DCPS Presenter at Deal made a racist remark and crowd erupted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the Post article about the speech and it sounds like he was attempting to describe how others see SE DC kids, not trying to stereotype them himself...

As an aside, as the parent of an incoming pre-K student in DCPS, this type of story makes me wary of being involved in my son's new school. I've seen it firsthand on the listserv: everyone is waiting to pounce on anything that someone somewhere could theoretically construe as potentially racist. No one will give you the benefit of the doubt or try to figure out what you intended--it absolutely must be the worst possible interpretation and it must be proclaimed to the entire school that you are a racist. Better to lay low, not get involved, and not risk the wrath of the mob...

Are you posting missives on the listserv whining about "differentiation" in the PK3 classroom or boloney sandwiched being served in aftercare? Then you deserve a takedown. It doesn't hurt to have to police your own words and think about how what you are saying might be understood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious...i am assuming he was not AA. If he were, I'm imagining there wouldn't be so much outrage. Am I right?

AA teacher here. The outrage (at least from me) would be worse. I'm sick of self-loathing black people who feel they need to curry favor with the powers that be by spouting tired old lies and myths about the black community.

But he didn't spout a lie, did he? He just referred to "those children in the SE"? Perhaps you are a bit too oversensitive?

Reminds me of when a DC government worker was forced to resign over the innocent use of the work "niggardly"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious...i am assuming he was not AA. If he were, I'm imagining there wouldn't be so much outrage. Am I right?

AA teacher here. The outrage (at least from me) would be worse. I'm sick of self-loathing black people who feel they need to curry favor with the powers that be by spouting tired old lies and myths about the black community.

But he didn't spout a lie, did he? He just referred to "those children in the SE"? Perhaps you are a bit too oversensitive?

Reminds me of when a DC government worker was forced to resign over the innocent use of the work "niggardly"

That was a terrible nonsensical episode in our city's history. I remember.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious...i am assuming he was not AA. If he were, I'm imagining there wouldn't be so much outrage. Am I right?

AA teacher here. The outrage (at least from me) would be worse. I'm sick of self-loathing black people who feel they need to curry favor with the powers that be by spouting tired old lies and myths about the black community.

But he didn't spout a lie, did he? He just referred to "those children in the SE"? Perhaps you are a bit too oversensitive?

Reminds me of when a DC government worker was forced to resign over the innocent use of the work "niggardly"

That was a terrible nonsensical episode in our city's history. I remember.

Yup, and the biggest complainer about the supposed 'slur' was a DC senior bureaucrat who was also Kwame Brown's father. The apple doesn't fall from the tree, in terms of intellect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the Post article about the speech and it sounds like he was attempting to describe how others see SE DC kids, not trying to stereotype them himself...

As an aside, as the parent of an incoming pre-K student in DCPS, this type of story makes me wary of being involved in my son's new school. I've seen it firsthand on the listserv: everyone is waiting to pounce on anything that someone somewhere could theoretically construe as potentially racist. No one will give you the benefit of the doubt or try to figure out what you intended--it absolutely must be the worst possible interpretation and it must be proclaimed to the entire school that you are a racist. Better to lay low, not get involved, and not risk the wrath of the mob...

So I guess this means that the over-reacting teachers are either hyper-sensitive, hyper-stupid, or both. I go with both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He prefaced it with "those black kids, those low-income kids..." so yeah, he mean "the poor black kids." Best part was he couldn't understand why people were upset. The central office staff made it worse by trying to say teachers weren't listening and were overreacting. It was a mess.

Frankly, I don't understand why everyone was so upset. Because a white person said it? Because I taught in DC and black school leaders said things like that all the time! I suspect he meant we shouldn't see this as something for just 'those poor black kids in SE' (as some may consider them) but for ALL kids.

Some ppl live and love to be offended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He was saying that social emotional learning was NOT just for kids in SE, as he had heard other people say in the past. In other words, it is for all kids. He was refuting a comment that it was just for kids in SE.

I seriously don't understand why what he said was offensive.

Silly PP. Don't you know that some people love to find offense in everything, and if they can't find it, they create it?

The problem isn't that he's saying more kids should get social emotional learning. It's that he said it in such a way that dismissively bracketed the kids in SE by income and race in his comment. Saying that something is NOT just for those poor black kids, it's for all kids, is still offensive. You can swap out literally anything for social emotional learning and it's still offensive. To wit:

"New textbooks are for all kids, not just those poor black kids in SE"

"School uniforms are for all kids, not just those poor black kids in SE"

"Extended recess is for all kids, not just those poor black kids in SE"

WRONG!

If the prevailing belief is that it's just poor black kids who need new textbooks (cause, you know they destroy stuff), gym uniforms (cause they smell), and recess (cause they're hyper), it would NOT be offensive to state that 'We're implementing this because ALL kids benefit not just "those poor kids from SE", as some like to say.@

But keep trying to justify being a miserable, overly sensitive person who looks for reason to be offended.

[Anonymous]

yuck wouldn't want these people to teach my kids they seem terrible

[Anonymous]

A colleague of mine who was at Ballou said the presenter there pointed to upper NW on the map and suggested it was kids there that needed more social emotional learning. After finding that out it almost seems like intentionally inflammatory language was used based on location?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A colleague of mine who was at Ballou said the presenter there pointed to upper NW on the map and suggested it was kids there that needed more social emotional learning. After finding that out it almost seems like intentionally inflammatory language was used based on location?

No.

You're reaching.

[Anonymous]

I feel like the issue is that he's creating an "us v them", with "us" being white NW, even with the supposed irony. It's also playing racism for laughs, which is not really funny. It feels different from the "niggardly" episode although I can't fully articulate why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A colleague of mine who was at Ballou said the presenter there pointed to upper NW on the map and suggested it was kids there that needed more social emotional learning. After finding that out it almost seems like intentionally inflammatory language was used based on location?

No.

You're reaching.

well, you weren't there, so you're reaching.

[Anonymous]

Seems like he just wants to help kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like he just wants to help kids

Yes. Really, is this man truly the enemy?

I'm afraid we have plenty of people around who are racist, openly, and not in a career dedicated to improving kids' education. Better to focus the outrage there.

[Anonymous]

dcps teachers act like a bunch of animals