Sunday, November 11, 2012
People are not born racist!

People are not born racist...it is absolutely taught... I love watching children at a park or playground. They are super adept at creating a game that includes everyone in the area to make sure that fun is experienced by all! As adults, we must be very careful not to deliberately or unwittingly teach our children to be discriminatory against a group of people. Just last week, I walked into a high school classroom that contained all Hispanic students and a Hispanic teacher. I was there simply to observe the student teacher he was mentoring. I had never been in that classroom before and I was not introduced to the class nor interacted with them at all. My only charge was to observe the student teacher. Not even ten minutes after settling into the classroom, a Hispanic student blurted out loudly (so the entire class could hear), "Black Nigger!". The class was dead silent...then several students and the teacher admonished her that this type of behavior was totally unacceptable. The mentor teacher apologized after class and said that he gave the girl detention. Although I am an adult and realize that racism is an ignorant way of thinking, her detention does not get at the heart of the problem...somewhere she has heard or experienced this type of behavior from others. It is also disheartening to see the ugly behaviors of folks throughout the presidential campaign. I loved the comment by our re-elected President that this is not about a particular race, because we are the "United" States of America. I hope that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech declaring that we can one day not look at the color of one's skin, but the content of their character...will someday come to pass! We must appreciate and honor the unique characteristics that individuals bring into our lives. Truly, we are more alike than we are different. People want a job, a safe place to live, effective schools for our children, adequate health care and so on. Let's work diligently, Educators, to help our children (of all ages) to appreciate the qualities of each life they encounter...it will make for a better world! We can celebrate the diversity of the "United" States of America!