DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION AT ULTIMO TAFENSW

I was the only middle aged male  in a 2012 Youth Work Diploma course,made up mostly of young female students - and only one younger male attending irregularly at first.  Problems only started though with a group based class taught by a teacher "Felicity".

2 MARCH "FO”s FRIDAY CLASS:  Leftovers Group – one and a half members


This was the day of the class’s first excursion to a youth service – which was to one at Erskineville, run by Sydney City Council (SCC) . Their co-ordinator knew me from my placement in another SCC youth centre in the 2011 Youth Work cert 4 – and treated me with some respect.  I think “Walshee” may have come to this, but since I was pretty much the only student to ask its co-ordinator any questions (the whole point of the excursion) it isn’t easy for me to be sure that he was there. On the other hand, I think he was offered a lift back in one of the cars that some young female students had – while no one offered me a lift (despite my obvious back problem). I think, “Nicole”, another of of “team” members, had a car there. The earlier class may have been when I gave her my mobile number as a contact – though neither me nor “Lily” knew what her name was yet. On that occasion, I don’t think “Walshee” was present in the class.  



9 MARCH – “D”s FRIDAY CLASS :  “Walshee” Takes Over – and leaves early



This was the first time that all the known members of our “team” finally got to meet in class, though “Lily” was late. She had sent me a long text on my mobile, about asking me tell the teacher that illness was delaying her attendance. I showed the text to “Felicity”, who was sitting in on our meeting in the class (while other groups met elsewhere around the classroom). “Felicity” then took my phone, and not only read “Lily”s text message, but started going through all the texts on my mobile – without asking me permission to do it. I really had no interesting incoming texts on it – but I didn’t want her to go through them. This was a clear invasion of my privacy – and a foreboding of what she was soon to do. Probably she was observing our “team” meeting, because I was already emailing her about the problems I could see in younger students excluding me from group formation.

In relation to my 7 March email to her - she got young "Walshee", Nicole" and me to write our emails and mobiles on a peice of pper she circulated (adding that she wanted those details too). She said I could be the "peer" leader for the group to "get things going". I had urged her to let us communicate by emails as not only had the attendance of the others unreliable - but we had no social contact at all outside classes. Unfortunately "Lily" and the other two soon started to misrepresent my teacher permitted communications by email - with "Lily" sending her mean replies to "Jacob" - as well as to me.

The teacher "Felicity" said that a previous group had split up the first assignment by tasks. "Walshee", having finally started to come to classes (after I complained to "Felicity" about his intention to miss another one on 9 March)had pushed to become the "floating " chair of this in-class meeting, and quickly grabbed the Executive Summary role - with "Nicole" and the still absent "Lily", getting the next best parts. He then stuck me with the background research and "demographics" - repeatedly asking me if I was "comfortable with that". "Felicity" (his former teacher)was now sitting in our group meeting. staring at me - as if to detect any disagreement with "Walshee"s humiliating treatment of me. I said I already had some research from the cert 4 course SCC placement in 2011 (on Aboriginal youth disadvantage) which we could use.

"Walshee" and "Lily" were soon bullying me by emails to come up with "cited" demographics - but refusing to help me find them, let along discuss what data we should prioritise looking for. The offical research on inner city Aboriginal populations being very undeveloped. They soon showed in emails that they realised that "Felicity"s task roles idea was unworkable - with only me doing any work on the assignment. "Lily" was at least reading the first assignment - and we both came up with different ways to try and tackle it. I suggested we meet on Thursday 15 March out of class - to try and work out how to make decisions as a team (ie so as to actually ALL openerate together). I made a recording at this meeting which now has been transcribed.


    
 M U C H  M O R E   T O   C O M E  -------------


SEE THE EMAILS THAT WERE FALSELY USED BY ULTIMO TAFE HEAD TEACHERS TO JUSTIFY DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ME on http://unemployedpeoplesembassy-masks.blogspot.com