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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]To circle back to the point that I should teach TKAM to disabuse students of racism and prejudice - as I’ve stated, I have to weigh the outcome vs. students sitting in my room being traumatized by a story or hearing their peers say very hurtful things that I then correct... but that they still heard. They have to sit and have the humanity of Black people (Tom) justified. It’s hard for me to inflict that on kids I care about.

Beyond that- those are the exact conversations that teachers get in trouble for because parents claim we are calling their kids racists or saying all white  people are bad or indoctrinating them or “getting too political.” We really are damned if we do or don’t. I’d encourage you to have those conversations at home as much as possible. [/quote]

Oh my. This is a shame. I hope other teachers don’t follow your lead. Good intentions, but so much is being lost in this model, as so many have pointed out. Good luck. [/quote]

The people in this thread don’t even trust me to do my job in the most basic way (like you really think we don’t have discussions or do anything in class if I let them pick books and I’ve spent 8 pages justifying I do know how to teach better than people who aren’t teachers) yet you mean to suggest you expect me to have these conversations with your kids? That doesn’t make sense. There’s no trust between parents and teachers that allows for those conversations to be productive. In theory, they should be in classes. In reality, the parents always get upset and email us / admin to stop being political or insinuating their personal beliefs are bad. [/quote]

So you are avoiding teaching a singular book because you’re worried what conversations will happen??? 
I can assure you, parents will be PO’d when they find out you’re not teach any books (for good reason, as we’ve pointed out). Be prepared for that. 
And, btw, parents email teachers all the time & complain. It’s not just you! [/quote]

I don’t teach TKAM because it’s not a good book. It’s white supremacist garbage. While we do have big conversations, I don’t predicate them on that book because I’ve had kids experience real distress in reading it and for every tough convo we have in class, I get parent emails telling me not to. Some are worth doing that anyway but some topics are too fraught. Just how it is. [/quote]

What is the percentage of emails coming from the parents of white kids vs. those of AA kids?

I teach US History in a challenging way. It’s all tough conversations. Virtually all of emails I get from irate parents are from the moms and dads white kids who came home with questions their parents could not answer. I take those emails as a sign that I’m making a difference.[/quote]

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