Job-seeking teacher says his weight was used against him

WESTERN BUREAU:

With three degrees and well on the way to attaining a PhD, Kirkton Bennett is convinced that he was recently denied a teaching job at a high school in St James because of his weight – a concern raised during his interview to fill a vacancy for an English language teacher.

Bennett, a seasoned and accomplished teacher, who currently works part-time at Versan Educational Services as a facilitator and a teacher of Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) English and Social Studies, said that after years of working with a non-government organisation, he wanted to get back into the public education system, so he applied to fill the vacancy that existed at the school.

The school responded positively to his application and, in early February, invited him to an interview, which was conducted by the head of the school’s English department and the school’s principal.

“I went for my interview and had a very good interview. Mind you, I have locks and expected older people and seasoned educators to ask me about my locks,” said Bennett. “Of course, I have navigated that issue successfully thus far. They asked me questions about the locks and that seemed to be a non-issue. I’m articulate and answered to the best of my ability.”

Following the interview, Bennett said he got a call from the school offering the job. He was invited to visit the school to complete paperwork and meet the vice principal for the afternoon shift, where he was to be assigned.

On his visit to the school, he was asked to do a second interview with the principal, the vice principal, a dean of discipline, and a guidance counsellor. He said the principal informed him that senior staff members were being used for the interview because the new school board was not yet in place.

During the interview, Bennett said the guidance counsellor raised concern about his weight, and he believes that what unfolded prevented him from getting the job.

“Rounding out the interview, the guidance counsellor shifted in his chair, and when it was his turn to ask me questions, he said, ‘I don’t mean to offend you, and this is meant in no offence, but how do you navigate based on your weight?’” recalled Bennett. “And I asked, ‘What do you mean?’ He then went on to say that ‘I have worked at other schools’, and he mentioned Herbert Morrison Technical High School, and that the children there are much different from the ones here. He said that the children are mean and will say unkind things. I said to him that I have never been small, I have always been heavyset,” said Bennett.

Bennett said he went on to explain that, “I have lived in Jamaica for almost 35 years. Jamaica is one of the hardest training grounds for anybody different, so if I can survive and navigate Jamaica, I can navigate children.”

Bennett said that, to his surprise, the interview shifted from his credentials and skills as a high school English language teacher to his medical background.

‘STICKING POINT’

“He (the guidance counsellor) pressed and asked, ‘Do you have any comorbidities?’ And I found it weird for him to be asking me that, but I said that the only thing I have are asthma and poor circulation, but that those [conditions] have never stopped me. He said ‘OK’, and I left the interview.”

The day following the second interview, Bennett said he got a call informing him that he wasn’t successful, and he was also told his weight was a “sticking point”.

“I was shocked and immediately I wrote a letter and emailed it to the principal indicating that I was disappointed,” said Bennett, who said he felt that he was discriminated against because of his weight.

“I indicated to him that I was most disappointed that, in this day and age where we are teaching children that we should live in love and be accepting of everyone, that is how educators think. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a discussion on the issue. However, I am hoping that they revisit some of their hiring practices, because that is discriminatory and quite biased.

“It is quite shocking that in this day and age with teacher shortage, my weight was a sticking point. People will tell you that I am a neat fat man. I’m always smelling good. I’ve always carried myself well. I have three degrees – a bachelor’s degree in English language education, a master of business administration, and a master of science in communication. I am now working on a PhD,” said Bennett.

However, when the principal was contacted by The Gleaner, he labelled Bennett a “dishonest man”, saying Bennett was not denied the job because of his weight but because he was not a good match for what the school was looking for.

“We made an arrangement for him to come in when the vice-principal for that shift was available. We also had the dean of discipline and the senior guidance counsellor. We had the interview, and his weight did not change from the first time. He was just mischievous and now we see his alignment,” the principal said.

When asked why Bennett was refused the job, the principal said Bennett’s other teaching obligations had a significant role in the decision that was taken.

“It is a shift school and every term the shift changes. He has at least three jobs, and because of the change in the president in America, he was going to be out of his major job on the 28th of February, but he has at least two other teaching jobs,” said the principal.

Bennett said he has since written to the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information outlining the sequence of events and expressing his disappointment with the way he said he was treated.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com