Racism in Kindergarten

[makeba]

this is sooo sad. i would call the principle and schedule an appt to talk with them and the teacher. its not fair and its not right at all. words are like weapons and they can either "give life or death". hate, and racist mindsets come from the guardians or parents. as far as it being the other way around and something would have been said if it were a black or hispanic child going through it; something would only be done if the parent themselves put it on the table. speak up regardless. i had this same issue to deal with my kids being in predominately white neighborhoods.

 

[RaynelleM]

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Originally Posted by pahblov I was actually just talking about this in one of my lectures today! A girl told us a story about how her 7 year old cousin got in trouble because she and her friend were fighting over a toy and in the fight she told her (Indian) friend that her skin was brown. The teacher told her that she shouldn't say things like that, but told the child's mother than in many cases children don't understand racial prejudice, they simply understand differences. In this case, the white child was pointing out a difference between them, but wasn't doing so out of malice. That said, not knowing what the other children said to the OP's daughter, it could be a completely different situation. AND although the teacher suspected that this wasn't a racially driven attack, she still reprimanded the student in my story, where the teacher seems not to have in the OP's

This reminds me of an incident that happened when I was going to school in the Middle East. The school I went to there was a British system school and they were kids of every race, colour, religion, etc. But I don't remember being made fun of bc of my race and I didn't do that to anyone else either. However, when I was in grade 5 it was actually the teacher that pretty much introduced the concept of racism to me and not in a good way!! I had a friend named Hannah who was from Uganda and we had silly nicknames for each other. One day while talking to her I called her "Hannah-banana". Well the teacher, who was British (white) btw, yelled at me to stop and then said to me infront of the whole class "Are you calling Hannah a black banana?" She even made me go stand outside the classroom. I was shocked! All I was doing was rhyming her name with the word banana. I wasn't trying to be racist or even make fun of her. I have no idea why the teacher said that or even thought that but I guess it goes to show that racism is really more on the minds of adults than children.

 

[Kuuipo]

In some states and cities, whites are now a minority. In some workplaces such as mine, English is not even enforced. People talk in Ilocano at the desk or in the luchroom and it excludes the minorities who speak Japanese, English, Tagalog, Chinese, and other languages.
I quit one hospital job when my boss would not refer to me by my name, only as "white girl or haole". She was not a native of the island (hey, I've always been here ) but acted like I was the outsider coming here for God only knows what (less pay, overcrowding?). She said a few really racist things to me, I reported them, nothing happened to her. It's one thing to describe someone as being a member of a certain race, its another to be derogatory and act like they should be elsewhere because of their skin colour. (Hey, I am mixed ethnicities and I had to learn English well enough to attend public school).
I wish we could all just be American citizens instead of breaking it down into categorizing people by their pigmentation.
I see children, little ones, on the bue having to switch schools because they were beaten up for being Micronesian or whatever.

 

[Bootyliciousx]

This is just horriable! I really think you should talk to the teacher or write a letter explanning what happeaned and tell the teacher to speak to the whole class on racism. Also, tell the teacher to not pin point your daughter out during the disscusion because that that will just embarce her. If you aware the kids on racism, they will stop doing it. It's that simple. They don't understand what racism is.

A child's brain developes the first 6-7 years of life. So this is the time they should learn that racism is not accepatble.

 

[kimmy]

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Originally Posted by AppleDiva I also think prejudice from minorities is used as payback for historical social ills toward these groups, which is unfortunate because I believe these actions set people back.

i don't think that's really why people do it, i think that's just their excuse. whites were enslaved in numerous countries around the world for hundreds of years...it isn't just the minorities who have had tough times in their past.

courtney, i would definately go to the teacher with this. maybe even the principal and the school board. your daughter doesn't deserve this...and if this continues she might start harboring an unhealthy hatred or fear of the girls who are treating her this way, and then you'll have to deal with her having that little bit of racism in her, too.

 

[babiid0llox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 That is what I was afraid of. I'm sorry they feel they've been treated unequally (I'd love to hear these stories) I think alot of racism is mistaken for general rudeness or a simple mistake, which we all get. I know that white people had slaves over 100 years ago and that was horrible! But i don't agree with having to pay reparations for what my idiot dead ancestors did. I would never teach my children to hate another person because of the way they look. I didn't think i'd have to deal with this so soon, it caught me off guard. I showed her on a map where different looking people came from. and told her she should be proud to be white, but dont' be haughty or conceited about it. Everyone should celebrate their race. None are better than the other but we have to like ourselves.

White people didn't only have slaves that long ago though...

I'm sorry to hear your little girl gets bullied

Hmmm...I wouldn't advise this but when I used to get teased I used to pick on their nationalities, eventually it started to lessen and then those kids either got over it or became my friends.

 

[babiid0llox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 I too experienced racism, but mostly from the hispanics and not until I was grown. I moved into the city of Houston where there aren't many white people. I was at the mall and some girl called me a stupid white girl because I sat in her seat at a salon, but she was gone and i had just gotten there. It was an honest mistake and i gave her the seat back. I've also had hispanic girls talk in spanish behind my back- but HA I know enough Spanish to know that they were talking trash about me and calling me gringa. I never really considered or even thought about insulting someone because of their race, its pointless. These and other incidents made me dislike hispanic women for awhile. I don't know why I piss them off so much, but i'm not disrespectful or rude. I haven't ever had a bad experience with any other races besides arabic. I've been ignored by arabic girls at a shop i went to. I had to leave because they wouldn't acknowledge me. It took me awhile to get over disliking certain races myself. I finally had to realize that everyone is different and not all people are jerks. I haven't really experienced any racism personally in several years now though.

Couldn't resist but arabic is not a nationality/background/ ethnicity it's a language, arab is.

 

[ratmist]

I'm half white and half filipina. I was one of the only asian children in school, but I didn't look notably 'asian'. I just didn't look like any of the hispanic or white children, so I was instantly an "other". My brother looked hispanic so he didn't get the kind of crap I did. I took a lot of shit for my appearance. Most of it was ignorant racism - the kids couldn't figure out what racial slur was appropriate for me, so I got called all sorts of random racist slurs.

In first grade, I came home crying because I couldn't understand why it had happened to me. I didn't even know the teacher should have stopped it. Now that I'm older, I really wish my dad or mom had talked to the teacher.

I don't know if this helps you, but it may mean more to your daughter in the long run that she sees you take a stand for her. Even if the teacher doesn't do anything, you're the primary teacher for your daughter. She needs to know that racism is not okay, and that it's right to fight it.

 

[northerngirl]

I work as a kindergarden teacher. But living in Norway, we don't have that much of a problem with racism as most of the kids I work with are white. But we do have a boy who's adopted from China, and a girl from Somalia. We work a lot on tolerance and teaching the kids WHY they look different than US. Their parents have been in class and talked about their cultures and we have a sponsor child in Nepal that we write letters to and draw to and whenever we get letters back we read them loud and the kids think it's so exciting!
I know it's different in the US and in a situation as yours but I still think some of the responsibility lies on the teachers to teach tolerance. Kids aren't racist by nature... kids are curious so I doubt the comments your daughter received was actually hateful.
Still, the teacher is at fault here. She should have done something. I would never tolerate such comments and would first of all take the children in question aside and sit them down and talk about what just happened. Then when the parents came to pick up their children I would take the parents aside and tell them what happened and maybe call in for a meeting and discuss what can be done. Your daughter shouldn't be scared of going to kindergarden... it should be a happy place. Talk to the teacher. You leave your child with her every day... she's responsible for her wellbeing while she's there. If she refuse to take that responsibility she should choose a different career.

 

[Jello89]

I dont know if things have gotten worse. But I know when I was in kindergarden, I didnt not even know you could hate someone for their color. I remember as kids we all were not as conscious as kids are now about racism. Now it has to be talked about in class in early grades. I dont remember any of this when I was a kid(im 19 now). I used to be a swimming instructor when I was 17 and something happened that made me feel terrible. I was giving a class and they are all lign up against the edge of the pool. One girl whispers to me taht she cant be next to the colored boy because her mommy doesnt want. It wasnt as if the boy was mean or agressive. He was just not white, and the mom was obviously racist.

 

[rbella]

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Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 The only time I have experienced racism is in my adult life when I moved to Houston which is primarily hispanic, then black and asian and finally white.

Do you live inside the loop? The only reason I ask this is because I live in Houston and was born here and have never left. I really disagree with your statement. I think that it is primarily white, then hispanic, then black and then asian. I do believe that the hispanic population is increasing and fairly close in number to the white population, but I definitely don't think that the white population is the minority in numbers. If you visit the surrounding suburbs: Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, Pasadena, Clear Lake, etc., you will find a large white population. JMO.

Just so you know, I don't disagree that you experienced racism in Houston, I just disagree with the breakdown in race.

 

[pumpkincat210]

No, we lived in Conroe and the school she attended was primarily hispanic. We just moved to Katy though and there are more whites here, but her school is still mainly hispanic although it is a better school and the families are of higher income. So far my daughter loves her new school and has a few friends already.
When I lived off westheimer the majority of people i saw were hispanic and middle eastern. I agree as you go out to some of the suburbs they have a larger white population. I don't really care about demographics as long as everyone is treated equally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbella Do you live inside the loop? The only reason I ask this is because I live in Houston and was born here and have never left. I really disagree with your statement. I think that it is primarily white, then hispanic, then black and then asian. I do believe that the hispanic population is increasing and fairly close in number to the white population, but I definitely don't think that the white population is the minority in numbers. If you visit the surrounding suburbs: Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, Pasadena, Clear Lake, etc., you will find a large white population. JMO. Just so you know, I don't disagree that you experienced racism in Houston, I just disagree with the breakdown in race.

 

[LOCa]

I Understand Where The Racist Children Are Comming From, They Must Be Learning It From Home, Because I Was Like That Too All Through-out Elementry-Jr.High-HighSchool Because My Older Sibilings And Other Family Taught Me To Stick With My Race And Everybody Else The Enemy..

Later Learned The Hard Way Its Not About Race, But Whose Down For You.

Makes Sense To Me.. Probably Not To Others...

 

[hhunt2]

When I was in preschool, I called a black girl the "N" word b/c I heard my dad say it referring to a black person on tv. And I thought it was okay.

Kids pick up ways from thier parents and, basically, anywhere.

 

[rbella]

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Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 We just moved to Katy though and there are more whites here, but her school is still mainly hispanic although it is a better school and the families are of higher income. So far my daughter loves her new school and has a few friends already.

I grew up in Katy!!!! I lived in a small subdivision called Cimarron. I didn't experience racial prejudice at the time because the area was predominantly white, however I did experience major financial prejudice. My father left my mother and she had to raise all 3 of us by herself. She hadn't worked for 14 years. Needless to say times were very difficult. Although she was able to get a job as a secretary, that still was just barely enough to get by.

I remember people treating me differently because I didn't have any money. It was terrible. That actually made me a stronger person and taught me that it isn't o.k. to disrespect someone because they are different from you. I really hope your daughter doesn't have to go through this as she grows up. No one deserves to be treated differently, but maybe this unfortunate incident will help her to become an even stronger and better individual than she already is!! Tell her to keep her head up! I'll be thinking about you guys.

 

[M.A.C. head.]

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Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 I'm lucky in the fact that i've always lived in areas that were mostly white and there wasn't really any racism.

I can't believe no one noticed this.

 

[pumpkincat210]

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Originally Posted by rbella I grew up in Katy!!!! I lived in a small subdivision called Cimarron. I didn't experience racial prejudice at the time because the area was predominantly white, however I did experience major financial prejudice. My father left my mother and she had to raise all 3 of us by herself. She hadn't worked for 14 years. Needless to say times were very difficult. Although she was able to get a job as a secretary, that still was just barely enough to get by. I remember people treating me differently because I didn't have any money. It was terrible. That actually made me a stronger person and taught me that it isn't o.k. to disrespect someone because they are different from you. I really hope your daughter doesn't have to go through this as she grows up. No one deserves to be treated differently, but maybe this unfortunate incident will help her to become an even stronger and better individual than she already is!! Tell her to keep her head up! I'll be thinking about you guys.

we lived really close, I lived in nottingham for awhile and then i moved to cimarron apartments. Its a small world! thank you for your kind words, it's so true about financial prejudice. People can be very cold hearted.

 

[pumpkincat210]

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Originally Posted by M.A.C. head. I can't believe no one noticed this.

I suppose it's the same for any race. If i was hispanic i'd probably prefer to live in a hispanic area, same for asians or blacks. Unfortunately when a person of a different race moves to an area of a predominantly different race, there is going to be racism. I happen to be white so naturally i want to be with other white people because they won't make racist comments about me. When I lived in the inner city i had to be very careful as there were hispanic and black men that would follow me home if i walked up to the store alone. I never experienced this living in a white neighborhood.
Statistics show that white areas have lower crime rates than other areas.
Not every person of other races are racist though, like LOCa said above it's those who are down for you.

 

[rbella]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 we lived really close, I lived in nottingham for awhile and then i moved to cimarron apartments. Its a small world! thank you for your kind words, it's so true about financial prejudice. People can be very cold hearted.

Oh No!! Please tell me you weren't there when they caught on fire!! I hope the best for you guys. Keeping you in my thoughts!

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 I suppose it's the same for any race. If i was hispanic i'd probably prefer to live in a hispanic area, same for asians or blacks. Unfortunately when a person of a different race moves to an area of a predominantly different race, there is going to be racism. I happen to be white so naturally i want to be with other white people because they won't make racist comments about me. When I lived in the inner city i had to be very careful as there were hispanic and black men that would follow me home if i walked up to the store alone. I never experienced this living in a white neighborhood. Statistics show that white areas have lower crime rates than other areas. Not every person of other races are racist though, like LOCa said above it's those who are down for you.

After reading this and the rest of the comments, I'm grateful for living in Canada. I have never experienced racism here and people of different races live in the same neighbourhood w/o issues.

I've heard from friends in the US that it's definitely not like that there. I actually have an Indian friend who's been living in TN for 3 years and is returning to Canada just because of the racism problem.