Well, if it’s random, then it’s pointless.
And maybe they didn’t reinforce and pile on further humiliation the very things that might be creating social disadvantages for them. That’s the point, right?
At some point people with social power, whether teachers or popular kids or whatever have to start taking on board the idea that just because you didn’t think you were making someone’s life worse doesn’t mean you can disclaim responsibility for it.
I’m pretty sure the press have just stopped paying attention to Florida, because it just got too ridiculous, so Texas moved to number 1 by default. California is gonna have to step up its game!
mc
Well… yes and no. The yearbook committee was made up of both teachers and students, IIRC. The popular, socially connected ones. So an award, even if rude, was a public acknowledgement that the popular kids/important teachers were interested in your existence. NOT getting an award was a clear communication of your social disadvantage. (I didn’t get an award, natch.)
I guess what I’m trying to say is that, much like mock-punches, mildly rude awards can be signifiers of in-group gentle teasing, and a message that you belong. If the teacher had given them in that spirit, then I would not have found it offensive. However, if the article is accurate, that is not the spirit in which they were given and the teacher is a jackass of the first order.
I find these particular awards, given to 12 year olds, would never be funny. Other silly awards? Sure. But these are mean spirited and nothing else.
It’s a world of difference between that and 18 year old seniors.
I wonder who got “Most Likely to Throat Punch a Teacher”
Greg Gianforte?
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Sorry. Double post
I wouldn’t find these jokes funny no matter what. But having it with children is what makes it offensive to me.
What I will say is that, the more offensive potential a joke has, the better it has to be told, and the funnier it has to be, because people who don’t find it funny are much more likely to be offended.
You really should leave jokes like this to the professionals, unless you’re just talking among friends you know really well.
More likely to punch the student…
Looks like Bryan’s a shoo-in for the “Most Likely to Become an SDMB Mod” award, right guys? C’mon, who’s with me?
This is what I don’t get about it— were the “awards” random, or designed to poke fun at some aspect of the “winner”? And if the latter, what characteristic of the students were they lampooning?
It’s more bizarre than offensive, to me at least.
We could easily populate a multi-page “Omnibus Dumb Teacher Thread.”
It would however be dwarfed by the “Omnibus Asshole School Administrators” thread.
Don’t forget “Most Likely to Blend In with White People” (cite).
Where’s a pillory, when you need one?
Lighten up, Francis.
In what world does a black teacher think it’s okay to call a black student “Most Likely to Blend In with White People”?
… nope, never mind; forgot to code-switch. Can’t be going around talking like that in mixed company.
Yeah, an ex-guitarist of mine has introduced me to folks with “Doesn’t he look like he’ll eat you and wear your face!?!” That doesn’t bother me, because they know he’s a loon, too. If my boss introduced me that way, I’d be uncomfortable, at least.
I thought this particular “award” to be more offensive than the “most likely to be a terrorist” one.
It really depends on both the level of the teasing and the nature. Middle school kids like to tease each other, but there are bullies and bullying as well. The teacher really needs to be on top of this, and being the ringleader is absolutely the wrong thing to do. It would bring real questions concerning the judgement of the teacher.