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Post by doublestuf on Nov 13, 2019 11:05:17 GMT -6
I know everyone is knee deep in the impeachment stuff, but I need help please. I teach and today during one of our meetings a white colleague repeated something she heard a kid say yesterday. The African American kid used the N word, and she repeated his exact sentence to us using the word. To make it worse, one of my other colleagues is African American. It surprised me when she said it, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my African American colleague jump a little.
I know I should have said something in the moment, but in my head, the only thing I could think was WTF were you thinking. I was internally freaking out and totally spaced.
I know it is my responsibility to make this right. Anybody know of an article or link that explains why white people shouldn't use the N word in a situation like this? She may not read it, but I feel like it may help. Thank you ladies!
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Post by blurnette989 on Nov 13, 2019 11:32:06 GMT -6
I don't have any articles, but I would go to your department head/principal with this. That's all kinds of not ok.
Also, id go to your African American colleague and apologise. I. Sure she might appreciate knowing that your silence wasn't complicity, it was shock.
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Post by lemondrop on Nov 13, 2019 11:52:38 GMT -6
Yeeeeesh. I'd probably do exactly as blurnette989 says. Go to the head of your department to report what happened, and go to your AA colleague and apologize for not speaking up in the moment, you were shocked and surprised. Mention that you've reported what happened to your superior. I probably wouldn't send any articles. Unless she's been living under a rock, she knows not to repeat that word even if repeating what a student said to her. Christ, a janitor in a school setting was literally just fired a few weeks ago in this exact scenario (he ended up getting his job back). Let your superior manage this moving forward. |
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Post by Uncaripswife on Nov 13, 2019 11:59:55 GMT -6
Talk to your department head about this. Your white colleague needs to be reminded not to use that word under any circumstances.
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cnf
Ruby
Posts: 20,893 Likes: 100,835 
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Post by cnf on Nov 13, 2019 12:13:07 GMT -6
Plus one for talk to your department head or principal.
As a teacher, there are times where I am required to verbatim quote what a student said. There has never been an instance in any of those times over my many years as a teacher where I said the N word if a kid said it first, because subbing "N word" in it's place is always enough. Hard no to that.
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Post by doublestuf on Nov 13, 2019 13:48:56 GMT -6
@icedtea, no we were not in front of kids. It was a before school meeting with just the 4 of us on our grade level.
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Post by doublestuf on Nov 13, 2019 19:55:50 GMT -6
So I went to my AP with this after school. A bit of a backstory-she and I have many candid talks about issues, including political ones. My principal has been at my school for about 6 months, and my AP warned me that she thought she was a Trump supporter (apparently she made a casual remark that she thought he was a smart guy...WTAF?? 🤬), thus I did not go to her. Plus AP told me in the middle of the convo she was fairly confident this issue would bother her more than my principal.
AP suggested that I talk to my colleague because she didn't want her thinking that our African American colleague had complained (and I guess face some level of retribution?). She was obviously not happy with the situation, and I don't know if it'll go further on that end.
So, I did talk to my colleague. Who, of course was just so surprised at how often "they say it" and didn't mean to offend anyone. And she would never say that word to anyone. I have also apologized to my African American colleague for not speaking up in the moment.
Thinking on my feet is not a strength of mine, but I know I've got to figure out some things to say because these situations are bound to happen again I unfortunately.
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Post by doublestuf on Nov 13, 2019 21:22:23 GMT -6
"they say it" fucking hell, this woman teaches? 8 and 9 year olds... |
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cnf
Ruby
Posts: 20,893 Likes: 100,835
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Post by cnf on Nov 14, 2019 5:06:43 GMT -6
I'm glad you spoke up. I'm sorry she is tactless and abrasive and doesn't understand how to speak without sounding horrible apparently. Yikes.
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Post by blurnette989 on Nov 14, 2019 5:36:42 GMT -6
*snip* So, I did talk to my colleague. Who, of course was just so surprised at how often "they say it" and didn't mean to offend anyone. And she would never say that word to anyone. I have also apologized to my African American colleague for not speaking up in the moment. Except she did say it. To four other people- including a WOC, so I call bullshit. Maybe she wouldn't say it directed at a specific person, but she clearly had no issue saying the word itself and fails to realize how utterly inappropriate her words are, including the how often"they say it" bit. UGH. |
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Post by sherminator on Nov 14, 2019 11:19:59 GMT -6
Yeeeeesh. I'd probably do exactly as blurnette989 says. Go to the head of your department to report what happened, and go to your AA colleague and apologize for not speaking up in the moment, you were shocked and surprised. Mention that you've reported what happened to your superior. I probably wouldn't send any articles. Unless she's been living under a rock, she knows not to repeat that word even if repeating what a student said to her. Christ, a janitor in a school setting was literally just fired a few weeks ago in this exact scenario (he ended up getting his job back). Let your superior manage this moving forward. And I’m glad he did. This was in my town (if it’s the same incident) and it’s made national news. The zero tolerance policy needed some refining in this instance |
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Post by lemondrop on Nov 14, 2019 11:32:05 GMT -6
Yeeeeesh. I'd probably do exactly as blurnette989 says. Go to the head of your department to report what happened, and go to your AA colleague and apologize for not speaking up in the moment, you were shocked and surprised. Mention that you've reported what happened to your superior. I probably wouldn't send any articles. Unless she's been living under a rock, she knows not to repeat that word even if repeating what a student said to her. Christ, a janitor in a school setting was literally just fired a few weeks ago in this exact scenario (he ended up getting his job back). Let your superior manage this moving forward. And I’m glad he did. This was in my town (if it’s the same incident) and it’s made national news. The zero tolerance policy needed some refining in this instance In that instance, I was as well. I do think there's a difference between a BIPOC repeating the word in the moment (telling the student to stop calling him that) and Miss White Teacher repeating it way after the fact when saying "the n word" would have completely sufficed. |
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Post by doublestuf on Nov 14, 2019 14:24:12 GMT -6
So our kids took a standardized test this week and we had to get together today and bubble certain info.. like race and ethnicity.
She made it a point to say African American over and over (normally says black) and at some point said out loud that she had a bi-racial cousin (so of course she can't be racist). I was rolling my eyes so hard.
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