Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Racism in Reverse?

A week ago, my students had a standardized test during my classes; they went down to a computer lab to complete the tests, and then returned to my class when they were finished. With 90 minute classes, this means I can still have a bit of instruction, even with the test. I imagine a lot of the kids took advantage of the break between the test and my class to disappear for a few minutes; in one of my classes, two girls did so quite blatantly. Thirty minutes after the last student to finish the test returned to my classroom (and told me she was the last one out of the computer lab), a certain girl wandered back into class. Five minutes later, in came her best friend.
I performed the same test on both of them; I asked them how long ago they finished the test (they both claimed five minutes, and they both claimed that they'd used the restroom on the way back). I, in return for their sluffing and their lies, simply marked them as a 'sluff' for the class period. And how they complained.
Most of my minority girls are great people; quiet, good-natured, pleasant...
One of these girls is white, the other is from Mexico. "You hate me 'cause I'm brown," she said. Now, accusing someone of racism who isn't racist, someone who believes that the best (only good?) thing Bush has tried to pull off is his so-called amnesty policies, some one who has seen racism in Europe and then realized that it's rampant here too...is what she said...is that racism? The next thing she said was rather telling. "I can't have a sluff! I'm on parole!"

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