There is little more upsetting or humiliating than being scolded or punished by your teacher.
Of course, we all come to learn in adulthood that teachers seldom do this purely to be mean or hurt our feelings, but rather to teach us a lesson.
Every now and again, a teacher might cross the line and behave in a manner that should not go unnoticed.
Deciding what sort of behavior merits this, however, can be challenging.
Redditor babybop-girlypop was facing a challenge with one of her college professors.
While the original poster (OP) did her best to be patient and allow this professor to change his ways, he remained obstinate in one particular area.
Leaving the OP to wonder if this was the sort of behavior that merited reporting.
At a loss of what to do, the OP took to the subReddit “Would I Be The A**hole” (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
“WIBTA for reporting my professor over their troubles with my name?”
The OP explained why they felt their professor needed to be held accountable:
“I (20 F[emale]) am in nursing school and am currently minoring in music/musicals education.”
“One of my music teachers who I’ll call Mike (40’s M[ale]) has always had a problem with saying my name.”
“I am black (important later) and my name is Da’Kaleah.”
“I know the name is bad, but I learned to love it and it’s also not hard to pronounce.”
“Every single teacher I’ve had takes about a week or so of me correcting them, then they say it correctly, which is perfectly understandable.”
“Mike refuses to address me by my name, and after about a month of class, he’s stopped trying; he keeps referring to me as ‘you’ or ‘girl’ or some other random name like ‘maya’, but then gets upset when I don’t respond.”
“My fiancé is also in this class, and it’s gotten to the point where he’s getting upset with the teacher for disrespecting me.”
“The whole class corrects the teacher atp. It’s frustrating and has driven me to tears a few times.”
“On Monday, I corrected him and he made a comment about not wanting to pronounce ‘ghetto’ names.”
“I walked out of that class and did not go back today. One of my Friends and my fiancé said I should report him, but I feel like I might be being dramatic about everything, and my parents agree.”
“So would I be the a**hole?
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community unanimously agreed that the OP would not be the a**hole for reporting her professor.
Everyone agreed that the OP was being anything but dramatic, and that Mike’s behavior was not only unethical, but racist, and absolutely merited being reported.
“NTA.”
“That professor needs to be reported.”
“That is absolutely unacceptable behavior.”
“If he can’t quite pronounce your name, that is one thing – but the ‘ghetto’ comment is unacceptable in a classroom.”
“I am a department chair, and I would take that quite seriously.”- No-Parsley-9280
“YWNBTA.”
“Report him, that’s racist AF and he shouldn’t be teaching.”
“I would NEVER tell any student their name was ‘ghetto’.”- Additional_Line_7024
“NTA.”
“Listen, it’s a fact of life that unless you have a super generic name based on the dominant culture/ethnic group you interact with the most, people will mispronounce or struggle with names.”
“I used to have a super long, unique Eastern European last name and NO ONE except people from that specific country could pronounce it.”
“However, I have NEVER had anyone who didn’t at least try their best at it.”
“A lot of people would giggle nervously as they butchered it, preface it with a sorry, or just like embarrassed.”
“You know what’s never happened to me as a white person with a very white sounding last name?”
“I’ve never had people make up other names for me, call my name ‘ghetto’, refuse to call on me, or call me ‘girl’ or ‘you’.”
“This professor easily could’ve just used your name or something close and didn’t on purpose.”
“Sounds like he was being racist and targeting you on purpose.”
“As someone who’s worked in higher education, I would report this in a heartbeat.”
“But it’s up to you if you want to or not.”
“Just know you aren’t overreacting and this man IS an a**hole.”- Total_Poet_5033
“NTA.”
“This is straight-up racist behavior, and I’m really sorry you’re being subjected to this.”
“I encourage you to hold him accountable.”
“It’s just not okay.”
“Your name is beautiful, and I wish you the best of luck with your education.”- DiscardedFruitScraps
“Ghetto names?”
“Report that man.”
“Even if nothing is done, there must be a record.”
“He’s done it before; he’s doing it to you and others.”
“He’ll keep doing it for another twenty years unless he is dealt with.”
“It is not your responsibility to deal with him; that’s for the school to do, but racism at that level is unacceptable.”
“NTA.”- Ma-Hu
“NTA.”
“Report him.”
“He’s teaching a class about music.”
“I suspect he can say Tchaikovsky just fine.”
“He’s racist, especially with the ghetto comment.”- Spinnerofyarn
“What your teacher said wasn’t just rude, it was blatantly racist and unprofessional.”
“Refusing to learn your name, then calling it ‘ghetto’, is completely unacceptable, especially from someone in a position of authority at a university.”
“You have every right to report him to the department head or administration, and you absolutely should.”
“This isn’t being dramatic, it’s standing up against discrimination and disrespect.”
“You handled yourself with more restraint than most people would have in that situation.”
“YWNBTA.”- Think_Attorney6251
“Absolutely NTA!”
“Your teacher is racist and isn’t even trying to hide it well.”
“Please do report him.”
“He is a raging A, and racist af!”
“That’s not even a microaggression, just an aggression.”
“I wonder what he thinks of all the incredible black musicians who built American music.”
“What a disgusting fellow.”- Few_Football_2593
“NTA!”
“Report him immediately.”
“Do it in an email so there is a record of this.”
“His remarks are racist.”- bivo979
“NTA!”
“REPORT HIM!”
“He’s not even trying to hide how racist he is.”
“Your name doesn’t look that hard to pronounce.”
“Please correct me if I’m wrong, but judging from the spelling, I think that it’s pronounced Da Kayla or Da Keyla.”- Wild_Score_711
“YWNBTA.”
“Report the sh*t out of him.”
“That’s completely unacceptable.”- Stranger0nReddit
“NTA!”
“This needs to be brought up to your counselor and the administrative staff at the school; he literally just stepped on a bomb, saying your name is ‘ghetto’.”
“Get affidavits from your classmates and bring them with you.”- wowgamertbc
“NTA.”
“Your professor is being beyond inappropriate, disrespectful, and probably racist/sexist.”
“Please report him.”- twelvedayslate
“NTA report him, I have an actual speech impediment to the point that I have a lot of trouble with names I’m not used to, so guess what?”
“I practice practice practice because they and you deserve to be called by your actual name or the name you prefer.”- Asleep_Region
“NTA 100% report his a**, I fuckin knew where this was going when you mentioned he called you girl, classic racist a** sh*t.”- Buttermilk-Waffles
“I will be honest, I started reading feeling you were, but I KEPT READING.”
“A month comes after 2 weeks, so it should be enough time!”
“Heck no!”
“NTA!”
“You are underreacting if anything.”
“Report this teacher for his unprofessionalism, open racist remarks and downright disrespectful.”
“He is an educator, and if he expects others to learn from him, then he should take the time to learn his self too.”
“REPORT!”- Sea_breeze_80
“NTA.”
“Your name is ‘ghetto?!’”
“He is just being racist.”
“Glad you reported him!”- obsessedsim1
“NTA.”
“Absolutely report him.”- SineQuaNon001
“NTA.”
“Your professor is a racist, and that is not ok.”- Cautious-Job8683
“Report this racist a**hole.”
“You are NTA.”
“I did see one comment warning you of retaliation.”
“They are not allowed to retaliate, and there should be measures in place to prevent retaliation, but if you do have concerns at least report him at the end of the semester.”
“But still report him.”
“That’s a hostile environment.”- TJ_cannot_sleep
“OP, if he’s going to do this to you, think about ALLLLL the other students in his other classes that he’s doing this to.”
“It’s straight up racist.”
“NTA, but you need to report that behavior because it’s inappropriate, dehumanizing, and racist.”-YellowstoneBitch
The OP has admitted to people needing to learn how to pronounce her name.
However, considering the OP has made it clear that her name is not difficult to pronounce, and Mike isn’t even trying to pronounce it correctly, makes his behavior truly unacceptable.
Whether or not he should be fired is in the hands of his superiors.
But at the very least, his superiors need to know what’s going on.