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Civic Participation & Citizenship Collection

NELRC

Workplace Discrimination
DeAnn Nilles, Massachusetts Career Development Institute
Springfield, MA

I teach a Level 1 ESOL class of Spanish-speakers (mostly from Puerto Rico). Level 1 is basically for students to increase their oral and listening conversation skills. Most of the lessons presented to the students are daily survival skills, job seeking skills, and communication skills with their children's school, work, community, family, and friends. I can speak Spanish, and I use it when we need to talk about concepts that are too complex for them to discuss in English. However, since conversation is the main goal, activities that stimulate the students to speak English is my main objective.

I have documented my project according to a 10-step process outlined by the NELRC. These are steps that teachers have found helpful for their civic participation projects.

1. Identify student concerns
Our class had been learning verbs, vocabulary of daily activities, and how to ask for help. I did an activity on "What problem/s did you have today?" in which students discussed their day and the problems that occurred. One student talked about his work problem with his boss. His boss was always watching him and, that day, sent him home early. He felt he was being discriminated against.

The students asked him questions and we discussed the situation with him. His boss had asked him, while he was on break and eating, "What are you doing, taking a lunch break or a regular break?" The student said he was on a regular break, and was eating because he missed breakfast. His boss sent him home with no explanation.

As a class we talked about whether this could be partly a discrimination problem. We talked about what his rights were, and this raised lots on new questions that the students wanted answers to. They wanted to be able to help others who might face workplace discrimination. I felt this would be a great civic participation project - we could help the student currently experiencing the problem and educate others about the subject.

2. Draw out prior knowledge and understanding of students
I wanted to check the students’ background knowledge about the topic of discrimination. I asked them, “What is discrimination? For what kinds of things do people get discriminated against?” I listed the students’ responses on the board.

• Can’t speak English
• Color of skin
• Hair
• Nationality
• Clothes
• Money
• Size-fat, thin short, tall
• Women
• Old age and young age
• Ugly
• Handicapped
• Education
• Single
• Have children
• Homosexual
• Religion

We talked about how these areas are used to discriminate against people. Then I asked them, “Where does discrimination happen?” I listed the students’ responses on the board.

• Job School
• Hospital Streets
• Police Housing
• Streets

We then matched a type of discrimination with a place and students role-played that situation. Here are some examples, and the discussions they led to:

•  Someone can’t speak English at a hospital. (A brief discussion on the law for providing translators, and how patient care can be compromised because of language differences or skin color.)
•  You have children and are looking for housing. (Mentioned the law for fair housing practices.)
•  An older person looking for work. (Students asked what laws protect a person at work, something we need to look into.)
•  Women being sexually harassed on the streets. (They expressed varied opinions about the definition of “sexual harassment,” and asked about the legal protections.)
•  A young boy driving and being stopped by police. (I asked the students what rights the boy would have.)
•  An African-American going to a predominately White school (Talked briefly about the Civil Rights/Martin Luther King/Jim Crow Laws. They shared experiences of being minorities in their schools.)

Lastly, I asked the students what all of these have in common. How does it feel to be discriminated against? The students shared experiences of not being treated equally or having the same privileges. They discussed feelings of not being good enough and feeling bad about themselves; they talked about feelings of frustration, anger, disappointment, and hopelessness.

3. Elicit student questions
I wrote down questions the students had from the role playing activity, and I asked them to add to the list.

• What laws protect against age and other discrimination?
• What laws protect women from sexual harassment on the streets?
• What laws protect you from abuse of police authority?
• What can I do if I am discriminated against? Where can I go for help?
• How can we stop discrimination?
• What should Sam (the student who feels he is being discriminated against at his work place) do at his job?

4. Reflect on your own role and experience
Considering my position as a teacher, an American citizen, a woman, a humanitarian longing for a compassionate, peaceful, loving, equal world, I have some knowledge of discrimination laws and the history of discrimination in the US. I feel I can add to my students’ knowledge, but I don’t want to overload them. Our project is about discrimination in the workplace, so I need to keep this in focus. My students, who are non-English speakers, non-whites, working class, not highly educated, and not from the US, may experience discrimination more frequently or differently than I do. Although their knowledge of their personal rights and protections may be limited, I think they will have both a lot to offer and a lot to gain from this project.

5. Investigate answers/build understanding, and
6. Analyze information

a. The first step I took was to research workplace discrimination on the web, in order to find information for my students. The students will keep a personal notebook of vocabulary words, phone numbers and any other notes on the project that they find helpful to themselves. We examined the federal discrimination laws and their protections of individuals and groups: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disability Act.

b. I presented videos about the civil rights movement of the early 1960s, when Martin Luther King, Jr. led community activism, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, and Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. We discussed these accomplishments and the impact they have today.

c. We investigated information about national origin discrimination, English-Only and other language discrimination laws, and racial discrimination in hiring or working conditions. The students discussed their experiences applying for employment and working. They talked about their personal experiences, and we talked about which of these seemed like discrimination.

d. I presented more information on age discrimination. We looked at some graphs and charts about people’s views of the elderly working. The students talked about cultural differences concerning age and work.

e. To discuss sexual harassment in the workplace, I presented the video, “Flirting or Hurting?” We talked about perceived cultural differences on sexual harassment. The students discussed their opinions and views, and then we looked at some information.

f. We talked about religious discrimination in the workplace, and how that may require special attention after 9/11.

g. The students discussed what should be done if someone feels they are being discriminated against while at work. They said:
- Talk to someone.
- Talk to your boss.
Then we looked at information about some options you have for asserting your rights in the workplace. The students role played how one can take action against discrimination in various situations.

7. Plan for action
I found a couple of surveys on workplace discrimination and we looked them over, examining the content and reviewing the vocabulary. Then we created our own survey for the other two ESOL classes.

Discrimination in the Workplace Survey
1. What is discrimination?
2. What can a person do if they feel they are being discriminated against at work?
3. Have you ever felt discriminated against? Where and why?
4. Do you feel comfortable and fairly treated at work? Why or why not?
5. If not, did you do anything about it?

All of the discrimination noted in the survey related to not being able to speak English. Answers to question five included: “I try and learn english,” “I talk with my friends,” and “I talk with Human Resources about the problems with my boss.” Based on the results, we concluded that discrimination in the workplace occurs, or is perceived to occur, frequently, and people needed more information in order to protect their civil rights.

The students asked, “What would happen to someone who does file a complaint against their employer for discrimination?” We talked about many possible consequences. I informed the students about protection against retaliation, but we also talked about how much work it is to get any of these protections enforced.

To help answer the question, I arranged for a speaker from the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination (MCAD) to come to speak to all three classes. I am also trying to bring in a person who is in the process of a workplace discrimination case. He has filed a complaint against his employer, the State of Massachusetts has honored his claim, and his employer is in the process of negations with him. He would make the project more personal, relating to real life.

8. Develop skills for carrying our your plan
Students kept a personal notebook for the project, where they recorded vocabulary, telephone numbers, and other information they chose for themselves. That gave them practice using their literacy skills, in general. They practiced their English by preparing questions for the guest speakers and practicing ways to ask for clarification. Students also learned how to use Microsoft Word in order to create informational flyers for the program.

9. Carry out, document, and present project
Our speaker came and talked about basic employer and employee responsibilities concerning discrimination. My students were prepared with questions, and the other classes also asked questions. Two students from Level 3 translated his talk. A few of the students had personal questions about being discriminated against in the United States as non-English speakers, and as Puerto Ricans. The speaker was able to direct them to the MCAD office for further help. We learned that, of the 4,000 discrimination complaints the MCAD receives annually, 3,000 are national origin discrimination cases. A lively discussion occurred concerning the United States policy on fighting in wars versus the ability to be employed and the ability to obtain citizenship. Many of the students were disturbed by the fact that a person could not be allowed citizenship, employment, or an education under the US government, but could be expected to fight in wars for the US.

The speaker gave us the following bilingual websites that are informative on the subject of discrimination.
1. http://www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/rights/rightsatwork/
2. http://www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/rights/rightsatwork/disc_immigrants.cfm

Based on the information students learned, and their desire to inform others, our class decided to create informational flyers about workplace discrimination. The students in the class designed the flyer bilingually for local residents, and handed them out to the other classes.

10. Reflect on and evaluate learning
After each lesson, I verbally checked for the students’ understanding and possible questions and concerns. At the end of our project, I asked the students to evaluate what they enjoyed about the project and what they learned from it. Their answers included:

• “I learned who to talk to if I have discrimination.”
• “I learned to write a record of problems at work. Talk to my supervisor.”
• “ If I have a problem at work, I can do something. I have phone numbers to call for help.”
  
  

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