Black Teachers, White Parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG, you really can't say ANYTHING to ANYONE anymore, can you?

Having sat through back to school nights for twenty years now, I can say that some of the teachers are terrible public speakers and others are great. Telling someone their presentation was 'very professional' is a complement -- period.

What is with the need to turn everything into a racial issue? Sheesh.

. +1

All of this hypersensitivity and wordsmithing everything is inflaming racial issues in America. As someone said previously, "sometimes a banana is just a banana." It is nice when a teacher, any teacher, gets a compliment from a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, you really can't say ANYTHING to ANYONE anymore, can you?

Having sat through back to school nights for twenty years now, I can say that some of the teachers are terrible public speakers and others are great. Telling someone their presentation was 'very professional' is a complement -- period.

What is with the need to turn everything into a racial issue? Sheesh.

. +1

All of this hypersensitivity and wordsmithing everything is inflaming racial issues in America. As someone said previously, "sometimes a banana is just a banana." It is nice when a teacher, any teacher, gets a compliment from a parent.

Do you think racism will go away if we stop talking about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, you really can't say ANYTHING to ANYONE anymore, can you?

Having sat through back to school nights for twenty years now, I can say that some of the teachers are terrible public speakers and others are great. Telling someone their presentation was 'very professional' is a complement -- period.

What is with the need to turn everything into a racial issue? Sheesh.

. +1

All of this hypersensitivity and wordsmithing everything is inflaming racial issues in America. As someone said previously, "sometimes a banana is just a banana." It is nice when a teacher, any teacher, gets a compliment from a parent.

Do you think racism will go away if we stop talking about it?

No but looking for racism in every innocent comment isn't making anything better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was at a back-to-school night recently. Two of DS's teachers are AA, the rest are white. One of his AA teachers made the greatest impression - she was full of enthusiasm, she'd prepared a slide deck with a lot of pop-ups that conveyed lots of information in the limited time allotted, and she had the parents laughing with her spot-on observations about teenagers.

On the way out, we stopped to briefly introduce ourselves and thank her for some after-school help she'd been providing DS. As we did so, we overheard another white parents telling the teacher that her presentation had been "very professional." I kind of froze in my tracks when I heard that. It sounded incredibly patronizing to me. I was just waiting for the teacher to respond with something like "well, yeah, I'm a professional, so that's what I do," but of course she just said thanks.

So my question to black teachers is do you still get this all the time from white parents, and does it bother you, or do you just move on and try not to think worse of the kids because some of their parents sound like characters out of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"?

Why do you assume this was racial? Why do you assume these people had lower expectations bc the teacher was black? OP, it seems to me that YOU are the one making it about race. YOU are the problem, OP. YOU are the one who needs to change your way of thinking. You obviously considered the teachers race when analyzing the other parents compliment. And here you are thinking you're better and more "enlightened". Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a white teacher. I'd be flattered if someone described my work as "professional". It's a compliment. Nothing more.

I have no clue why you think that is a race issue. I'm more worried about the fact that you were noting the color of everyone.

Part of it was the tone in which the comment was made, which I can't replicate here.

But the responses to date suggest it's over-analysis on my part. I'm happy to hear that. I want the teacher to feel welcome in the community.

Welcome in whose community exactly? The teacher is part of the school community already. As is your child. Do you worry about the white teachers the same way? You may be crossing over from being open to overly-sensitive and race-focused yourself. The teacher is a professional, someone complimented her on that, whatever the speaker's tone. What is notable is the classy manner in which the teacher handled it.

The teacher is young, and new to our school; hence the reference to wanting her to feel welcome in a school community that consists of administrators, other teachers, students and parents with a common mission of supporting each other and our students. By definition, she's now part of that community, but there can be a difference between being part of a community and feeling welcome in it.

So maybe the compliment about it being professional was because she was young. Would that offend you too, OP? Omg she was black AND a woman! People definitely had very low expectations going into that classroom. Of course they were impressed by her professionalism!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was at a back-to-school night recently. Two of DS's teachers are AA, the rest are white. One of his AA teachers made the greatest impression - she was full of enthusiasm, she'd prepared a slide deck with a lot of pop-ups that conveyed lots of information in the limited time allotted, and she had the parents laughing with her spot-on observations about teenagers.

On the way out, we stopped to briefly introduce ourselves and thank her for some after-school help she'd been providing DS. As we did so, we overheard another white parents telling the teacher that her presentation had been "very professional." I kind of froze in my tracks when I heard that. It sounded incredibly patronizing to me. I was just waiting for the teacher to respond with something like "well, yeah, I'm a professional, so that's what I do," but of course she just said thanks.

So my question to black teachers is do you still get this all the time from white parents, and does it bother you, or do you just move on and try not to think worse of the kids because some of their parents sound like characters out of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"?

Why do you assume this was racial? Why do you assume these people had lower expectations bc the teacher was black? OP, it seems to me that YOU are the one making it about race. YOU are the problem, OP. YOU are the one who needs to change your way of thinking. You obviously considered the teachers race when analyzing the other parents compliment. And here you are thinking you're better and more "enlightened". Disgusting.

You deserve a round of applause.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like someone is projecting their own latent concerns onto someone else. Classic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was at a back-to-school night recently. Two of DS's teachers are AA, the rest are white. One of his AA teachers made the greatest impression - she was full of enthusiasm, she'd prepared a slide deck with a lot of pop-ups that conveyed lots of information in the limited time allotted, and she had the parents laughing with her spot-on observations about teenagers.

On the way out, we stopped to briefly introduce ourselves and thank her for some after-school help she'd been providing DS. As we did so, we overheard another white parents telling the teacher that her presentation had been "very professional." I kind of froze in my tracks when I heard that. It sounded incredibly patronizing to me. I was just waiting for the teacher to respond with something like "well, yeah, I'm a professional, so that's what I do," but of course she just said thanks.

So my question to black teachers is do you still get this all the time from white parents, and does it bother you, or do you just move on and try not to think worse of the kids because some of their parents sound like characters out of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"?

Why do you assume this was racial? Why do you assume these people had lower expectations bc the teacher was black? OP, it seems to me that YOU are the one making it about race. YOU are the problem, OP. YOU are the one who needs to change your way of thinking. You obviously considered the teachers race when analyzing the other parents compliment. And here you are thinking you're better and more "enlightened". Disgusting.

Why? I've been to many back-to-school nights, and I'd never heard white parents say something like that in a similarly patronizing tone of voice to a white teacher. So, yes, I definitely considered the AA teacher's race in wondering whether that had something to do with it. Sue me.

[Anonymous]

Why? I've been to many back-to-school nights, and I'd never heard white parents say something like that in a similarly patronizing tone of voice to a white teacher. So, yes, I definitely considered the AA teacher's race in wondering whether that had something to do with it. Sue me.

Complimenting someone on a "professional" presentation is a bad thing? Who knew?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a really good PP from a teacher is an impressive thing. I find it impressive in consulting. Humans often just aren't good at that sort of thing. So I don't think it was bad.

However I will say I have come into contact with a young white person at my 'professional' job that has a pretty loose grasp on the English language and it's hard, very hard for me to hear her speak. It makes me wonder if her lack of polish and not being as articulate will hurt her or not matter.

- A black person.

It won't hurt her as much as it would hurt a black person, sadly. White people get a bit of a pass on that. My best bud in law school (white) said "I could have ran" all the time. And other incorrect past participles. Ended phrases with adjectives. Drove me nuts. But she's making a half million a year these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a really good PP from a teacher is an impressive thing. I find it impressive in consulting. Humans often just aren't good at that sort of thing. So I don't think it was bad.

However I will say I have come into contact with a young white person at my 'professional' job that has a pretty loose grasp on the English language and it's hard, very hard for me to hear her speak. It makes me wonder if her lack of polish and not being as articulate will hurt her or not matter.

- A black person.

It won't hurt her as much as it would hurt a black person, sadly. White people get a bit of a pass on that. My best bud in law school (white) said "I could have ran" all the time. And other incorrect past participles. Ended phrases with adjectives. Drove me nuts. But she's making a half million a year these days.

Because she is white? you have issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a really good PP from a teacher is an impressive thing. I find it impressive in consulting. Humans often just aren't good at that sort of thing. So I don't think it was bad.

However I will say I have come into contact with a young white person at my 'professional' job that has a pretty loose grasp on the English language and it's hard, very hard for me to hear her speak. It makes me wonder if her lack of polish and not being as articulate will hurt her or not matter.

- A black person.

It won't hurt her as much as it would hurt a black person, sadly. White people get a bit of a pass on that. My best bud in law school (white) said "I could have ran" all the time. And other incorrect past participles. Ended phrases with adjectives. Drove me nuts. But she's making a half million a year these days.

Because she is white? you have issues

Despite speaking poorly. In a profession that requires excellent grammar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was at a back-to-school night recently. Two of DS's teachers are AA, the rest are white. One of his AA teachers made the greatest impression - she was full of enthusiasm, she'd prepared a slide deck with a lot of pop-ups that conveyed lots of information in the limited time allotted, and she had the parents laughing with her spot-on observations about teenagers.

On the way out, we stopped to briefly introduce ourselves and thank her for some after-school help she'd been providing DS. As we did so, we overheard another white parents telling the teacher that her presentation had been "very professional." I kind of froze in my tracks when I heard that. It sounded incredibly patronizing to me. I was just waiting for the teacher to respond with something like "well, yeah, I'm a professional, so that's what I do," but of course she just said thanks.

So my question to black teachers is do you still get this all the time from white parents, and does it bother you, or do you just move on and try not to think worse of the kids because some of their parents sound like characters out of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"?

Why do you assume this was racial? Why do you assume these people had lower expectations bc the teacher was black? OP, it seems to me that YOU are the one making it about race. YOU are the problem, OP. YOU are the one who needs to change your way of thinking. You obviously considered the teachers race when analyzing the other parents compliment. And here you are thinking you're better and more "enlightened". Disgusting.

Why? I've been to many back-to-school nights, and I'd never heard white parents say something like that in a similarly patronizing tone of voice to a white teacher. So, yes, I definitely considered the AA teacher's race in wondering whether that had something to do with it. Sue me.

How many minority teachers have you encountered in all of your back to school nights? Clearly this minority teacher and her professionalism was a new and surprising thing for you, OP. Why am I not surprised that you would suggest that I sue you?

[Anonymous]

Just curious.....have you heard Al Sharpton talk? He has a job as a commentator. You don't think he is getting a "bye"........?

[Anonymous]

Black people have much less chance of getting a job as a similarly qualified white person. It's an absolute fact. Many studies show they have less chance of getting a job than a less-qualified white person.

http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/06/25/3452887/education-race-gap/