Reply to Purpose of 2nd grade segregation chat..

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Im sorry, but yours is the privileged view of someone who is lucky enough to not have to think about their race. For many of those children, this IS personal, and it will continue to be personal throughout their lives. [b]It won't hurt the little white kids to have to think about it for a day or two[/b]. [/quote]

Actually, you are incredibly naïve if you think that is the problem.  It is the little non-white children that I am thinking about.  Do you really want to point out that 70 years ago that "Susie" would not have been in the class?  Yes, again, it is right to point out that AA's were mistreated and were segregated. It is right to learn about MLK.  It is NOT right to personalize it and say that "Susie could not have been in our class."
FWIW, I am white and taught for some years in mostly AA schools.  Then I taught in a quite well mixed school.  Little children do NOT see color.  We teach them to see color.  "You've got to be carefully taught."  Do you really want to foster resentment? Sounds like it.  Sounds like you want to foster resentment on the part of AA kids and guilt on the part of white kids.  That does not lead to harmonious relationships.  None of these kids were slaves and none were alive during Jim Crow.
If problems arise and names are called, then you address the problem more personally.  However, it is wrong to create a problem when there is none.  [/quote]

The point is that children will do this anyway. You dont say "Susie wouldn't have been in our class," and leave it there. Yes doing so is a hit clumsy, but if it is part of a bigger conversation about the history and why it was wrong, it isn't going to create resentment. Little children DO see color. They do not naturally carry a (conscious) prejudice. The world is going to send them certain messages about race that we as a society should be trying to move beyond. It is the job of teachers and parents to control the message early. That means honestly addressing the facts and their concerns, and not glossing over the realities. The truth is, 50 years ago, little Susie wouldn't have been in their class. I'm sorry that truth makes you uncomfortable. [/quote]

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