Teachers whom we are to treat with respect; whom we expect to teach our children well, have basically been found guilty of calling their principal a nigger, as well as derided his communication styles and other characteristics; a man who has commanded a great deal of respect over the years, from his courageous stance against racism while a young man at university to his unflagging devotion to his students, today. Our community, as a whole , still has no idea of which teachers were involved.
Because the principal came forward, made it known publicly, after enduring three years of harassment and abuse, he was removed from the school in question. He went through all of the pain and anguish of a public thrashing, with opponents and proponents duking it out in the newspaper, as well as the school administration trying to sweep it all under the rug.
It is the nature of cowards to hide behind anonymity. When the victim of a crime becomes publicly known, yet the perpetrators of the crime are not, it exacerbates the pain, suffering, and humiliation the victim may feel.
When the unnamed are those who have daily contact with children, in a position of authority, the parents of those children have a right to know who they are.
There is no honour in our schools when teachers use racist humour and language to demean their colleague or superior.
There is no honour in our schools when the administration then obfuscates, refusing to name those teachers, even after findings which said there was cause for discipline; even if measures were taken to remove those teachers to different positions within the school district. Claiming it is a personnel matter which must remain confidential is specious.
If my child was the victim, I would not consider it a private matter if their teacher considered it de rigueur to wage a campaign of intolerance against my child's language, color of skin, or abilities.
Racism is still very much an ingrained part of today's society. I had a storeowner tell me how our town is being ruined by those of color who've moved into our community with their "funny way of talking" and "gang related activities," etc. When I pointed out that the victim of the racist teachers was a long time resident of our state and a graduate of our state university, the shopkeeper had nothing to say. When I explained that educators sometimes must use any means possible, even what may sound like odd language to a local, to reach children who are at risk, the owner had nothing to say. She just kept talking about "those people" and how the townspeople never had any problems with "them" back in the 1950's and 60's when she was growing up, the implication being when they knew their place.
So, it is supposedly over and done with. The teachers are supposedly not racists. Uh-huh. Tell that to the child of colour who sees what happened and puts two and two together. Tell that to their victim who had to fight to keep a position in the district even though he was not the one who launched a racist campaign against a colleague. Tell that to the parents of children who have no idea if one of those teachers is now working with their child, passing on their subtle and not so subtle prejudices.
I've always been a staunch supporter of teachers and their unions, but in this instance I think they are wrong in defending the school district's refusal to make public the names of the teachers involved. Parents have a right to know, as does the general public and the victim in this whole sad affair certainly has the right to public vindication. Racism, prejudice, bias, none of these go away when swept under the rug of secrecy; they must be publicly confronted and education efforts must be redoubled to combat them in the future.
© Jan. 5, 2000 all rights reserved
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