bears acknowledging. There is a payoff to her personally and professionally, to expressing herself and generating responses such as these.
Second, “hence”? Really, youre going to claim “hence”? Obviously yours for the taking, but before you confront racist straight whitey in the public square you might consider building your case on a slightly more solid foundation. In my world, peopled as it is with a melting pot of world citizens, the word “hence” is not common usage in either casual or more formalized communication. In fact, I’ll bet dollars to donuts that I have an academic paper with the exact note on it yours has — and I’m as white and male and privileged as the day is
long. “Hence” even in academic writing invariable calls attention to itself as “put on” or “inauthentic” in all but the driest of dry publishing contexts. Your writing is here so passionate that it’s hard to imagine the offended paper as quite dry enough. It’s nobody’s word really, and reasonably signals lifted text.
But, why the hurt feelings? That’s the crux of your message here isn’t it? that the alleged “calling out” plucked a chord of discontent made raw by years of confronting a disparity in power and access to feelings of legitimacy?
It’s always seemed to me, as a middle aged fag–myself no stranger to cultural prejudice, invisibility, marginalization and the like–that taking those kinds of things too seriously only betrays your own disbelief in your own validity, and discounts the fact that you, yourself, beautiful confident latina academic that you are, with all your strengths and all your flaws, are a manifestation of the same divine mystery as anyone else. Own that instead of the tired word “hence” and you’ll spend less time in turmoil over a professors remarks and more time in manifesting the change you want to see in the world.
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agreed, hence is terrible. It certainly didn’t make your paper so good it must have been plagiarized. Next time don’t throw it at the start of a sentence. Instead put it between a semi colon and a comma, then replace it with therefore.
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As I’m sure you are an “extremely” well educated individual, if you aren’t sympathetic to the fact that an intelligent student in an advanced program was accused of plagiarism because of the term “hence”, it gives everyone reason to question your intelligence.
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I think you are giving her a little too much credit. To be completely honest, Mrs. Martinez’s writing in this post was not the quality I would expect from the, “intelligent academic” she made herself out to be. Also, I wouldn’t call an undergraduate degree from Suffolk University an advanced degree. I would like to hear the professor’s side of the story before saying he accused her of plagiarism just because she used the term, “hence.”
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I hope to face you someday, Joseph Thomas. I’d like to see the smugness up close. My written response to this would take more time than I can spare to a person of your thinly-veiled motivations.
As someone who interacts VERY often with gay white men, I can tell you that this response, replete with racism and sexism and elitism, is a textbook trivialization as well as a way to place yourself back at the center of any narrative about injustice. The entirety of your response is a red herring. And the fact that you felt so compelled to dissect the blogger’s word choice [WORD CHOICE!???] as a defense mechanism screams “petty,” and lacks the very sophistication you sought to convey in your protracted response. Especially because you are feigning ignorance of the true issues here, you should have never spoken here. This is not for you or about you. Not everything is for you. And based upon Ms. Martinez’s demonstrated prowess, she will recognize this formula for what it is and navigate around you and anybody else who attempts to dismiss the chronic effects of the “poison gas” combination burdening us: SYSTEMATIC classism + racism + denial + blame the victim + double down + repeat.
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Joseph, I’ll bet you any amount of dollars and/or donuts that you do not have that comment on any of your papers if you’re a white native English speaker. I’m a university professor and I see the word “hence” all the time. There’s no basis for making a plagiarism accusation on the basis of SAT essay language *unless* you are judging the writer’s language proficiency on the basis of their ethnicity.
Tiffany, an accusation of plagiarism is very serious business in academia and it was irresponsible and unprofessional for the professor to make such a charge without evidence (it is five minutes work to Google the most suspicious phrases in an essay to determine plagiarism, and I would never make the accusation without such proof). I suggest that you complain to the administration and have them teach this dinosaur how to treat students.
Best of luck,
D
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I agree. As a teacher of the English language and having taught in universities, this behavior is appalling. I would never make a spectacle of a student in front of the class for their work. There are many programs that universities pay for so that professors can investigate the works themselves. This was very unnecessary behavior and blatantly racist. I would complaining to the dean. I am so sorry you were the victim of this hate.
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No. Just no. I use hence all the time. It’s a perfectly good academic word and this reeks of fucking racism. You say “probably” marked down. But you are just guessing.
I on the other hand, have not been marked down once on my word choice, specifically “hence”.
I’m doing a bachelor of behavioral science, so, no excuses. It’s racist.
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I totally get where you are coming from however, maybe not in America, but in England ‘Hense’ is used a lot!
Being gay opens you up to bigotry perhaps but it is nowhere near the same as a race issue. Being gay doesn’t affect your early childhood and formative years and, people knowing about it is your choice – you are in control and you decide when you are ready and in which social environments.
Whatever her motives for sharing this, it is great that she has because it calls into question institutionalised racism. It brings to light the subtle, and not so subtle, ways minority groups are still, in 2016, discriminated against. It is an opportunity for white people to check their privilege and how they can use it to advocate for minorities and ensure they themselves are not unintentionally being racist and it is a rallying and inspirational becon of hope and asoothing balm of solidarity with those who are unfortunate enough to relate who have perhaps not yet overcome their self doubts or who aren’t quite so erudite as to find such a beautifully eloquent way to express their pain socan use this’s a starting point to open a conversation.
Yes, like all of us she is full of us she is a beautiful mix of strengths and flaws and, I’m sure many times does rise above her pain but, in this moment, I think she was right to acknowledge the pain and she was right to be offended that a word as simple as hense (my 10 year old uses this word in his writing) draws attention. She is not crumbling under the self doubt this constant suspicion creates, she is acknowledging it hurts and it’s not fair and her people deserve better. We all deserve better!
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I don’t know what university you went to, but my classmates and I used “hence” reasonably frequently when I was an undergrad, and during my postgrad course (I know what I my classmates used because I proofread many of their essays and dissertations). I would never have considered “hence” to be unusual in academia, even undergrad academia. It doesn’t reasonably signal lifted text at all. Besides, you’re ignoring the context – the professor wrote “this is not your word”, not “this is not a word I see in papers for this class” or “this is not a word I see in papers at this level”. It’s pretty clear he thinks “hence” as a word belongs to a specific group of people to which Ms Martinez does not in his opinion belong.
As for the rest, self-doubt can be very insidious. It’s easy to say “don’t take it personally” but brains don’t work like that. Someone could say something that means nothing to them, that they’ve forgotten about within a minute, and the person who they said it to could dwell on it – without intending to or wanting to – for days. Especially someone constantly examining their position or someone who struggles with anxiety. Being insensitive to that isn’t going to do any good.
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As you say, in your world no one uses the word hence. That leaves many other worlds out there! Have you read books by Jan Karski? You will find it written there! That word and many others such as insidious, timorous, antediluvian days, oblique, pedantic, sycophantic, louche, remonstrate, lachrymosity, onanism, nous, etc. If you did books by better writers that are actually English you will see that those words and more are used with their writings from fiction to biographies. The old Top Gear TV show with Clarkson, May and Hammond use words like that and more when talking to the camera. So your world is a sliver of life.
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I love this reply.
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There’s an adage good leaders live by: criticize in private; praise in public. It is how I conducted myself in leadership roles.
At the very least, the professor should have taken you aside to address his concerns. I agree fully, his exception to “hence” as not being your word comes off as racist, even if I give him the benefit of the doubt that it was not intentional.
I worked in a male-dominated field most of my career, and the most valuable lesson I learned was to trust my gut. If it felt racist, then it very likely was. There were far too many times I was second-guessed, challenged, or ignored because I was not the stereotypical, homely female techie. There were too many whispers I had slept my way to my position.
You continue to stick up for yourself. I’m glad the university is investigating this, and I hope, though the professor is reprimanded in private, he is shamed in public and required at the very least to apologize publicly.
Glad to read your blog. Keep up the great work. Only by shining a light on injustice can we hope to change it.
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You are judging the professor without knowing his side at all! Did you read anywhere that she responded to what research she used to write her paper? She went directly to using the emotional stance of racism! I have read some of blogs and though the writing is good it is on the level of a 10th grader! I have seen papers graded poorly by computer that also said plagiarism when that was not the case at all! In those times the Professor was called and most were cleared up. In this case, I suspect the professor was thinking that due to past papers he had read from her that was the reason for his comment. As I previously said, we have not heard his side at all! So it is unfair to judge him in a negative way without knowing more.
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You can’t take someone’s blog posts as indicative of their academic writing. People are perfectly capable of writing with different structures and tones to suit the audience they are writing for. As for judging the professor, you don’t need to hear two sides to listen to someone sympathetically and give support. This isn’t a courthouse, this is a blog where someone decided to reflect on an experience and speak out for the sake of catharsis. If your friend was dumped by their partner, you wouldn’t hug them then say “well, I need to hear your ex’s side of things, I can’t judge this situation without it”.
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I see she went straight to her ethnicity as a defense and also assumes things so her imagination must be working overtime. She makes a general charge with claiming words are used covertly. Hm? Do not women talk in code also?
Her writing is not of a stellar nature! She is showing she is a timorous person! She does not like the fact the Professor is assiduous or pedantic. Does she want to be cosseted? She does not say where her research came from at all but goes straight to the emotional defense by claiming racism with oblique claims!
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I don’t think the prof’s comments are appropriate. And i’m not sure i agree with everything you have said here. But from the pictures of her paper, it does not look like she cited properly. The Buzzfeed article has a picture of the title and first few lines and it almost looks like APA citation style, but if so she did it incorrectly. From the picture above it looks like she is including stats “one in every four children attending…” that absolutely needs a citation. It may just not be visible, I really am not sure. And your teach my be racist. But it also looks like you just didn’t do a good job on this paper. Based on those pictures, saying it was so good your teacher thought it was plagiarized is far less likely then you bombing it because you didn’t cite properly.
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Oh, and hence usually doesnt start a sentence, that may be why it wasn’t your word. And dont criticize my english on these comments, im not submitting this for grading.
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A pretentious asshole
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Have you ever noticed that when people only cast aspersions and do not address points made have no defense and that they are the true assholes, hm? Your post shows that you are not being quiescent , lol! At least you were not unctuous. Are you the typical dilettantes sort?
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Oh, look. Joe went to Google search to find a few high school words. Joe Cunningham, get over yourself; you’re not smart enough to be pompous.
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The professor’s remarks on the paper are inappropriate; accusations aren’t a best pedagogical practice. There are far better ways to address students’ word choices, but the professor’s problem seems not to be merely about style. To publicly shame a student is, in my opinion, despicable. I’m glad you took this the department chair (according to BuzzFeed), because this is a systemic problem, and the administration should do the heavy lifting, not you.
As for your future plans, I hope the support you’re receiving convinces you to stay on your path. You know what you can do and what is best for you. I understand (admittedly not from personal experiences like yours) that you are tired, but given that when a professor treated you disrespectfully you went public (and viral), you are clearly quite strong and capable. As an educator and administrator devoted to postsecondary education, you seem to have the passion and intelligence I want in students and colleagues.
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Please file a formal complaint with the Dean of the school and the whatever office of Diversity Affairs is at your school. This is blatant racism that cannot go unanswered. All that moron had to do was send your paper through TurnitIn. As far as far as advocating for yourself regarding the paper, just scan it through TurnitIn and print out the report and present it to the dean. If the professor has lodged a formal accusation of academic dishonesty then sue him personally and the school.
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Honestly, I think this professor needs to understand, racist or not, that all students have the capability of being brilliant individuals with valid aspirations and methods of acquisition. Your professor appears to think that their title as professor of the class automatically gives them the right to belittle and undermine your thinking and skill. I am not exactly sure if it was meant to be racist, and if you took it that way, then I believe you should tell the professor. But even if it wasn’t meant that way, it seems apparent to me that this professor has a few ego problems and doesn’t seem to have a complete grasp on the English language and its grammatical structure.
You keep fighting, because you’re VERY academic in my eyes and I have never met you. Tiffany, I believe that you have a very bright future; and that no matter what obstacle beholds you, you will find a way to overcome it and prove all of the naysayers wrong.
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You lost me at “all students have the capability of being brilliant individuals.” No, not everyone has the capability for brilliance. Brilliance is rare, which is why it is so amazing and precious.
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Laura, that kind of thinking is what causes people to feel like they are incapable of achieving their goals. Brilliance–likes smarts–takes many forms. If you refuse to see those forms, then you are limiting yourself.
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Could also be a misunderstanding.
Probably, you should talk to your professor before you talk to buzzfeed.
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Or reverse that and the Teacher probably should have talked to her before trying to shame her in front of her whole class. I’ve taught 6 college level classes and every accusation of plagiarism I have ever made, the burden to prove it has been on me for good reason. This was wholly unprofessional on the Professor’s part.
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Yeah, I don’t think going to buzzfeed was a good idea either. I noticed in the pictures of her paper that she doesn’t appear to properly citing. It’s not a citation style I’m familiar with anyways. Both comments the prof left are sketchy and he shouldn’t have wrote them. But technically they could be taken out of context. If she did improperly cite, the prof could be implying that he has no idea what is coming from her and what is taken from Irizarry and Donaldson (2012). If that’s the case, he failed to give appropriate feedback and I’d argue he still made an error. Most institutions also have policies about protecting students academic information, if he did tell the class about her performance, he has most likely violated school policies. But regardless, most academic institutions have written guidelines for grievances. They usually start with trying to address it directly with the teacher. Doing it in writing is a good idea so a record can be kept, so using email is smart. If it is not settled between you and the teacher, then the student takes it to the chair. If the chair doesn’t settle it, then to the dean. Also there is a valuable resource known as an ombudsman. Skipping to social media was not a good idea. She may get some soccer moms on her side, but it may be at the cost of her academic standing.
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Geoff, you’re criticizing her blog post but you typed the following: “Both comments the prof left are sketchy and he shouldn’t have wrote them.” Formal writing or not, “shouldn’t have wrote” is simply ignorant.
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wow, but she put this on her personal blog first? the reason it went viral is because people read it and responded to it.
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Haha thanks Lee, not that your post was particularly helpful, but thanks all the same. i love how everyone has become english experts after reading this post. The only feedback i left was about citation style, i often need people to proof read my writing so i can pick up mistakes in my grammar. citation style is relevant to this post because she is apparently being accused of plagiarism. I dont really need to be told my grammar is bad, i know it is. so i get anything i submit proof read. there is a lot more to undergrad level papers then word usage. Its way easier to bomb a paper (or get kicked out of school) if you don’t cite properly.
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Wow!!! This article brings up a flood of emotions and memories. This takes me back when my freshman year statistics teacher called out my name at the end of class. He wanted to see who managed to get a 100% on first test (first ever time he’d seen that accomplished). When I stood up, he was speechless, visibly shocked and confused. Rather than a congratulations, he asked me how did I manage to get that grade caring for all my children. I was speechless and confused! It wasn’t until a moment later that I was able to digest his questions. This old gray haired white man assumed that I was taking his evening class because I was a young single black mother. In all actuality, I was a honor college student living on campus taking his evening class because I figured it would be an easy A+(which it was 😉).
The beauty of how this story ends is this. I didn’t attack him or his ignorance. I just let him know that I didn’t have any kids. I continued to get 100%’s on every following homework assignment and test. This caused him to challenge his own behavior and beliefs. He ended up becoming a good friend (we kept in contact even after he retired), an amazing mentor and my biggest proponent. He nominated me for a math award, wrote letters of recommendation and told me that I was selling myself short by pursuing my original intended career. He’s part of the reason I went into medicine. Fortunately and unfortunately I had several other similar experiences in college where my capabilities were challenged and questioned based on appearance, but each of those professors eventually become my biggest proponents and all wrote me letters of recommendation for medical school.
We can never prevent people from having biases but we can certainly continue to show up being our authentic selves proving them wrong day after after day until it’s clear that this “label” just doesn’t apply to us. And that’s the moment that change happens…
Best of luck in your career Tiffany. It sounds like you have a promising career ahead of you. 🙂
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My blood was boiling while reading your post. I live in the UK and I belong to a minority community in England but I never came across or heard such thing in here! All my senior lecturers had a remarkable attitude towards us and provided endless support. I wish you studied in England. Hang in there Tiffany because you are destined to great things live. Stay strong.
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Tiffany, don’t let this loser bring you down.
I will point out that this professor who criticized you asked you to indicate where you “cut and pasted”. The prof’s comment is not only unfair, but also syntactically and operationally inaccurate! It should actually be “copied and pasted” (note the change in action AND tense), so I am thinking that your prof’s handle on basic English is questionable. 🙂
I looked at some of the articles in your blog and you write very well. You write better, in fact, than most people in the US.
Others have asked in comments to see your paper and I’d love to read it. Keep up your great work and don’t let one idiot bring you down. You’re doing great!
(Background on me: currently, I live in Nicaragua where I was asked to host a English class at the local library. I’ve never been a teacher, but this is probably the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I also *never* criticize my students. Learning is a challenge and it’s about helping people acquire knowledge they didn’t have before.)
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Isn’t it said that “those that can’t do teach”? “Hence” (Tiffany Martinez) your professor.
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isn’t it said that “those that can’t do, teach” ? “Hence” (Tiffany Martinez) your professor
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Which may be why she wants to be a teacher…
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It’s unclear what he meant by “not your word.” He could have meant that nobody, of any race, uses that word anymore.
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But, Steve, plenty of people use that word in their writing. I do. Hence, the professor is in the wrong.
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I’m not an english major, I get people to proof read my papers almost always. But from what I understand about the word “hence,” is that it is similar to the word “therefore”. Some sources say the words are synonyms. Both words, shouldn’t be used at the beginning of a sentence. Using the words after a semi-colon followed by a comma is more appropriate. Although you (sheila) and the OP may use “Hence” a lot in your writing, you’re both doing it wrong. And please stop yourself before ripping apart my grammar. I make mistakes; therefore, I rely on proofreaders.
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“Hence” is a common word. People use it all of the time.
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It’s pretty unambiguous in this context – “it is not a word that you, personally, use”.
If you’re familiar with a particular student’s writing, use of particular words sticks out like a sore thumb, because their other writing makes it clear that it’s unlikely they came up with that word choice on their own.
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J u s t, Wow-a.
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hmm, id love to read your full paper. It’s frustrating reading only a few lines, can you send it to me? id be happy to give some constructive feedback. What citation style were you using? honestly from the lines I read, I don’t think it would be plagiarized because there seems to be errors. If it is suppose to be APA you definitely made some minor mistakes pretty early. The title is unusual for sure, If it is APA the spacing is off right after the title. Looks like you left the “leave a space after every paragraph” setting on. Your 3rd line down it also looks like you added an in text citation in brackets, if that is the case it should be (Irizarry & Donaldson, 2012) not (Irizarry and Donaldson, 2012). Also referencing the same within a sentence should be; Irizarry and Donaldson (2012) suggested blah blah blah, but you didn’t include the date. Its been awhile since ive done MLA so maybe that is whats going on there. Also i see a superscript so i guess it could be chicago, but i assumed you were just using a footnote to clarify the term Latinx. I just had a read through Irizarry and Donaldson (2012) and i dont think your title sets up an analysis of their research very well. Right away it makes me think you missed the thesis. You may have had a really good grasp on their writing, but from what i can read from these pictures, it doesn’t seem like it. I could be wrong because I havn’t read your whole paper. Oddly enough you do seem like a good writer, but that is only based on your blog and what you wrote above. You are apparently almost in grad school so you should know this, but using fancy/big words does not make it academic writing. Im not sure “hence” even fits very well there because i cant read much of the paper. OH and to be clear I don’t think your teacher acted appropriately and you probably do have grounds to go to the department chair. It is likely written in your school’s code of ethics that your academic information is to be kept private. Your rights were most likely violated when the teacher informed the class of your academic performance. I also think he knows you didnt plagiarize. If he did, he wouldnt tell you to go back and fix it. You would just be kicked out of school for academic misconduct. Early in my undergrad i had teachers tell me to fix things not because i plagiarized, but because i incorrectly cited, or made a claim that needed a citation. Early on they will let that slide because youre just learning to write a paper, but later a slip up like that could cost you graduation. Anyways, someone commented above about just getting used to harsh criticism because you are gunna get your writing torn apart in grad school. Although I do think you have some valid concerns in this situation, you are bound to bomb a paper or two in arts based on something personal with the prof. Ive heard it a million times, makes me glad im in sciences. Oh and don’t publish his name like someone requested above, super sketchy move, could get you charged with some sort of cyber bullying/harassment type charge and definitely get you kicked out of school. or hurt your chances at grad school. Anyways, all the best.
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Really? You critiqued her writing when your response was filled with errors?
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Haha i was waiting for this response. totally fair BTW. I always get someone to proof read my papers before submitting. I also frequently use the edit button on my facebook wall.
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aaaaaaaand BTW jody, i didnt offer any suggestions on grammar and word use. strictly citation style, which i feel is more relevant in this situation because she is being accused of plagiarism. there is more to a university level paper then spelling and grammar. seeing the pictures of her paper the first thing i noticed was the lack of in text citations. I could never claim to be an english expert, or even an APA expert, but i could offer her suggestions. you spent some time proof reading my comment obviously, maybe you could help her out on the english side of things. thanks jody.
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“What citation style were you using? honestly from the lines I read, I don’t think it would be plagiarized because there seems to be errors. If it is suppose to be APA you definitely made some minor mistakes pretty early. The title is unusual for sure, If it is APA the spacing is off right after the title…Oddly enough you do seem like a good writer, but that is only based on your blog and what you wrote above.”
Honestly — for someone who’s trying to be “constructive” and supportive, this post is over-the-top condescending. I really hope you don’t talk to people like this. Super off-putting even if you are genuinely trying to be helpful. Unless you are an insidious troll.
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agreed, it was a little condescending. I didnt mean to be rude. As you probably noticed im pretty capable of errors in my writing as well. I remember a a prof telling me at one point my paper was bad. I took that is “you hate my paper”. she responded, “no, i didnt hate your paper. Your paper wasn’t very good”. It was harsh, but true it was shitty, and she gave me the opportunity to rewrite it. I’d suggest to the writer that she gets many people to read her papers before submitting. even though im not the perfect writer. i could have save her from some minor errors right out of the gate. and im sure an english major would have helped her polish better then i ever could. sorry for being a dick.
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I see you are a part of the “it’s not me” generation. Far too many people use emotion for a defense because they are much too “thin skinned”! What about taking what the professor said and learn from him? Just as there are at least 12 different types of psychology from Gestalt to nouveau flavor of the day, we do not know what the professor was looking for, do we? We do not have his side to have a full picture. It appears she wants to be in a “safe space” at school.
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The professor should have neither jumped to conclusions, nor addressed this in front of the class. An inexperienced teacher, I’d guess. There’s not enough information here to attribute it to ethnic bias, though it might be. You have no idea how much plagiarism English professors see. It’s a lot. A ton. You can’t imagine. And it’s gotten worse and worse as the net has become ubiquitous. Five and fifteen-dollar words are often the tipoffs. Try to keep in mind that your professor is a human being, and that human beings make mistakes.
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A balanced response to an ambiguous situation.
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What can we do to help you find justice in this situation?
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Joven, como Puertorriqueño que trabajé y tome estudios en los Estados Unido de America fui objeto de prejuicio de varias personas. No todas blancas pues existen en todos lados y en todos los colores. Sabe lo que me daba satisfacción? El saber que aun cuando me miraban con ojos de desprecio por quien yo era o representaba, yo sabia dentro de mi que estaba haciendo mejor trabajo por que ellos sabian que yo podia tomar su trabjo algun día. Eso es lo que a muchas de estas personas asusta, el ver que alguien con un apellido en español pueda progresar y algun día hasta ser el jefe de ellos. Camine con su cabeza en alto y orgullosa de lo que es y no se sienta ya mal por esto, cuando le tiran piedras a las frutas es que ya estan listas para consumo. Dios la bendiga!
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Eh.
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The plight of the monority is a never ending battle, that has gone on for decades. This thing called the human race, for some is more of judge and jury based on ignorance and truly goes against the individual that proclaims higher education, yet a crude practice of labeling one’s ethnicity as to higher achievement. The question is if one is a teacher, then where is your balance scale? Perhaps the professor can’t perform the task of being non bias, because the person truly is not educated in a 2 fold sense, as to say the books may have been learned, but the humanity of the individual is in arrested development status. The immature attitude to embarrass you in the class, was really a cry for help, that doesn’t reflect on you, but the person who is devoid of true character of intellect, in essence failed themself. So keep your head up I applaud you.
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Tiffany, i agree with the aforementioned teachers, that claim that, its absolutely not across the board, a bias, but a handful of very narrow minded and seeminly pious, individuals. I cannot continue on my lives path believing that these horrible accounts are the norm. I am not academic. I’m a high school drop out, who raised 2 sons on jobs, pieced together,with very little help, from outside sources. I am self taught and am proud that my 2 adult sons, have held, their heads up high and have both found success without being able to attend, more than a community college. My oldest son is 30 and just finished his second novel, out of a series of four, which are available through Amazon. Reading you story, I can’t pretend to know the underlying feeling of you trying twice as hard to disspell the myth, that you could never achieve your goals, because of a few, very bigoted professor’s, however, you seem to have a great fighters sensibilities and the only advise that i, a person that has continously been told, my entire life, not because of my ethnicity,but rather, just the crime of being born a woman. From that standpoint, you and I are in a very large club, where being judged, instantly by our appearence,is unfortunately not only still prevalent in our society, but lately, has seemingly gone backwards by a few decades, which I blame on our current political climate, where being a woman, in line for presidency, has at times seemed insanely biased, but I digress. While reading your situation, another similar situation, came to mind,and I truly believe, it may help you navigate the bigoted waters you inevitably will encounter again. Watching the brilliant movie, “The Theory of Everything ,” a very young, inexperienced student came bursting into his classroom, filled with older professors and proceeded to draw on the blackbloard, a new and exciting theory, that would change the way that science had perceived black holes and the very way that we had examined our galaxy. Many professors, walked out and some of the teachers who stayed, were skeptical as well. You of course, know this man, went on,haha, to be the highest, most, respected scientist oof our generation. His story is both astounding and almost hard to believe, but he was so unabashedly confident, that ,he refused to take any offense at the very obvious “slights,” that were thrown his way. The great amazing Stephan Hawkings. Watching him, it occurred to me, that we, being woman and you having the double whammy of daring to be born to an ethnic group, that isn’t Caucasian. We should be so must further along in the social mores that hold us back, but even being a woman, it almost seems that it’s inbedded in our DNA to carry, this self doubt, that we SHOULD,be able to brush off those, who would try to hold us back. I thought watching him, that besides having been born with this amazing brain, his personality and the way he has dealt with his adversities, is almost as impressive as his achievements in the ways of physics. We should carry a piece of Stephen Hawkings personality in every adverse situation. You must continue your question and brush off,the horrible actions of a few inadequate humans. Shine on, let your brilliance light up the dark and be your biggest fan. You cannot fail. Thinking of you and being proud, on behalf of all woman.
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Tiffany, you are probably right in your belief that racist once again played a role in this “without basis accusation of plagiarism.” However there was apparently another factor that could have compounded the problem. As an academic writer within the few top percent in your field, you are most likely better than your professor.(*) Instead of celebrating your success as any intelligent person would do he tried to dismiss you as a plagiarist to fit is unfounded theory of white superiority and to hide to himself it’s own shortcoming.
(*) We can tell because of your blog.
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Same damn thing happened to me in the 7th grade. Yes, this is ancient history, but it’s something I’ve never forgotten. I wrote a book report on The Scarlet Pimpernel, with no help from my dad. One day, everyone else’s report was returned to them, but mine was not. After class, I asked the teacher why I didn’t get my paper back. He told me he didn’t believe that I had written it—that it was “too good.” Huh-??
He told me to bring the book to him. Well, it took me awhile to remember where I had gotten the book. I had been a voracious reader of the classics since I was eight years old, and we were always checking out books at various libraries. Finally, I remembered that I had gotten the book at the school library. There was no jacket, so the teacher had no recourse but to give me an A, even though he obviously still doubted I had written the report.
This incident had nothing to do with my race or anything else. I am white and middle-class. But I loved reading The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was an easy read for me. My guess is that because I was thrilled by the romantic and historical aspects of the book, my emotional response to it undoubtedly showed in my book report.
It was insulting that the teacher thought I was cheating; however, I processed it as a backhanded compliment, as my teacher was questioning whether any eleven-year-old was capable of writing such a report.
Interestingly enough, I never told my parents about this. I wonder why not. Probably because they would have stormed the principal’s office, while I preferred to handle it by myself.
At least my teacher had the decency to question me in private. No one should be forced to endure such treatment in front of the entire class, especially if one is innocent.
Processing your experience as a backhanded compliment may prove to be helpful. It was in mine.
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It makes sense that a teacher would be suspicious of child writing an impressive report beyond their years but there’s no compliment in a college professor being surprised that a college student, near graduation, is capable of writing a decent paper.
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Tiffany, I believe wholeheartedly that there were racial underpinnings to the professor’s comments. It’s a shame that someone in such a high position of academia can have such a narrow minded outlook, being as “educated” as they supposedly are. I am a White man, but I don’t think that invalidates my concerns for the treatment of people of color. It’s absolutely wrong to discriminate based on race, religion, creed, sexual orientation or gender…plain and simple as that. I have also dealt with professors doubting my integrity and insulting my intelligence. Obviously not the same way you have, but it hurts nonetheless. I stand with you on this. They wronged you and this absolutely should be brought to the public’s attention. Good luck to you!
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“I believe wholeheartedly that there were racial underpinnings to the professor’s comments.”
Would you be willing to elaborate on the facts that led you to this conclusion? Thanks!
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This faculty member is a great argument against tenure.hhandling suspected plagiarism by public shaming is unacceptable conduct even without racial bias! Public defamation of character by a person in a position of power is disgraceful. Please get a lawyer, out the jerk by name, department and school, your record speaks for itself. The instructor needs a ladder to Get a high as the gutter.
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Thank you for writing about this. The difficult realities of Acadmia can make people think that their voice doesn’t matter. I’m glad that you’re not falling into that, and that is why you’re going to succeed.
The professors are doing what they’ve been trained to do for the world that they know it. Why they do it, or why they should be allowed to do it are important things to explore, but understand that they are not doing because of you. They don’t know who you are, how can they do something to intentionally hurt you?
These professors are just doing their part to maintain the construction of this flawed world that they operate in. This world that gives them health insurance and gets their kids through private school. They are saying whatever they can to maintain their world. Using people whose contributions they don’t value as an example totally fits. It also totally sucks for you.
This is turning into a really crappy pep talk. Sorry about that. I’ve found that there is a lot of power in realizing you’re fighting against a problematic system, maintained by weak people who don’t know how to get the most out of you, and probably live sad lives in their flawed world. Your fight is really powerful, not just for you, but for all your allies. There aren’t a lot of goals you can pursue where you can really be a pioneer everyday, and that is the life that you’ve chosen.
When you have days like the one you’re describing you may go back to your room and say “This professor can just keep doing this to people, I’m helpless, screw this.” Please ignore that thought. When you persist and you succeed the professor may still do this to the next person, but when they do that person can look back and say “Tiffany made it through this bull shit, I can do it too.” And slowly, this professor’s power weaken. And it will continue to weaken until they are the fringe crank that is ignored in the field, while you are somewhere else moving the field forward.
Good luck with everything.
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Would you mind putting up a link so we can read your paper? I would be very interested to see it.
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Who the hell are you.
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Reblogged this on Reading, Drinking and Dancing with a Chaser of Snark and commented:
I hope the Dean of Students advocated on your behalf because NO student should be ridiculed in front of others, and there are hundreds of professors who would LOVE the chance to teach great, deserving students, like you.
I’m appalled, but sadly, not surprised that academia has taken so many steps backwards, since I was in graduate school, in the 1990s. Shameful.
You are the one you’ve been waiting for, Tiffany. Stay strong.
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Sharing your story with us was brave (exposing vulnerabilities always is), necessary for adding to the collective consciousness and discussion about institutionally embedded prejudice, and I hope you found it cathartic.
As a woman from an ethnic minority who has earned her BA, MSc and PhD in different universities in the UK, stories such as these are appalling and make me ever thankful for the anonymity that is granted to students for any assessments, so they can be judged on the merits of their work. Students submit their papers with no personal information, only their student number at the top, and their essays are graded by the course leader and then moderated by another marker, to ensure that the grades being awarded are fair. After all that, there is still room to appeal if you think it necessary. Perhaps American universities should consider this approach as one of many steps to move away from the personal bias/prejudice enabled (encouraged?) by their current systems.
I hope you bounce back from this stronger than before, with faith in yourself and pride in your abilities. I would also recommend that you complain to your tutor/someone in authority as highlighting prejudice like this is the only way to combat it.
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Thank you for bringing much need diversity into a system where minorioties are not readily accepted. Thank you for presevering when your intelligence and charcter are called into questioned. Thank you for setting an example for other first generation students and dreamers, so that we all may continue on the path of education regardless of all the obstacles that are readily placed in front of us and where the color of our skin and names held against us.
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So considering we’re in October right now, I’m assuming this isn’t the first paper you wrote for this class. Would you care to speculate on why you were accused of plagiarism for this paper and not others?
Because that kind of seems like a reasonable thing to speculate on.
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For an alt-right troll with too much leisure time, absolutely!
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I am so sorry for your pain. Your writing is beyond reproach. Keep fighting the fight. It will be (and is) worth it. Keep telling your story, but I sense you won’t let this part of your story define you, which is important. You are much more than that. It is plain to see. Pulling for you.
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1. As an academic, I’m appalled. If I were you, Tiffany, I’d bring it up with the relevant administrator(s).
2. I’m guessing that the countryfolk and troglodytes weighing in on “hence” don’t realize that it’s been a vital part of the vernacular ever since Quentin Tarantino employed it to great effect in 1992’s “Reservoir Dogs.”
http://www.generationterrorists.com/quotes/reservoir_dogs.shtml
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it is rather strange … English is after Portuguese, French, German my fourth language followed by Afrikaans … and yet I use the word hence quite often … but then, I am also a white dude ….
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Hi Tiffany,
You are an inspiration to many first generation minority students. Keep going because it takes a lot of work to get where you are. Do not be defined by someone else’s biased and prejudiced thoughts. Keep learning and keep growing. Sending good thoughts your way.
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Granted, I didn’t read all the comments, but am I the only person who looks at the writing in the post and is bothered by the obvious grammatical errors? If this sample is characteristic of her all her writing, I am not inclined to be so harsh on the professor. Nothing in what she quotes the professor as saying or writing about her or her paper is racist in and of itself. I remember receiving the same types of comments when I was in school. Without further evidence to back up the idea that her prof is racist, I’m inclined to believe that the prof is paying was less attention to her race and sex than she is.
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“Hence” is not an obscure or seldom used word. The fact that her professor treated it as such tells me more about the professor than the student. There are multiple tools colleges use to check for plagiarism electronically, rather than publicly humiliate their student. Finally, poor grammar does not necessarily indicate a poor vocabulary- they can be two entirely separate things. Unless this student has consistently turned in terrible papers written in 5th grade level language, the professor was out of line.
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*plagarism
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“If this sample is characteristic of her all her writing…” Maybe proofread your sentence before posting if the entire purpose of your post is to criticize the alleged lack of grammatical precision. Also, when claiming there are grammatical errors, it is customary to cite them, instead of rambling through a series of vague platitudes that betray how little attention you paid to the content of the post in order to rush to your speculative dismissal of race being a factor in the professor’s rueful actions towards this student.
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Rueful?
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“If this sample is characteristic of her all her writing…” Maybe proofread your sentence before posting if the entire purpose of your post is to criticize the alleged lack of grammatical precision.
Huh? “Characteristic of” is synonymous with “typical of” or “representative of”; the part you quoted is entirely correct;
Your use of “rueful”, on the other hand…
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Laura, the person writing this article is emotionally distressed, so I would expect there to be a few errors here and there. Meanwhile, you wrote only one paragraph but you still made a glaring mistake: “characteristic of her all her” – don’t go back and change it. The original poster’s excuse is that she is emotionally compromised, which is known to affect one’s abilities. What’s your excuse?
But hey, let’s not be petty. My point is that in spite of these errors, the woman writing this is clearly intelligent and has an above-average grasp on the English language, well in excess of the word “hence.” You’re making excuses for a professor who offered a content-free critique. “This is not your word” is a condemnation and a comment on who the writer is as a person, it is not a valid or useful critique meant to help a person improve.
If you believe this professor was justified, and if you can honestly look at the above article and nitpick over what are clearly errors as opposed to a lack of understanding of how language works (to the point where you’d agree that this specific woman doesn’t know how to use the word ‘hence’ without having plagiarized it, as if plagiarizing just that one word is even possible) then you are a part of the problem. Come back when you can offer something that is constructive and not meant to dismiss the fact that there is clearly a bias of race and/or background here.
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Actually there was a clear grammatical error in one of the paragraphs. “My professor did not ask me if it was my language, instead they immediately blamed me in front of peers.” It should have read, “…he immediately blamed me…” There are several other instances in that same paragraph where Tiffany uses the pronoun “they” when referring to her professor. I’m pointing it out because if I were Tiffany I would want to know that I’m making this error, especially since the rest of the blog was flawless.
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Critique the errors that are likely the result of trying to post and edit from a smartphone with autocorrect all you like. None of that is going to change the fact that she is a mediocre writer. Or it could be that I’m the horrible writer, and she’s the victim of autocorrect…..now that should make ya go “Hmmmm….”
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Have you been to Virginia, Laura? I’m inclined to believe Tiffany. While holding our breath for something more definitive, I’ll tend to believe the person in a situation with the most expertise in a matter, and in the case of racism, sad to say, that would no doubt be Tiffany. I chanced to be a white man in Virginia on several occasions, so I don’t have to pass irrevocable judgment on a particular professor to say that sexism and racism aren’t particularly rare there, yet not usually so overt as to serve themselves to you on a platter.
Providing evidence that the professor is racist or sexist to your satisfaction isn’t really the point, and I suspect it would be an exercise in futility in any case. If you wish to avoid seeing racism, I have no doubt you’re well capable of finding a comfortable and thoroughly justifiable rationale for doing so in all but the most clear cases, and neither will you be alone in that. If that’s best for you, so be it, but this isn’t about you and the professor. This is Tiffany’s house and you are a guest. She experienced something very difficult and she’s calling this one out, hence the die is cast for good or ill. At this point, it’s completely unhelpful for anyone, particularly a white anyone, to pipe up with “Maybe it’s nothing” as if that possibility hasn’t occurred to her on countless occasions and on this occasion in particular.
I’ll paraphrase so that a dumb bunny like you will be sure to understand, shall I? We don’t actually need to poke our noses in to give nonchalant, ignorance-based commentary that serves to invalidate someone’s difficult expression of their experiences when they’re obviously in pain, now do we, Laura? Did you appreciate the irony of that condescending mansplaining? Or maybe you’re just paying more attention to your gender than I am. See what I did there? I must say, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Back to the point: The accusation of plagiarism is perhaps the most grave accusation that exists for the printed word. Normally a professor would attempt to locate the original from which a work was plagiarized and speak with the student after class, confronting her in private. Instead, operating from a basis of ignorance, he chose confrontation, but figured it was just fine to tear someone down in public because he’s white and has an opinion. Why is that reminding me of someone? That cold-hearted sense of entitlement to say whatever you want, whenever you want… Who could that — Oh, it’s you!
Regardless, it’s clear the professor is off in some serious way since Tiffany’s writing, even while she’s out of sorts, is still far beyond good enough to warrant a vaguely intelligent word like “hence”. Did you not notice that while being bothered by her grammar, or do you hold the word in exceptionally high esteem? Or is it just that another part of the conversation stood out for you? I’m referring to the comfy part where the relatable professor may be blameless.
To answer your question specifically, no, Tiffany’s grammatical mistakes don’t bother me any more than yours; less in fact, because she’s very upset and likely exhausted. What’s your excuse for poor grammar, Laura?
Now I must apologize to Laura, because in my defense of Tiffany, I seem to have been a bit harsh, singling her out. Laura’s doing nothing that I haven’t heard a hundred times before and she would likely pass a lie detector test claiming not to be racist herself, as might the professor. It’s extraordinarily difficult and takes uncommon courage to see one’s own bigotry when there’s any other option available.
—–
Now, Tiffany, if you happen to read these comments, which for your sake I don’t recommend, on behalf of academia, we love you back. Thank you for sharing this, for the bravery it took to write it, and for the even greater bravery I believe it would’ve taken to post it, knowing there would be several Lauras and likely worse. I have no doubt this will inspire many who read it to be brave in their own ways, just as it inspires me. Thank you and take care.
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Awwww, all that vitriol just for lil ol’ me? A dumb bunny who’s prolly nevah even been to Vahginnia! Well suh, Ah do declare that you needint have gon to all that trouble. You coulda just typed, “Shut up, you big meanie. We don’t need no stinkin’ logic!”, and saved yourself a whole lotta time.
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You need to sue that professor and school. They will have to show and prove their accusations regarding plaigarism … Depending how much damage the caused you , they could end up paying you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I would also make it a big deal with the Dean and the student body.. Protest it, post it to local news, and call as much local attention to it as you can. That professor, if what you claim is true, ought to be fired .
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*they caused
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As an English professor, I wanted to say this: please keep going. Your great accomplishments cannot be and should not be devalued by one narrow-minded, hurtful professor’s evaluation of your work. You are an amazing individual with great talent. Keep going, please. We need your voice. And I believe “hence” is you and your voice. And language.
Please keep going.
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aren’t teachers supposed to encourage and be a critic in a most positive way so as to2
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sorry up there…my phone rang…I ws saying that teachers are supposed to encourage and critic in the most positive way so as not to discourage the desire to learn….I find that there are few great teachers that have this skill. There are those who don’t want to teach or don’t like their students and/or are arrogant and/or are jealous of those that are still driven to learn. I have had teachers that underestimate the intelligence of a student(me) and are bent on “breaking” them. Carry on Tiffany and the best to you
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Tiffany, thank you for your powerful and eloquent testimony. I only wish you had named the school and at least hinted at the professor, because the conduct is outrageous enough that they should be forced to answer for it. I’ve taught at various levels and have seen plenty of examples of students cheating and also of teachers making racist assumptions about it – one does not excuse the other.
Assuming that those were not “your words” might have been a reasonable suspicion, which could be addressed by a private conversation. Presented as it was, it clearly was a racist assumption and I hope you report this man to his superiors. He should be forced to look at some of your other publications and writings, and then apologize to you in front of the class.
As a white man substitute teaching in a public school I was allowed to overhear teachers discussing their middle-school students in the most racist terms imaginable. It broke my heart. Those who have written comments trying to “explain” to you that what you experienced was not really racism are smugly ignorant of what happens to those unlike them.
Your experience reminded me of a local story here in Pittsburgh. A young boy named August Wilson was accused of cheating when he submitted an essay. The teacher said it was obviously written by someone who was white. August Wilson decided that ignorant fools like this teacher would not have anything useful to teach him, dropped out, educated himself in the public library and became a Tony and Pulitzer prize winning playwright. A few years ago the state of Pennsylvania allowed the library system to award him a High School Diploma, so he added “High School Graduate” to his long list of awards, and is the only person in America to have graduated from a public library. And he often told the story of that racist teacher who – I’m certain – has heard it repeated to him over the years. Success is the best revenge.
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What a wonderful story! Purely by happenstance, I met August Wilson and spent several hours drinking with him on the night of his arrival in Minnesota. I’ll never stop being grateful for the experience.
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i basically got failed out of post grad social work because the head professor said i wasn’t academic enough, the following year i started honours and saw that same professor around campus,when i told him i was doing Honours he said sarcastically ‘and how u doing in that’ to which i replied A+ average,smiled and walked on
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