This is what happened at my daughter's elementary school:
Click HERE.
This is the letter I wrote:
Dear [Superintendent],
I was surprised to hear of Principal Alves' leave of absence, though I understand that the board is following district policy and taking great care over what is, rightly, a volatile matter.
What saddens me is what this forced leave of absence communicates.
Just the other day, I sat at my kitchen table chatting with my daughter, a middle-schooler, and one of her friends. We discussed how language changes over years, and how, for instance, the word "Negro," used so often and with respect (most memorably for these kids, in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech"), has morphed over time to become obsolete. Too, we addressed the "N" word, which has become, and very rightly so, the most abhorrent word in the English language. In terms of offense and dehumanization, it is worse than any other word. But why? My middle-schooler can only grasp why when I she begins to understand the history of African Americans in this country, the civil rights movement, the sacrifices of brave men and women who shaped our country by courageously standing up for the truth.
It was during this discussion that one of the sixth graders said, "Oh! That's what the "N" word means?" Then she launched into a story about how one of her classmates had turned to another--an African-American--and called her that very same word. Why is it so bad? my daughter wanted to know. So I told her that the "N" word is a heavy word, full of injustice, hatred, and the assumption that a whole people group is inferior, created unequally. It is a word full of violence, the history of violence--and this is why it is so important that our kids know what this word is--the foreshadowing of violence.
Certainly this word is still being used today, even in our classrooms by our children's classmates. My fear is that, in our trepidation of offending others, we are failing to be honest about a historical and present problem in our country. Surely Martin Luther King Jr., who recognized the freedom that comes when ignorance is banished and responsible knowledge releases the fetters on our minds and hearts, would support a principal in Poulsbo, Washington, who wanted her students to know just how abhorrent the "N" word is.
Furthermore, this reaction by the school board is currently serving as a catalyst for gossip. Bewildered by such a drastic decision, community members are beginning to jump to conclusions about Principal's Alves motivations or actions. Just last night, a friend called me with second-hand news that Principal Alves had called a student the "N" word. Taking an innocent teaching moment in the context of a school--an appropriate place for our children to hear the truth about history--adding fuel, and yesterday, setting it alight with the suspension of a good principal--is resulting in this unsurprising, and completely unneeded firestorm.
Shall we pile every copy of Huckleberry Finn on the lawn of Poulsbo Elementary and set them alight? Some would have it so. But then our children will be robbed of the chance to receive what they so desperately need--an education based in truth, courage, and the safe context of love and care.
Please fix this.
Click HERE.
This is the letter I wrote:
Dear [Superintendent],
I was surprised to hear of Principal Alves' leave of absence, though I understand that the board is following district policy and taking great care over what is, rightly, a volatile matter.
What saddens me is what this forced leave of absence communicates.
Just the other day, I sat at my kitchen table chatting with my daughter, a middle-schooler, and one of her friends. We discussed how language changes over years, and how, for instance, the word "Negro," used so often and with respect (most memorably for these kids, in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech"), has morphed over time to become obsolete. Too, we addressed the "N" word, which has become, and very rightly so, the most abhorrent word in the English language. In terms of offense and dehumanization, it is worse than any other word. But why? My middle-schooler can only grasp why when I she begins to understand the history of African Americans in this country, the civil rights movement, the sacrifices of brave men and women who shaped our country by courageously standing up for the truth.
It was during this discussion that one of the sixth graders said, "Oh! That's what the "N" word means?" Then she launched into a story about how one of her classmates had turned to another--an African-American--and called her that very same word. Why is it so bad? my daughter wanted to know. So I told her that the "N" word is a heavy word, full of injustice, hatred, and the assumption that a whole people group is inferior, created unequally. It is a word full of violence, the history of violence--and this is why it is so important that our kids know what this word is--the foreshadowing of violence.
Certainly this word is still being used today, even in our classrooms by our children's classmates. My fear is that, in our trepidation of offending others, we are failing to be honest about a historical and present problem in our country. Surely Martin Luther King Jr., who recognized the freedom that comes when ignorance is banished and responsible knowledge releases the fetters on our minds and hearts, would support a principal in Poulsbo, Washington, who wanted her students to know just how abhorrent the "N" word is.
Furthermore, this reaction by the school board is currently serving as a catalyst for gossip. Bewildered by such a drastic decision, community members are beginning to jump to conclusions about Principal's Alves motivations or actions. Just last night, a friend called me with second-hand news that Principal Alves had called a student the "N" word. Taking an innocent teaching moment in the context of a school--an appropriate place for our children to hear the truth about history--adding fuel, and yesterday, setting it alight with the suspension of a good principal--is resulting in this unsurprising, and completely unneeded firestorm.
Shall we pile every copy of Huckleberry Finn on the lawn of Poulsbo Elementary and set them alight? Some would have it so. But then our children will be robbed of the chance to receive what they so desperately need--an education based in truth, courage, and the safe context of love and care.
Please fix this.
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