- Racism--It's
Elementary
Teachers
Writing on Kids Observations
from Larry Elder
To environmental racism, covert racism, unconscious racism, institutional
racism, corporate racism, subtle racism, let's add elementary school
racism.
Around Memorial
Day, "USA Today" published a tiny article about the alleged misconduct
of a first grade Georgia teacher. The teacher wrote the word, "Book,"
on the face, arms and legs of a student who forgot to return an overdue
library book. There was no national outcry.
But in January,
1997, angry parents accused a South Carolina kindergarten teacher of
the same thing. This teacher wrote, on a student's face, "Where are
my glasses?" because the child forgot to bring her prescription glasses.
Well, THE FIT HIT THE SHAN. National news!
Two stories, similar
facts, one an insignificant story of fleeting local interest, the other
major news. Porquoi?
Well, the Georgia
incident involved a white teacher and a white student. The South Carolina
incident, on the other hand, involved a white teacher and a black student.
And we all know what comes next.
In a world where
the Johnnie L. Cochran Doctrine tells us "Race plays a part of everything
in America," this means one thing. The South Carolina teacher is...RACIST!
Next scene. The
Southeast Region Executive Director of the NAACP says the South Carolina
child's civil rights had been violated. The teacher receives a 20-day
suspension without pay. She undergoes sensitivity training, and issues
a public apology. And, for good measure, when she returns to work, some
25 protesters greet her, some holding signs like, "White teacher, black
child. No way."
Not that it matters,
but newspapers offered no other information about the South Carolina
teacher's "racist" past. You know, stuff like, whether she had done
this before, whether other parents had complained about her "racism."
(Turns out the teacher also writes on white children. Again, not that
it matters.)
The Georgia and
South Carolina cases are almost identical. Same part of the country,
roughly same grade level. Both occurred in small towns. In fact, the
white-on-white writing was worse. There, the Georgia teacher wrote on
the kid's face, arms, and legs. Yet, somehow, the South Carolina teacher's
"Where are my glasses?" gets magically transformed into "Segregation
then, segregation now, segregation forever."
Same old media hustle.
If the case smacks of interracial conflict--even when it's a stretch,
go for it!
As far as the Southeast
Region of the NAACP goes, some advice. Call the Maytag repairman. Ask
him what to do with your apparently limitless leisure time.