I have faced racism
several times in my life. I remember
when I was hired as the lead teacher at a daycare, some of the families chose
not to interact with me at all because of my skin color. Having faced this “ism”
several times, has made me become somewhat hesitant in interacting with some of
my families. At first, I thought some
were judging me because I am the only black teacher at my school, and they were
thinking why do we have her. However,
during parent-teacher conferences a white mom told me that she was happy I was
her child’s teacher, and when she read my biography and saw my picture she
wanted me to be her child’s teacher. I
was literally in tears during this conference.
I do not treat my families or my students any different despite the “isms” that I face. I try to teach them that although we may not all look the same, we still have to learn how to work together. We always say that we are a family of mini-monsters, and when we have a serious problem in the classroom we have a family meeting on the carpet and discuss it.
The direct consequence
my students in their families may experience is by me teaching about it in my
classroom. Some parents are opposed to
their child learning about different “isms”, but I would like for my students
to be made aware of several different “isms” so that when they face one they
will be able to handle the situation in an appropriate manner.
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! Your students are fortunate to have a teacher that teaches them how to resolve conflict and problems in an appropriate manner. Your post made me wonder if, as a result of the racism you have faced personally and professionally, you are more sensitive to any racist comments your students or their families may make compared to other "isms"? Or do you notice that you respond to comments children make that display pre prejudicial thought the same regardless of which "ism" they fall into? I am curious about how your experience shapes your interactions with children and families.