" If we are speaking about adult literacy there is no reason as such for
making it forever impossible for a student and his/her teacher to come
together socially under any circumstances. I am not even sure you meant
that, Katherine."

Oh, no, I didn't mean that at all. I just meant it's easy to create the
slippery slope of misinterpretation.  (And I hope you know in my example I
was referring to a student or teacher asking for a romantic date, not just a
social meeting.)

" I think we should dress appropriate to the most socially conservative
culture in the class, within reason, in order to ensure that lines do not
get crossed."

That is a very interesting guideline, Hugo.  I believe in this area, if we
used your guideline, most teachers would dress more formally.

On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 6:36 AM, <HKerr at aol.com> wrote:


>   In a message dated 22/10/2009 02:58:18 GMT Daylight Time,

> katherine.gotthardt at gmail.com writes:

>

> i.e. "No....you cannot ask your teacher on a date no matter how sincere you

> are," or vice versa.

>

> This is a cultural issue writ large, isn't it. To a Brit's eyes this reads

> as a disappointing ban! If we are speaking about adult literacy there is no

> reason as such for making it forever impossible for a student and his/her

> teacher to come together socially under any circumstances. I am not even

> sure you meant that, Katherine.

>

> But, just as we were talking a while back about women coverings (hijabs etc

> etc) the signals sent out may be widely differently interpreted by people

> from different cultures. In mine, a very friendly woman wearing quite skimpy

> clothes may be just that, to a man from another culture the signals may be

> much stronger and may constitute an explicitly, and personally

> targetted, sexual signal. I think we should dress appropriate to the most

> socially conservative culture in the class, within reason, in order to

> ensure that lines do not get crossed.

>

> Stats about which gender is harassing which are very difficult to believe.

> There's so much confounding of the data. The thing is to avoid it, or

> accusations of it, as best possible without becoming paranoid!

>

> *Hugo

> **

> at:** *http://www.hugokerr.info*

> *

> "We're here to help each other get through this thing - whatever it might

> be." (Kurt Vonnegut)

>

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-- 
Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt
Community Writer for NEWS AND MESSENGER
www.insidenova.com
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