I am teaching a first grade class in a school where over the majority of the students come from low income families. I over heard a white student call a black student a nigger. This word is offensive to African American because of the way they were treated during slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. I would handle it by letting the student know that we do not use that tpye of word in our school and it is not nice to say that. I will talk to the parents to let them know what they child had said hoping that they will back me up. I do not think I would react differently because I know that some things children say or do they are just repeating what they heard or saw someone else did. Most of the time they do not know better.
I will feel uncomfortable during the hoildays when children want to talk about certain things about the holiday ,such as Christmas, and one of the students family do not celebrate that particular holiday. I will try to make a lesson that it will not be offensive to anyone in the classroom and I just want say the word Christmas. I beileve that I am responsible for making sure that the student is not offended and feel safe in the classroom inspite of their background.
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I think that taking the term 'Christmas' out of a party and makeing it a Winter Party or something would help. I would hate for a student to be left out.
ReplyDeleteI teach a first grade class and have heard the "nigger" word being used among classmates. Young children for some reason feel the need to want to grow fast and hang around the big kids. I would sit down also with the student who did the name calling and let him/her know that calling someone that name is not okay. I would make that student apologize and tell the parents. As a teacher, you have to keep a good line of communication open with all parents and students.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very difficult during the holidays. The kids get so excited about Christmas and I think it's hard to keep changing the subject. This year my class studied winter holidays from several different cultures and religions. It worked out very well, we ended on Friday with Christmas and our Christmas party. None of the parents even objected because we'd already talked about so many other holidays.
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