A Real Failure to Communicate

[The Straight Story]

A Real Failure to Communicate


EUGENE, Ore. (CN) - A University of Oregon sign language instructor claims he was suspended because disruptive students complained that he'd asked them "if they wanted to be shot." The prof says the students took the phrase out of context from a story he told them about traveling in Pakistan, where, he said, he would have been shot if he did not respect the local culture.
...

"Plaintiff believed that the only reason the students felt free to talk and disrupt his class was because of his disability," he says in his complaint.

Quint says he discussed the problem during spring term this year with his supervisor, defendant Kathy Roberts, who suggested videotaping the class. He says this did not improve the situation, which came to a head in May.

When a group of students continued to talk, Quint says, he stopped teaching to tell a story "that contained lessons about tolerance and communication which plaintiff learned while living in Pakistan. A central theme in the story was if plaintiff did not respect the local customs and culture while in Pakistan, he would have been shot. Plaintiff told this story in hopes that the students would respect his teaching policies and stop engaging in disruptive and discriminatory conduct."

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/11/28/41720.htm