ANSWERS: 17
  • I'd ask the black student what he thinks you'd do if he were white.
  • Quit or try to not let it get to you. I know it is very hard, I faced a similar situation like that.
  • Point out that YOU are the minority.
  • Ask them what Martin Luther King meant when he dreamed of the day that his kids would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. What does that mean? Why is character so important that MLK said we should be judged by it? What IS character? Would MLK treat them differently if HE was their school teacher?
  • By quitting and getting a job in a white neighborhood
  • Say you are an equal-opportunity disciplinarian. :)
  • If you were the only fat person in a room full of skinny people, or the only left handed in a room full of right handed people, they would use your 'difference' as an excuse. I'm not surprised. I bet you knew you would have to exercise a lot of tolerance in a group of people who are different than you. I'm not from this the country I live in and I can tell you my family members have used the excuse..I didn't get the job or they were rude to me or they cut me off because I'm a foreigner. It'll never end!
  • Like someone and others have already pointed out. Make them aware that what every action you choose can always be held against you. My suggestion to you is to work out a rough disciplinary system with them. Make it homework and then discuss it in class with them, and have each one of their opinions heard. They would probably discover that they would tread other students much harder. Great, because that will demonstrate to them that you are in fact a great teacher “just trying” to do her job. All the best...
  • As a Christian beliver I have noticed if I attempt to correct people for wrong behavior. Many of them will accuse me of Judging them. i.e they feel that I think I am trying to say I am better than them when I attempt to correct bad behavior.This is not my intention at all. I think this is similar to what you're experiencing. The students you are dealing with are just playing the race card on you because of the different race.That indicates they're judging by appearance rather than something more important like using a form of wisdom in their thinking. They use the race card because of your outward appearace. Instead of playing the accuse of being judgemental card like they would play to a religious person. Do you consider Jesus Christ a wise teacher who gives good moral & emotional advice ? My understanding is that persecution can be as simple as being falsely accused. Which it appears to me you are experiencing at the school you teach at. Jesus teaches in the Gospel "When you are persecuted in one city flee to another " You need to change to a different school i.e try predominately white school for a while to eliminate the race card issue. Perhaps even work for a Christian School that is predominately white. I remember as a young man going to Catholic religious schools from 1st to 7th grade and then swithching to public school in the 8th grade. I remember the kids in public school seemed more wild and uncontrolled in their behavior than the kids in the religious school I went to. At my work place for instance(it is a multi race environment) I have learned to avoid confronting people on bad behavior especially over materialistic things like stealing pencils. What is it they use to say in the 1960's about India i.e " Materialistic things dont matter " You need to learn to let go on some things or have a little more old fashioned care about self preservation or it all may tear you apart emotionaly. I've gotten wiser as I'be gotten older to avoid emotional discomfort as much as possilbe. I.e I just let those displaying bad behavior continue on and make sure I am in a different location not witnessing it. So I dont have to deal with it or be accued of not reporting it. I find eventually that someone else i.e usually a supervisor will correct them. Then their anger is directed toward that supervisor rather than me. The police have a similar problem: i.e if their are lots of witnesses in a public place and someone does an obvious small crime in front of all the witnesses and the police officer present. Then the police officer has to be seen doing someting to stop the wrong doer because the officer will get reported by all the witnesses carrying phone cells around who would report him for not doing anything. But the wrong doer seen by all the witnesses and the police officer feels like the police officer is just picking on him only i.e is being predjudiced.The wrong doer doesnt realize how much of the police mans actions are based on the fact that there are witnesses present and that if it was just the police officer seeing him to a small crime. He the wrong doer might just get away with it. The police officer in the city I live are very merciful and look the other way for small crimes I commit oftentimes i.e they look the other way if I fail to make a full stop at the stop sign etc. Especially if no other witnesses are present to see it. I've noticed the smart police officers learn to avoid going to certain places at certain times to avoid this type situaion. They only respond to the calls they are sent on.This saves them alot of emotional stress. You cant solve all the worlds problems. Perhaps you should do like a lot of teacher I've seen over the years so i.e arrive late to class a few minutes and leave a few minutes early at times where trouble might arise.These type teachers last longer as teaechers on the job and have a lot lower stress level than someone like yourself. Also alot of teachers perfer working as teachers in college rather than in grade or high schools because in colleges there are a lot less trouble makers i.e students are there to learn in college out of neccessity not just going to school cause their parents and the truant and or probation officers force them to. i.e most students in college are there with a wiser desire in life i.e to better themselves It sounds to me like the students who are giving you trouble , many of them wont make it to college with the attitudes they have unless they change somehow. Hope this helps . Thanks for the interesting question.
  • Ask them if they feel treated worse by you than others and if they truly would want others to be treated worse than themselves. people dont still look at a german and immediately think nazi why should you be profiled. in some way are they not being racist. it is wrong of them to call you racist.... so if i were you and i couldn't get it to stop i would ignore it... even though that may be hard since it is such a harsh word... but in some way they are taking advantage of the past.... a past they probably dont know half about and never lived through.
  • Tell them if you were racist you would'nt be in this school teaching and caring about their education. There is a fantastic movie about exactly your situation. "FREEDOM WRITERS". True story. If you hav'nt seen it, you absolutely must.
  • Sounds like bullying to me. Kids pick up on a buzz word, and use it repeatedly if they see it gets your goat - if they use it once, and see it has an effect, they will use it again - then the word gets round and others use it - and the playground gossip mill starts going (Mr/Mrs So and So is racist) and voilà, now all the kids believe it and start to tell you that you are racist. How does the school management support you on this issue? Do you have a teacher's union? Do they offer support?
  • First I would like to personally thank you for your selfless service to society in a noble profession. You are to be commended. Elementary and middle school teachers had a very large part in helping to form me into the person I am today and I am very thankful for them. I feel privileged and a bit lucky to have had the experiences I did. I think I would point out the fact that discipline is a necessary problem solving process for addressing negative behavior. Nothing racist there. Try to remember they are just kids. If you teach kids the behaviors that are expected, you have a greater likelihood of success. Exactly why black students across the nation are are more disruptive and suspended and expelled more frequently than children of other races is a question that continues to perplex sociologists. It is not hard to see how a child with two constant parents to provide love and guidance has certain advantages in his/her social development. It would be interesting to see separate analyses of discipline rates by ethnicity for kids who are living with both parents and for kids who are not living with both parents.
  • Your chances of changing that culture are minimal, good luck with that. Honestly, If I were you, I am not certain I would try. I think I might look for a place where I was appreciated.
  • I never take any of those comments seriously. Early teens are an age of extremes: Love, hate, anger. I tend to laugh when they say that. I just tell them, "It's not racist...It's personal." Keep doing what you're doing. They may be mad temporarily, but they will appreciate it later.
  • I could not respond
  • Answer without a tone in your voice," Good behavior doesn't have a color."

Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

Answerbag | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy