as for the content: since racism is pervasive and since this was - as the school says - a “veteran” teacher quite used to the system… im more than willing to believe his story about his experience
and ive got to say, the statements from the school does them no favors
then they literally have no idea how often poc have to smile and make do during micro and macro racist aggression
he told them already. if they’re not asking how they can fix things then all they’re going to do is argue about his “perception” and their “intent”
what he’s complaining about is affect. nobody has time for that kind of white bullshirt anymore
it’s always the people who get hurt who are causing the problems, never the people doing the hurting. he really just needs to complain in the right way, at the right time, and most of all quietly
Yes, POC do, and yes, the school officials probably have no idea of such.
I can’t tell if you’re assuming the teacher to be POC…Just for the sake of clarity here, this news article identifies the teacher, Michael James, as white.
It also gives some quotes from him about the situation:
He said there was never any mention of dedicating the bulletin board to state standards.
“Not one word even similar to this was mentioned,” James said.
When it comes to the bulletin board and how the reading level of them were to complex for some groups of students, James said he was planning on reading the posters to them.
“Understanding that some students would not be able to read, I fully intended to read to them while teaching about these famous Black men and women as well as how to read,” James said. “With that said autistic children are some of the most intelligent and talented children I have worked with over these past 15 years. They are often more academically advanced than non-ESE students. Yes, some in my class would be able to read the statements under the pictures and at the very least be taught to read. That is what teachers do.”
The compliance office said they attempted to contact James several times after receiving the resignation and letter of complaint and said they have not received any communication from James. James said that is not true either.
“I have proof where I tried to return their calls on two different occasions,” James said.
James, a white man, grew up in a rural part of Alabama, but said he was instilled values by his father that all all people are equal, regardless of race.
“I’ve worked in my career with many, many Black children,” James said. “My father was a police officer in rural Alabama, and he taught us about Black people and other minorities and that we all have red blood. That is the way that he raised us and taught us. Through teaching for 50 years, I have seen how these kids are disadvantaged in a lot of ways. Whether it’s money appropriated to their schools or things like that. I mean, they are just kids. Take away their color and they are just kids.”
I’ve tried to pick out a few quotes to flesh out the info we have here and shed more light on it. There’s a bit more in that article too.
