Something Strange Happened to Me Today...

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone! I'm a teacher in my early 20's and I only have a few years of experience in the school system. I teach in Baltimore County and I'm white (it will be relevant in a moment).

There was a substitute teacher today who I spoke with on the playground. She was African American (as in she actually is from Africa). She was telling me about various schools she's worked at, and told me that schools with "a lot of black kids" are bad. She then went on to express (verbatim) that "those black kids are just bad. They just don't want to learn!"

This was a disturbing comment to begin with, and seemed even more unusual because I'm white. Was I expected to make a blatantly racist comment? I just told her "Well, it just matters where you teach." I didn't want to tell her that saying this on a playground full of 1st graders was just wrong; I had no idea how to respond! I was disturbed but didn't want to make a scene in front of all of these children.

What would you have done? Reported her to the office?

I know this comment may stir the pot, but I'm not a troll. This was just a really strange situation!

[Anonymous]

I really think you need to follow up on this.

Her attitude is disturbing and wrong and it can affect the whole lifetime and outlook of a lot of kids. Even if it only affects one kid, that's wrong.

Honestly, you need to file an official report about her comments. This is not acceptable. She should not be trusted with children. If you want to chat with her again and get a sense of whether she was having a bad day, perhaps that would be appropriate. Maybe you could just say "I was really concerned about you yesterday. You were saying some really off the wall things. It made me really concerned."

[Anonymous]

only white people act pc, the rest of the world uses streotypes which unfortunetly end up being true.

[Anonymous]

I would just let it go. Smile and walk away next time. No follow up needed.

[Anonymous]

OP here... I disagree with the thing about only white people being pc. Was that sarcastic or something?

[Anonymous]

I think everyone is allowed to have their own opinions. If I were her, I wouldn't have said that aloud to someone else though. I'm not sure what will come of you telling the admin other than them taking her name off the preferred sub list.

[Anonymous]

OP, I actually appreciate your willingness to bring this up. What the sub said is absolutely inappropriate. It sounds like she has unfortunate ideas about Black American children based on some of her experiences and some biases she may hold. She may not be a bad person, but her comments sound ignorant and inappropriate. If you don't feel comfortable confronting her about it, maybe you could talk to a trusted administrator at the school. Ideally, this could be a learning experience for her, but if not, she really shouldn't work with the very children she derides until she has some sort of training. The PP at 19:17 makes some good points.

[Anonymous]

Given that the conversation took place in a professional setting - one teacher to another on school grounds - I think it is appropriate for you to report her comment to your superior. I am an attorney, and if a contract or any other attorney made such a comment to me, I would find the comment highly inappropriate. Whether I would talk to a partner or HR or department head or partner-in-charge of the office would depend on the particular circumstance, but definitely I would relay the conversation to someone.

Remember you were at work when this happened, so the comment was totally unprofessional.

[Anonymous]

If she's fom Africa wouldn't she be African not African American?

[Anonymous]

She is setting you up. Probably thinks you are racist and will get you. Be careful.

[Anonymous]

If by saying that 'she is actually from Africa' you mean that she recently came to the US, and depending which country she is from, she may be totally unaware or missing the context here that you are aware of and in light of which you are seeing her comment and which makes it worse. Definitely bring this issue up with her again and explain to her why it bothers you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she's fom Africa wouldn't she be African not African American?

If she's an American citizen then she is African American.

[Anonymous]

Not all but a lot of Africans look down on African Americans. So I doubt it was a setup. If she would have said that gay students are horrible or do not care about their education. If she were white and made the same comment would you say something? If you said yes to any of these questions then you should say something. I would not want someone like this, judging people as a group vs an individual, teaching my child. Would you want your black child being taught by her? It is not a setup, she figured that since you were white you would share her views.

[Anonymous]

I'd chalk it up to a cultural issue and don't worry about it. In her country, there may be very different standards, rules, routines for behavior and what "we" allow here may be completely unacceptable in her country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not all but a lot of Africans look down on African Americans. So I doubt it was a setup. If she would have said that gay students are horrible or do not care about their education. If she were white and made the same comment would you say something? If you said yes to any of these questions then you should say something. I would not want someone like this, judging people as a group vs an individual, teaching my child. Would you want your black child being taught by her? It is not a setup, she figured that since you were white you would share her views.

Likewise, if you were on the b-ball courts and she were saying that the white children are just horrible at sports...if you would have challenged something under those circumstances then you should say something now..

For me, I would have not acknowledged it after that 1 incident and instead just moved on. In a work environment where I earn the living that puts food on my table and a roof over my children's heads, I pick my battles, and sometimes it's worth assuming a bad comment is a 1-time transgression. If she brings it up a second time, then yes she is now exhibiting a pattern of behavior so I would challenge it directly before it gets out of hand.