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I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

bbc.co.uk

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Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#41

Post by TheRealNGenius »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #39

I dream of having the confidence of a white man for only one day. Like, I’ve been writing code for twenty years, and I feel like an imposter still. I can’t even fucking imagine being able to wake up in the morning, living a lie like this, fucking up kids educations because your too much of a pathetic child to admit your own failings?! I find this article to be pretty disgusting to be honest.

That's a pretty racist thing to say. Their race has nothing to do with their story. Would your comment have applied if this person was the same race as you?

You can't imagine their struggle because you didn't read what they wrote. You just glanced at the picture plastered at the top. Just cause you don't know how to read/write != you have jeopardized a kid's education.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#42

Post by rubyn00bie »

TheRealNGenius wrote: post #41
rubyn00bie wrote: post #39

I dream of having the confidence of a white man for only one day. Like, I’ve been writing code for twenty years, and I feel like an imposter still. I can’t even fucking imagine being able to wake up in the morning, living a lie like this, fucking up kids educations because your too much of a pathetic child to admit your own failings?! I find this article to be pretty disgusting to be honest.

That's a pretty racist thing to say. Their race has nothing to do with their story. Would your comment have applied if this person was the same race as you? You can't imagine their struggle because you didn't read what they wrote. You just glanced at the picture plastered at the top. Just cause you don't know how to read/write != you have jeopardized a kid's education.

Lmao. You really think race had nothing to do with their story? You are naive, dear child.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#43

Post by inglor »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #39

I dream of having the confidence of a white man for only one day. Like, I’ve been writing code for twenty years, and I feel like an imposter still. I can’t even fucking imagine being able to wake up in the morning, living a lie like this, fucking up kids educations because your too much of a pathetic child to admit your own failings?! I find this article to be pretty disgusting to be honest.

IMO this comment takes a very cynical and US centric view of things.

I've found this story was well written and pretty inspiring. Just because people are privileged doesn't mean they don't struggle or that their struggles can't teach us things.

It's surprising to see this sort of toxicity in hacker news.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#44

Post by TheRealNGenius »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #42
TheRealNGenius wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a pretty racist thing to say. Their race has nothing to do with their story. Would your comment have applied if this person was the same race as you? You can't imagine their struggle because you didn't read what they wrote. You just glanced at the picture plastered at the top. Just cause you don't know how to read/write != you have jeopardized a kid's education.

Lmao. You really think race had nothing to do with their story? You are naive, dear child.

It's pretty clear who's "too much of a pathetic child to admit [their] own failings"

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#45

Post by rubyn00bie »

inglor wrote: post #43
rubyn00bie wrote: post #39

I dream of having the confidence of a white man for only one day. Like, I’ve been writing code for twenty years, and I feel like an imposter still. I can’t even fucking imagine being able to wake up in the morning, living a lie like this, fucking up kids educations because your too much of a pathetic child to admit your own failings?! I find this article to be pretty disgusting to be honest.

IMO this comment takes a very cynical and US centric view of things. I've found this story was well written and pretty inspiring. Just because people are privileged doesn't mean they don't struggle or that their struggles can't teach us things. It's surprising to see this sort of toxicity in hacker news.

You’re surprised someone didn’t find it inspiring? Really? C’mon it’s a story about a guy who committed fraud, screwed up kids education, and then got an applause for it? This is a picture perfect case of white privilege. I’m not at all surprised at the comments like yours on HN. This is a place dominated by white people and they don’t like to be uncomfortable.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#46

Post by rubyn00bie »

TheRealNGenius wrote: post #44
rubyn00bie wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lmao. You really think race had nothing to do with their story? You are naive, dear child.

It's pretty clear who's "too much of a pathetic child to admit [their] own failings"

I’m glad you’ve found the errors of your ways so quickly. May you be less ignorant and a better person for all.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#47

Post by inglor_cz »

cwdegidio wrote: post #38

My grandfather, born in the back hills of West Virginia, was forced to leave school when he was around 6 years old to chop lumber so his family had enough to survive. After he left WV, he worked a press at a forge and was a landscaper at night an on the weekends. He never has learned how to read, and sadly he is in the early stages of dementia so I think that ship has sailed. But... he was always a whiz with finances…

One of my grandfathers was illiterate as well. Not a finance whiz, but not stupid either. He was a rural blacksmith and he was rather good with engines and small appliances, repairing them for paying customers.

This is also a good moment to meditate on "right of repair". As recently as approx. 1970, most of the machinery in daily use could be repaired by a skillful, even though illiterate, person. The advent of semiconductors did away with that and nowadays even highly qualified people struggle to update a firmware against the vendor's wishes.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#48

Post by Ichthypresbyter »

A friend who worked as a doctor in the Fens of East Anglia said that many of the older farmers she treated (in the early 2010s) were essentially illiterate. If she gave them a form or a letter, they would hand it to their wife to read because they considered reading to be women's work.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#49

Post by inglor_cz »

IntrepidWorm wrote: post #26
ghoshbishakh wrote: post #16

I still don't get it. How is it possible that he managed to go through the system.

Case and point: I wear glasses. In fact, I'm almost blind without them: my effective vision ends at about 3 feet. Though I am able to perceive distinction between large objects and people, everything dissolves into a fuzzy mess. In American public schools (in the northeast US, at least) in the early 90s, schools would test student vision every year during elementary/primary school years. They would use the traditiona…

"I would memorize the eye test sheet"

There were so many of us...

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#50

Post by inglor_cz »

jmercouris wrote: post #4

Incredible, but I still can’t help but feel like he is an idiot. Noticing an obvious deficiency in your life and doing nothing about it is in fact idiotic.

"Noticing an obvious deficiency in your life and doing nothing about it is in fact idiotic."

So, how many people are overweight and fat these days?

Maybe some things aren't easy to solve. If someone told me to learn writing in Chinese, I would be very creative in finding ways how to do without. It is just too hard for me at 43 years of age.

People with certain disabilities may find English spelling (a notoriously tricky terrain full of illogical exceptions) similarly overwhelming.

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