Within the education system in Canada more than 50 percent of children have witnessed bullying, or exclusion due to race or ethnicity. That is a very large percentage for a topic that is recognized as a serious problem but is unfortunately only dealt with seriously on rare occasions in school systems. It has been stated that “Children experiencing or witnessing racism at their school said most often, teachers try to discourage the behaviour and talk to the bullies about it. However, 23% reported teachers ignore racist behaviour, or are unaware of it.” As an educator, the job is to EDUCATE the children. If every teacher ignores the racial intolerance that goes on very often every single day then the classroom will be chaotic environments no one wants to be a part of. We are shaping the lives of so many children every single day so it's our responsibility to guide them down the path of inclusion, acceptance, love and compassion no matter what race someone is. If we treat the children with compassion then they will learn that it's not a difficult task to be nice to everyone. The best teachers that I had were the ones that strived on being the most inclusive and aware that they could. In Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell showed incredible amounts of dedication and adversity. She risked everything in her life so that she could bring her students together. At the beginning of the movie, her classroom had so much racial tension that it could be cut with a knife. None of her students liked each other, they stayed in their respective groups and prayed upon each other within and outside the school grounds. Once she took a long time to ask, learn, and understand each student's struggles through their journals, she was able to find a way to discourage violence between each other and rather encourage trust and respect.
I created a depiction of bad teachers in one of our previous discussions. In it I stated that “we as teachers are the villains of their stories” which is not far from the truth more often than not. Most of the time it is because the student does like us but I feel like that sentence definitely works here too. If we as educators choose to ignore all the tensions, violence and bullying instead of acting upon it then we are writing our villain narrative in the student victims' school story. Especially as young kids, they go home to their respective households and tell their parents or guardians about their day. If they were bullied in school they will tell them about it, if they kissed another on the cheek on the playground, they will tell them. Kids do not lie as often when it comes to how their school day affected them. With that being said, I believe that racial discrimintaion, inequality and bias should be a proper conversation in classrooms. Teachers must figure out a way to facilitate those difficult conversations and educate the students on how to understand each other's differences and embrace it!
These two quotes I have found makes me feel like they radiate the notion of what inclusion in classrooms should be. Again in Freedom Writers, Mrs. Gruwell went to the extent of showing her students the different adversities and trauma many face. She took her class to a museum where they each learned about a different child during the holocaust. This reflection helped them understand that mutual respect and trust in each other isn't hard to accomplish. While taking my History 261 course this semester, I have learned so much more about racial inequality, violence, and adversity in these last 3 or 4 months than I ever have in my prior 12 years of learning. That statement of fact surprised myself and sadden myself all at the same time. Learning more about what people have gone through and how they overcame that trauma will help understand what needs to change.
As teachers we must create the most inclusive, welcoming environment for our students. We have to take into account the bullies in our classrooms and create consequences for those so they understand that their actions are not acceptable behaviour. Building up the trust and respect in the classroom starts by trusting and respecting yourself as the leader. We must acknowledge that we are the people changing their lives and we need to do that exact job in the most influentially positive way we can.
Works Cited
LaGravenese, Richard. Freedom Writers. Paramount Pictures, 2007.
*Image credits to the created companies, I found them online on google*
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