Spotted Dick & School... (was: Inside, Outside,... Lane)

[Carol]

bboyminn wrote:
> 
> Perhaps your son could do some research and expand on his report in
a way that might boost his grade. He might also explain to the teacher
how culturally intolerant and insensitive she was being to something
that is a large and common part of British culture, though doing so
would certainly come with some risk. 

Carol responds:
I think that the additional research and report is a good idea, as
long as he gets the teacher's approval first (no point in doing the
work if he's not going to get credit for it). That could also be a
subtle way of showing the teacher her own cultural ignorance.

However, telling her straight out that she's insensitive would
probably be about as effective (and wise) as telling Dolores Umbridge
that she's mistaken about Voldemort. The risk outweighs the possible
benefits. You don't *tell* a teacher that she's ignorant. You subtly
*show* her through your research, or you silently bear it. Unless, of
course, you enjoy being sent to the principal's office and having your
grades suffer in consequence of having insulted a teacher.

I'm quite sure, BTW, that the teacher really thought that the
selection of that particular dessert was inappropriate. It should have
been cleared with her in advance, and if she didn't approve because
she didn't see the humor or the importance of understanding cultural
differences in countries with a common language but significant
differences in vocabulary, she or the child could propose an
alternative suggestion.

Carol, wondering how that teacher would react if she assigned the
students to read "Sorcerer's Stone" (obviously, she'd use the
Scholastic edition) and encountered the term "spotted dick"