Hi folks,
Just wanted peoples opinions on the following situation. I am a MA student on placement (1st year). I am from a minority community (not that it should make a difference). I am on placement in an area where there are only a handful of BME people (which im not fussed about). However, i think for the first time in my life i might be facing subtle racism (and im not one to ever use the race-card). It appears other social workers are making, what to me, appears to be subtle racist/stereotypes about me and 'my community' . If im just imaging things someone tell me to shut up....if not should i just let them continue as i dont want to fail this placement.
here are some e.g.s - With the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden, a colleague commented, "im suprised you came into work today, especially with the killings dont you have 40 days of mourning" not sure what this is meant to imply?? Whilst on my lunch break i was reading news on line, and other comments came out, "what have u guys got planned in retaliation". I've never told anyone at work about my religion and do not discuss it for such fears. So, i am unsure why they would think i am a radical or anything extreme...
Other comments when dealing with BME they suggested "i deal with them because its my community", which i guess may make more sense as i may have more of a cultural understanding/insight about the needs of s/u from a similar cultural background. However, other underhand comments suggest that im going to go out of my way because i come from a minority community, etc....
Am i just being over sensitive and are these people just jesting with me? its been few weeks in and these kind of comments occur on a daily basis... Im inclined to just let it be so that i can get my qualification, but it doesnt make the work place a nice environment (if it ever can be in s/w ;-)
My practice educator is very nice, but is off-site so i only get to see her fortnightly, and because the ppl making the comments are experienced and only make them when she is not around im afraid they will think im just a trouble causer and send me packing...
I also get the feeling some of the people i work with try to isolate me from activities. For e.g. me and another student started at the same time, and one night they went for a drink they asked the other student but not me (maybe i smell ) which i guess is fair enough they can invite who they like, but i did feel slightly isolated although this happened earlier on i did put it down to them thinking i dont drink and thus no invitation. However, whilst organising a meal they seemed to have forgotten to copy me in and ask me, i only found out when the other student asked if i was coming to which i had to make up an excuse to save face. Even the other student noticed and suggested i take it forward...
Recently i went to a s/u home in an area that is deprived and one that has no minorities. I had no problems and didn't know about the make up of the area (not that id have any objections working in any area) I had to use public transport being a student so this put me at risk of abuse and unfortunately as i left my s/u i was hurled some verbal and physical abuse from some people in this area. This s/w was driving past he most likely saw me as its a narrow one-way street, but didnt stop ;-( - Back in the office he commented "they dont like your kind in that area and smiled" if he knew i was at more risk i think i should have at least had a prior warning.. Problem is this person is kind of my supervisor and helps decide my caseload. Therefore, i feel cant say/do anything to upset him.
My main question is am i just imaging things and being over-sensitive and I guess in order to pass i should just tolerate it? After all the best things in life are not easy... I dont think i can approach my P/E, although the Uni is very supportive i am worried that they will not support me (esp given it was a nightmare placing students this yr - right balls up by them!)
Anyone else been in a similar situation? If so, what did you do/how did u get through it?
I'm generally a happy, nice person, but this is breaking me down AND i fear it could impact on my work with s/u..
Rant over
Very quick response just to say that that doesn't sound like subtle racism to me, it sounds like quite blatant racism and certainly not 'playing the race card'.
I wouldn't want to claim that I've been in a similar position although I have worked in an office where one member of staff made remarks about 'jews' that were derogatory although they weren't aimed at me particularly, (not least because she didn't know I was jewish - she was referring to a service user), it really took me back and made me very uncomfortable and I'm in a different position where I can 'hide' my religious background if I choose so I don't want to compare the experiences too much - I was also in full time employment so it made the dynamics quite different. I didn't approach her directly because I was a bit floored by it but i did mention it in supervision - one of the things that really struck me was that noone else challenged her either.
I think you do need to tell someone though - I know, easier said than done - the university has been helpful so go back to them - I don't believe you are imagining things or being over-sensitive at all but whether you should suck it up to pass - that's up to you - ideally you wouldn't have to but practical shortages of placements have effects and that's something you should discuss with the university and with the practice assessor - as a practice assessor, I'd really want to know, even in confidence, about the difficulties you are having - I'd say to make sure that you have the conversations and incidents documented with days/times the conversations and off-hand remarks happened.
I know it won't help you but it makes me so angry that agencies with these ethos' exist. I wish you all the best
What a horrible situation to be in.
They obviously lack any insight into the effects of their behaviour. Maybe they just don't realise how these comments are being perceived and by having a full and frank conversation - non aggressive, just stating how you feel, this could enlighten them and teach them a thing or two. Any good social worker should be prepared to contnually learn and this looks like a perfect opportunity for them to bring their skills up to date, with your help.
good luck
The comments you refer to in the 2nd paragraph are totally unacceptable and prove that you are not 'imagining things'. The uni should support you if you talk to them about this.
I understand you are in a difficult position. If you feel that your ability to learn and progress on this placement is being affected to the extent that you will receive negative feedback then I would suggest you talk to the uni about how unhappy you are with the situation.
I think the other instances you refer to suggest that they are behaving badly. I can see why it is making you feel that you are being over sensitive as some of it is quite subtle bullying and you must find iit hard to understand or believe as you have done nothing wrong.
Don't feel that you have to justify yourself or explain that you are a happy, nice person.
I think you should talk to the uni. It seems to me that they are behaving so badly that you have nothing to lose when you are only there temporarily. They may not like you for it but I bet their behaviour changes and they would be prevented from giving you an unfair report or feedback.The uni should be made aware so that future students do not have to experience what you have.
"Subtle racism"????? Are you kidding?! This is appalling behaviour that wouldn't even have a place in a 1970's sit-com! If these experienced 'professionals' are so blatantly offensive around you, god only knows how they behave with vulnerable service users. At best, they need a re-education in the ways of anti-oppressive practice.
No PT worth their salt would think you're "playing the race card" and you really need to have a conversation with her/him and your university regarding this issue. I totally understand that you might be nervous about the impact that raising this issue might have on the remainder of your placement. However, I think that for the good of your own emotional wellbeing, the good of your service users, the good of students who may follow you into this placement AND the good of these misguided individuals who have abused you, you have to raise this.
I'm sorry you've had this experience and I am embarrassed that there are other QSWs out there who have behaved like this.
I wish you good luck and success.
xxx
See other thread on racism on this forum. Others have summed this one up, so I will not repeat.
What do you do about it?
My band wagon is to challenge every time, zero tolerance, never worry about the "he/she was only having a laugh" brigade.
My view on this one is to keep your powder dry for another day. There are too many examples of valid points being twisted by the powers that be.
Look at the comments as a window into their minds, they will have come from two types, the ignorant and the covert racists. My guess is mostly the first kind.
Keep the moral high ground cos the important thing for you now is to get to a position where you can change things over the longer term. Don't be a suicide bomber. (I left this in to show how easy it is to say things without thinking)
A soldier has to do his/her basic training before they can go into battle. Just survive.
Shirack: A soldier has to do his/her basic training before they can go into battle. Just survive.
Ditto
I would also suggest speaking to your placement supervisor and your course supervisor, as they can coordinate a response and take mutual formal responsibility.
GMWXP posted at 2.27 in the morning!!!
I've nothing useful to add, except that the posters have been brilliant in their advice. All of them. I particularly liked Shirack's comparison, but how sad too. Shirack tells the truth of how it is, in your situation.
I want to do these people damage on your behalf, but that's not going to help you. It's emotive and utterly unconstructive. But it is how I feel for you reading your post.
As a social worker in training, you "work" in a placement with other service providers. It is likely that in your career as a social worker, you would encounter smiler experiences.
The placement gives you some idea of what a social worker would have to deal with - working with other social workers and service users. This experience has an effect on you and when you qualify, you can draw on your experience. While training, you can learn about the steps you could apply to reduce the problem in the future... or reduce that sort of problem for other students when you are a social worker.
You could complain to the management (at the placement) who would be expected to take action. You could bring the issue to the attention of the Uni, who are expected to do something (otherwise they are not good role models). You could try to tackle the problem yourself and talk directly to the people creating the negative feelings. You would have to be sensitive if you approach the people you are working with because an insensitive approach might solve the current problem but make another problem. Working in an uncomfortable atmosphere is most uncomfortable but learning in an uncomfortable atmosphere seems much worse.
In a placement, you experience problems. A Uni has put you there, so you can learn about solving problems. By asking the Uni or the management of the placement to resolve the problem is an option but that is passing the problem onto someone else to solve for you.
One way or another, you have been in the placement for a few weeks already and you managed til now. One would hope that by now you have found ways to deal with the problem with in yourself. If doing nothing sounds like a better option, then best keep your head down and soldier on. You can use the experience and refer to it in your report and you can use that as an opportunity to say what you could do better at if you are writing about critically reflective points.
I don't think you are wrong to feel as if you do. I do think that the people who you are learning from could do more to be better role models. It may be that other ethnic minorities had been at that placement before and they dealt with the comments in a different way, which started a pattern. It is unlikely that you would ever find out.
If you did want to try to resolve the problem yourself, a tactic might be to ask the person who gives out the most comments or the most damaging comments. In effect, you are asking them to help you correct their own behaviour. By applying that tactic, you may, rather subtlety, be correcting the problem you are facing because that person might pass the message round that corrects the problem.
Starter: A Uni has put you there, so you can learn about solving problems. By asking the Uni or the management of the placement to resolve the problem is an option but that is passing the problem onto someone else to solve for you.
I don't agree with this at all. The university are there to support you and your management has legal responsibilities to maintain a workplace that's free of discrimination (because the alternative is likely to be successful claims at an employment tribunal further down the line if they don't - if not from you then from someone else). Reporting a problem to someone who has the power to do something about it is not passing the buck.
But like Shirack says, the first question you have to ask yourself in any job/placement where you have a valid grievance is "How badly do I want to keep this job?" Because once you go the formal route, anything could happen.
Maybe bring it up in your next meeting with your practice assessor, since it sounds as though she's not directly in the line of management it might be easier that way? And I'd try to keep a diary of dates, times and what people said to you because it'll help bolster your confidence that it isn't your imagination or being over sensitive at all.
ps. What they're doing is wrong and it makes me boil with anger just to read it ;/
Talk to your university Tutor. This happened to someone at our university and her tutor took the lead and was very good in resolving the situation.
This isnt subtle racism, as a social worker you should challenge it. Easier said than done i know!!
I agree with what others have said- it is without a doubt a bullying situation that needs addressing in ways already suggested.
It may be of little comfort, but, although it's very tough, sometimes experiencing adversity like this is great for reflecting on your learning and developing your awareness of ARAD issues.
I also agree that some of the behaviour is blatant racism, but often it is the more subtle, seemingly innocent things that are hard to make sense of. Then you may begin to wonder if you are over-sensitive and in doing so you are personalising the probem.
It's important to remember that these individuals are the ones that have a clear problem. It's now a problem for you- but you are not 'the problem'.
There are definitions of racism and bullying within most agencies and definitely within universities and it might be helpful to read them. For example, it might help you to know that one definition of bullying within the agency I work for details that it is bullying to exclude individuals from social events.
Sometimes, there are those that take real pleasure from 'student baiting' and they deserve to be challenged. The fact they are qualified SW's, in my opinion, makes it far worse as they should posess the knowledge and sensitivity to ARAD issues to know better. They ought to feel thoroughly ashamed.
If you are worried about it affecting your qualification, there's nothing to say you can't complain in hindsight once your placement is finished, but you definitely need some support with it at this point.
I know of a Uni that is taking on a few less students. Partly because finances are tighter, but the knock on effect of less money (in the working world) is that the budget cuts have caused organisations to reduce staff or close. This has lead to placements for students being less and harder to find.
A Uni would not put a student in a placement they cannot deal with (not intentionally). The student is experiencing difficulties. The student could use this as an opportunity to identify points they observed and what they did about it...or could have done about it.
The racial commentary seems to be the main focus of the issue. Lack of invitation to social events stem more towards being impolite than being discriminatory. The area is unfamiliar with dealing with people from a different race. Even if policies were enforced, it wouldn't make any difference because after the student leaves, the policy wouldn't need to be applied.
As an ideal, getting people to be more accepting would be good, but it sounds like a community issue, not simply the odd social worker in an area.
Perhaps it's worth asking the OP about how much longer they have to be in the placement. It might be a short term loss for a long term gain and running away today to get stronger to fight another day.
Just as an aside, most offices I worked in seemed to bend over backwards to make students feel welcome and included.
Is this a sign of the times? Do old lags see students as threats owing to major changes in SW practice, that they are not up to date with?
I agree with what others have said. What you have experienced in unacceptable. I would suggest keeping a written diary of all of these comments. You must tell your university, particularly so they don't send other students there in the future. This behaviour has to be challenged.
Em SW: I agree with what others have said. What you have experienced in unacceptable. I would suggest keeping a written diary of all of these comments. You must tell your university, particularly so they don't send other students there in the future. This behaviour has to be challenged.
Short of the student being badly beaten by the practice supervisor the boat is best kept stable. Goes against the grain I know but there is a time for everything. Don't jump hoping you wont need a parachute.
It's all to easy to suggest that taking firm action against the commentary. The OP may follow that advice and end up worse off. How many would jump to the rescue in practical terms? The reality is that it's an undesirable situation but it can be managed. This type of situation has happened before and no doubt it would happen again in the future, people deal with problems differently.No student wants a reputation of complaining before you are qualified.
I know that if I was a student in a placement that was uncomfortable. I know I need the placement to get my days and the information I need for my assignments. I know I want to get to my next year. It's easier to make the best of a bad situation than make the worsted of a bad situation.
As others have said, even if the OP is being over sensitive (although it sounds as if it’s quite the opposite) there are several instances cited that are racist and unprofessional.
Having previously worked in an inner city area with a largish BME population and now work in an area that has a very small one, I would say being racially or culturally aware is even more important now than previously, when many of my colleagues and service users were from BME backgrounds.
Even if there is no racial element to this (!), then the team appear to be totally without manners by inviting one but not the other student to take part in team activities.
Perhaps the best recommendation a student can make about a team is to ask if there are/will be any jobs there in the future.
It doesn’t sound like GMWXP will want to do that.
‘Recently i went to a s/u home in an area that is deprived and one that has no minorities. I had no problems and didn't know about the make up of the area (not that id have any objections working in any area) I had to use public transport being a student so this put me at risk of abuse and unfortunately as i left my s/u i was hurled some verbal and physical abuse from some people in this area. This s/w was driving past he most likely saw me as its a narrow one-way street, but didnt stop ;-( - Back in the office he commented "they dont like your kind in that area and smiled" if he knew i was at more risk i think i should have at least had a prior warning..’
If he did see you, given his reported comment post incident, he is being derelict in his responsibility towards you as a student and colleague. To let someone, especially a student, go on a visit unprepared for what might happen, if you even suspect there will be problems is both unprofessional and potentially dangerous. You must discuss this with the University, but when is the question; it may be wise to wait but should you be put in a compromising situation again, I think you would have to act.
I think it's important for OP to get support now and it is definitely relevant to their practice learning- they need to be true to themselves about their learning experience- that's what reflection is. So I feel their practice teacher/ assessor needs to know.
However, I agree that the timing of a complaint and it's consequences needs some caution.
I experienced some bullying issues as a student 12 yrs ago- not in any way comparable to this- I don't know how I would have coped. I put it down to the perpetrators being part of a provider setting, they were unqualified and not aware or respectful of ARAD values. I didn't complain, but needed to share this and in the end I found it useful for my learning. The university were aware and no longer send students there.
The fact these are qualified SW's makes it much worse, IMO. OP might want to be a bit ruthless and look after number one first, get the placement done (with good outside support) and then bring their log of events, along with the anti-bullying policies, ARAD policies and bring these people to account. It's not a joke, it's not impoliteness, IMO- it's clear power abuse. What are these SW's like with service users?
Am Ok with the retrospective. If the OP goes down this route every thing needs to be written down.
Date, time , location, witnesses who sign record, if poss. etc. etc. Any evidence that is relevent. If it is just word against word; forget it.
If there is blatant racism at work it will be from latent racists who by the description will have polished their act.
I'm late responding to this, but I have had experiences similar to this, though some years ago.
I don't like the idea of storing things up and then aiming to speak to speak to an administrator/lecturer/placement coordinator etc. at a later date.
Rather, consider making it blatantly clear that you find a statement offensive there-and-then; that means 'blowing-up' on-the-spot, right at the very moment. It is better for you, because you are not storing-up pent-up concerns, and it is better for the faculty because it will be something that has to be addressed there-and-then, with no opportunity to bury it in administrative garbage.
The typical response to such a comment (in a loud voice) begins with;
"Excuse me? How dare you? What are you trying to imply...?"
If the instigators of such comments know there will be instant highlighting of their comments, then they will rapidly change tack I suspect.
Shirack,
Don't cut people off at the knees just for having an opinion. RachelL probably won't post again.
Mary Brady: Shirack, Don't cut people off at the knees just for having an opinion. RachelL probably won't post again.
Rachell does not need patronising by you. I am more concerned about the OP as that is where the trouble lies. The post has turned into a does she dont she and my view is she should put herself first on this occassion. I felt that RachelL had not grasped the issues and may have had a different opinion if the whole thread had been read. Of course I could be wrong but I am prioritising posters.
shocking behaviour from your colleagues there OP - an absolute disgrace - all the replies on here are great advice tho
You asked for if anyone had experience of this - I had a friend doing the MA (Uni is in one of the most racist areas in the UK with a correspondingly high BNP represenrtaion on councils etc)
He was put on a placement where he experienced racism from colleagues and service users alike (sadly I cant remeber the details) which culminated in a complaint being made by a service user - as soon as that happened his "colleagues" added to the complaint with questions about his professionalism - there was an investigation by the Uni who cleared him of all charges and moved him to another placement. He was deeply affected by this and went off the rails and basically had to leave the course.
I highly doubt thats of any comfort to you tho lol
My random thoughts
If put up with it positives are you may get thru your placement put it down to life and emerge stronger - or it may negatively impact on your staet of mind and expectation of how people treat you (which IMO is often is the determinant for how people act towards you) Also being treated as a victim has a bad habit of becoming a bad habit.
If you dont -all the things that have been said on this thread of why you shouldnt rock the boat are valid
The quote Shirack put is basically how I got thru my last few months of placement - once you qualify no-one can take that away from you. As a student you have hardly any power and I think all stuidents go thru difficulties where people on the lowest rung in the office find someone that can make themselves feel better.
In my experience tho bullies dont back down because you do - the more you accept it the more they'll love the power and it'll more than likely get worse. If they are being that overt with their racism its fairly incredible that theyve not been pulled up on it already so as shirack says they could be basically "clever" racists and so youd need a hell of a lot of evidence to nail them (tho it sounds like youd have all the evidence you'd need really - surely there were witnesses to this?)
Theres also the fact that this may not be the last team you experience this sort of behaviour from - it all depends on what your uni is like but ours was really sensitive to this sort of thing (probably b/c of the area we were in). This could be a great experience of challenging racists within the social work setting- it would be with the support of your uni- when/ if it happens in real life youll have no one....
Id be really careful about the impact on your mental health of all this - it sounds horrendous -even if you dont do anything else you could start going to a counsellor - you run the risk of PTSD IMO
How much social support do you have and will they be any good? What about the race relations officer - or whatever they are called - on campus? Independant advice that may help you to make sense of this situation...
Another alternative is to make your practice teacher aware of it via email saying what you are saying here and that youd like to discuss it in your next meeting as an add on to the agenda. Could also make your uni aware of it and that you are discussing it with your practice assessor. Im almost certain - and itd be advisable to check your handbook on these things - that the uni or PT would be able to do anything without your consent so you would still hold the cards but youd have shared the problem. Its also crucial to make the uni aware of these things because if they do progress to worse bullying or you feel you just cant take it anymore then there are highly likely to be questions asked about why you didnt come to see them earlier (unfair but true).
RachelL: I'm late responding to this, but I have had experiences similar to this, though some years ago. I don't like the idea of storing things up and then aiming to speak to speak to an administrator/lecturer/placement coordinator etc. at a later date. Rather, consider making it blatantly clear that you find a statement offensive there-and-then; that means 'blowing-up' on-the-spot, right at the very moment. It is better for you, because you are not storing-up pent-up concerns, and it is better for the faculty because it will be something that has to be addressed there-and-then, with no opportunity to bury it in administrative garbage. The typical response to such a comment (in a loud voice) begins with; "Excuse me? How dare you? What are you trying to imply...?" If the instigators of such comments know there will be instant highlighting of their comments, then they will rapidly change tack I suspect.
Have to say this is a good post in my view - bullies test people to see if they'll put up with certain things and this comes across (from the victim) in verbal and non-verbal communication - its definitely about letting people know what you are and are not prepared to put up with - challenge them and they'll back down - if they dont you are not coming in hard enough!
The comments are racist and these 'proffesionals' are bang out of order. I am shocked to hear this. I am on a great placement where no one would even think of making such remarks. There have been jokes about Bin Laden in the office, but they were anti-Bin Laden not anti-Muslim. They could have easily been made by a Muslim. Remember more Muslims have been murdered by Al Quieda than Westerners.
As well as offensive, the comments are absurd. It would be like a Pakistani blaming me (a white Christian) for the Iraq war simply because George W Bush is a 'white Christian'. I marched against that war and was delighted when Obama won the election in 2008.
These comments are serious because they are making you feel uncomfortable and undermining effective team working. You really need to have a word with your line manager. This doesnt mean these people will be sacked, but they really need to consider their actions and give a full apology to you. Its frightening that people can qualify as social workers and behave like that. Was there no diversity training on their course?
I wish you every luck in the future. I'm a Christian and would have no problem working with Muslim colleagues. In fact I would prefer it given our similar values.
another perspective is that youll get hostility in all things you do or your just not being effective so one way of taking the positive from this is at least you know what people think and therefore you know your enemies - you just then have to find your friends (and there WILL be some - even if its a friend of my enemy is a frien of mine etc) - if your struggling on your team then look for other teams (always helpful IMO if yopu smoke when you are cross-teaming as this gives you a massive head start in how much you speak to other teams if they are available).
One of the things that I "put up with" on my placement (followeing shiracks quote) was complete idiots who bitched constantly about others so I blanked them - this then meant that they complained about me not being sociable - the fact that I had close friends on other teams and within the team that they didnt know about meant I had something in the bank if ever my team work ability was questioned
This was important because another friend of mine (who was black) struggled - (in all probability at least in part to racism tho he never raised this) and got accused by his team and practice teacher of not interacting with the team enough - questions were raised enough about this that it led to a second opinion procedure that meant he had to repeat at least part of his placemet - unsurprisingly he thrived and passed with flying colours.
One of the problems with taking things forward is that once you are in the system of complaining its all very subjective and you risk putting your hands in the life of people who dont know you and are going off data that doesnt represent the person you know you are at all - Ill be honest and say once that happens your future is basically in the hands of the gods and it can be the most stressfull timne of your life. Not least the fact that when ever youve been involved in something like this you have to tell every employer at the application stage (correct me if Im wrong tho people)
It happened to me (tho differently to yours) and I came thru it by being proved innocent but it nearly broke me I have to say - it is tho an excellent experience of how it must be for some parents that undergo chiild protection procedures and gave me a new perspective on the usual " well if your innocent theres no problem " that is used by a lot of social workers
Another thing to think about is your job superviser will be prolly be the one that gives you a reference so its fairly important that they respect you and it sounds like yours doesnt
Whatever happens you can message me on here privately if you want - must be hard times to say the least!
I agree with everyone else this is not subtle. I am also ethnic minority and sadly this goes on and on and on. From my experience, write what people say. Then get emotional and social support from family and friends. Usually these types of bullying is done in groups and they will then start to pick at your performance. Uni should be supportive, but I also am a MA 1 student and not sure they would know what to do, since they are not of colour.
At the moment, I am going through the early stages of this, but my wife reminds me that I am a student and I have to conform to an extent, just to get through it, since in some situations zero tolerance is only a sound bite in alot of places. Sadly being a ethnic minority does make a difference, on placement and at uni, especially if there is only a few of us. If I mention how some things make me feel, in class, one or two people shout out that I am using the race card. Well, I have been beaten up at school for being different, not being a white English boy, at work as well as being threatened by a staff member who supports the BNP and he got away with it. I have been bullyied and at placement they are treating me as if I am slow, but they say that is because I am dylexic. So those who say things like your race or culture or even say you are playing the race card do not really know what they are saying.
The isolation is the worse because then you think everybody is against you and that will affect your work as well as your mental health. My advice is go to these socials even if you feel uncomfortable because you will find some people will like you and it will show you are not backing down. Also you have the power of your education and the pen. So write about these things and look how to apply practice to theory and then when your supervisier reads your mid journal paper they will have to look at it and you have showed how you can use this horrible time to your advantage.
Gut feeling you should tell someone, but people somethimes don't want to really know, because these are collegueges and we are students.
I do feel for you, you have to rise above it, however you think and feel you can resolve this. All the best.
Thanks everyone for your advice. I am just focused on getting my portfolio and other evidence together at the moment and dealing with the other academic requirements. So, I'm just letting it pass. I'll let you know how it all ends.
Thanks to everyone that posted.
GMWXP: Thanks everyone for your advice. I am just focused on getting my portfolio and other evidence together at the moment and dealing with the other academic requirements. So, I'm just letting it pass. I'll let you know how it all ends. Thanks to everyone that posted.
I did read the entire thread up to the point of my first post, and my opinion remains the same.
The snag with writing things down with a time and date is that it can look a little contrived, and invites the response;
'so why didn't you bring this up at the time?'
An 'immediate retribution' reaction to a racist comment though is precisely that - the racist is instantly on the back foot and suddenly aware that the issue will be in public straight way. Managers, team leaders and supervisors don't get the opportunity to try to water-down the response-they have to act there-and-then.
My perception though is slanted by experience of working in US universities, whereby many lecturers now carry pen video cameras and a female student can't be in an office with a male lecturer without the door open and a 'chaperone' outside noting the date and time of the meeting in his Blackberry. Storing-up 'evidence' sometimes comes over as being a bit too enthusiastic.
RachelL: I did read the entire thread up to the point of my first post, and my opinion remains the same. The snag with writing things down with a time and date is that it can look a little contrived, and invites the response; 'so why didn't you bring this up at the time?' An 'immediate retribution' reaction to a racist comment though is precisely that - the racist is instantly on the back foot and suddenly aware that the issue will be in public straight way. Managers, team leaders and supervisors don't get the opportunity to try to water-down the response-they have to act there-and-then. My perception though is slanted by experience of working in US universities, whereby many lecturers now carry pen video cameras and a female student can't be in an office with a male lecturer without the door open and a 'chaperone' outside noting the date and time of the meeting in his Blackberry. Storing-up 'evidence' sometimes comes over as being a bit too enthusiastic.
I totally agree with your view on tackling racism but there comes a time when things are trumped by other issues. On this occasion I am not being provocative. Its about how both issues are best served in the longer term. ie. Fight racism. Best way to do that. Get qualified. Best way to get qualified; maximise chances. Best way forward in this scenario. Keep head down.