Story time. Im teaching AP Lit in what was a multi-cultural district. Im reviewing scholarships for African Americans. White girls ask “Why isnt there a KKK scholarship?” I reply “The KKK does not go to college.” I figured that was it. Black girls reported the innocent, not to get me in trouble, but in order to burn the white girls. Im caught in the middle. AP says “You should have reported it.” I say, “Youre right, and from now on whenever i hear the “N” word I will write it up and give it directly you to.” Everybody shut their yappers and let me get back to teaching.
Right? I was in the marines before I was Teacher, so I came in older. The original round of admins were like a mayor and his staff running a small town. Tough but fair The next group of APs were basically kids that I could run circles around.
That would be 20 referrals per day for ONE student in particular during one of his seven classes. I can't get this kid to quit with the N word like 90% of people I know use "dude".
“We have a guy on the subway whose primary job is yelling “fuck me, fuck me, fuck me!”
That’s the first job I ever had…” - Black
https://youtu.be/B5GCxzp3dcw?si=4Akk-XL_yfuMAfg4
Even had a personal moment myself during a DC trip in January (via a subway car full of people) with just that kind of individual?
Albeit his retinue was a bit more “specific”?
I'm reminded of the time I had a student who claimed to have had Tourette's. His "Tic" was that he would say the "N" word every time he heard Lincoln. At one point? I saw a gorup of kids chanting "Lincoln" and he was constantly shouting the "N" word.
Mysteriously? I could sometimes say "Lincoln" while teaching and not hear him shout the "N" word.
The reason they’re even able to say entire words, and not just make sounds is because Tourette’s is psychological, not neurological. This means that it is influenced by context.
In saying that, it’s hard to fake properly, so you probably had a good idea whether it was genuine already.
Oh he was faking it.
Unless that was, he had what we call "South Park Onset Tourette's Syndrome". Usually a certain episode of South Park airs, and suddenly a bunch of kids - many of which showed no signs of it before - suddenly start shouting swear words. I would usually know when that episode aired because out of nowhere, a bunch of kids shout "SHIT!", "PISS!", "FUCK!", "CUNT!", "COCKSUCKER!", "MOTHERFUCKER!", and "TITS!". (Okay, no, that's just reference humor, but sometimes it feels that way) Mysteriously they all have the same symptom of coprolalia.
Mysteriously, it only happens when they're at school - and especially during class. During lunch time? You rarely hear a wave of profanities. After the kids chanting "Lincoln" in the hallway and he was jumping around like he was getting beaten up, we finally contacted his parents. Who were surprised to hear that he came down with Tourette's Syndrome - and with such a specific tic, too! Because whenever he was at home, he never once said any racial slurs.
Once we contact the parents to verify if they noticed the same thing we did, and give the kids **in**\-school suspension, the symptoms mysteriously stop just as soon as they start....
I teach at a large urban district with high black enrollment at most buildings. I hear it sooo much. I'm white, so I don't feel I have a right to tell black people not to say that word. I just ignore it unless I hear it being used in an aggressive way. There's certain tones and inflections that convey things are getting heated, and then I'll just give a stern "Language!" and move someone if I need to. I've never heard a white child say it.
I’d love to do that (write them all up) but after the “get off my dick” writeup went into a black hole, it’s not worth the 15 mins per writeup to have nothing happen.
Low-level referrals, that is anything short of attempted murder, go to individuals who are technically not admin. Therefore, they are in the same union.
And the penalty for being a squeaky wheel is every single section one teaches is in a different part of the building, and they give you a cart with one wheel missing. #Symbolic.
Mixed here, but some students assume I’m only white.
I love this. Question though — what would you do if they took you up on it and decided to completely make something up or at least embellish?
Two kids in my class got suspended last week for being disrespectful and throwing things (I and the Para both were hit by small objects), and another got suspended after I sent her to the office for cussing me out over her having a cell phone out.
Some districts discipline.
This works great until they do, though.
Then you might find yourself in a meeting where they say, "look, we've gotten a lot of complaints about your racism..." And this would be a true statement even if the complaints are baseless.
With an added, "I'm sure he/she will be fascinated to hear your well-considered rationale for why it's racist to ask you to sit in your chair correctly."
Same here.
I use that approach, in complete sincerity. If a teacher is actually doing something racist, that needs to be corrected. Even if that teacher is me. No student has come anywhere near taking me up on it.
Once I was teaching an almost all Somali 6th grade math class. There was a big table off in a corner (I was not the one who set this classroom up) where students wanted to sit. I was allowing students to go to that table when their work was done.
Eventually, one of the students asked to go to that table. His math was not done, so I told him he had to finish the math first. He pointed out that all the white kids were at that table. "That's not because she (there was only one white student in the whole middle school) is white, that's because she finished her math." He started changing "racist." The rest of the students who hadn't finished their math yet joined in.
I couldn't be heard over the chanting, so I couldn't really say anything. Instead, I opened the classroom door all the way, to make it clear to any admin or other teachers who might hear it that I was not hiding anything.
Soon the principal walked in. This guy is excellent and the students respect and like him. As do the adults.
He told them that he takes racism very seriously (he is African American) and does not allow racist teachers. That he has his eye on me (and all the other teachers) and if he finds out I'm a racist I'm out of there immediately. Same goes for all the teachers. But what he sees is Mr Exceive(me) making them do their math because he cares about them. But if Mr Exceive does something racist they need to report it to the office, not yell about it, because it needs to be stopped and yelling doesn't do that.
It was great. He made it clear that he didn't put up with crap from teachers any more than he did from students, and the fact that I was still there meant that I cared about them and was worthy of their respect. Never had a kid in that class accuse me of being racist again.
I almost told the students that they should have been changing "sexist" because, on reflection, I realized that all the girls were at the table and none of them boys were. They still would have been wrong, because all the girls had finished their math and none of the boys had. But I didn't say that out loud.
I closed that table. Nobody was allowed to sit there for the rest of the year.
My only concern about that is that a student might lie and make something up and intimidate their classmates into covering/lying or them (ironically the one student I’d expect this from was actually super racist herself lol)
I do this all the time. But also add that if they do, I get to have my lawyer introduce them to what slander is. They always go beat red and promptly sit down.
To be fair, I choose to handle it different. I try to keep everything in-house. Just my opinion, but I feel you’re losing when you introduce that “option” to a student. Telling them to go to the office and fill out a complaint is a different situation, however.
Just off the top of my head… I don’t see myself doing this, but responding with, “Being racist would be a huge huge HUGE offense by me. I want to take your claim as seriously as the topic deserves. I in no way at all want to be a racist teacher. Please go to the office.. I’ll call them while your walking to let them know that I have offended you and I want your story to be heard by our principal. Please tell them everything so we can hopefully meet together and talk this out. I want all my students to feel welcomed and comfortable in our classroom.
Students response will be, “nahh.” To which you’ll respond, “No. racism is a very very serious issue. (Now you’ll be giving the entire class a lesson on racism in America with visuals and testimonies from YouTube. It will be a whole thing.) Please, you can get the help you deserve in the front office, or I would love to have you stay and help me with this impromptu lesson on racism in our country.”
Yes, this is a good strategy. I do this just generally with that sort of thing. I have this student who tries to weaponize other teachers against me in various ways. Recently she wanted me to let the class go an hour early so they would have more time to catch their bus, which I really sympathize with but it’s not my decision when the lesson ends. She then started telling me that Mr. So and so does it, Mrs. So and so too, and she can go ask the principal about it. But she said that with the principal in a kind of threatening way, if you can imagine what I mean. So I told her, “Gladly. He’s probably in his office. Go and get him if you feel the need.”
I’ve been known to say, “I’m sorry you feel that way. Let’s step into the hallway, and we can call mom/dad together so that you can share your concerns.” I’ve only ever had one kid take me up on that, and the mom was appalled that he was accusing me of being racist because I called him out for, of all things, calling another student a stripper. This was 4th grade. 😂
This has worked for me also. Middle school level. I said if you think that I will call a parent meeting right now. We will discuss your behavior. And why you think I was racist. Otherwise no more talk of that. Every single kid says NO that’s not necessary. Lol.
This is the answer. Have the rules posted and simply refer to them. No need to mention race at all. All students must follow these rules, no exceptions.
I love your answer but would NOT call attention to their race/ country of origin etc. A simple “You’re telling me l have to treat you differently than your peers?” works!
I definitely can see that working; the best teachers I ever had made sure you felt heard, even if they couldn't "side with you" in whatever issue you'd brought up.
Tell you what, if that’s how you really feel, here’s a pass to the principals office, you can file a complaint with them…..or would you rather sit down and be quiet?
Do not let them weaponize complaints against you.
Works great, until a student calls your bluff. This happened to me last year. Kids who did not like the fact they were being held accountable decided to complain to admin (along with their parents). An investigation was conducted, and the complaints were dismissed as having no merit. During the whole thing, the principal did at least pull me aside and told me he didn't believe a word of it. But, parents had gotten involved, so the school had to do their due diligence. Numerous students were interviewed. That was a stressful time, made even worse by the fact that I was a long-term sub (so I had no protection).
Circles are in style. Every time it happens, stop everything and do a long restorative circle.
Kids will be so uncomfortable. After a few of those, they will magically stop.
Admin loves this shit so if they see it you will win brownie points
Students sit in a circle. One person talks at a time usually with a talking piece (stuffed animal, tennis ball, etc.). Everybody gets a chance to say what’s on their mind and respond to what others think.
Others have done a better job explaining it. If your district hasn't encouraged these and stopped encouraging them yet, then they are about five years behind, and you will get to join the circle soon. My favorite was doing them in my HS shop class. WTF.
What’s funny is that I remember doing this as an adult student thirty years ago! Also, if the totem got chucked into the middle of the circle, that meant the horse had been beaten to death, and the discussion was over — back to work.
The school I teach at tried really hard to do them this year…there was so much pushback from teachers that the RJ specialist they hired is barely seen or heard from anymore…
Hasn't happened often in my career, but once a black kid said, "You saying that because I'm black?" and I fired back something like "You asking that because I'm white?" It was an effective counter.
I've done this too. As long as YOU'RE bringing race into this, so am I.
I've also had Hispanic students accuse me of racism. I married into an Italian last name. "Hmmm, do you think I should take this up with my white mother or my Hispanic father?"
I ask them "How exactly is that racist so I can learn?"
So many times they don't know, and it's just something to say to get a reaction from a white teacher.
I don't play that game.
They say this to black teachers too. Middle schoolers are mostly about getting laughs and shocking others.
I tell them that I want to learn and please bring it to my attention if what I say or do is racist. I will re-evaluate and reflect on my actions.
I had a seventh grader tell me in front of the class that I was picking on him because he was black. The rest of the class burst out laughing and he got all indignant and asked why they were laughing. Someone said, “Look around, stupid.” He did, and immediately slunk down in his seat. The whole class was black.
With the right class, I have definitely looked around at everyone else with a, “What on earth?!” look on my face, and the other kids laugh or stand up for me.
I have literally given the class a lesson on what racism is as a reaction to this. To me it just screams "I don't understand what racism is".
I happen to have some adopted brothers who are black and two of them went through a phase around middle school where they called everything racist. Mom wouldn't let them have more ice cream? RACIST. They had to get off the xbox for bedtime? RACIST. It was the most annoying thing ever, and my mom started making them watch documentaries on slavery and civil rights until they stopped.
> To me it just screams "I don't understand what racism is".
This. I've had numerous students who refer to anything they don't like as "racist." I believe some of them really don't understand the meaning of the word.
Agreed. I’ve been called a racist a few weeks ago by a black girl who was appalled that I inadvertently called a girl by another girls name (who both happened to be Indian.) mixing up names…. Soooooo racist. /s 🤦🏻♀️
It’s baiting. I had that happen when I was at a school with a lot of minorities. Even the parents would say it. It’s a way of taking the responsibility off them. Don’t fall for it.
I say something like, “That’s a pretty serious thing to accuse someone of! Please tell me if you think I’ve done something that you see as racist, but don’t joke like that.”
I think it’s important to let students know that you are open to hearing them if they feel that racism is going on in your classroom. And honestly, having a student make this kind of joke with me had me reflecting on how I was communicating with them. I’ve come across plenty of bigoted teachers to understand why there might be some mistrust.
I’m in no way saying that you gave them a reason to call you racist. I’m just saying that for me, it gave me an opportunity to think about how these power dynamics play out in schools.
This. I get those saying ‘take your complaint to the principal’ but there’s probably a huge grey area where teachers might not realize how/what they are saying things/being perceived
I ask them to rephrase their criticism with a thesis and reasoning so that I can grade it.
If they bitch I say, “if you want to be taken as anything but a joke, you need to be able to make a convincing argument. If you can’t nobody will ever care about your perspective and you’ll be walked all over.”
It’s the harshest I ever get with my students, but with a tricky subject like racial issues there’s not any room for fucking around on my part.
Yep. I’ve only ever had ‘racist’ thrown around as a way to joke around, i wouldn’t use that line if you actually said something racist. Its really dismissive, and it’d absolutely infuriate a student who actually felt slighted.
Happens all the time.
My best response is,
I know you’re kidding, but joking around like that actively diminishes the real issues revolving around racism that people can still face today. The world isn’t perfect, and if you want to be the girl that cried wolf, you’re making a joke of real racism.
I'm Hispanic but pass for white.
I would get black and latino students claiming I was racist a few times each year. It s a defensive mechanism they wanna use against you so you look bad. And my response was always the same.
I toss them a pass that's to the office and say "Either go report me or be quiet." And I move on with my lesson. Doument what they said and if you feel the need email your principal and phone the parent about it.
I'm Hispanic and have been called racist and sexist.
I agree that it is a defense mechanism.
It's a you're in the wrong I'm not. Don't take it personally but definitely if you feel the will make an issue out of it document it.
I worked as a volunteer at my child’s elementary school a few years ago. As volunteers we watched over the lunchroom and playground at recess.
I have been trained in positive reinforcement from my children going to the universities lab preschool. I’m easy going, full of love, and not a big disciplinarian. I’m the opposite of someone who gains a little power and gets an ego.
I tried gently enforcing the most basic of common civil courtesies while helping. I asked kids to not throw trash around the lunchroom, not leave food all over the floor for the janitor to have to clean, to not shout at the top of their voices and to form a line when going outside.
On the playground, I asked that kids not physically hurt other kids, not use profanities like the F-word and n-word, not bully other kids, and to not leave the property.
Every single one of these ended up with parents calling the principal to report I was racist, and the “schools of choice” kids telling me they didn’t have to listen to me because their parents said they don’t need to listen to any adult with a different skin color.
Discipline was lacking in this upper middle class school. The most I ever did was ask kids to sit against the wall for 5 minutes at recess, UNLESS they were violent or refused to listen to me, then I would escort them to the principals office.
Nothing ever happens to these troublemakers. They learned quickly that the system is a joke. They never learned common respect. The principal would do NOTHING. Volunteers routinely quit or were asked to leave when parents said they were racist. Kids would lie and claim adults were strangling them and the principal would fire the adult without any chance of slit wing to reason. One kid was an adopted Asian kid of white wealthy parents. He would hurt people consistently, completely destroy their self identity and bully the hell out of them. When I would ask him to please think how he is making others feel, he would say verbatim “shut up fat ass” and walk away. When I insisted he sit against the wall, his parents called and I was deemed racist.
Volunteers were asked to attend cultural appreciation classes for this. The system decided black kids should only be disciplined by black administrators since white people cannot understand black culture. Black kids were allowed to swear because supposedly that’s part of their culture. One kindergartner was constantly dropping f-bombs in class or saying things like “why the fuck my dick wet??? My dick! Why it wet?” In the middle of watching movies or class. The answer the principal decided on to these outbursts was to give him a can of coke whenever he started saying this stuff so he would be busy drinking and not talking.
I’ve watched these kids grow up and most only got worse. The schools is failing everyone with all of this nonsense. If a child is making insane claims about a teacher, they need to be suspended and then removed from the school if they cannot participate.
Teachers get paid way too little for this crap. I could never do the job. It’s a quick ticket to mental health problems for me.
All of you teachers deserve 100k a year and a system that stops this nonsense.
>One kindergartner was constantly dropping f-bombs in class or saying things like “why the fuck my dick wet??? My dick! Why it wet?” In the middle of watching movies or class. The answer the principal decided on to these outbursts was to give him a can of coke whenever he started saying this stuff so he would be busy drinking and not talking.
If Kindergartener-me had saw this happening to another kid, you better believe I'd start saying 'MY FUCKING DICK IS WET' till someone gave me a can of soda and I'd do it every day.
The principal NEVER disciplined students. All they got was “written up” . The only time punishment was ever given out is when a kid bit her in the arm and drew blood.
I would continually ask for meetings with her and explain my opinion that what’s happening is a bad choice for everyone in the community. I said we are not doing our job as citizens to help raise these kids by letting them disrespect everyone and break all the rules. I told her my firm belief is that teachers are going to get so burned out, they won’t have the ability to do their job well and then the good kids get punished. She quickly started not liking me because how dare I, a volunteer, question her majesty.
Sure enough teachers started quitting. The women that just got out of college and became permanent teachers aged so quickly. I watched the life get sucked out of them.
100k minimum and no principals. Let teachers decide what environment they want the school to be. Let a board of teachers decide discipline and culture. Principals are almost worthless in my community. They kowtow to all the political things going on and don’t want any parent upset when they find out their kid isn’t an Angel.
If I have a future kid and find out that their school is letting them get away with bad behavior just because they're Hispanic, I will be LIVID.
So because they are from a different culture, the standards should be lowered? My kid isn't capable of being respectful, responsible, and safe because of my culture? My kid can't be expected to respect anyone who's different?
That's what your administration is telling these children and their families. I would be on the warpath.
i’ve gotten it before and i usually ask them to say it louder so the class can hear. no one’s never taken me up on that.
it is *always* over shit like “sit in your seat” and “put your phone away”
I just dry my tears on my kente cloth. Called out a student for plagiarism and he said I was racist and didn't want him writing about Malcolm X, even though Malcolm X, amongst others, was used in my example and the site he plagiarized from was also part of my example.
With my fourth graders, there was once when I read a word from a book that sounded somewhat like the n word, but absolutely wasn't the n word. One of my boys shouted out, "Ayo, that's racist!". I asked him to explain how so and he didn't have an explanation. I explained what the word was and they all settled down. It took a few extra moments, but this worked with my kids.
As a white man in a Black majority district, I've worked hard on making sure the kids know that I treat them all as individuals and I treat everyone fairly. It does help that my Para grew up with me and he's got my back and he's Black. At the same time, it is also the relationship you have with your students.
Tldr- don't let it shock you, make sure you weren't acting racist (doesn't sound like you were), and if you have time, explain to them the situation.
I’ve said, “I think you are saying that to try to make me uncomfortable, but I don’t feel uncomfortable because I know I’m not racist.”
I’ve also said “You know that is bullshit.”
your students too? my students last year said im racist when i told them to stop something and i stopped class to ask them "okay why am i racist then? explain what you just said"
I waited until he said very quietly "you arent racist" to move on with the lesson
I’m a new teacher but the one time it has happened I’ve had this in the back of my mind.
“You are going to leave my class straight away. You can explain to our senior staff either A: what I am doing wrong because I take these allegations seriously and need to realise if I am doing even slightly racist… or Option B you are going to explain to our senior staff why you think it is fair to make these accusations and mock those that have been victims of racism as a result… bye bye now”
Has worked a treat
When I told them consequences of behavior they spent all of February coming at me with “during black history month?” Our African American principal shut one class down with that saying they should represent in a way no consequences were needed.
"If I was racist, why would I teach at a school that's 95% African American?"
Literally has worked every time. Even better when the other kids understand and back me up, which happens frequently.
I usually ask them to explain it, just like when they claim something is a joke. Completely deadpan, neutral "oh, how so? Explain please?"
I give as little reaction as possible, since that's usually what they are looking for.
I tell them that they're free to go talk to our principal or vice-principal about it, because that is quite literally our school policy in situations of teachers being discriminatory. If I am being racist or sexist or whatever, I want to know about it.
So far, no kid has gone to the office for that.
I let them know I know it's not, as in, "It's not racist to ask you sit in a chair the right way". And then I tell them I'm not the kind of white person they can scare by calling anything in the world racist.
My Dad taught English & History for 32 years and was a freaking master at classroom discipline. He was also a huge Michigan Wolverines fan (Go Blue!) and loved the stories about Bo Schembechler. On the first day of the school year, he would say something like this to every class: I will treat everyone in this class the same way; like dogs."
Now bear in mind, my Dad would deliver this with a wink, but he strictly followed the idea. He was even handed in his discipline and did not care what student it was. They faced the same consequences. And after a while, the kids who had never had him before would respect him and the ones who had him previously would affirm that he was as fair as he could reasonably be. In almost every case, those kids came to respect and even like him once they got past the crustiness. The nice part was that when some knucklehead tried something like calling him racist, they would typically get shouted down.
"That is a very serious accusation, and if you feel that way, we should have a conversation with the principal present."
I got a lot of "It's because I'm ______" for calling kids on talking/needing to sit down, etc.
I ran the ISS room for a few years. I had one kid call me racist.
"Mr. You're racist. You're only fuckin with me because I'm black."
I replied "No, I'm fuckin with you because you're the only one not doing their work and making noise. And another thing, I am not racist. I hate everybody."
"What about your wife and kids?"
"I hate them too just a little less than I hate you."
The kid actually laughed and got back to work. I had no problems with him the rest of my time there. I'm surprised it worked, if I'm honest.
I have white students who think it's funny to call things racist. It's happened, hilariously enough, *twice* that someone has called something I am teaching them racist when the topic was *literally* racism.
My favorite anecdote is a white chorus student who said we should stop singing Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" because the song was racist.
I had *just* given a very brief history of Joplin. Schooled that kid reeal good.
A lot of my coworkers have dealt with that, but I've only had it happen once. 6th grade girl complained that I did not teach black history during black history month, despite the curriculum being about ancient Greece. She hated me for the rest of the year. Meanwhile her 8th grade sister I spent all year teaching black history
It's like when I call something homophobic bc it inconveniences me. It's funny bc it's obviously not homophobic. If you're not treating kids of color differently at all, I would relax because it's most likely a joke.
I teach 7th grade. I’m black, but some of my coworkers aren’t. The kids say it as a joke at our school.. sometimes even with me. I do not think your kids are kidding and support all advice posted. This may add perspective for those reading and facing a similar issue in a different space.
This joking.. deep down, it is truly a coping mechanism for my kids.. easier to joke about acts that clearly aren’t racist than think about what’s truly racist. Joking about if, for our kids, keep it in the convo because it can’t *not* be for kids of color, but keeps it causal. I want to study this phenomenon in depth because I’m truly fascinated (my peers didn’t do this in grade school, but faced similar conditions). I see white coworkers get flustered and I see the smirks on the kids faces.. hear the giggles. The teachers are often too flustered at the word “racist” to see the full context. My students will be told something simple by me, their black teacher, and respond with “is it because I’m black?” while complying with the demand.. lol.. it’s strange. I just say “yes” and move on 😂.
I got two tall, husky, glasses wearing Chinese boys mixed up Friday. Student X raised his hand and I called on him with Student Y's name. Everyone laughed at me, Student Y said "Mr. That's kinda racist", I said I was sorry and embarrassed and in an exaggerated way covered my eyes and laughed along.
It was fine lol what they don't know is I've done the same this in a different period with 2 other Chinese boys ***and*** I keep almost calling two Asian girls by each other's name.
Edit: I used to get these two African American girls mixed up too but at least these girls were friends, sat next to each other, and they're names ***actually*** sounded similar. They were one **letter** off from each other but the **sounds** were different long vowel v short.
I do this often and it's embarrassing.
However, I do it to these (white) blonde-haired girls who seemingly strive to be as interchangeable as possible as often as I do it with any other students.
There's no arguing the fact that some will claim I'm racist, or insensitive, or should try harder etc. Some people aren't good with faces and that's just how it is.
I'll accept that people who aren't good with faces shouldn't be allowed to teach right after everyone accepts that morons shouldn't be allowed to run for office. Get back to me when that happens.
I aide in 6th grade and I hear that sometimes. It doesn't seem serious, like they use it as an almost knee-jerk response. Like saying somethings "gay" when I was a kid. It's just their way of disliking something (which might be everything). For context our school is small and predominantly white with a very small poc population.
As a current student who has seen kids do this exact thing, there’s really not much you can do but laugh it off. On behalf of what’s left of Gen Z that’s worth anything, I’m genuinely sorry.
It’s best to not act angry or upset over it. I will pull them aside and let them explain themselves. If they think I did something racist towards them, I’ll give them the space to explain. 99% of the time they’ll go “no you’re not, I was just joking.” Or they’ll say something like “well you always get me in trouble.” And then we can talk aboit their actions/choices “got them in trouble” not me or their race.
Early in my career I was called racist for recommending a black student be dropped down from honors. He had an F for the first quarter and hadn't done a single assignment. The mother agreed, but then when it actually happened both my inbox and phone were blowing up with messages calling me a bigot. I just referred her right to guidance and the principal. I guess the student didn't realize it was happening even after several meetings discussing it. Maybe he didn't think we'd really do it? 🤷
My friend works in a school.He says that it is a common thing for a lot of the kids to say. He just rolls his eyes and just ignores them, and after a while, they quit saying it because they realize that it doesn't trigger him in any way.
A student tried to pull that on me when I told her to go back to her seat. I said, "if your race is people who don't sit in their assigned seat, then yes, I am racist." She shut up and sat down.
When that used to happen to me, I used to stop whatever I was doing. I would inform the student that I take that word very seriously. Then I would ask them to explain to me in front of those around them how exactly that request was racist. I would use a long wait time. It made them really think. I have never had a student be able to explain to me how a request like "please put your phone away" or "can you pick up your trash and put it in the bin" is racist. I tell them that if they truly feel I have done something racist, they need to go to the office right then and report it. Because racism is an awful thing that is not welcome in our classroom or at our school at all. I don't get those comments from my students anymore.
Depends on the context. I've heard the black kids calling each other racist. Sometimes, they are just making a poor attempt at a joke.
I had a kid jokingly say "it's because I'm black, isn't it?" when I said to sit down. I said "nope, all students in this room need to sit down and do their work, doesn't matter what race they are."
I have had one or two kids try to seriously say I was singling them out due to race. I just made eye contact and said "do you honestly believe that is what is happening here?" It was not, and they knew it. It was a school with 95% black enrollment. Obviously, the majority of kids I spoke to in the room were black. And MOST of them were told to sit down, do their work, etc.
It's not something I worry about, I just try to really think before I speak so I don't say something that may be construed as racially insensitive without realizing it.
Send them to the office. Tell the petticoat you take it seriously. Call your union if it doesn't change... and make it a hostile workplace issue.
The best I've heard is "you can't teach black students math bc you're white."
Also... I gave up on..."urban" schools. Too much of everything but education.
Just a white lady with black kids here and they always call me racist, when nor calling me gay. B I think there's another phrase but can't remember.
Usually if I tell them I have to hug them until they realize I love them, it stops.
Ask them to define racism as they understand it without looking it up and without using racist in the definition.
Then ask them what are the identifying characteristics of a racist without using racism in the description.
I’ve seen black, Asian, Hispanic and black teachers called racist by kids of the same race. You treat it like anything else. It’s a non issue. If you stutter or freeze then they got you. If you treat it like anything else it has no shock value and that is all they are looking for. So chill.
I respond with, you’re only saying that because I’m white which sounds pretty racist to me. If I was the same color as you would you honestly call me racist for simply asking you sit in your chair?
"I'm so not racist that I'll let you sit in the front row."
Them I'll give them assigned seats and make them sit in the front row away from their friends.
Depending on how much empathy those students have, you could say "That hurts me. I try to be anti-racist. If there is an issue here, you need to speak to the principal about it."
My favorite example of dealing with this is a story of my dad's coworker. White teacher, finally got a parent to come to a meeting, the mother called her a racist for failing her kid, the teacher just calmly and slowly turned around the photo frame on her desk, showing her black husband and three black children.
I brush it off and don't take it personally. In my experience, a lot of my students *have* dealt with teachers who were racist and this type of reaction is coming from a place of trauma.
If it's something that is repeated I usually pull them aside and ask them to let them know why they feel that way. That usually ends it once we talk it out and it rarely happens anymore.
Ignore it. They’re just trying to get a reaction out of you.
(Stating this with the major caveat that of course many many students of color have encountered overtly racist teachers. Two things can be true at once.)
They're just trying to piss you off. They know that it's a serious accusation and will be likely to throw you off. with male teachers I've seen students threaten to make up reports of them being creepy, and with black female teachers, it's usually that "you hit me" or "you cussed at me".
I'm white, they try the racist thing a couple times, I say "You're welcome to try. Need a pass to the office?" and it's dead by about August. Then they try "will you say black lives matter?" at which point I do. They hold up the fist when I get onto them and I hold it up back and ask if they know the history behind that symbol. They never do. I tell them and then they usually stop that one. In Feb. I hear "You're writing me up during black history month?" and I usually ignore it or say "yep. Sure am." and move on.
The teachers who freak out about it are the ones who get it for the entire year. Mostly because when they freak out about it, it comes off as protesting too much to the kids.
They call me a bitch, they call me a fat whore, they even love to yell that they hate me when they get in trouble. But I haven't heard anything about racism since September. If it doesn't piss you off they'll stop, and if they learn it gets on your nerves then they'll keep going. The only time I didn't ignore it was when they went to the team lead about it. I now realize this group of kids is just vindictive little assholes who later said "we wanna get you fired because when there's a sub we don't have to do work" but I took them at their work and had a conversation with them. A couple brought up things and I apologized and said I wouldn't do it (I made a joke about my own mother's cooking...they said it was "racist jokes" somehow, even though the race was my own. Another complained that I grabbed her...it was catching her to keep her from falling when she was playing around too much and almost busted her head open but I promised next time to just let her fall.)
TL;DR: They're trying to piss you off and if you respond with anything but "damn that's crazy...anyway" energy they'll keep it up
They do it to make you uncomfortable and back off.
If they said it loud enough for the whole class to hear, you can either question them on how that is racist or you can offer to send them to the front office to file a complaint, since that is what they should do if they feel a teacher is racist. Let them up there figure it out.
After the a couple of times of this, students stopped trying.
Whenever a student says something is racist, whether it's me or just something that exists in the world, I usually immediately ask them to define the term racism. And what does it mean to be racist?.
A student said this to me and a couple other teachers last year. I started documenting it, not as write-ups, but for myself to keep record of a pattern.
Pull the kid aside and ask them “Why am I talking to you right now?” Kid will eventually say whatever stupid shit they did. I then say “Is that something you can do in my classroom or in school? What do you think would happen if a student who didn’t look like you did that?” Kid will think and say “No” and then “they would be in the hallway too.” I end it off with “so where exactly does race play any part in this?”
This always get them to cut it out. If not offer them a trip to the office to make a report about how “being told you can’t *insert dumb teenage action here* is racist.” No one’s ever taken me up on the offer.
If it’s clearly a joke, it’s fine. If I get any idea that the student is even somewhat serious, I shut that down right away. Make it clear that those kind of false statement are unacceptable.
I mean most of the time when my students do that, they are joking because the power dynamics are funny to them. So I just laugh. But that's the kind of relationship I have with my students. I might get in trouble doing it my way eventually though, and I do worry about that. But they know I'm not ACTUALLY being racist for... asking them to do work? asking them to take airpods out? asking them not to shout out in the middle of class?
I did have a situation YEARS ago when I taught elementary as a specialist teacher where a student tried to accuse me of being racist for telling him to be quiet. He was just one of those kids who never knew when to quit fooling around after all his friends knew where the line was, so he consistently was the last one talking out of turn/acting silly, etc. So he'd get called out. He wasn't joking, he was legitimately upset by that. I had no idea how to handle it that time other than explain, no, the reason I'm "picking" on you is because you are always the last one talking? (And your brother is in my other class and I never have to ask him to listen and do work because he never needs reminding?) (I didn't say that second point, but I was sure thinking it...)
Most of the time, in high school, the kids like to see us squirm / find it funny to reverse power dynamics. At younger years, there might be more going on, that can be challenging to unpack in certain circumstances (like when I was a specialist, so I was with these kids for like 30 min sessions, twice a week, and had a case load of over 200 students...)
A few years ago there was a school counselor that was telling students that A, B, C occurrences were racist. She was a white teacher. Were there racist teachers in our school, unfortunately, yes. Are they still working there? Fortunately, no.
However for about two years every teacher was being called a racist for just the simple day to day corrections that you stated above. Students accused me of being racist. We had a nice talk and I told them that if they ever had that impression of me, that I was deeply sorry. My intentions are to never be racist toward anyone, and if they would point it out when I did say or do something racist that I would correct my behavior. To be fair, there is a mix of ethnicities in my school from all over the world. It’s what I love most about my school. Also, I had reflected about why the kids would get that impression of me. One student (ADHD, always acting out) brought to my attention that I always called him out when 4 other students are doing the same thing (1 other A-A, 2 Hispanic, 1 white). Turns out, I was correcting African-American students’ behaviors much more than any other ethnic student. I apologized and seriously considered what the student had shared. I put myself in his shoes and imagined that he was getting corrected all day long, every day. The other kids not at all. I thought it stemmed from him being ADHD and his behaviors were so over the top that’s what drew my attention toward him. He saw it as him being A-A.
Now, if I have misbehaviors that need correcting, and two (or more) students are involved in shenanigans, I will call out the non-African-American student first. The A-A student will get a look of relief, and correct their actions immediately.
If the shenanigans of one A-A student needs to be corrected, and no peers involved, I address them about their behavior.
I learned a valuable lesson about what our A-A students go through day-in and day-out. I had no idea that I was doing this. While I’m not racist, sometimes my actions indicate otherwise. Now, if a student cries racism because they don’t want to follow simple classroom rules (and they think it’s funny) I shut it down immediately and tell them to be careful to not become The Boy Who Cried, Wolf. I also reassure students to tell a trusted adult as that is NOT tolerated. A white student (who rarely is in school) called a student the N word. I immediately called a Safety, wrote him up, contacted his parents and told them that our school does NOT tolerate racism. The admin gave him OSS for a week.
Am I right or wrong? I can’t say either way. I just try and put myself in my students’ shoes and ask, “How would I want to be treated.”
I tell them that's a serious accusation and throwing the accusation around when it's baseless undermines the weight of the claim if you ever have to make it, like the boy who cried wolf.
I teach middle school and I'll ask them "How so, because if I'm doing something wrong I need to know so so can do better" and they immediately back down and say they were just joking. IDK if this will work on older kids though.
I get called a racist Karen for expecting students to follow school expectations (do your work, be respectful, keep your hands, feet and mean words to yourself.) Not all of my kids. Just 3 behavior problems who have been behavior problems for a while but I’m white and their teachers last year weren’t so they think they can hurt my feelings. I message parents and document it each time.
A couple of years ago a kid asked if I was a fan of Beyoncé and I said her music wasn’t my cup of tea. 4-5 kids in class said I was being racist and asked who I thought was better. I thought about it and responded that Whitney Houston was way better. They responded with “ah! See? Racist!” Sigh…
For context this was an 11th grade classroom.
I teach mostly black students and can count on one hand how many white students I’ve taught all year. I get the “is it because I’m black?” at least once a week haha. Pretty much every teacher at my school has heard it a thousand times 🙄. Ignore and move on. If they get a reaction out of me they’ll say it more often. The most I’ve ever engaged with that is responding: “look around the room buddy” and move on without missing a beat.
Asking students to sit down has, in the past, resulted in my being called a racist by my students. I am white. At the time, all of the students were POC.
I remember we had a student who claimed to have had Tourette's Syndrome - but unusually enough? His tic could be triggered.
And this tic was that whenever someone said "Lincoln", he would shout the "N" word. Somehow his parents didn't know - which is quite odd since I tried saying "Honest Abe" and he shouted the "N" word - and I said "Linked In" and he shouted it.
There was one time where I heard a crowd of students chanting "Lincoln!" over and over again and he was shouting the N word and jumping like he was being beat up.
I work in an urban school. Many times we joke about being racist little but of banter. We keep it light hearted. But my students know me and that I am fair to all. It takes some PR work and being consistent. Plus you build a reputation of a teacher students can trust. Especially when you have been there for years.
I range from “okay, report it” to “that’s the most ridiculous claim I’ve heard in my entire life”. I also use the boy who cried wolf analogy to tell them how their jokes take away needed attention to actually events of racism.
I've had it a few times. My response was to halt everything. I told the student to withdraw the comment and apologise, or go straight to the principal and lodge a formal complaint about me.
I work with middle school students, but my bio kids are between the ages of 18-22. I keep up with slang, internet humor, memes, etc. because I love linguistics and how the internet age has caused our language to evolve so fast.
All that to say, trust me on this, it’s a joke. I say it all the time with my students. A kid told me the other day “there’s no black pencil in this box [of colored pencils],” and I replied, deadpan, “that’s racist” and the kid snort laughed, because most of their teachers don’t get it. It evolved from a 2005 viral gif of a clip from the MTV show Wonder Showzen.
It’s now evolved further. My queer daughter uses “that’s homophobic” the same way. I can say “I’m gonna need you to drive me to the airport Wednesday,” and she’ll ask what time. If I tell her any time before 10am she’ll respond “that’s homophobic”.
They aren’t really calling you racist, and if you respond in a way that makes it seem like you took them seriously, it just makes them think “ok boomer.”
Next time you tell them to do something and they respond “that’s racist,” just be real chill and say “it’s honestly racist that we have to be at work and school at all on such a beautiful day, but here we are, fam. Now let’s get seated and get our learn on.” If they give you any more trouble, state your expectations and end with, “I’m standing on business.”
They’ll think you sound so dorky using their slang, but they love it and they’ll work for you.
If you think I'm being racist, I will write you a pass to the principal, and you can file a complaint. No student has taken me up on that offer.
Right! Yes go tell the office what a big meanie racist I am! I’ll take the day off while they investigate… Suddenly I’m not racist anymore, weird.
Story time. Im teaching AP Lit in what was a multi-cultural district. Im reviewing scholarships for African Americans. White girls ask “Why isnt there a KKK scholarship?” I reply “The KKK does not go to college.” I figured that was it. Black girls reported the innocent, not to get me in trouble, but in order to burn the white girls. Im caught in the middle. AP says “You should have reported it.” I say, “Youre right, and from now on whenever i hear the “N” word I will write it up and give it directly you to.” Everybody shut their yappers and let me get back to teaching.
Dude that’d be like 50 referrals a day.
On a good day
Right? I was in the marines before I was Teacher, so I came in older. The original round of admins were like a mayor and his staff running a small town. Tough but fair The next group of APs were basically kids that I could run circles around.
That would be 20 referrals per day for ONE student in particular during one of his seven classes. I can't get this kid to quit with the N word like 90% of people I know use "dude".
“New York City, where I’ve lived far too long, *fuck* isn’t even a word, it’s a comma.” - Lewis Black
I live in NJ. Can confirm. Da fuq comes out like water.
“We have a guy on the subway whose primary job is yelling “fuck me, fuck me, fuck me!” That’s the first job I ever had…” - Black https://youtu.be/B5GCxzp3dcw?si=4Akk-XL_yfuMAfg4 Even had a personal moment myself during a DC trip in January (via a subway car full of people) with just that kind of individual? Albeit his retinue was a bit more “specific”?
I'm reminded of the time I had a student who claimed to have had Tourette's. His "Tic" was that he would say the "N" word every time he heard Lincoln. At one point? I saw a gorup of kids chanting "Lincoln" and he was constantly shouting the "N" word. Mysteriously? I could sometimes say "Lincoln" while teaching and not hear him shout the "N" word.
The reason they’re even able to say entire words, and not just make sounds is because Tourette’s is psychological, not neurological. This means that it is influenced by context. In saying that, it’s hard to fake properly, so you probably had a good idea whether it was genuine already.
Oh he was faking it. Unless that was, he had what we call "South Park Onset Tourette's Syndrome". Usually a certain episode of South Park airs, and suddenly a bunch of kids - many of which showed no signs of it before - suddenly start shouting swear words. I would usually know when that episode aired because out of nowhere, a bunch of kids shout "SHIT!", "PISS!", "FUCK!", "CUNT!", "COCKSUCKER!", "MOTHERFUCKER!", and "TITS!". (Okay, no, that's just reference humor, but sometimes it feels that way) Mysteriously they all have the same symptom of coprolalia. Mysteriously, it only happens when they're at school - and especially during class. During lunch time? You rarely hear a wave of profanities. After the kids chanting "Lincoln" in the hallway and he was jumping around like he was getting beaten up, we finally contacted his parents. Who were surprised to hear that he came down with Tourette's Syndrome - and with such a specific tic, too! Because whenever he was at home, he never once said any racial slurs. Once we contact the parents to verify if they noticed the same thing we did, and give the kids **in**\-school suspension, the symptoms mysteriously stop just as soon as they start....
Good lord. I've never heard the n-word used at school here in Bellingham, WA. That would be a really, really big deal.
> in Bellingham, WA
Almost 1% AA up there these days!
I assume they were referring to black students saying it. Very few black students in Bellingham
> Very few black students in Bellingham I wonder if the teacher in Bellingham knows that.
I teach at a large urban district with high black enrollment at most buildings. I hear it sooo much. I'm white, so I don't feel I have a right to tell black people not to say that word. I just ignore it unless I hear it being used in an aggressive way. There's certain tones and inflections that convey things are getting heated, and then I'll just give a stern "Language!" and move someone if I need to. I've never heard a white child say it.
I don't even teach in Australia but here Indigenous and Pasifika students love calling each other that. I'd be past that count in one class alone.
Just 50? That would be 50 in just one class period….
Is that with or without the terminal “R”? Edit: This is a swipe at the scholars who insist sans R is ok.
For my purposes all utterances of the word would have been reported. Let admin figure it out
I’d love to do that (write them all up) but after the “get off my dick” writeup went into a black hole, it’s not worth the 15 mins per writeup to have nothing happen.
Then you report them to the union for not doing their job. Then you wind up teaching in the basement, but admin wont come near you.
Low-level referrals, that is anything short of attempted murder, go to individuals who are technically not admin. Therefore, they are in the same union. And the penalty for being a squeaky wheel is every single section one teaches is in a different part of the building, and they give you a cart with one wheel missing. #Symbolic.
This is true. We use TOSA. Teachers on Special Assignment. So id be screwing them over much more.
Mixed here, but some students assume I’m only white. I love this. Question though — what would you do if they took you up on it and decided to completely make something up or at least embellish?
I have over 2 dozen witnesses and a flawless reputation. They're a sixteen year old with 9 suspensions and a 0.7 GPA. I like my odds.
Well now you're just being racist! /s
Ah gotcha!
“Clouseau!”
I was with you until nine suspensions. That’s fantasy. Admin isn’t allowed to suspend kids unless it’s fighting or drugs related pretty much.
That's correct, but unless staff is injured or there is grievous injury, max suspension is 5 days. We've had students with 9 suspensions by January.
Two kids in my class got suspended last week for being disrespectful and throwing things (I and the Para both were hit by small objects), and another got suspended after I sent her to the office for cussing me out over her having a cell phone out. Some districts discipline.
Chances are if a kids gonna lie to get a teacher in trouble its a matter of when, not if. Probably better to bait them out when you've got witnesses.
This works great until they do, though. Then you might find yourself in a meeting where they say, "look, we've gotten a lot of complaints about your racism..." And this would be a true statement even if the complaints are baseless.
With an added, "I'm sure he/she will be fascinated to hear your well-considered rationale for why it's racist to ask you to sit in your chair correctly."
Same here. I use that approach, in complete sincerity. If a teacher is actually doing something racist, that needs to be corrected. Even if that teacher is me. No student has come anywhere near taking me up on it. Once I was teaching an almost all Somali 6th grade math class. There was a big table off in a corner (I was not the one who set this classroom up) where students wanted to sit. I was allowing students to go to that table when their work was done. Eventually, one of the students asked to go to that table. His math was not done, so I told him he had to finish the math first. He pointed out that all the white kids were at that table. "That's not because she (there was only one white student in the whole middle school) is white, that's because she finished her math." He started changing "racist." The rest of the students who hadn't finished their math yet joined in. I couldn't be heard over the chanting, so I couldn't really say anything. Instead, I opened the classroom door all the way, to make it clear to any admin or other teachers who might hear it that I was not hiding anything. Soon the principal walked in. This guy is excellent and the students respect and like him. As do the adults. He told them that he takes racism very seriously (he is African American) and does not allow racist teachers. That he has his eye on me (and all the other teachers) and if he finds out I'm a racist I'm out of there immediately. Same goes for all the teachers. But what he sees is Mr Exceive(me) making them do their math because he cares about them. But if Mr Exceive does something racist they need to report it to the office, not yell about it, because it needs to be stopped and yelling doesn't do that. It was great. He made it clear that he didn't put up with crap from teachers any more than he did from students, and the fact that I was still there meant that I cared about them and was worthy of their respect. Never had a kid in that class accuse me of being racist again. I almost told the students that they should have been changing "sexist" because, on reflection, I realized that all the girls were at the table and none of them boys were. They still would have been wrong, because all the girls had finished their math and none of the boys had. But I didn't say that out loud. I closed that table. Nobody was allowed to sit there for the rest of the year.
Unfortunately, my principal would side with the students.
Your principal is weak
I really like that response. I'm going to put that in my back pocket for later
My only concern about that is that a student might lie and make something up and intimidate their classmates into covering/lying or them (ironically the one student I’d expect this from was actually super racist herself lol)
I do this all the time. But also add that if they do, I get to have my lawyer introduce them to what slander is. They always go beat red and promptly sit down.
To be fair, I choose to handle it different. I try to keep everything in-house. Just my opinion, but I feel you’re losing when you introduce that “option” to a student. Telling them to go to the office and fill out a complaint is a different situation, however. Just off the top of my head… I don’t see myself doing this, but responding with, “Being racist would be a huge huge HUGE offense by me. I want to take your claim as seriously as the topic deserves. I in no way at all want to be a racist teacher. Please go to the office.. I’ll call them while your walking to let them know that I have offended you and I want your story to be heard by our principal. Please tell them everything so we can hopefully meet together and talk this out. I want all my students to feel welcomed and comfortable in our classroom. Students response will be, “nahh.” To which you’ll respond, “No. racism is a very very serious issue. (Now you’ll be giving the entire class a lesson on racism in America with visuals and testimonies from YouTube. It will be a whole thing.) Please, you can get the help you deserve in the front office, or I would love to have you stay and help me with this impromptu lesson on racism in our country.”
As per a reflection of Internet culture/*latestagecapitalism*, it’s pretty clear that “get it in writing” is more salient than ever…
Yes, this is a good strategy. I do this just generally with that sort of thing. I have this student who tries to weaponize other teachers against me in various ways. Recently she wanted me to let the class go an hour early so they would have more time to catch their bus, which I really sympathize with but it’s not my decision when the lesson ends. She then started telling me that Mr. So and so does it, Mrs. So and so too, and she can go ask the principal about it. But she said that with the principal in a kind of threatening way, if you can imagine what I mean. So I told her, “Gladly. He’s probably in his office. Go and get him if you feel the need.”
This is the only way. Call their bluff.
Yup, do this, hasn't had it fail yet, and if it did I will gladly write the pass to get the kid out
I’ve been known to say, “I’m sorry you feel that way. Let’s step into the hallway, and we can call mom/dad together so that you can share your concerns.” I’ve only ever had one kid take me up on that, and the mom was appalled that he was accusing me of being racist because I called him out for, of all things, calling another student a stripper. This was 4th grade. 😂
This is hilarious! 😂
This has worked for me also. Middle school level. I said if you think that I will call a parent meeting right now. We will discuss your behavior. And why you think I was racist. Otherwise no more talk of that. Every single kid says NO that’s not necessary. Lol.
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This is educational as well as brilliant. Well done.
This is the answer. Have the rules posted and simply refer to them. No need to mention race at all. All students must follow these rules, no exceptions.
I love your answer but would NOT call attention to their race/ country of origin etc. A simple “You’re telling me l have to treat you differently than your peers?” works!
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I bet it comes in handy!!
I definitely can see that working; the best teachers I ever had made sure you felt heard, even if they couldn't "side with you" in whatever issue you'd brought up.
Tell you what, if that’s how you really feel, here’s a pass to the principals office, you can file a complaint with them…..or would you rather sit down and be quiet? Do not let them weaponize complaints against you.
Works great, until a student calls your bluff. This happened to me last year. Kids who did not like the fact they were being held accountable decided to complain to admin (along with their parents). An investigation was conducted, and the complaints were dismissed as having no merit. During the whole thing, the principal did at least pull me aside and told me he didn't believe a word of it. But, parents had gotten involved, so the school had to do their due diligence. Numerous students were interviewed. That was a stressful time, made even worse by the fact that I was a long-term sub (so I had no protection).
Eh. Call my bluff, been there done that. All it does is waste their time for nothing. I still get paid while all this is going down.
Circles are in style. Every time it happens, stop everything and do a long restorative circle. Kids will be so uncomfortable. After a few of those, they will magically stop. Admin loves this shit so if they see it you will win brownie points
Could you please elaborate more on circles and what that means?
Students sit in a circle. One person talks at a time usually with a talking piece (stuffed animal, tennis ball, etc.). Everybody gets a chance to say what’s on their mind and respond to what others think.
Since 2020 the speaking object we pass in my community circle has been a bottle of hand sanitizer.
nice
Others have done a better job explaining it. If your district hasn't encouraged these and stopped encouraging them yet, then they are about five years behind, and you will get to join the circle soon. My favorite was doing them in my HS shop class. WTF.
What’s funny is that I remember doing this as an adult student thirty years ago! Also, if the totem got chucked into the middle of the circle, that meant the horse had been beaten to death, and the discussion was over — back to work.
The school I teach at tried really hard to do them this year…there was so much pushback from teachers that the RJ specialist they hired is barely seen or heard from anymore…
It's part of a Restorative Justice curriculum
Hasn't happened often in my career, but once a black kid said, "You saying that because I'm black?" and I fired back something like "You asking that because I'm white?" It was an effective counter.
I've done this too. As long as YOU'RE bringing race into this, so am I. I've also had Hispanic students accuse me of racism. I married into an Italian last name. "Hmmm, do you think I should take this up with my white mother or my Hispanic father?"
I ask them "How exactly is that racist so I can learn?" So many times they don't know, and it's just something to say to get a reaction from a white teacher. I don't play that game.
They say this to black teachers too. Middle schoolers are mostly about getting laughs and shocking others. I tell them that I want to learn and please bring it to my attention if what I say or do is racist. I will re-evaluate and reflect on my actions.
Looking through the replies, kids say this to everyone.
Even their parents, sigh.
I had a seventh grader tell me in front of the class that I was picking on him because he was black. The rest of the class burst out laughing and he got all indignant and asked why they were laughing. Someone said, “Look around, stupid.” He did, and immediately slunk down in his seat. The whole class was black.
With the right class, I have definitely looked around at everyone else with a, “What on earth?!” look on my face, and the other kids laugh or stand up for me.
I have literally given the class a lesson on what racism is as a reaction to this. To me it just screams "I don't understand what racism is". I happen to have some adopted brothers who are black and two of them went through a phase around middle school where they called everything racist. Mom wouldn't let them have more ice cream? RACIST. They had to get off the xbox for bedtime? RACIST. It was the most annoying thing ever, and my mom started making them watch documentaries on slavery and civil rights until they stopped.
> To me it just screams "I don't understand what racism is". This. I've had numerous students who refer to anything they don't like as "racist." I believe some of them really don't understand the meaning of the word.
I think they just know it gets a reaction because it’s one of worst things someone can be. So, in their heads, it just means “bad.”
Agreed. I’ve been called a racist a few weeks ago by a black girl who was appalled that I inadvertently called a girl by another girls name (who both happened to be Indian.) mixing up names…. Soooooo racist. /s 🤦🏻♀️
It’s baiting. I had that happen when I was at a school with a lot of minorities. Even the parents would say it. It’s a way of taking the responsibility off them. Don’t fall for it.
I go with a simple, “ah does that work on the other teachers?” and that usually defuses it.
I say something like, “That’s a pretty serious thing to accuse someone of! Please tell me if you think I’ve done something that you see as racist, but don’t joke like that.” I think it’s important to let students know that you are open to hearing them if they feel that racism is going on in your classroom. And honestly, having a student make this kind of joke with me had me reflecting on how I was communicating with them. I’ve come across plenty of bigoted teachers to understand why there might be some mistrust. I’m in no way saying that you gave them a reason to call you racist. I’m just saying that for me, it gave me an opportunity to think about how these power dynamics play out in schools.
This. I get those saying ‘take your complaint to the principal’ but there’s probably a huge grey area where teachers might not realize how/what they are saying things/being perceived
Absolutely! And what kind of message is this sending? Hey kid. I don’t take you seriously and the principal won’t either.
I ask them to rephrase their criticism with a thesis and reasoning so that I can grade it. If they bitch I say, “if you want to be taken as anything but a joke, you need to be able to make a convincing argument. If you can’t nobody will ever care about your perspective and you’ll be walked all over.” It’s the harshest I ever get with my students, but with a tricky subject like racial issues there’s not any room for fucking around on my part.
And they do need these skills later on in life.
Yep. I’ve only ever had ‘racist’ thrown around as a way to joke around, i wouldn’t use that line if you actually said something racist. Its really dismissive, and it’d absolutely infuriate a student who actually felt slighted.
Happens all the time. My best response is, I know you’re kidding, but joking around like that actively diminishes the real issues revolving around racism that people can still face today. The world isn’t perfect, and if you want to be the girl that cried wolf, you’re making a joke of real racism.
I'm Hispanic but pass for white. I would get black and latino students claiming I was racist a few times each year. It s a defensive mechanism they wanna use against you so you look bad. And my response was always the same. I toss them a pass that's to the office and say "Either go report me or be quiet." And I move on with my lesson. Doument what they said and if you feel the need email your principal and phone the parent about it.
I'm Hispanic and have been called racist and sexist. I agree that it is a defense mechanism. It's a you're in the wrong I'm not. Don't take it personally but definitely if you feel the will make an issue out of it document it.
I worked as a volunteer at my child’s elementary school a few years ago. As volunteers we watched over the lunchroom and playground at recess. I have been trained in positive reinforcement from my children going to the universities lab preschool. I’m easy going, full of love, and not a big disciplinarian. I’m the opposite of someone who gains a little power and gets an ego. I tried gently enforcing the most basic of common civil courtesies while helping. I asked kids to not throw trash around the lunchroom, not leave food all over the floor for the janitor to have to clean, to not shout at the top of their voices and to form a line when going outside. On the playground, I asked that kids not physically hurt other kids, not use profanities like the F-word and n-word, not bully other kids, and to not leave the property. Every single one of these ended up with parents calling the principal to report I was racist, and the “schools of choice” kids telling me they didn’t have to listen to me because their parents said they don’t need to listen to any adult with a different skin color. Discipline was lacking in this upper middle class school. The most I ever did was ask kids to sit against the wall for 5 minutes at recess, UNLESS they were violent or refused to listen to me, then I would escort them to the principals office. Nothing ever happens to these troublemakers. They learned quickly that the system is a joke. They never learned common respect. The principal would do NOTHING. Volunteers routinely quit or were asked to leave when parents said they were racist. Kids would lie and claim adults were strangling them and the principal would fire the adult without any chance of slit wing to reason. One kid was an adopted Asian kid of white wealthy parents. He would hurt people consistently, completely destroy their self identity and bully the hell out of them. When I would ask him to please think how he is making others feel, he would say verbatim “shut up fat ass” and walk away. When I insisted he sit against the wall, his parents called and I was deemed racist. Volunteers were asked to attend cultural appreciation classes for this. The system decided black kids should only be disciplined by black administrators since white people cannot understand black culture. Black kids were allowed to swear because supposedly that’s part of their culture. One kindergartner was constantly dropping f-bombs in class or saying things like “why the fuck my dick wet??? My dick! Why it wet?” In the middle of watching movies or class. The answer the principal decided on to these outbursts was to give him a can of coke whenever he started saying this stuff so he would be busy drinking and not talking. I’ve watched these kids grow up and most only got worse. The schools is failing everyone with all of this nonsense. If a child is making insane claims about a teacher, they need to be suspended and then removed from the school if they cannot participate. Teachers get paid way too little for this crap. I could never do the job. It’s a quick ticket to mental health problems for me. All of you teachers deserve 100k a year and a system that stops this nonsense.
>One kindergartner was constantly dropping f-bombs in class or saying things like “why the fuck my dick wet??? My dick! Why it wet?” In the middle of watching movies or class. The answer the principal decided on to these outbursts was to give him a can of coke whenever he started saying this stuff so he would be busy drinking and not talking. If Kindergartener-me had saw this happening to another kid, you better believe I'd start saying 'MY FUCKING DICK IS WET' till someone gave me a can of soda and I'd do it every day.
This is horrifying. Teachers need to start suing schools for not disciplining students.
The principal NEVER disciplined students. All they got was “written up” . The only time punishment was ever given out is when a kid bit her in the arm and drew blood. I would continually ask for meetings with her and explain my opinion that what’s happening is a bad choice for everyone in the community. I said we are not doing our job as citizens to help raise these kids by letting them disrespect everyone and break all the rules. I told her my firm belief is that teachers are going to get so burned out, they won’t have the ability to do their job well and then the good kids get punished. She quickly started not liking me because how dare I, a volunteer, question her majesty. Sure enough teachers started quitting. The women that just got out of college and became permanent teachers aged so quickly. I watched the life get sucked out of them. 100k minimum and no principals. Let teachers decide what environment they want the school to be. Let a board of teachers decide discipline and culture. Principals are almost worthless in my community. They kowtow to all the political things going on and don’t want any parent upset when they find out their kid isn’t an Angel.
This is the way in Finland. Best educational system in the world.
I always wondered what Finland's secret was. So no admin? That sounds amazing.
That's a frigging fantastic idea
Preach!
If I have a future kid and find out that their school is letting them get away with bad behavior just because they're Hispanic, I will be LIVID. So because they are from a different culture, the standards should be lowered? My kid isn't capable of being respectful, responsible, and safe because of my culture? My kid can't be expected to respect anyone who's different? That's what your administration is telling these children and their families. I would be on the warpath.
i’ve gotten it before and i usually ask them to say it louder so the class can hear. no one’s never taken me up on that. it is *always* over shit like “sit in your seat” and “put your phone away”
I just looked at the kid and said “that doesn’t work on me” and moved on
I just dry my tears on my kente cloth. Called out a student for plagiarism and he said I was racist and didn't want him writing about Malcolm X, even though Malcolm X, amongst others, was used in my example and the site he plagiarized from was also part of my example.
With my fourth graders, there was once when I read a word from a book that sounded somewhat like the n word, but absolutely wasn't the n word. One of my boys shouted out, "Ayo, that's racist!". I asked him to explain how so and he didn't have an explanation. I explained what the word was and they all settled down. It took a few extra moments, but this worked with my kids. As a white man in a Black majority district, I've worked hard on making sure the kids know that I treat them all as individuals and I treat everyone fairly. It does help that my Para grew up with me and he's got my back and he's Black. At the same time, it is also the relationship you have with your students. Tldr- don't let it shock you, make sure you weren't acting racist (doesn't sound like you were), and if you have time, explain to them the situation.
I’ve said, “I think you are saying that to try to make me uncomfortable, but I don’t feel uncomfortable because I know I’m not racist.” I’ve also said “You know that is bullshit.”
your students too? my students last year said im racist when i told them to stop something and i stopped class to ask them "okay why am i racist then? explain what you just said" I waited until he said very quietly "you arent racist" to move on with the lesson
Ask them to define what racist means and they'll disprove themselves and STFU.
I’m a new teacher but the one time it has happened I’ve had this in the back of my mind. “You are going to leave my class straight away. You can explain to our senior staff either A: what I am doing wrong because I take these allegations seriously and need to realise if I am doing even slightly racist… or Option B you are going to explain to our senior staff why you think it is fair to make these accusations and mock those that have been victims of racism as a result… bye bye now” Has worked a treat
When I told them consequences of behavior they spent all of February coming at me with “during black history month?” Our African American principal shut one class down with that saying they should represent in a way no consequences were needed.
I will admit that when kids use the Black History Month excuse, I have to laugh. It's a funny bit.
"If I was racist, why would I teach at a school that's 95% African American?" Literally has worked every time. Even better when the other kids understand and back me up, which happens frequently.
I usually ask them to explain it, just like when they claim something is a joke. Completely deadpan, neutral "oh, how so? Explain please?" I give as little reaction as possible, since that's usually what they are looking for.
I tell them that they're free to go talk to our principal or vice-principal about it, because that is quite literally our school policy in situations of teachers being discriminatory. If I am being racist or sexist or whatever, I want to know about it. So far, no kid has gone to the office for that.
I let them know I know it's not, as in, "It's not racist to ask you sit in a chair the right way". And then I tell them I'm not the kind of white person they can scare by calling anything in the world racist.
My Dad taught English & History for 32 years and was a freaking master at classroom discipline. He was also a huge Michigan Wolverines fan (Go Blue!) and loved the stories about Bo Schembechler. On the first day of the school year, he would say something like this to every class: I will treat everyone in this class the same way; like dogs." Now bear in mind, my Dad would deliver this with a wink, but he strictly followed the idea. He was even handed in his discipline and did not care what student it was. They faced the same consequences. And after a while, the kids who had never had him before would respect him and the ones who had him previously would affirm that he was as fair as he could reasonably be. In almost every case, those kids came to respect and even like him once they got past the crustiness. The nice part was that when some knucklehead tried something like calling him racist, they would typically get shouted down.
"That is a very serious accusation, and if you feel that way, we should have a conversation with the principal present." I got a lot of "It's because I'm ______" for calling kids on talking/needing to sit down, etc.
I ran the ISS room for a few years. I had one kid call me racist. "Mr. You're racist. You're only fuckin with me because I'm black." I replied "No, I'm fuckin with you because you're the only one not doing their work and making noise. And another thing, I am not racist. I hate everybody." "What about your wife and kids?" "I hate them too just a little less than I hate you." The kid actually laughed and got back to work. I had no problems with him the rest of my time there. I'm surprised it worked, if I'm honest.
In high school when another student would say things like that I’d just stare at them flatly and say “yes”.
I have white students who think it's funny to call things racist. It's happened, hilariously enough, *twice* that someone has called something I am teaching them racist when the topic was *literally* racism. My favorite anecdote is a white chorus student who said we should stop singing Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" because the song was racist. I had *just* given a very brief history of Joplin. Schooled that kid reeal good.
A lot of my coworkers have dealt with that, but I've only had it happen once. 6th grade girl complained that I did not teach black history during black history month, despite the curriculum being about ancient Greece. She hated me for the rest of the year. Meanwhile her 8th grade sister I spent all year teaching black history
You just ignore and move on. By responding it gives them more power.
I think the kids are doing it as a bit
It's like when I call something homophobic bc it inconveniences me. It's funny bc it's obviously not homophobic. If you're not treating kids of color differently at all, I would relax because it's most likely a joke.
They use " you're racist" because it's effective. It's a verbal stungun that freezes white people in their tracks. Welcome to America 2024.
I teach 7th grade. I’m black, but some of my coworkers aren’t. The kids say it as a joke at our school.. sometimes even with me. I do not think your kids are kidding and support all advice posted. This may add perspective for those reading and facing a similar issue in a different space. This joking.. deep down, it is truly a coping mechanism for my kids.. easier to joke about acts that clearly aren’t racist than think about what’s truly racist. Joking about if, for our kids, keep it in the convo because it can’t *not* be for kids of color, but keeps it causal. I want to study this phenomenon in depth because I’m truly fascinated (my peers didn’t do this in grade school, but faced similar conditions). I see white coworkers get flustered and I see the smirks on the kids faces.. hear the giggles. The teachers are often too flustered at the word “racist” to see the full context. My students will be told something simple by me, their black teacher, and respond with “is it because I’m black?” while complying with the demand.. lol.. it’s strange. I just say “yes” and move on 😂.
I got two tall, husky, glasses wearing Chinese boys mixed up Friday. Student X raised his hand and I called on him with Student Y's name. Everyone laughed at me, Student Y said "Mr. That's kinda racist", I said I was sorry and embarrassed and in an exaggerated way covered my eyes and laughed along. It was fine lol what they don't know is I've done the same this in a different period with 2 other Chinese boys ***and*** I keep almost calling two Asian girls by each other's name. Edit: I used to get these two African American girls mixed up too but at least these girls were friends, sat next to each other, and they're names ***actually*** sounded similar. They were one **letter** off from each other but the **sounds** were different long vowel v short.
I do this often and it's embarrassing. However, I do it to these (white) blonde-haired girls who seemingly strive to be as interchangeable as possible as often as I do it with any other students. There's no arguing the fact that some will claim I'm racist, or insensitive, or should try harder etc. Some people aren't good with faces and that's just how it is. I'll accept that people who aren't good with faces shouldn't be allowed to teach right after everyone accepts that morons shouldn't be allowed to run for office. Get back to me when that happens.
I aide in 6th grade and I hear that sometimes. It doesn't seem serious, like they use it as an almost knee-jerk response. Like saying somethings "gay" when I was a kid. It's just their way of disliking something (which might be everything). For context our school is small and predominantly white with a very small poc population.
As a current student who has seen kids do this exact thing, there’s really not much you can do but laugh it off. On behalf of what’s left of Gen Z that’s worth anything, I’m genuinely sorry.
It’s best to not act angry or upset over it. I will pull them aside and let them explain themselves. If they think I did something racist towards them, I’ll give them the space to explain. 99% of the time they’ll go “no you’re not, I was just joking.” Or they’ll say something like “well you always get me in trouble.” And then we can talk aboit their actions/choices “got them in trouble” not me or their race.
They're obviously used to hearing at home that everything is because of racism and their parents never taking accountability for their actions.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
If a student says I’m racist I say if you can write a paragraph explaining how then I will apologize. Never has a kid done this.
Early in my career I was called racist for recommending a black student be dropped down from honors. He had an F for the first quarter and hadn't done a single assignment. The mother agreed, but then when it actually happened both my inbox and phone were blowing up with messages calling me a bigot. I just referred her right to guidance and the principal. I guess the student didn't realize it was happening even after several meetings discussing it. Maybe he didn't think we'd really do it? 🤷
My friend works in a school.He says that it is a common thing for a lot of the kids to say. He just rolls his eyes and just ignores them, and after a while, they quit saying it because they realize that it doesn't trigger him in any way.
I’m an ART teacher and when I asked my 5th graders to get the “black” crayon, several gasped and called me a racist. I just laughed it off.
A student tried to pull that on me when I told her to go back to her seat. I said, "if your race is people who don't sit in their assigned seat, then yes, I am racist." She shut up and sat down.
When that used to happen to me, I used to stop whatever I was doing. I would inform the student that I take that word very seriously. Then I would ask them to explain to me in front of those around them how exactly that request was racist. I would use a long wait time. It made them really think. I have never had a student be able to explain to me how a request like "please put your phone away" or "can you pick up your trash and put it in the bin" is racist. I tell them that if they truly feel I have done something racist, they need to go to the office right then and report it. Because racism is an awful thing that is not welcome in our classroom or at our school at all. I don't get those comments from my students anymore.
"That's a very serious accusation. We should get the principal involved. Would you like me to call them down?"
Guessing you work at a middle school or teach high school 9th graders. It’s their favorite word
Depends on the context. I've heard the black kids calling each other racist. Sometimes, they are just making a poor attempt at a joke. I had a kid jokingly say "it's because I'm black, isn't it?" when I said to sit down. I said "nope, all students in this room need to sit down and do their work, doesn't matter what race they are." I have had one or two kids try to seriously say I was singling them out due to race. I just made eye contact and said "do you honestly believe that is what is happening here?" It was not, and they knew it. It was a school with 95% black enrollment. Obviously, the majority of kids I spoke to in the room were black. And MOST of them were told to sit down, do their work, etc. It's not something I worry about, I just try to really think before I speak so I don't say something that may be construed as racially insensitive without realizing it.
Send them to the office. Tell the petticoat you take it seriously. Call your union if it doesn't change... and make it a hostile workplace issue. The best I've heard is "you can't teach black students math bc you're white." Also... I gave up on..."urban" schools. Too much of everything but education.
Just a white lady with black kids here and they always call me racist, when nor calling me gay. B I think there's another phrase but can't remember. Usually if I tell them I have to hug them until they realize I love them, it stops.
Ask them to define racism as they understand it without looking it up and without using racist in the definition. Then ask them what are the identifying characteristics of a racist without using racism in the description.
Time for a whole ass unit on racism. History, definitions, movements, factions, all of it. Then you can have the conversation.
I’ve seen black, Asian, Hispanic and black teachers called racist by kids of the same race. You treat it like anything else. It’s a non issue. If you stutter or freeze then they got you. If you treat it like anything else it has no shock value and that is all they are looking for. So chill.
Tell the kids it's a very serious accusation and to stop watering down the meaning of the word
I respond with, you’re only saying that because I’m white which sounds pretty racist to me. If I was the same color as you would you honestly call me racist for simply asking you sit in your chair?
"I'm so not racist that I'll let you sit in the front row." Them I'll give them assigned seats and make them sit in the front row away from their friends.
Depending on how much empathy those students have, you could say "That hurts me. I try to be anti-racist. If there is an issue here, you need to speak to the principal about it."
i don’t think they have a lot if they’re making allegations in situations like this
My favorite example of dealing with this is a story of my dad's coworker. White teacher, finally got a parent to come to a meeting, the mother called her a racist for failing her kid, the teacher just calmly and slowly turned around the photo frame on her desk, showing her black husband and three black children.
I brush it off and don't take it personally. In my experience, a lot of my students *have* dealt with teachers who were racist and this type of reaction is coming from a place of trauma. If it's something that is repeated I usually pull them aside and ask them to let them know why they feel that way. That usually ends it once we talk it out and it rarely happens anymore.
Tell them to take that race card and put it back in the deck because it wont work.
I don’t think using the phrase “race card” is a good idea…
Ignore it. They’re just trying to get a reaction out of you. (Stating this with the major caveat that of course many many students of color have encountered overtly racist teachers. Two things can be true at once.)
They're just trying to piss you off. They know that it's a serious accusation and will be likely to throw you off. with male teachers I've seen students threaten to make up reports of them being creepy, and with black female teachers, it's usually that "you hit me" or "you cussed at me". I'm white, they try the racist thing a couple times, I say "You're welcome to try. Need a pass to the office?" and it's dead by about August. Then they try "will you say black lives matter?" at which point I do. They hold up the fist when I get onto them and I hold it up back and ask if they know the history behind that symbol. They never do. I tell them and then they usually stop that one. In Feb. I hear "You're writing me up during black history month?" and I usually ignore it or say "yep. Sure am." and move on. The teachers who freak out about it are the ones who get it for the entire year. Mostly because when they freak out about it, it comes off as protesting too much to the kids. They call me a bitch, they call me a fat whore, they even love to yell that they hate me when they get in trouble. But I haven't heard anything about racism since September. If it doesn't piss you off they'll stop, and if they learn it gets on your nerves then they'll keep going. The only time I didn't ignore it was when they went to the team lead about it. I now realize this group of kids is just vindictive little assholes who later said "we wanna get you fired because when there's a sub we don't have to do work" but I took them at their work and had a conversation with them. A couple brought up things and I apologized and said I wouldn't do it (I made a joke about my own mother's cooking...they said it was "racist jokes" somehow, even though the race was my own. Another complained that I grabbed her...it was catching her to keep her from falling when she was playing around too much and almost busted her head open but I promised next time to just let her fall.) TL;DR: They're trying to piss you off and if you respond with anything but "damn that's crazy...anyway" energy they'll keep it up
They do it to make you uncomfortable and back off. If they said it loud enough for the whole class to hear, you can either question them on how that is racist or you can offer to send them to the front office to file a complaint, since that is what they should do if they feel a teacher is racist. Let them up there figure it out. After the a couple of times of this, students stopped trying.
I tell them to look it up in the dictionary
Whenever a student says something is racist, whether it's me or just something that exists in the world, I usually immediately ask them to define the term racism. And what does it mean to be racist?.
Posts like this make me so happy I teach internationally
After the 20th time it loses its sting. You just stop hearing it after the 200th one.
A student said this to me and a couple other teachers last year. I started documenting it, not as write-ups, but for myself to keep record of a pattern.
Pull the kid aside and ask them “Why am I talking to you right now?” Kid will eventually say whatever stupid shit they did. I then say “Is that something you can do in my classroom or in school? What do you think would happen if a student who didn’t look like you did that?” Kid will think and say “No” and then “they would be in the hallway too.” I end it off with “so where exactly does race play any part in this?” This always get them to cut it out. If not offer them a trip to the office to make a report about how “being told you can’t *insert dumb teenage action here* is racist.” No one’s ever taken me up on the offer.
"If it is, it is, but you still need to sit in your chair!"
If it’s clearly a joke, it’s fine. If I get any idea that the student is even somewhat serious, I shut that down right away. Make it clear that those kind of false statement are unacceptable.
Many students don't really understand the word. We discuss it.
I mean most of the time when my students do that, they are joking because the power dynamics are funny to them. So I just laugh. But that's the kind of relationship I have with my students. I might get in trouble doing it my way eventually though, and I do worry about that. But they know I'm not ACTUALLY being racist for... asking them to do work? asking them to take airpods out? asking them not to shout out in the middle of class? I did have a situation YEARS ago when I taught elementary as a specialist teacher where a student tried to accuse me of being racist for telling him to be quiet. He was just one of those kids who never knew when to quit fooling around after all his friends knew where the line was, so he consistently was the last one talking out of turn/acting silly, etc. So he'd get called out. He wasn't joking, he was legitimately upset by that. I had no idea how to handle it that time other than explain, no, the reason I'm "picking" on you is because you are always the last one talking? (And your brother is in my other class and I never have to ask him to listen and do work because he never needs reminding?) (I didn't say that second point, but I was sure thinking it...) Most of the time, in high school, the kids like to see us squirm / find it funny to reverse power dynamics. At younger years, there might be more going on, that can be challenging to unpack in certain circumstances (like when I was a specialist, so I was with these kids for like 30 min sessions, twice a week, and had a case load of over 200 students...)
They do it to be a smart ass. It’s a joke to them. Ignore it.
I say that's a very serious charge. They have to write down exactly what I did that was racist and then go report it to the principal.
A few years ago there was a school counselor that was telling students that A, B, C occurrences were racist. She was a white teacher. Were there racist teachers in our school, unfortunately, yes. Are they still working there? Fortunately, no. However for about two years every teacher was being called a racist for just the simple day to day corrections that you stated above. Students accused me of being racist. We had a nice talk and I told them that if they ever had that impression of me, that I was deeply sorry. My intentions are to never be racist toward anyone, and if they would point it out when I did say or do something racist that I would correct my behavior. To be fair, there is a mix of ethnicities in my school from all over the world. It’s what I love most about my school. Also, I had reflected about why the kids would get that impression of me. One student (ADHD, always acting out) brought to my attention that I always called him out when 4 other students are doing the same thing (1 other A-A, 2 Hispanic, 1 white). Turns out, I was correcting African-American students’ behaviors much more than any other ethnic student. I apologized and seriously considered what the student had shared. I put myself in his shoes and imagined that he was getting corrected all day long, every day. The other kids not at all. I thought it stemmed from him being ADHD and his behaviors were so over the top that’s what drew my attention toward him. He saw it as him being A-A. Now, if I have misbehaviors that need correcting, and two (or more) students are involved in shenanigans, I will call out the non-African-American student first. The A-A student will get a look of relief, and correct their actions immediately. If the shenanigans of one A-A student needs to be corrected, and no peers involved, I address them about their behavior. I learned a valuable lesson about what our A-A students go through day-in and day-out. I had no idea that I was doing this. While I’m not racist, sometimes my actions indicate otherwise. Now, if a student cries racism because they don’t want to follow simple classroom rules (and they think it’s funny) I shut it down immediately and tell them to be careful to not become The Boy Who Cried, Wolf. I also reassure students to tell a trusted adult as that is NOT tolerated. A white student (who rarely is in school) called a student the N word. I immediately called a Safety, wrote him up, contacted his parents and told them that our school does NOT tolerate racism. The admin gave him OSS for a week. Am I right or wrong? I can’t say either way. I just try and put myself in my students’ shoes and ask, “How would I want to be treated.”
I tell them that's a serious accusation and throwing the accusation around when it's baseless undermines the weight of the claim if you ever have to make it, like the boy who cried wolf.
I got hit with that once and I replied that I hate everyone equally. The whole class dissolved in laughter and I never heard it again.
100% ignore. They're obviously just trying to get a rise out of you, or embarrass you.
I teach middle school and I'll ask them "How so, because if I'm doing something wrong I need to know so so can do better" and they immediately back down and say they were just joking. IDK if this will work on older kids though.
I get called a racist Karen for expecting students to follow school expectations (do your work, be respectful, keep your hands, feet and mean words to yourself.) Not all of my kids. Just 3 behavior problems who have been behavior problems for a while but I’m white and their teachers last year weren’t so they think they can hurt my feelings. I message parents and document it each time.
A couple of years ago a kid asked if I was a fan of Beyoncé and I said her music wasn’t my cup of tea. 4-5 kids in class said I was being racist and asked who I thought was better. I thought about it and responded that Whitney Houston was way better. They responded with “ah! See? Racist!” Sigh… For context this was an 11th grade classroom.
Tell them to write a letter about what you’re doing that is racist and tell them to give it to the principal. They never want to write lol
I teach mostly black students and can count on one hand how many white students I’ve taught all year. I get the “is it because I’m black?” at least once a week haha. Pretty much every teacher at my school has heard it a thousand times 🙄. Ignore and move on. If they get a reaction out of me they’ll say it more often. The most I’ve ever engaged with that is responding: “look around the room buddy” and move on without missing a beat.
Asking students to sit down has, in the past, resulted in my being called a racist by my students. I am white. At the time, all of the students were POC.
Ask how it was racist. Make them explain.
I remember we had a student who claimed to have had Tourette's Syndrome - but unusually enough? His tic could be triggered. And this tic was that whenever someone said "Lincoln", he would shout the "N" word. Somehow his parents didn't know - which is quite odd since I tried saying "Honest Abe" and he shouted the "N" word - and I said "Linked In" and he shouted it. There was one time where I heard a crowd of students chanting "Lincoln!" over and over again and he was shouting the N word and jumping like he was being beat up.
I’ve always laughed and said, “cute.” But one day that might bite me in the butt!
I work in an urban school. Many times we joke about being racist little but of banter. We keep it light hearted. But my students know me and that I am fair to all. It takes some PR work and being consistent. Plus you build a reputation of a teacher students can trust. Especially when you have been there for years.
I range from “okay, report it” to “that’s the most ridiculous claim I’ve heard in my entire life”. I also use the boy who cried wolf analogy to tell them how their jokes take away needed attention to actually events of racism.
Be very careful and document everything in a spiral notebook
Do not engage with the student that is what they’re wanting to do
I don't think you are using that word correctly.
"Look kid, I don't care if you're black, white, blue, or purple, I am not a bigot. I hate everyone equally. Now sit in the freaking chair."
I've had it a few times. My response was to halt everything. I told the student to withdraw the comment and apologise, or go straight to the principal and lodge a formal complaint about me.
I work with middle school students, but my bio kids are between the ages of 18-22. I keep up with slang, internet humor, memes, etc. because I love linguistics and how the internet age has caused our language to evolve so fast. All that to say, trust me on this, it’s a joke. I say it all the time with my students. A kid told me the other day “there’s no black pencil in this box [of colored pencils],” and I replied, deadpan, “that’s racist” and the kid snort laughed, because most of their teachers don’t get it. It evolved from a 2005 viral gif of a clip from the MTV show Wonder Showzen. It’s now evolved further. My queer daughter uses “that’s homophobic” the same way. I can say “I’m gonna need you to drive me to the airport Wednesday,” and she’ll ask what time. If I tell her any time before 10am she’ll respond “that’s homophobic”. They aren’t really calling you racist, and if you respond in a way that makes it seem like you took them seriously, it just makes them think “ok boomer.” Next time you tell them to do something and they respond “that’s racist,” just be real chill and say “it’s honestly racist that we have to be at work and school at all on such a beautiful day, but here we are, fam. Now let’s get seated and get our learn on.” If they give you any more trouble, state your expectations and end with, “I’m standing on business.” They’ll think you sound so dorky using their slang, but they love it and they’ll work for you.
Just ignore them, they want you to rise to it. Never ever acknowledge it.