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Wash Post: Michael Eric Dyson reports 6 yo grandson called a racial slur at Mann
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Anonymous
Anonymous
| You assume everyone has a subscription to WP? |
Anonymous
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This is terrible. But I really worry about turning these incidents into viral news stories when they are more about the (often) crummy behavior of small children who, with their parents, need coaching and intervention from the school rather than a giant news spotlight.
-parent whose child was called a stupid bitch (at school) by an 8-year-old classmate last week |
Anonymous
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According to a letter from the school, no slur was used.
I felt badly that a 5th grader was castigated in the press for saying stupid things. But now that is happening to a 1st grader! I’m not condoning the behavior or violent talk (which did happen), but treating a first grader like a formed and intentional adult is idiotic. Meanwhile, Michael Eric Dyson has had to publicly apologize for his own speech. Is he really the person that should take a kids’ spat to the press?! |
Anonymous
A prominent African American scholar and commentator says a racist epithet was hurled at his grandson Monday at a public elementary school in a mostly white and wealthy neighborhood in Northwest Washington. Michael Eric Dyson, a sociology professor at Georgetown University, said a boy threatened his 6-year-old grandson at Horace Mann Elementary as first-graders raced to be first in line for pizza during lunch. Dyson said the boy called his grandson the “n-word” and threatened to go home and retrieve his father's gun and shoot him. “He said he felt sad and scared. It’s ridiculous for a 6-year-old to be subjected to this,” Dyson said in an interview Monday evening. “You never feel as powerless as when your children suffer something you can’t immediately fix or resolve.” In a letter to families, the school’s principal, Liz Whisnant, said “the incident did not include any language about race or ethnicity” but that “harmful” language was used and a “threat of physical harm” was made. She said a third student was involved. “We responded immediately by removing the student from his peers and taking a number of actions that involved communicating directly with the parents of the three students involved,” she wrote in the letter. A D.C. police report on the incident says a nearby officer was flagged down after the “verbal altercation.” According to the report, a student threatened two other children with his father’s gun if they kept cutting the lunch line. The D.C. school system said the allegations are under investigation. ... Earlier this academic year, a fifth-grader at Francis Scott Key Elementary, a mostly white elementary school in Northwest Washington, hurled a racist slur at three black classmates during recess. The Washington Post reported that the school struggled for months to contend with the incident, examining whether the campus was inclusive to families from all backgrounds. ... Dyson said he rushed to the school Monday when he learned of the incident. He said he, his wife and his son, who is the father of the 6-year-old, met with the principal. The family said it plans to meet with school leaders again Tuesday. Dyson tweeted about the incident Monday afternoon, writing, “Welcome again to Trump’s white racist America.” ... |
Anonymous
You can just open in an incognito window. |
Anonymous
| I think this is a huge overreaction over an argument among six year olds. This should have been handled by the school and the childrens' parents. |
Anonymous
You forgot your signature block: -Signed, UMC white female |
Anonymous
Not the PP, but agree this is an overreaction. What do you think should have been done beyond discussing with the children's parents? I could see discussions with the classes in that grade about use of language and how it can help or hurt, but that very likely already goes on in the classroom. This partially seems to be an outgrowth of "zero tolerance" policies that require every "threat" be responded to. |
Anonymous
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Fwiw my 4th grader in MCPS has been called an awful racial slur by classmates on multiple occasions. Both my kids have been called gay over their elementary careers. Both are for all intents and purposes white (one parent is a Middle Eastern immigrant but that's not obvious from their complexions or names.)
My point is this: Obviously young kids can and do absorb and express prejudice. They also subject to picking up awful words and using them to shock/hurt/be obnoxious without necessarily having much awareness of what the words mean or what they signify. |
Anonymous
| BTW the thread title buries the lede here: the operative fact is that the kid using the slur also threatened to get a gun. That warrants the attention of authorities, full stop. |
Anonymous
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Putting aside the "n" word, what about threatening to go get Dad's gun and shoot someone?
I don't care if the kid is 6, that's outrageous. |
Anonymous
This is not a huge overreaction. Imagine if this was your 6 year old? I would be livid. Imagine a slur that is so hurtful that it remains with you for life. This is not a small deal. I've been called racial slurs and believe me, I remember every instance. Parents need to do a better job of talking about race with their children and that this is not OK. I talk to my son often and tell him that racial slurs, hurtful language against physically disabled and others are things that I will not tolerate. Don't sweep this under the rug. It needs to be discussed early and often. We are at an EOTR Title I school, and they do an excellent job of promoting cultural awareness and kindness. I have no experience with schools in the upper NW, but do they do the same? And I'm not talking about just during Black History Month but throughout the year. |
Anonymous
| The principal said no slur was used. |
Anonymous
I know a few kids that age who have behavioral issues, and one way they act out is by verbally going to extremes, even though there is no way they would actually have any idea how to carry it out, or even if the parent actually had a gun. Everything needs context, and having school officials who understand the kids involved best is the best way to deal with these situations. |