Posted on 12/05/2012 10:53:12 AM PST by ColoCdn
The clock ticked a little impatiently, waiting for an answer. My answer. The interviewer’s question stuck in my mind, “Have you worked with diverse students before?” Looking past her wide set eyes, I focused on the picture of MLK behind her head. He stared down at me with knowing eyes. Brooding. Silent. Without reserve.
I paused, finding the answer to her question. “Yes. I have worked with diverse students. I mean, I’ve been an English Language Development teacher for the past two years and all of my students have been Hispanic.”
“I wouldn’t call that diverse.” She caught me with smug eyes. I looked down at my white hands, and knew she was right. The word, “diverse,” stuck in the air, stranded between generations, mollified by affirmative action, silently accusing me of a skin color I had no control over.
The air was heaving with Presumptions.
My thoughts sputtered and stuttered, like my Ford’s engine trying to turn over. Revving through my mind, I managed to control their violent whirring with a modest, “You’re right. I guess I have not worked with a very diverse population.” The interviewer studied me coolly. She knew she had won. Beat me at her own game. Presumptions settled comfortably in the office air.
Shakily I grabbed my coffee, almost spilling the tasteless liquid onto my dress pants. Taking a slight sip, I tried to calm my nerves. This was a job I really wanted. I wanted to be a writing teacher. A teacher who inspired other students. Students who may not have a love for writing, but students I could convince to love it. If only, I could have a chance. A chance to—
“ So then, why do you want to work with the students at our school?” The interviewer’s cool composure remained, interrupting my confidence. From his spot on the white wall, MLK gazed at me, a little sorrowful, a little pained.
“Growing up, my family didn’t have very much money. We got by, but we didn’t have a lot, which meant I had to find a way to pay for my own education. My father encouraged me to go to college, no matter what—he was an immigrant himself, you see, from Canada. He used to say, ‘No matter what happens, no one can take your education away.’ And I believed him, with all my heart—and went on to be the first person in my family to graduate not only with a bachelor’s, but with a master’s degree. And now, I want to help others achieve the same goal.”
I took a breath, pleased with my answer, trying to read the interviewer’s poker face.
“Uh-huh.”
Unimpressed, the interviewer scribbled a few words down on a scratch sheet of paper. I couldn’t help but feel a bit slighted. My words were like whispers to the Presumptions. Presumptions that didn’t know about the children of Canadian immigrants. Presumptions that weren’t interested in the white children of blue collar workers. Presumptions that claimed they knew what I was all about; who played Master of the Interview and Master of Diversity.
MLK’s eyes looked down at me still—careworn and concerned. They reminded me for a moment of my father’s eyes. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character…” I looked at my interviewer, the gavel raised in her eyes.
“Well, that’s all I have for you. Do you have any questions for me?”
I thought for a few seconds, concerned that I wasn’t being heard. That my worth was being measured by less than what I was.
“Not right now.” I said, feeling defeated by Presumption. Defeated by premature assessment. Defeated by Prejudice.
“Okay,” she said. “Your next interviewer will be in shortly.”
The gavel banged down, sentencing me to Presumption and Presupposition. I took one more calming sip of my watery coffee and suddenly the words of my father came back to me, “Life isn’t fair.” Only now, I truly understood what he meant.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful prose. Best wishes for your daughter.
Reality is not the lies they sell on tv. There endeth the sad lesson.
Sounds like she may have a great case for a discrimination lawsuit.
I once had to tell a highly qualified white man that he would not get the job he was interviewing for because I had been given orders to hire a minority.................
That is just sad.
“I wouldn’t call that diverse.” She caught me with smug eyes. I looked down at my WHITE hands, and knew she was right. The word, “diverse,” stuck in the air, stranded between generations, mollified by affirmative action, silently accusing me of a skin color I had no control over.
“Have you worked with diverse students before?”We are all Africans.
I do not want to come off negative but your daughter needs to learn to think fast. Turn the question around - what do you mean by diverse? Do you mean gender? Do you mean skin color? Do you mean nationality? Get the interviewer to define the terms and then answer the question from.
“Diverse”
And libs accuse us of using racist code words.
Another one of my faves? “Bilingual a plus!”
That means we’re gonna hire a Mexican - legal or not - and pay them 25 percent less than we could pay you. So don’t bother applying.
Tell your daughter to make the interviewer define the term “diverse”.
Then she can tailor her answer to meet the understanding oif the defined term.
Diverse can have many meanings. Never presume to know which one is being discussed or meant.
That game goes both ways. I was constantly involved in the hiring process for degreed engineers of all types. Dozens and Dozens and Dozens.
Whenever ANYONE even suggested that I give preference solely because of diversity, I responded "Sure! All you have to do is to give me that directive in writing." In case one thinks I was prejudiced and looking for a defense, I can honestly say my unit was the most diverse of the whole organization that I knew of. The difference was that I didn't accept incompetence because of diversity. Everyone I hired was well-qualified.
My response: "No, they were all human beings."
Regards,
I’m a minority and an immigrant. To my mind, diversity covers many parameters. It is *far* more than skin tone. None of us should miss opportunity to further that argument and not ced to the skin color issue. When in doubt, draw it out.
That’s what I’d been thinking. She ceded to the interviewer’s parochial view. They both had narrow horizons.
The follow up would be of course, "What about skin color?" to which the only good response is, "I don't categorize people's needs by their skin color. Is that a requirement of this job?"
Then file a grievance with the persons manager and start a lawsuit for racial discrimination.
I would advise your daughter, or anyone who is put in that position to ask the interviewer,”what do you mean when you say ‘diverse’? Are you referring to diversity of ability, diversity of skills, or diversity of beliefs?”
Put the inquisitor on the spot and make them tell you that they are talking about identity politics.
Again, your daughter needs to get strong, and when the inquisitor says, “I wouldnt call that diverse” answer, “Really? Why not?”
Don’t let these pieces of crap Mau Mau you.
Interviewer's thought process: "What do I mean by diverse??? What you think I mean, Cracker? Were you teachin' any bruthas? That's what I wanna know. Stupid Cracker mofo. No way I'm hirin' yo sorry ass."
Interviewers response: "Well, at our school, our students tend to come from disadvantaged backgrounds. I was wondering if you had experience dealing with some of the problems that can arise due to poverty?"
Was the interviewer Amish, or a broomstick up the ass white liberal?
Welcome to America 2012, equitable to NAZI Germany 1936.
About a million years ago, I managed the IT field team for a medium-sized organization. There were three of us in the division, overseeing 70-80 people. All colors, from all over the world. Gay/Straight, both bathrooms, etc etc etc.
A fairly prominent IT publication (that will remain nameless, since they're still around) asked to interview us managers. We were all fairly young, naive, and full of ourselves, and gladly said "Yes!", thinking - hey, here's our chance to show off how great we are - approximately.
Interviewer and Photog come by. We all sit down in the conference room. First question out of the interviewer's mouth..... "Please talk about the program that you used to achieve such fantastic diversity in your IT division".
We three looked at each other. There wasn't a program, we just hired the best people as they came in the door. And, we said approximately that.
End of interview, right there, on the spot. "Thank you very much, we'll be in touch." It was an eye-opener for me as a young, up-and-coming IT engineer.
“I see you have a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King”. That’s very inspirational. My favorite quote was “Judge me by my character not by the color of my skin”. What was yours?”
I would rather have seen her answer along the lines of, “of course I have, in fact every student I have ever worked with is his own unique personality and learning style. As a result, I have had to learn to teach to every single unique individual, to take into account his learning capability and style.”
Take the opportunity to define Diversity for the interviewer and leave race out of it.
***Was the interviewer Amish, or a broomstick up the ass white liberal?***
The good side of this is they can always go to a costume party dressed as an ice cream or chocolate bar.
“Diverse students?” Define. By definition, all students are diverse. Racially diverse? Economically diverse? Gender diverse? IQ diverse? Blondes and brunettes? Curlies and straights? Gays and straights?
They didn’t want to hear that, did they? They were looking for programs, emphasis, assistance, consideration, and all that, weren’t they? They were looking for a deliberate program that took into account anything racial, and nothing qualified (except for the token, “of course, we’re assuming they’re qualified” mantra).
In my field defense engineering, accepting nothing less than the best is an ethical lapse in my opinion because our soldiers lives’ depended on it. Diversity on its own merit was not justification for engangering our military.
I would recommend that she not take a cup of coffee into her next job interview, and if offered one by the interviewer, politely decline (not that it would have made a difference in this case.)
JMHO.
When and if the majority of people who follow the Constitution will start taking the confident lead only then only then will the Constitution be protected.
And God bless MLK.
One’s caution light should virtually explode when any organization uses the word “diversity” in anything related to their work.
Any productive organization (we’re eliminating the lib arts departments of most universities, virtually all public schools, all government organizations - save the military, and vast portions of American enterprise) lives to create valuable output.
If diversity is stressed, it simply means that the management doesn’t care about quality.
Period.
And no, liberal idiots, I do NOT mean that folks from different backgrounds are not capable of outstanding performance. I DO mean that folks that you dorks pick because of “diversity” most probably are indeed not capable of outstanding performance.
Example?
The Obamadork/felon/cretin
QED
Yeah, the left (learning from the ideological “father” in John 8:42) lives in the realm of the obfuscated definition and the twisting of the meaning of words.
Asking/demanding that they define their terms exposes this, but it would probably just make the interviewer angry.
“Diverse”, by the way, means simply “not white” in terms of ethnicity, and “not American” in terms of culture.
As I grow older and as wisdom settles in more deeply, I see that everything has a purpose according to His will. Everything happens for a reason.
Your daughter has a talent for writing but it seems that education, especially public education, may not be God’s will for her. She would only experience more conflict and pain in such a setting and the ensuing frustration could eventually consume her; she would not grow her talent or her purpose.
Besides, teacher positions and salaries are going to take a hit, a huge hit in the coming years as the series of ‘stimulus after stimulus’ fade and bend to reality. Nurses, school teachers, public jobs have been propped up and have attracted a number of new aspirants to the job markets. But that wave is coming to an end.
I really don’t know what to advise but my own sister who was always a writer prodigy, now 46 years old, started with a little town newspaper, then became a reporter for the Providence Journal in Rhode Island, and then finally hit the bigtime as a reporter for the Wall St. Journal often writing stories for page 1. And she is tremendously happy, confident and secure in her job. She has a good salary and plenty of travel budget to explore the world with.
Still the schools need good writing teachers. Perhaps your daughter could take a 2 or 3 year job with a special ed school and then jump to a better public school. Good public schools do exist. I’ve had one friend who started in special ed experiencing all the horrors thereof, then jump to assistant principal of a good high school, becoming principal within a few years (very political career path). Special ed is a good stepping stone, no one really wants these jobs, but they provide the experience and if one can manage nasty kids, they can manage any group of kids.
I wish your family good luck.
The earliest primate is from Wyoming ~ not Africa. This has been known for some time in National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080303-american-primate.html and another find in that regard was just reported in Science News. Then there are the Chicoms and they’ve got a really old batch of different hominids and not a one of them came from Africa ~ http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21586-chinese-human-fossils-unlike-any-known-species.html
The key to getting a job is to convince the interviewer that you are better than them. Not that you think you are better but that you really are better. Your work will make them look good to their bosses.
In every interview, I was told later that I seemed very confident. I never mentioned the 5 years of acting experience. Pretending to be confident is easy.
Your daughter seems to have the makings of a great teacher...I hope she's persistent enough to find a job where she can use her talents.
That said, I took on a role as a mentor a few years ago, to boys in an inner-city public school. To put it bluntly, those children are being "raised" with ideas of success much different than mine. Hard work to them, is not what you and I consider hard work. Pursuing an education, and prioritizing it in their lives is not their idea of success. Inspiring "diverse" children to write is a foreign concept...many of them don't believe they have much of a future beyond the next year or two, why would they consider a developing a skill that takes effort? Diplomas and college degrees? Those are for suckers and non-diverse people. To many "diverse" kids, gang-banging, drugs, and government checks are success. Their aspirations are short-term, and there are no plans for legacies among them.
During his time in Athens, Paul was disturbed by an altar bearing the inscription: “To The Unknown God.” Sadly, I see that altar as a picture of today’s America.
Our diversity culture seeks to adopt all “truth” into one collective truth so that there ultimately is no real truth.
- Jonathan Falwell
Get out Whitey! you aint gonna get dis job.
Whitey can never win. Whitey be good for only one thing - his money.
I'm right, aren't I?
Applicant: “I’m sorry, can you define diversity?”
Highly-paid but unqualified interviewer: “Diversity be anybody but you, White &itch!”
Applicant: “I don’t want this job, you prejudiced racist ignorant affirmative-action 0bama voter!”
Highly-paid but unqualified interviewer: “You gets yo White &itch-ass outta here!”
She's better than the job she's applying for.
At least your daughter is not a man so she had a chance at getting job.
Diversity is the excuse used to justify discriminating against a highly qualified white man in favor of hiring unqualified minorities.
I remember when affirmative action started with the argument that it would only be used to when 2 candidates had essentially equal qualifications. Then they were faced with the reality that certain groups had a vanishingly small number of truly qualified candidates. So they devised a new qualification, diversity. No matter how stupid, lazy, illiterate, angry or incompetent they are, it provides an advantage.
An ignorant comment from an ignorant individual who shouldn't be anywhere near a classroom. Elitists from academia are the worst...Naturally the country just made one leader of the free world.
My daughter never entertained any animus towards the interviewer. She simply had a profound sense of sadness.
I know you may mean well, in perhaps trying to create some sort of solidarity with her but I raised all my children to understand they were not victims and would never be victims. She simply feels that she was being judged by something out of her control. I can imagine that black slaves, white indentured servants, Irish immigrants, and many others have felt the same thing in years past.
That being said, many millions of them rose above the predetermined conclusions that were made about them to become the pillars of America upon which we now rest.
I believe she will be the better for this experience.
These days this should have been her response. Seriuosly.
In such a situation I might figure, might as well be bold and point out the obvious, “diversity” means a lot of things to a lot of people, so what sense of it are you getting at ma’am?
Reminds me of a group I worked with about 20 years ago. We had at least 4 or 5 nationalities and 3 or 4 religions represented. Everyone got along great, and I don't recall anyone telling the manager that he had to hire "diverse" candidates. As you said, he hired the most qualified people regardless of personal background. Our motto was "we were diverse before diverse was cool"
We were organizing a group Christmas party and trying to come up with a theme. We settled on "Holiday foods you grew up with", which turned out to be the best party I ever attended. Sadly, our manager passed on the following spring due to AIDS (this was long before any of the current crop of sustaining drugs hit the market) and the group began to disband as people took new positions within the company or just left.
A few of us still carry on the tradition, incorporating our new co-workers into the mix. I am greatly looking forward to this year's mix of ethnic foods and stories of growing up in different countries and cultures.
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