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Caligastia
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http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/...AR&Profile=1004
quote:
Parent offended by lesson in vocabulary
By Sherry Jones
Staff Writer
sherry.jones@wilmingtonstar.com
Niggardly as defined by Webster's:
adj.
1. reluctant to give or spend; stingy;miserly
2. meanly or ungenerously small or scanty
Use of a word that sounds like a racial slur has landed a New Hanover County teacher in the middle of a controversy.
Stephanie Bell, a fourth-grade teacher at Williams Elementary School, taught the word "niggardly" to her class last week in an effort to improve her students' vocabularies.
Now, a parent wants her fired.
Speak out.
Make your opinion known. Visit the forum section and sound off.
Although the word means stingy, Akwana Walker said it was inappropriate to use it because it sounds similar to a racial slur. She said she doesn't think fourth-graders can distinguish between the two words.
"My daughter told me what that word was, and I told her not to complete that part of her homework," said Ms. Walker, who is black.
Ms. Bell, who is white, defended her choice of the word and said she didn't mean to offend anyone. She has already sent home letters of apology with her students, as her principal instructed.
The word came up Aug. 20 during a comparison of two characters from different stories. One character was a Hispanic girl; the other was a white boy. The class talked briefly about the proper words to use when describing a person's race, Ms. Bell said.
Then, the class discussed other ways to describe people. One child described the boy as stingy.
Ms. Bell said she thought this would be a good chance to find a word for the day, a practice she has used this year.
"The idea for the word of the day is to pick part of the curriculum or something you can extend from it," she said.
She began looking for a synonym for "stingy." The children's dictionary offered "self-centered." But Ms. Bell said most of the children already knew that word.
That's when she landed on the word "niggard." She added the "-ly" because the class was studying adverbs. Ms. Bell explained the meaning of the word and told the students how to use it in a sentence, something they would have to do on their spelling tests to gain extra points.
"And that was it," she said. "These words for the day are used solely as extra credit. They have to use the word in a sentence that shows they understand the meaning."
Her students did that on their vocabulary tests, she said.
A few days later, Ms. Bell received a letter from Ms. Walker saying the word was not allowed in her house, no matter what it means.
"Common sense tells you not to put a word like that on the board," Ms. Walker said.
Ms. Walker met with Ms. Bell and the school's principal, Susan Hahn, Thursday. As a result, Ms. Walker's daughter, Gabrielle, has been moved to another class.
In addition to the apology sent home Friday, Ms. Bell has agreed not to use the word again in her class. A counselor will meet with Ms. Bell's students.
Ms. Walker doesn't think that's enough. She wants Ms. Bell removed from her teaching position.
Norm Shearin, deputy superintendent for the New Hanover County Schools, said Friday the principal is dealing with the situation.
"Our position is that it was an inappropriate action in terms of using that word at that grade level, in that context," he said. "… It was a bad choice."
This isn't the first time the word has stirred controversy. In 1999, for instance, an employee in the Washington, D.C., mayor's office resigned after being accused of using a racial slur. He had used the word "niggardly" during a conversation about funding.
Ms. Bell said she was sorry the word offended someone, but she wants people to understand that "niggardly" is an appropriate word.
"If these children read it, they are going to need to know what they are reading," she said. "My concern is that we are treading a fine line here. … What word do we take out next?"
William Whalen, whose daughter also is in Ms. Bell's class, said he thinks the situation has been blown out of proportion. Mr. Whalen is white.
"One mother was offended because she took that word to mean something it didn't mean," he said. "Ms. Bell apologized. That was sufficient."
He added his daughter has encountered the word when reading The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
"She's a good teacher," Mr. Whalen said. "I don't think she had any ulterior motives. … It's a word. That's all it is."
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I got this from Newsmax. Seems kinda crazy that people would get upset about a word just because it sounds like another word.
Would you be offended if I told you that Jesus masticated during the last supper?
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Faeelin
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Tau Ceti
Oct 2001
time: 05:22
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Hmm. Can I laugh, cry, or begin a movement on the use of the word nip in a sentence?
"The Dog nipped the child playfully, causing him to laugh."
Clearly that's a reference to japan's violent tendencies during the 20th century.
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Sonic
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Vilnius, Lithuania
Dec 2001
time: 07:22
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We should also forbid these words then:
Niger (name of a country in Africa)
Nigeria (name of a country in Afrcia)
Niger (name of a river in Africa)
Bigger
etc.
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:22
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I just have to wonder about this woman's kid. I mean, if she thinks her kid can't distinguish between two words...
Like daughter like mother, perhaps?
Anyway, no, this isn't the first time this sort of thing has come up. Ignorant people are all over, and they're the ones that don't learn from history. I expect more of this in the future.
After all, these parents were probably brought up in the public schools. I bet most of them don't know the meaning of niggardly.
--"Do the words have different roots?"
Niggardly has been traced at least as far back as the 1300s. It's apparently from the words nig and nigon, meaning miser, in Middle English.
Edit: Interesting. Apparently the word niggard is even used by Chaucer. I think this makes any common root with the racial slur rather unlikely.
Wraith
If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?
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Since I work at a middle school, this is a sad story. They may fired the teacher, for someone who is not very educated.
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Faeelin
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Tau Ceti
Oct 2001
time: 05:22
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Well, nigger comes from negro which comes from Spanish or Portuguese for black, so it doesn't have anything to do with nigon.
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Capt Dizle
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It was once explained to me that blacks could not by definition be guilty of racism because racism only occurs when members of a majority abuse a minority race.
If I live long enough to see the white population in America become a minority I am certainly going to be looking to get the first teacher who uses the word "cracker" fired.
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devilmunchkin
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first circle of the inferno
Jul 2001
time: 05:22
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the word has power only because people give it power
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Capt Dizle
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thats deep man
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devilmunchkin
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first circle of the inferno
Jul 2001
time: 05:22
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wasn't trying to be..just telling the truth
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devilmunchkin
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first circle of the inferno
Jul 2001
time: 05:22
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if kids are made to handle bible stories (lot's incest, god ordering genorcide in judges, david dancing naked, brothers kiling brothers or selling each other into slavery) then they should be able to handle this....right?
*cough*ormaybejustdoawaywiththespoonfeedings*cough
*
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02-09-2002 20:10
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