Teacher told kids on zoom class to write about their white privilege

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you aren't comfortable writing about "white privilege" then flip it - I don't think it would be too hard for my elementary or middle schooler to write about all the ways in which life can be harder when you're black. Do you really think that's not true? Do you really not want your kids to be aware of it?

That is still equally inappropriate especially for that age.

Not all white kids have privilege and not all black kids have terrible lives and depending on the child have a lot more privilege.

Um, nothing about the concept of white privilege says that "all black kids have terrible lives" or that you can't have white privilege and ALSO have a terrible life.

A black rich kid attending Sidwell who lives in upper northeast has way more privilege, even more so because he is black and rich, then a lower middle class white kid attending a poorly rated public. Clean cut black kid vs lower class white kid will get treated better in dc including police. Same goes for black wealthy women vs white wealthy women. The white privilege idea is at best circumstantial and at worst a complete myth

So, those who don’t agree think a poor white kid living in a shack in appleachia has it better than the rich black kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not appropriate for any teacher to demand that. She has no idea what hardships a child might have been through. She'd hate to hear my child's story. My child would not be participating in that.

I don’t know your child’s story and you don’t know my white child’s story but she isn’t sharing it in class unless she is choosing to and I’m certain she is not choosing to at this time. I’d be upset at this assignment without any alternative options

I can guarantee you that teacher would shut down my white child’s story as several teachers have before and called me about it being confusing or thinking it is made up. But, just because you don’t want to hear it does not make it true.

I’m the DP Here and I have not had that experience but I cannot imagine how frustrating that must be. We live not in the DC area but in the Richmond area right where some of the main protest have been so we’ve had a lot of conversation about white privilege and what the Confederate statues mean I have my daughter understands the privilege that her white skin gives her and she has known that for years because for years her walking home from school buddy has been a black boy and that boy’s mother and I gave her the “talk “. But my daughter has experience extreme difficulties in her life that it sounds like some of the above posters might know about. These difficulties do not relate to the color of her skin so she could still complete this project with that filter but I know that she would feel sad knowing the other really big Sad things that she has in her life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White kids are being taught either overtly or subliminally to feel tremendous shame for being white. Make no mistake. That might not be the intention but that is what is happening. There Has to be a better approach. It will backfire tremendously if we keep down this path, just look at trump. People feel silenced and oppressed. If they disagree with anything that is so called politically incorrect they are called racist- a death knell, the ultimate way to shut down ant discourse. They are completely silenced and belittled. We need to find another way of being racially sensitive without doing what happened at the op’s school. [/quote

TROLL

No troll that’s what people thought 4 years ago when trump won. You are out of touch. My children have expressed white Shame from an early age and at 3 said they wished they were black. And now worry tremendously about how their black friends view them because my kids are white. We are independent. Our very liberal Biden loving friends children have expressed the same views. Why do you think that is? Why are the issues I am raising disregarded and labeled a troll? And we are supposed to take everything the others say about minority racism at face value? If you really want to eradicate racism then we have to acknowledge that it happens both ways. Ps I did not vote for trump

I think that anyone advancing such nonsense is filled with anger about their sucky life and - it has nothing to do with skin tone or ethnicity or a different person's religion.

You are just f'd up in the head.

People in DC are not suspicious of muslims and we love our AA friends and neighbors.

Go crawl back under your rock

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let’s talk about black privilege. It’s a thing it exists. Talking about differences is healthy pegging o e group as less than or inherently racist, Ie white privilege is reckless and dangerous. Creating a whole generation of white self loathing kids will only make everyone resentful and really racist in the long run.

NO ONE is asking white kids to be self-loathing. That would be defeatist, since you can't pre-determine your skin color. People of color are simply asking white people to see their privilege and work to create equality and dismantle bias and systemic racism. If you think that, you haven't been listening. You should try it.

--white suburban mom

yawn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok let’s talk about black privilege. It’s a thing it exists. Talking about differences is healthy pegging o e group as less than or inherently racist, Ie white privilege is reckless and dangerous. Creating a whole generation of white self loathing kids will only make everyone resentful and really racist in the long run.

Was the parent on the call and heard this verbatim? Regarding making everyone resentful and racist, that was here before talking about white privilege. Why did my parents have to deal with racism in the 60s, then the 70’s, then the 80’s etc.? Literally anything you do to try to fight racism will be used as the the reason for racism. Watch some of the school desegregation news footage.

If you have suggestions on effective ways to combat racism I would love to hear them.

[Anonymous]

I don't think a fifth grade class is an appropriate venue for any nuanced or polarizing discussions about race. I'd like to see a focus on facts instead of personal anecdotes, feelings, finger pointing, and projection; when students are ready for such discussions they can join Twitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let’s talk about black privilege. It’s a thing it exists. Talking about differences is healthy pegging o e group as less than or inherently racist, Ie white privilege is reckless and dangerous. Creating a whole generation of white self loathing kids will only make everyone resentful and really racist in the long run.

Was the parent on the call and heard this verbatim? Regarding making everyone resentful and racist, that was here before talking about white privilege. Why did my parents have to deal with racism in the 60s, then the 70’s, then the 80’s etc.? Literally anything you do to try to fight racism will be used as the the reason for racism. Watch some of the school desegregation news footage.

If you have suggestions on effective ways to combat racism I would love to hear them.

Lets talk about 2020, not 30-40-50+ years ago. Back then my family was dealign the with Holocaust aftermath. But, since that didn't impact your family it isn't important.

Lets talk about the 500+ kids still separated from their families by the government. Is a black/African American kid at Sidwell whose parents will not buy him an iPhone 12 life more important than those kids who may never see their parents again? I don't see those Sidwell parents rushing to adopt or foster those kids. I don't see those Sidwell families inviting the kids from from the bad side of DC that live in absolute poverty to their homes, parties and schools. I don't see anyone stressing about the disparities in a school like ours to Sidwell (and not caring at all about Sidwell but someone else brought them up). Those families can pretend to scream equality and desegregation but every single private in this area is segregated, not by race but income.

It amazed me how people can focus on one cause to preach how superior they are and not look at so many of the other bad things happening in our country and our world.

[Anonymous]

I’m not white and this teacher creeps me out. She doesn’t know my kid - why is she turning DC into a victim based on skin color? She doesn’t know what the white kids are going through - so now apart from dealing with their own traumas, they now experience guilt for a skin color they cannot change? This teacher doesn’t want to teach empathy, and will only succeed in creating resentment. There are better ways to teach children about their privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let’s talk about black privilege. It’s a thing it exists. Talking about differences is healthy pegging o e group as less than or inherently racist, Ie white privilege is reckless and dangerous. Creating a whole generation of white self loathing kids will only make everyone resentful and really racist in the long run.

Was the parent on the call and heard this verbatim? Regarding making everyone resentful and racist, that was here before talking about white privilege. Why did my parents have to deal with racism in the 60s, then the 70’s, then the 80’s etc.? Literally anything you do to try to fight racism will be used as the the reason for racism. Watch some of the school desegregation news footage.

If you have suggestions on effective ways to combat racism I would love to hear them.

Why don't you let true low income into your schools? Those living in public housing, food stamps and cash assistance.

Why don't you send your kids to a school where your kids are the clear minority and the token child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year Burgundy Farm had my middle school child list his privileges. I was fine with it, but my child was upset. He said it made him feel awful and he can’t help it if he is male, white, straight and wealthy. I just explained that he needs to be aware of his privileges and work to help others not as fortunate. Is this really a big deal? I want my kid to make the world a better place, and this seems to be a move in that direction.

Did the school give any context or analogy to help the kids understand the why behind the assignment? I agree that the point isn’t to feel bad about yourself, it’s having the awareness that not everyone has the same privileges and being willing to use what you have to help someone else that isn’t as fortunate or that is being treated unfairly/negatively impacted because of those differences. Maybe as an analogy if I’m the only one tall enough to reach the plates at the top of the cabinet in the kitchen, if I said that I don’t see height and that I treat everyone the same yet I’m the only one sitting at the dinner table with a plate, step one really is awareness. I have to first be aware that we can live in the same house but have different experiences based on those differences. Then with that awareness I have to be willing to take action like I can offer to get you a plate, I can move the plates to somewhere you can also reach them, we can get a ladder, we can maybe change the cabinets to be more accessible to everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let’s talk about black privilege. It’s a thing it exists. Talking about differences is healthy pegging o e group as less than or inherently racist, Ie white privilege is reckless and dangerous. Creating a whole generation of white self loathing kids will only make everyone resentful and really racist in the long run.

Was the parent on the call and heard this verbatim? Regarding making everyone resentful and racist, that was here before talking about white privilege. Why did my parents have to deal with racism in the 60s, then the 70’s, then the 80’s etc.? Literally anything you do to try to fight racism will be used as the the reason for racism. Watch some of the school desegregation news footage.

If you have suggestions on effective ways to combat racism I would love to hear them.

Why don't you let true low income into your schools? Those living in public housing, food stamps and cash assistance.

Why don't you send your kids to a school where your kids are the clear minority and the token child?

So you are saying that you are sending your kids where they are the clear minority and you have worked to get low incomes students into your local schools and that covers all of racism? Financial, healthcare, legal system, workplace? Oh okay. I can only speak to my experience and I attended a school with lots of low income students and I’ve attended a school where I was the clear minority and racism still exists. Do you have other suggestions that you have personally been willing to try?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a White person I have benefited from white privilege and I continue to do so. There are enough resources in the world for every one to live with dignity and freedom. I see no reason why I should not use my privilege to acknowledge racism and fight for justice. I don't think that life will become harder for me if this becomes a more equitable society. I fail to understand where the fear is coming from?

I have not benefited from being white so there is that.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a White person I have benefited from white privilege and I continue to do so. There are enough resources in the world for every one to live with dignity and freedom. I see no reason why I should not use my privilege to acknowledge racism and fight for justice. I don't think that life will become harder for me if this becomes a more equitable society. I fail to understand where the fear is coming from?

You don’t see anything wrong with telling a bunch of 10 year olds there’s something wrong with them for being white?

Acknowledging that being white, or even white presenting, is a privilege is not the same as saying there is "something wrong with them for being white."

I'm guessing that the teacher had all of the kids list their privileges, including the kids of color. Having parents who can pay for private school, or with the resources to navigate financial aid, seems like an obvious one that's going to be true for every kid in the class. Being able bodied, being cisgendered, having attentive caregivers, on and on and on. The point of this exercise is probably to look at how each child experiences both privilege and marginalization, that you can have privilege in one area but experience marginalization in another, and that someone who experiences multiple marginalizations is going to have a harder time than someone who only experiences a few.

But, yes, it would be ridiculous for the white kids to not note being of European descent on a list of privileges.

Your post is really offensive and WHY we are divided. Some people may benefit from their ski color - but that goes for all races but the majority of us it has very little impact on jobs and life.

Wow. People cannot possibly be this obtuse. Did I take a wrong turn looking for DCUM and end up a rural Georgia message board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t want to say much because I think I know this school and teacher because I used to work there. The school has made it a priority to teach a lot of super privileged kids that they are privileged. I don’t disagree. People who are really hurt or offended by this should ask themselves why they are. I suspect it is because they believe firmly that they deserve everything they have, and no luck was involved.

That is not the schools job and that is on the parents.

I am offended as we have zero privilege based off our skin color.

My kid is has had some very horrible things happen and nothing most people could understand so having him pretend he has this great privileged and forcing him to agree when he doesn't makes no sense.

Holy crap. I can't believe this many delusional, one-assumes-educated people send their children to private school.

You don't know what "white privilege" is if you think you have zero. Hint: It does not include being handed anything by virtue of being white. It does not mean being issued the keys to a McMansion or a Lamborghini becaus you are white.

I would say educate yourself on what white privilege is, because clearly you have no idea, but since this post makes it abundantly clear that you're either a Drumpf voter or a "libertarian," I would be wasting my keystrokes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t want to say much because I think I know this school and teacher because I used to work there. The school has made it a priority to teach a lot of super privileged kids that they are privileged. I don’t disagree. People who are really hurt or offended by this should ask themselves why they are. I suspect it is because they believe firmly that they deserve everything they have, and no luck was involved.

I am offended because it perpetuates stereotypes which we keep preaching we need to get rid of in society. This just teaches the stereotype that all whites are privileged (with an assumption that their life is easy and blacks always struggle). Don't make assumptions about peoples lives based upon their skin color. People have hardships and struggles in different aspects of their life for many different reasons - poverty, hunger, broken homes, drugs, disabilities, abuse, tragedy, health issues, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, etc.

The goal of the exercise might be for kids to examine their life and determine what factors might be a privilege but NOT for a teacher to tell them their race is always a privilege. This just perpetuates a belief that certain races think the other is better off or worse off when in reality, the course of anyone's life is a combination of luck, hard work, and how you respond to what life deals you.

Onnnnnce again for the slow people in the back, that is NOT what white privilege means. It doesn't mean you were handed anything. It doesn't mean bad, sometimes terrible, things have never happened to you. The only people who think that's what it means are ignorant Right-Wingers who are desperately clinging to the Murrica Bootstraps myth.