Last week a parent sent me a long text explaining that her son was teased by a child in another class for appearing white. She is also light skinned and offered that she has experienced similar teasing her whole life. We immediately scheduled a meeting.
In the meeting she explained that she has told her son to ignore other children when they speak to him like that, and she obviously was trying to encourage positive self-esteem at home, but she needed tools. She looked at me fairly blankly when I talked about some of my in-class strategies.
When I asked if she wanted some books she looked like I offered her money. I felt so appreciative that I had left some of my better books on skin color close-at-hand. I grabbed four and she immediately packed them into his backpack.
I hope I never see those books again.
Looking at the bigger picture makes me nervous for my students and other students like him because if this parent who is educated and engaged needs resources, what about all of the parents who aren't even thinking about it? What about the parents of the child who called my student "white" and meant it as an insult? How can I, as a white educator, support families in a meaningful, organic way?
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