Prejudice Teacher

[Valsabatini]

My teacher for my pre req nursing program is horrid. He is from China and is extremely prejudiced against Americans. We are constantly subjected to his 'tidbits' of information about how Americans are basically extremely stupid compared to other countries. If students have not grasped a concept he's taught, he will say things like, In China we learn this in 3rd grade. What is wrong with your school system that you can't understand basic concepts? He also says things like, America may have some of the best schools, but most people don't get in there, most people get into crap schools, so the vast majority are under qualified. Today his rant was about nurses in the US. He said the that united states nurses have a high propensity for killing patients by misreading solutions placed into the bloodstream. He said a lot of nurses don't understand the concept of Isotonic solutions, blah blah blah. One of the students raised his hand and said, don't other countries have the same problem. He said sure, but because the educational system in the us is so poor we have much lower standard of nurses here. He has said a lot of really derogatory things, a lot more than i have mentioned. A lot of the students hate him, but no one wants to speak up. I feel like I'm in a hostile educational environment every time i come to his class. I really dislike this man but I'm at a loss of what to do. Im on the verge of anger a lot of the times. I had to stop myself from screaming at him , "Go back to China and teach there if you think were so dumb!"

now he's making me turn into a racist smh

[elijahvegas, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

You're going to come across a lot of patients say a lot worse to you. Better get used to sucking it up now or consider a new career.

I once had a classmate get ripped apart by a patient for mispronouncing medications. Absolutely slayed her. And then requested that the student no longer be a part of her care. Sweet girl too, she was so nervous because of her minimal patent care-exposure that she lost her nerve trying to explain the meds. Needless to say she was in tears.

[Purple_roses]

It's not a nursing class.

Then file a formal complaint to the school in general.

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

As a professor, I try to remind myself to keep my opinions to myself when I'm 'on the stage', but sometimes certain things come out. For example, when I teach GI, it's very difficult to avoid discussing weight management, non-compliance with lifestyle modifications, self-indulgence and the tendency for our society to believe there is a pill or surgery to solve all our problems. I always preface it with "it is hard for many people" (and I often add in a comment about us- students and professors who are stressed, on the go and don't have time to take care of ourselves). I don't feel like I am targeting a specific culture or race by saying these things, but I wouldn't be surprised if someday a student complained about me and said I was 'fat shaming'. I try to keep is as objective as possible. I can use many other examples to prove my point. The bottom line is, in nursing we are talking about human interactions and behaviors/beliefs that potentially affect our well-being.

My point is, regarding this professor, I know this would not be tolerated in my program or college. I teach in one of the most diverse public colleges in my area (and in the country). A lot of Asian students (who are generally very pleasant, hard working and respectful, so I know this is not representative of all of them). And I am surprised that many of you are of the belief that the student should just suck it up. Maybe for some, it is easy to tune him out and wait for him to actually teach what he's supposed to be (I wonder how much of that is actually going on here). But for some, it's not. Yes, as nurses we need to deal with stupid and ignorant things people say, but we're not paying for our patients and colleagues to insult us. Imagine if this were a professor of another race or culture, making generalizations about another race or culture. It just wouldn't fly (nor should it).

[Purple_roses]

You're going to come across a lot of patients say a lot worse to you. Better get used to sucking it up now or consider a new career.

I once had a classmate get ripped apart by a patient for mispronouncing medications. Absolutely slayed her. And then requested that the student no longer be a part of her care. Sweet girl too, she was so nervous because of her minimal patent care-exposure that she lost her nerve trying to explain the meds. Needless to say she was in tears.

I disagree with this. You don't have to just suck it up. This person is paying for an education, and thus has every right to speak up. And it's also not ok for a teacher to rip a student apart for mispronunciations--my pharm teacher laughs when we butcher a med name and then tells us the correct pronunciation. Just because it's common place for certain professions to act inappropriately does not make it any less appropriate.

[NurseEmmy]

My suggestion would be to record his lecture (unless of course your school has some rule against this) and request an appointment with the powers that be at your school. You do not have to tolerate this, but nothing will change unless someone does something about it.

[elijahvegas, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

I disagree with this. You don't have to just suck it up. This person is paying for an education, and thus has every right to speak up. And it's also not ok for a teacher to rip a student apart for mispronunciations--my pharm teacher laughs when we butcher a med name and then tells us the correct pronunciation. Just because it's common place for certain professions to act inappropriately does not make it any less appropriate.

agreed, it doesn't make it any less appropriate but my advice to suck it up wasn't meant as a life lesson to become a doormat. It was emphasizing the importance to find a way to cope with and deal people that say things to you that you won't want to hear, while still being able to do what you have to d, because as i've said, once she begins nursing she will have a slew of insults thrown at her probably at the daily. And if she is getting perturbed by a professor telling her that her education in this country is sub-par to what hes used to, she won't last too long against racists, sexists, bigots, altered and dementia patients that will call you everything under the sun.

[Serhilda, ADN, RN]

This is one generational difference I've definitely started noticing. Older generations seem to encourage the tolerance of prejudice and the degradation of people, especially in the workplace, while younger generations push for bettering our culture and understanding how beliefs shape how we treat others. One thing older generations need to understand is things like this aren't about "offense" or feelings, it's about the very real influence people have in promoting discriminatory beliefs, and thus, the discrimination and violence towards others. Obviously I don't believe this idea in particular will lead towards violence against Americans but it's important to keep that in mind, generally speaking. If we'd "sucked up" misogyny, racism, and homophobia in the past, just think of where we'd be.

Always try to make this type of behavior known to higher ups, whenever possible.

[NERVOUS IN VAN]

It sounds to me like you've come across a really terrible instructor...the real question is, are you being racist? If you think that one person is being a jerk because his perspective of American students is viewed through a large negative lens, then you're not a racist. If you think that all Chinese people and professors are the same type of jerk...then you're being racist. Dont be afraid of disliking an individual because of their negative attitude or actions...you dont have to love everyone. Just be sure to realize that its that one particular individual that sucks.

[mercurysmom]

I agree it must be annoying to have him for a teacher. But think of it this way: he probably had to learn to speak, read and write proficiently in English to be able to get the job. Is he articulate? Compare his English language skills with post-secondary students who speak English as a first language, but have no concept of grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc. And ask yourself if he's so annoying because he might be right about some things.

I absolutely agree. The old joke is true:

"What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks three languages! Trilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks one language? American."

I bid for Tutoring jobs through Voc Rehab, and was working with a (details changed...kind of) Deaf Croatian man who was preparing for US licensure/certification as a Graphic Artist. Not only was he prelingually deafened and fully literate in Croatian and Language X (some other Eastern European post-USSR language), he was also fluent in English, reading and writing in all 3 languages at a college level, AND fluent in Croatian Sign Language, Sign Language X that I can't remember, and British Sign Language, which is totally different from ASL. My job was to help him complete his portfolio and help him Transition to ASL, both of which were incredible experiences.

For years, American Deaf children (both oral and manual/ASL method students) "graduated" from HS with a 4th grade education. As of 2015, with our improved methods of identifying Deaf/Hard of Hearing infants and quick referral to Early Intervention, we've closed the gap a bit between D/HH and hearing kids...somewhat. Not too hard to improve by 2 or 3 grade levels, since, depending on the state and/or student family demographics, we can find "graduation-eligible" hearing kids who are reading at the 8th-9th grade level. Or, students in my state now have the option to take the high stakes tests or GED entirely in Spanish, which eliminates that pesky English comprehension/composition requirement entirely.

I asked my student how he learned so many languages; he shrugged and said, "I wasn't given a choice."

(Silence)

What the HECK are we doing?!

ETA: regardless of the status of the US Educational System, this professor sounds like a real jerk. I pay tuition to gain knowledge, not to listen to someone's opinion regarding the system in which he is currently employed.

For such a self-proclaimed expert on "Why my country is superior to yours" and "Why people in my country are better educated than Americans will ever be," he missed a VERY important concept:

Don't poop where you eat.

[Valsabatini]

professor evaluations were last week and I wrote quite a long list of grievances. We are not allowed to tape lectures without permission and I wouldn't dare ask him. Ask for today's class his tidbit was outrageous yet again. We were discussing genetics and he said, Michael Jordan's genetics allowed him to become a great basketball player. I'm a short Asian man I could never become a great basketball player but my genetics allowed me to be more smart. That's why Asians score so high in tests is because of genetics that's all.

It just just keeps getting better with this fool I swear:

i juwt wish wish he said this last week during evaluations so I could have put that down as well

[NERVOUS IN VAN]

Wow, this thread has some pretty hilarious arguements...as for genetics, if were to ask a geneticist, race is a totally artificial construct based on phenotypic commonalities, but not actually based on the true genetic environment within an individual. There is significantly more genetic variation within a racial group than there is between racial groups...Translation, there are some amazingly athletic Asians, and some incredibly dumb Asians, some horribly unathletic Africans, and incredibly intelligent Africans. Beyond the presence of major learning disabilities, we all have very similar learning capabilities...the big difference is the cultural/community value of intelligence. Culturally, a large amount of Asian cultures are willing to place academic learning as more important than living experience, socialization, and freedom...I used to tutor the children of wealthy Asian families and many of the children were top of their class...they had no life, no freedom, no friends, their careers were chosen for them from birth...It all depends on cultural/community value. Black people tend to be more athletic because of an environment of social inequity, the schools in bad neighborhoods are bad, the parents typically went to those same bad schools, and sports such as basketball and football are affordable pass times and one of the few places to develop pride in such an environment. What Im trying to get at is environment counts for way more than genetics...its not until extremely elite athletics and Bobby Fisher like intelligence (which nearly none of us really have the ability of attaining) that genetic variation really matters, and there are huge outliers within every population.

Genetics aside, standardized testing does show a very slight intelligence superiority of Asians over other races, but that finding has very little to do with genetics, and more with culture.

[Valsabatini]

My husband told me one of his professors was fired for saying that it would be more difficult for black people to play hockey because of the shape of the foot or ankle or something along those lines. What my professor said today is far more egregious (Asian people are smarter due to genetics)

wonder if my professor could get fired for this latest comment. I wish