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Anyone know of a way to make this dude stop insulting UND?


FightingSiouxnerd

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My social studies teacher will not stop insulting The Fighting Sioux. does anyone know of a way to make him stop?

Are you in college? If not, what grade are you in? Bring your complaints to his boss, either a principal or the chair of that dept. if the chair doesn't help, go to the Dean.

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I am in (scary) 6th grade. :D

I am around 6th Graders all of the time and I can say that, depending upon the school simply stating "I don't agree with your position" (assuming you state it just like that) might work. It all depends upon the teacher.

This topic, unless talking about current events in 21st Century Native American culture, doesn't belong in the classroom. So, what I'd do is simply this: State that you do not agree with the teacher's opinion. Do not antagonize the teacher at all. Use as much respect as humanly possible including voicing the opinion that the teacher's opinion is a valid one despite your disagreement. Then let it drop.

If you want to make an issue of this and if the teacher wishes to continue arguing about the topic, then you take it home to your parents. Then ask your parents to contact the teacher. If the teacher still persists, then you take it again to your parents and ask your parents to contact the school's administrator.

1. Taking on the teacher will not work. You will marginalize yourself and make yourself out to being the snotty whining kids that always cause trouble. Unfortunately, that's how 6th grade rolls these days. Use respect and be prepared to be disagreed with. Then drop the issue.

2. Do not go directly to the Principal. The Principal will more than likely send you back to talk to your teacher, and that knowledge (you went to the Principal first) will get back to your teacher and it will bite you in the backside.

3. Taking it home to the parents is KEY if things should persist. Parents have a huge voice in the schools. Though parents aren't always right and sometimes work against the educational system, 95% of the time, their intervention causes change for the better. That's why there are all these informational sites, literature, and sometimes even commercials talking to parents about getting involved in their child's schools.

4. Do not expect things to change fast. In fact, things might not outwardly change at all. In the scope of education, unfortunately, this is small fish.

It might simply be better just to just tune it out. Everything is relative. To make an issue of this type of issue is going to put you on a tight rope. One misstep and you get yourself in a world of trouble.

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I am in (scary) 6th grade. :D

Go to the school counselor or the principal or at least a trusted teacher. This teacher does need to be talked to if he is making kids in his class feel uncomfortable. It is possible that he does not realize that he is making people uncomfortable with his comments. And realize that not all teachers are like that, it will get better, I promise!

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Go to the school counselor or the principal or at least a trusted teacher. This teacher does need to be talked to if he is making kids in his class feel uncomfortable. It is possible that he does not realize that he is making people uncomfortable with his comments. And realize that not all teachers are like that, it will get better, I promise!

Forgot about the counselor! Good point!

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I am in (scary) 6th grade. ;)

Well, if you're a 6th grader and you live in ND, your teacher is probably an NAIA all-star. Just ask him (going to assume it's a guy for now) why he paid for a high-school education when he already got one for free. That should shut him up. :D

Of course, I don't actually recommend doing this, as you'll probably get in more trouble than it's worth. He might just be intending to do it in a joking manner and doesn't realize it's not coming off that way. If he's a laid back teacher, it's possible you could joke with him about his favorite college in a friendly way. If he really is making these comments in a harsh, condescending manner, simply try to ignore it as best you can.

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Go to the school counselor or the principal or at least a trusted teacher. This teacher does need to be talked to if he is making kids in his class feel uncomfortable. It is possible that he does not realize that he is making people uncomfortable with his comments. And realize that not all teachers are like that, it will get better, I promise!

Going to the counselor will certainly help and give you someone else in the school to talk to about the problem, but don't expect the behavior to change by simply going to the counselor. A counselor doesn't have any authority over the teacher, so there's not much they can do, especially if the teacher is a real jerk in the first place. I agree with redwing, that talking to your parents probably is the best route to take if the teacher is making these comments in a hurtful way. I will just say, be prepared for the possibility that both the administrator and teacher completely ignore any concerns. If you're in 6th grade and have a separate SS teacher, I'm assuming you're in a larger middle school. Administrators have less direct contact with their teachers in these situations, so the administrator might not talk to the teacher or not take it as seriously as in a smaller elementary school. In fact, if the teacher really does despise UND, you could possibly be singled out even more.

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Go to the school counselor or the principal or at least a trusted teacher. This teacher does need to be talked to if he is making kids in his class feel uncomfortable. It is possible that he does not realize that he is making people uncomfortable with his comments. And realize that not all teachers are like that, it will get better, I promise!

Do this^^.

And if it doesn't work, make up a story about the teacher 'touching' you so said teacher gets fired. Works like a charm.

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While getting insulted is not fun, it is a part of life. But in most cases it is done in the spirit of mere banter. Sounds sick but it should be kept in perspective. Also, you have to take responsiblility for your actions, do not bait him into an arguement - that wouldn't be fair. When I was a student at UND we continually made fun of the kids from NDSU (cow college), not to mention we still refer to U of Minnesota students as goofs. Now one of my brothers-in-law is a NDSU grad, not to mention one of the leaders in his company (and he's a great guy) and my dentist is a grad from U of M (and she's not only a great dentist but a nice person- and I mean NICE)! It goes back to the Sticks and Stones addage, they may hurt, but only if you let them! The real irony would be to get an advanced degree from UND and go back and be his boss!

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ha ha ha....... but he's an Indiana grad.

First, What kind of comments does he make?

If you live in Indiana and he's an Indiana grad, why does he even care about UND? I live in Michigan and the only people here who have heard of UND are hockey fans. 90% of the people I meet think the interlocking ND logo on my Sioux sweatshirt is a Notre Dame logo and are asking why I have such funny colored Irish clothing. Do you wear UND clothing to school and is that why he makes fun of the Sioux? As a teacher, I would give my students grief if they wore clothing for a particular sports team, but they always knew it was in jest and gave it right back to me. Since he's an Indiana grad, ask him if he got high before Hoosier basketball games like the players did. :D

If you're sure the teacher isn't doing this in a joking manner, then my next question would be is your teacher Native American or are you discussing Native American history at all in your class? If you're talking about history in your SS class, it is possible his comments might not be meant as insults, but rather to provide an alternative perspective for you and your classmates. It is also possible he resents the nickname, even if he's not Native American. If that's the case, there is nothing you can do to convince him otherwise and he probably will continue to comment on it any chance he gets unless stopped. I would definitely talk to your parents about it if it continues, because a 6th grade classroom is no place for this teacher to be preaching about his personal beliefs.

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  • 1 month later...

Yes, i'm back again. This time It was the first day back after the christmas break. I'd gotten a Fighting Sioux Watch for cristmas, and was wearing it to school. When I was in his class, He came up to me, took my watch off my wrist, held it like it was something gross, and through it in the trash can. Everyone in the room thought it was funny and laughed. It's a nice watch-The hands and numbers glow in the dark! Here's what it looks like. 31bgyxrAWHL._SS500_.jpg

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Yes, i'm back again. This time It was the first day back after the christmas break. I'd gotten a Fighting Sioux Watch for cristmas, and was wearing it to school. When I was in his class, He came up to me, took my watch off my wrist, held it like it was something gross, and through it in the trash can. Everyone in the room thought it was funny and laughed. It's a nice watch-The hands and numbers glow in the dark! Here's what it looks like. 31bgyxrAWHL._SS500_.jpg
File a police report.
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While getting insulted is not fun, it is a part of life. But in most cases it is done in the spirit of mere banter. Sounds sick but it should be kept in perspective. Also, you have to take responsiblility for your actions, do not bait him into an arguement - that wouldn't be fair. When I was a student at UND we continually made fun of the kids from NDSU (cow college), not to mention we still refer to U of Minnesota students as goofs. Now one of my brothers-in-law is a NDSU grad, not to mention one of the leaders in his company (and he's a great guy) and my dentist is a grad from U of M (and she's not only a great dentist but a nice person- and I mean NICE)! It goes back to the Sticks and Stones addage, they may hurt, but only if you let them! The real irony would be to get an advanced degree from UND and go back and be his boss!
Yeah, that's what I'll do. When I get my MD degree from the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, I'll go back and teach him a lesson. ;) (even though he says UND grads are dumber than a sack of rocks :))
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  • 1 month later...
First, What kind of comments does he make?

If you live in Indiana and he's an Indiana grad, why does he even care about UND? I live in Michigan and the only people here who have heard of UND are hockey fans. 90% of the people I meet think the interlocking ND logo on my Sioux sweatshirt is a Notre Dame logo and are asking why I have such funny colored Irish clothing. Do you wear UND clothing to school and is that why he makes fun of the Sioux? As a teacher, I would give my students grief if they wore clothing for a particular sports team, but they always knew it was in jest and gave it right back to me. Since he's an Indiana grad, ask him if he got high before Hoosier basketball games like the players did. :silly:

If you're sure the teacher isn't doing this in a joking manner, then my next question would be is your teacher Native American or are you discussing Native American history at all in your class? If you're talking about history in your SS class, it is possible his comments might not be meant as insults, but rather to provide an alternative perspective for you and your classmates. It is also possible he resents the nickname, even if he's not Native American. If that's the case, there is nothing you can do to convince him otherwise and he probably will continue to comment on it any chance he gets unless stopped. I would definitely talk to your parents about it if it continues, because a 6th grade classroom is no place for this teacher to be preaching about his personal beliefs.

I wear my Sioux hockey jersey and sweatshirt to school at least once every other week (every week for the sweatshirt). And I wear my watch every day. He is not Native american and we are not talking about that in class. We're talking about Rome.

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