My First Discussion About Race...

My first year teaching was going ok.  I was one day away from surviving my first month when I had one of those days they don't prepare you for in school.  About 10am a loud siren screamed down the street.  Soon another, then another after that.  For about 30 minutes (no exaggeration) my room filled with the sounds of Police cars screaming past.  Teaching became impossible.  Normally sirens won't even make a kid blink but when the entire city's police force drives past your window, everyone is intrigued.  I stopped trying to teach because really, it was just becoming impossible.  The 22 of us sat by the window and just watched the parade of Police cars come flying up the road. 

The following is the conversation that happened when the kids stopped just watching the cars...

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Student "N" - (out loud to no one in particular)  It had to have been a black guy.  No way a white guy would get this much attention. 

Me:  You don't even know what happened N. I don't think it's fair to assume that. 

N:  Come on Mr. R.  How long you lived in the city.  A black guys shot someone.  I bet it was a cop.

At this point I decided that I wasn't going to argue something I knew nothing about.  I logged onto my computer and checked local news.... "Police Officer Shot.  Manhunt on For Suspect...Police believe an African American male, about 6'2" entered a Dunkin Donuts and attempted to rob the store when a police officer entered the store.  The man turned and shot the police officer in the face and fled the scene...."

Internal thought at this point... "F---."

Me:  "Ok guys here is that news story."  I proceeded to read the story to the kids and N, the student that actually had guess what happened spot on was beside himself.

N:   "I told you Mr. R.  This is crap.  Every time a black man does something to a white guy like this the entire city shows up.  A  black guy on my block gets shot last week, no one cares."  

Me: "I think this maybe had something to do with the fact that it was a police officer being shot not about what color he is"

N: "Whatever.  Whoever shot that cop better disappear forever.  If he gets caught, ain't nobody going to save him from the beating he's gonna catch.  I bet he never sees a judge.  "  (looking angry at this point).

Me: " Look N, not everything is Black vs. White.  Just because some people do dumb things and feel a certain way doesn't mean that everyone does.  I'm a white guy.  What do you think I see when I look at you?"

N- "I don't know.  You're a teacher, teachers are different.  And you aren't white, I thought you were Italian..."

Me: "Wait what?  White is a color.  Italian is a heritage.  You know the difference right?  You're black but that doesn't mean you come from a country called "Black".  You are African American.  D (another student in the class) is Black, but her family is from Jamaica.  Shes Jamaican."

N: "I never understood that color thing anyway.  I'm more brown than black and you aren't white.  When your mad you turn bright red.  When your sick you turn green.  When you stay out in the sun you turn brown and most of the time you are just pink.  Mr. R you're like a crayola box."

Me: (laughing hysterically)  Nice! See, I'm glad you understand how stupid the color thing really is.  Now lets get back to class and talk about this some more at lunch...''

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From this moment on, I had a much better relationship with my students and they felt very comfortable talking to me about race issues and things that were happening in their neighborhood. 

Hood Nuggets

So last year I had the amazing opportunity to take 8 of my students backpacking on the Appalachian Trail.  Most of my students haven't been outside of the city let alone in the woods sleeping under tarps.  To out it mildly, we were stepping out of our comfort zone. 

Day 1 was good except my kids were all very quiet.  They were shell shocked in a way I suppose.  It took until halfway through the second day before they turned back to form.  

One of my funniest students ("M") was on the trip and really, the guides we had with us had no idea how to handle him.  M was loud, sort of inappropriate, and the complete opposite of shy.  The tour guides had made a habit of stopping frequently to explain the things in nature we were seeing.  They'd begin, "here's a nature nugget: moss grows on this side of a tree because..."  and "here's a nature nugget: frogs can turn different colors because...".  In true form, M decided that learning is a two way street and didn't think it was fair that only the students were getting these wonderful nuggets of knowledge.

The following interaction between myself, M, and the rest of the camping expedition happened exactly like this:
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Tour Guide 1 (Ms.  S):  Hey guys!  Here's a nature nugget!  Did you know that when you burn wood, if it's really smokey it's because the wood is really wet.  What you are seeing is the evaporation of the water and fire mixed together."

M - Hey Ms. S, I don't think it's fair that you are the only one who gets to give out nuggets.  I mean you teach us all this nature stuff, I want to teach you a couple of things in case you're ever in the hood and need to survive.  You know; some hood nuggets.

Ms S.-  (Laughing) Ok M.  I think that's fair, every time I give you a Nature Nugget, you can give me a Hood Nugget...

(time elapse about 20 minutes)

Ms S.  Oh hey guys, here's a nature nugget!  Did you know that frogs like this one can change their color to protect themselves from danger?  Their skin is designed to match whatever it is they are sitting on!  How cool is that?!

M- Hey guys! Here's a Hood Nugget for you: if you are ever walking down the street later than 10:00 at night and a black SUV rolls up behind you with tinted windows, duck behind a car because its probably a drive by and you don't want to be hit.

Needless to say, M's Hood Nuggets became wildly popular and he had a few other gems...  Here's my other favorite Hood Nugget from that trip...

M- Hey here's a Hood Nugget!  If you ever need to knock on someone's door but it's dark outside, make sure you step back from the door, keep your hands in plain sight and be polite when someone answers the door.  Chances are they have a gun or a knife with them because no one should be knocking on your door that late at night without a search warrant...

Out of My Comfort Zone...

So a lot of my students go to the same church in the neighborhood that the school is in.  I actually really love the community involvement with making sure that the kids have a safe alternative to going out on the streets on a Friday night.  Some of my students invited me to the talent show they were putting on and of course I promised to be there. 

Based on what happened next, I'm guessing they don't get outsiders...

The show began at 8:00 sharp but I snuck in at around 830.  There was food everywhere and I was immediately offered a plate by one of the parents I knew.  Wings, Mac & Cheese and Greens.  I sat myself down next to two of my students and started watching the show and eating.  There were 2 MC's and the performances were incredible.  There was dancing, singing and other assortments of talent. 

About an hour into the show the one MC gets on he mic and announces second round for food:

"Alright guys there's tons of food left for everyone to get more.  I see three trays of wings left!  Come on guys!  We are Black!  We love Chicken!  Don't let any of that get thrown away!" 

The second MC shoots the first one a glance and says "Yo you can't say that man!  We got a white guy in the audience!"

So as everyone in the entire auditorium turns to look at me, I looked around, held up the wing I had already dug into and announced loudly, "It's Ok everybody, white people like Wings too!"

I went up for seconds...

A Poem to End All Poems...

So about a week ago a colleague of mine was teaching her physics lesson to her seniors and one of them was noticeably off task.  This student ("Z") was off in his own world and ignoring the notes being given.  What was he writing if it wasn't Physics notes you ask....  a poem about Taylor Swift of course! 


When you teach in the inner city at a school that is 99% African American, you don't really expect to see poems written about country stars... never the less, here it is...

Taylor Swift
by "Z"

Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
Hope you catch my drift
The way she sings and the way she moves
Is like Hallie Berry taking off my shoes
From her juicy lips
To her desirable hips
To her smooth silky hair
To her colorful flare
I have dreams of marrying her
Right uptop a hill
When we both 40
She going to be buying my Dickies at Forman Mills
She is so positive
She inspired me to write poetry
I like smooth white women
That is not hard to see
For those who hate country music you should try it.
Hell she got me reciting lyrics, from Billy Ray Cyrus
One day I'll meet Taylor Swift
I'll hug her and bask in it
5 mins y'all see me on the news
Locked up for sexual harassment.

The End.

A Run in With Sex Ed...

So when you are a first year teacher, no one explains to you that there are things you will have too endure that make you uncomfortable.  The best example I have of this was having to be the teacher presence in the room while an outside group came into the school and taught our students Male Anatomy and Abstinence.  Get excited.  I was on G-Chat with a friend of mine transcribing what was happening in the room.  Every line of this is true and happened right in front of my eyes...

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9:40 AM Mr. R.: i need to find a bridge with no safety netting

  KR: you planning on throwing someone off it?

 9:41 AM Mr. R.: besides myself?

9:45 AM Mr. R.: oh lord... it's male anatomy day in class

  get excited

  call and response anatomy

  say "Seminal Vesical"

  “SEMINAL VESICAL!”

9:46 AM “very good

  eat an m&m”

 KR: what?

9:47 AM Mr. R.: every thursday there is a group that comes is and teaches the kids stuff like anatomy and health and abstinence and stuff

9:48 AM gave the kids all M&M's and if the kids can call and response body parts without laughing they can eat an m&m

  "PENIS"

  yup... definitely just had three kids raise their hand to the question, who thought that was a bone?

9:50 AM "Who's ready for sex right now?" every hand in the room goes up

9:52 AM KR: hahaha

  i hope that is actually what happened

9:53 AM Mr. R.: 15 kids just admitted to watching porn

  dude this is hilarious

9:54 AM can i get an amen

9:55 AM KR: i'd feel dirty saying it

 Mr. R.: hah

9:56 AM yeah and coming from you that's saying something

 KR: how old do you teach?

 Mr. R.: 6th grade

9:57 AM everybody say "ejaculation"

  "EJACULATION"

  eat an M&M

9:58 AM KR: dude, i can't tell if this is actually commentary

  or you making crap up

9:59 AM Mr. R.: HOW COULD I MAKE THIS UP!?!?!?!

  this is amazing

  "save your ejaculation for your wife"

10:00 AM KR: no way

 Mr. R.: no lie

  i told you

10:01 AM abstinence