I decided to share an experience from my previous school. My previous school is located in a upper middle class area in Georgia. The school was extremely diverse, but there were hardly any African-American families there. When a family is interested in the school they come for a visit and get a tour of the school. On this particular day there was an African-American family coming for the tour. As an African-American myself I always got excited to see these families because we needed more at the school and since being there I had never had a black child in my classroom. When the tour was over I went to talk to the director about something unrelated to the tour. As soon as I walked in she says "Mrs. Keli the Johnson family loved the school, but I don't think this is a good fit for them". I asked her was it because of the tuition and she said no. She then informed that the father owned several businesses and that the mother was a stay at home mom. So why isn't this school a good fit? Um.... Well..... It just isn't. Pushing the issue further, I asked her did they say something to you that would lead you to believe this? No, I have have been doing this a long time and I can tell right away. At this point my blood was boiling and I knew that if I did not walk out of her office at that very moment then the next thing to come out of my mouth would not be good. I walked backed to my classroom and realized I was to upset to stay and went home. She did not want them at the school because they were black. I went back and forth about it and I truly believe that is the reason why the school doesn't have but a few black students. After this happened I started to view my director differently and found it hard to come to work everyday. I gave 200% of myself everyday to that school as well as my students and I could not continue to work for someone that did not want black students at her school. I submitted my resignation and moved on to another center.
This week made
me look at my stereotypes about people and allowed me to see why people have
them about me. It gave me a better understanding on how to deal with the many
forms of discrimination. It affects people in different ways and people deal with
it differently. I am a Christian and I
try to live my life according to what I think pleases God. One of my favorite biblical passages that I
try and live by is Matthew 7:1-3 “Judge not less ye be judged”.
Interesting post. It sounds like the director has had much support with not allowing many black children in the center. I say this because you would think others would have come forth and noticed the difference. I like your boldness to talk to her about her reasoning, perhaps many times we have to be the eyes before others can see their prejudices. I too am thankful for the chance to learn about biases and how to accept people for who they are.
ReplyDeleteKeli,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing! That is obviously not right what the director was doing and if she has any experience in early childhood education she would know that diverse schools offer better learning experiences. I am lucky to be in a school operated by a director who values diversity. I have had so many different children in my classroom and just really enjoyed it. We also have a diverse staff which is great for the children.
~Jalice
I really have enjoyed reading your blog post about micro aggressions. How did you feel about the term upon hearing it? I see that you are also an African American yourself and it can be hard to deal with the stereotypes that are associated it. I am glad that you were able to share your story and how it felt for micro aggressions to be used against you. I would have felt low self esteem and disappointed.
ReplyDelete