[nabs] My Apologies

[Ann Pimley]

Alicia, 

As in any communication different people sometimes perceive a different
message than others. I did not think you meant to show any discrimination
against your professor. You were merely stating a fact, that you can not
understand what he is saying based upon his heavy accent and speed of
speech, and it was impeding your learning, and you wanted to know how other
people dealt with a similar situation. One question I had is how do you know
he knows so much about the subject if you can't understand him? 

Ann 

 

From: nabs-bounces at acb.org [mailto:nabs-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
Starner, Alicia M.
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 12:42 PM
To: 'Discussion list for NABS, National Alliance of Blind Students.'
Subject: [nabs] My Apologies

 

Hello All,

 

I would like to apologize to anyone who may have been offended by the thread
started by me titled "foreign Professors". I believe there was a
misunderstanding in the original intent of the thread, which was not to
discriminate against my professor in any way for any reason. The inquiry was
simply about what you have all done to overcome communication barriers due
to a thick accent, a lisp, or other communication barrier that makes
understanding difficult or impossible for you as a student. While oral and
written communication skills is extremely important for anyone who is
providing a service, I am not one that believes that one should be perfect
with these skills. On the other hand, I do believe that if a service
provider including but not limited to teachers, doctors, social workers,
councelors, and psychologists have a thick accent, lisp, or other
communication barrier that may impede their ability to be understood, they
should work with those individuals to ensure they have the information they
need. This thread was in no way a punch to his race, because I never
mentioned his race on list, nor was it a blow to him as a person with ethnic
differences. I am one that embraces diversity within our community and
believes strongly that we all have something to contribute to the larger
world as a whole regardless of our race, ethnicity, disability, or other
diversity. In short, diversity is what makes life worth living and provides
variety within our community. It is what makes our society challenging and
worth living in. Again, I apologize to anyone who may have felt
discriminated against or offended by my thread. I assure you, it was not
intended to offend you at all! I am sad and disappointed that I didn't make
my written communication more concise to avoid people feeling as if I was
racist or discriminatory against my professor and/or perhaps any of you.
Please accept my sincere apology and hope we can continue to share our
experiences and suggestions as students with visual impairments, as I have
learned quite a bit from all of you and honestly respect all of our
different opinions.

Best Regards,

Alicia

 

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