Student Suspended for Requesting Instruction in English, Sues College

[DGS49]

The title of the thread is misleading, to the point of being wrong.

The class is taught in English, but Spanish-speaking students are constantly talking in class - possibly helping each other understand the lectures. Also, the plaintiff was placed in work-study groups where she was the only non-Spanish speaker, and her fellow-students were apparently unwilling or unable to include her in the productive activities.

It may be that these Spanish speakers will be able to find employment in enviroments where they can thrive, but that is no excuse for making this woman feel like an unwelcome foreigner in class.

It sounds to me like the college officials she dealt with are used to being able to bully and intimidate their students, and don't like it when an adult won't just take their shit and be quiet.

Good for her. I hope someone gets fired.

 

[Unkotare]

So why don't Mexican-Americans speak in English, just like all of the other immigrants who come here?

They do, of course. When a group of people share a common language it is only natural that they will communicate with each other in their native tongue. From what we know, it sounds like the students in question were being rude to the one woman who could not speak Spanish.

 

[candycorn]

The title of the thread is misleading, to the point of being wrong.

The class is taught in English, but Spanish-speaking students are constantly talking in class - possibly helping each other understand the lectures. Also, the plaintiff was placed in work-study groups where she was the only non-Spanish speaker, and her fellow-students were apparently unwilling or unable to include her in the productive activities.

It may be that these Spanish speakers will be able to find employment in enviroments where they can thrive, but that is no excuse for making this woman feel like an unwelcome foreigner in class.

It sounds to me like the college officials she dealt with are used to being able to bully and intimidate their students, and don't like it when an adult won't just take their shit and be quiet.

Good for her. I hope someone gets fired.

Did you read any source other than Beirbart?

 

[Unkotare]

Can you imagine new immigrants speaking their own language in college classes while the Teacher speaks English?
Mexicans would be speaking Spanish.
Germans would be speaking German.
French would be speaking French.
Chinese would be speaking Mandarin.

If you have groups of 3 or more people sitting together who all speak the same first language, that is exactly what happens. Hopefully, at times when it is appropriate for them to be speaking at all (and at an appropriate volume).

 

[DGS49]

"The issue began in 2012 when a student sat in the front of the classroom and spoke often during lectures.

"This other student constantly talked during the class and disrupted the class," the complaint said. "She spoke primarily in Spanish."

Bennett was then placed in a study group in which she was only person whose first language was English. The other students spoke Spanish to each other and she could not understand them."

Several papers reported the story. It's all in there. Do you disagree with the facts as I have stated them?

Do tell.

 

[DGS49]

As an employee of several European and Asian based companies over my working life, I assure you that it is universally true that when one person in a group is "mono-lingual" (i.e., an American) it is considered rude to speak in a language that the single person does not understand.

And in the United States of America, in a STATE OWNED SCHOOL, it goes way beyond rude.

In this case, the school is as wrong as can be. They fostered an intolerable situation, then punished the person who complained about it. I hope several people are fired over this, although since they are Gub'mint employees, I know that will never happen.

 

[candycorn]

"The issue began in 2012 when a student sat in the front of the classroom and spoke often during lectures.

"This other student constantly talked during the class and disrupted the class," the complaint said. "She spoke primarily in Spanish."

Bennett was then placed in a study group in which she was only person whose first language was English. The other students spoke Spanish to each other and she could not understand them."

Several papers reported the story. It's all in there. Do you disagree with the facts as I have stated them?

Do tell.

If you're talking to me, I would appreciate your quoting me so I'm not interjecting myself somewhere else, thanks.

I agree that she was placed in a study group that was not speaking the same language as she did; whether or not the "injury" rises to the level of having to sue someone over it is an opinion you're registering.

Did you read the portion in the local paper about why she was suspended according to the School District?

Did you read how much she is suing for? Keep in mind the tuition for junior colleges is usually <10,000.

 

[OohPooPahDoo]

Wanting the class to be taught in English is "Discrimmatory and Bigotry"?

In America?

Student Suspended for Requesting Instruction in English, Sues College

Fifty-year-old student Terri Bennett is suing Pima Community College (PCC) in Pima County, Arizona for allegedly labeling her a "bigot" and suspending her from school for asking if her nursing studies curriculum could be taught in English to make it easier to learn.
According Bennett's legal complaint, she started nursing classes at PCC in January 2013. During classroom hours, she and her fellow students were divided up into smaller groups, and she was "the only first-language English speaker" in her group. The other students in her group "spoke primarily in Spanish."

The students were asked to fill out class evaluations in March and were told their answers would remain anonymous. Thus, Bennett indicated on her evaluation she would prefer "there were no Spanish in the classroom."

During another class, Bennett stated shortly after turning in her evaluation, Spanish was used so heavily in the classroom that she said she could not "concentrate." By April 3, Bennett claimed her learning environment was so challenging that she "followed PCC procedures and requested an interview with the Director of the Nursing Program."

Bennett's complaint alleges that, after she told nursing director David Kutzler of her struggles, he accused her of "discriminating against Mexican-Americans" and of being a "bigot and a bitch."

The next day, April 4, Bennett was summoned to a broader meeting of PCC staff where she was allegedly told she was "discriminating" and that she would "not get a job" even if she finished her degree. Kutzler allegedly took part in this meeting as well, confronting Bennett with her "anonymous" class evaluation.

On April 15, Bennett was given a routine progress report in which she was accused of having "ineffective communication skills." On April 22, security personnel were waiting for her when she arrived at school; she was suspended and reportedly "instructed to leave campus immediately."

She was given a letter saying her suspension was based on charges that her "presence on College property [posed] a significant risk of disruption of educational activities" and that she "engaged in discriminatory conduct," among other charges.

Liberalism is getting out of hand here.

I hope she wins enough in her lawsuit that she doesn't have to work another day in her life.

$4 million after taxes would be a good sum to start with.

Anyone who has a problem with people speaking foreign languages around them obviously should never have to ever work again - you're right. The contribution she has made to the economy by whining about her fellow students speaking a language she doesn't understand is priceless.

 

[OohPooPahDoo]

Wanting the class to be taught in English is "Discrimmatory and Bigotry"?

In America?

Student Suspended for Requesting Instruction in English, Sues College

Fifty-year-old student Terri Bennett is suing Pima Community College (PCC) in Pima County, Arizona for allegedly labeling her a "bigot" and suspending her from school for asking if her nursing studies curriculum could be taught in English to make it easier to learn.
According Bennett's legal complaint, she started nursing classes at PCC in January 2013. During classroom hours, she and her fellow students were divided up into smaller groups, and she was "the only first-language English speaker" in her group. The other students in her group "spoke primarily in Spanish."

The students were asked to fill out class evaluations in March and were told their answers would remain anonymous. Thus, Bennett indicated on her evaluation she would prefer "there were no Spanish in the classroom."

During another class, Bennett stated shortly after turning in her evaluation, Spanish was used so heavily in the classroom that she said she could not "concentrate." By April 3, Bennett claimed her learning environment was so challenging that she "followed PCC procedures and requested an interview with the Director of the Nursing Program."

Bennett's complaint alleges that, after she told nursing director David Kutzler of her struggles, he accused her of "discriminating against Mexican-Americans" and of being a "bigot and a bitch."

The next day, April 4, Bennett was summoned to a broader meeting of PCC staff where she was allegedly told she was "discriminating" and that she would "not get a job" even if she finished her degree. Kutzler allegedly took part in this meeting as well, confronting Bennett with her "anonymous" class evaluation.

On April 15, Bennett was given a routine progress report in which she was accused of having "ineffective communication skills." On April 22, security personnel were waiting for her when she arrived at school; she was suspended and reportedly "instructed to leave campus immediately."

She was given a letter saying her suspension was based on charges that her "presence on College property [posed] a significant risk of disruption of educational activities" and that she "engaged in discriminatory conduct," among other charges.

Liberalism is getting out of hand here.

I hope she wins enough in her lawsuit that she doesn't have to work another day in her life.

$4 million after taxes would be a good sum to start with.

Is the school chartered to do bilingual instructions and operating within state guidelines? If so, why aren't students being screened for proficiency in both languages before entrance to classes?

The breach of her anonymity as a basis for dismissal from classes with armed guards in attendance was over the top unless she relinquished her right to speak English prior to the first day of the semester. It isn't stated whether the school tried to approach her privately first for a resolution to the problem of disrupting classes.

Instruction?

Despite the obviously intentionally misleading title - it doesn't say she alleged the actual instruction was in English - only that her fellow students were speaking too much Spanish.