Brown v. The Board of Education: The Sequel

Offhand, I think he could have made his statement about Mark Twain's writing, and left it right there. The business of why Blacks can call each other niggers might have been discussed at a level way beyond 6th grade. I recognize this was within the context of the note being passed around, but not every needs to be dealt with.

Lyrics of a rap song, though? Either rap has been around longer than I would have ever believed, or Brown vs Board of Education is much more recent than I expected.

His name is Lincoln BROWN and he's suing the BOE so the case is called Brown v. BOE.

Thanks for the clarification. I do not believe I was confused on those points.

The case was heard in 1954, so we're not talking current events here.

Oh... okay.... sorry.

I think the Mark Twain example came up as part of the discussion so they couldn't really have left it at that.

This case is being heard right now.

Well, it's down right confusing to discover another Brown v Board of Education, let me tell you. The better known one superseded Plessy v Ferguson, though my spelling of both names is questionable. Anyway, it was Brown (the original) that overturned the doctrine of separate but equal. I've also heard of it being called Brown v Topeka Board of Education. It was one of those things called a Landmark Decision.

Clearly, I should do more research before adding a comment.

I thought I'd been clear by calling it "the sequel" but obviously I created some confusion.

I think it's interesting that they're both "Brown" and they're both about racism.

I'm wondering if it would have made any difference if this Brown had been black instead of white.

Could a black teacher talk to his students about the word nigger?

Yip, i think they can lol I'm with you and on the teachers side...i don't even know why it's such a big idea when he was using it in the context of a discussion dealing with education...

A teacher, and especially a teacher in front of a sixth grade classroom, should be a model of appropriate language and behavior for those children first and foremost, before he tries to make a political or social point. Most children are eleven or twelve years old in sixth grade and still learning the finer nuances of care and respect for others in their realities, viewpoints and perceptions and so are somewhat dependent on the adults in their lives leading the way in terms of that.
For a teacher to not only USE the word, but then put the black children in that classroom on the spot in terms of feeling that they are responsible for trying to explain why black people are allowed to use the word while white people aren't is insensitive and shows a lack of knowledge of child development in terms of where those children are at in terms of what is age appropriate and what isn't.
As the mother of two interracial children, if their sixth grade teacher had used that word in the classroom - even to just repeat it - and then started such a discussion - I'd have been extremely angry.
My children do not go to school (in the sixth grade) to explain to white people why black people are allowed to use words they're not allowed to use, and neither do any other black children in the sixth grade. In the sixth grade, their job is to learn- not to explain the realities of their race to people who can never understand because they don't live it. And especially not angry white people who are whining about not being able to use a vile and nasty word such as that.

As a teacher of students who have ranged in age from 2yrs to 62 yrs - I would never use the word 'nigger' in the classroom. Just as I would never use the word, 'faggot' or 'gyppo' or 'fatso' or 'retard'- even to repeat it.
Even last year when I was reading 'Of Mice and Men' aloud to a class of adult men (some of whom were illiterate and couldn't read) I asked them first if anyone was uncomfortable with that language before I read or said the word- which plays an integral part of the dialogue, characterization and tone of that novel.

As a teacher and the leader of a classroom, it is my first priority to provide a safe environment in which ALL of my students can feel accepted and able to learn. The language I use, that might pertain to any one of them, is a HUGE part of that and sets a tone and example for the rest of the class.

I think this teacher was TOTALLY out of line given the age of his students. And truth be told, it sounds like he tried to backtrack and give a more acceptable context for what he did than was the reality (given what the principal said he heard).
It sounds like he had a bee in his bonnet about black people using a word that white people weren't allowed to use and went for it.
Might have been alright if he'd been teaching a college sociology class - but no - not in a sixth grade classroom.
A more appropriate response to finding such a note would be to look at it in disgust and then say, 'I won't even read this - it contains a word that is hurtful and disgusting - a word you will never hear coming out of my mouth.'
That would have sent a much clearer message about what is and is not appropriate language.

You must have read more about it than I have.

I haven't seen any mention of the race of his students in the two articles I've come across.

But I do get your point and I completely understand your position.

I know I've had this particular conversation, and other very similar conversations, with my son and I think he benefited from them.

I came across this today and I think she has a very good point:





I'd love to know what you think about her lecture.

I think I kind of agree with the "bee in his bonnett". Not that I disagree at all with the rest.

wow :\ didn't know 6th grade is eleven twelve year old's but when i was that age my school teachers would use slang words and that to teach us...one even spoke about my culture and the discrimination we get and used examples like this teacher...no one saw any problem with it...then again, its different for everyone and since you seem to find this really offending il trend carefully

I think this shows a lack of sensitivity to how it feels to be one of maybe only three or four black children in a class of 25.
I think if this had happened in my daughter's class when she was in sixth grade, she'd have sat there quietly crying inside, embarrassed, thinking everyone in the class was looking at her and thinking of that word in relation to her - maybe even just to feel sorry for her- but still- I think it would have been a horrible experience for her.
Sort of like how I feel when I sit in a room full of Brits and they clinically analyze all the shortcomings and interesting differences in Americans - and I'm the only American.
Or how an overweight child feels when the discussion is body weight. Or how a gay child feels when the discussion is homosexuality..., or how Mo might feel when the discussion is foster care or adoption, and he's the only one in the class who was adopted...you get my point.
It's called sensitivity.
My son or daughter would have been embarrassed and hurt by it, so no I wouldn't have applauded.

That's a totally different situation (a parent talking with a child) than to broach such a topic in a classroom full of other peoples' children who are all coming from disparate backgrounds with issues that a teacher cannot possibly be totally aware of.

I'm not saying the discussion would NEVER be appropriate. But in a sixth grade classroom - NO!
And it doesn't even matter to me if ALL of the children were black. You know - not all black people think or feel the same about things. Some might call each other that word, while others might find it hurtful and embarrassing and horrible.

I'll listen and respond to the video later. Thanks for posting it.

I agree with you, boomerang.

Avoiding a controversial issue when students are talking about it in an animated & engaged way ... hushing up the obvious .... doesn't seem to be exactly constructive to me.

I don't see the teacher as "initiating" the conversation. I see him as responding to what has been said in his class room.

The first thing a teacher should learn and keep in mind is that when you start a discussion such as this, although the teacher is in control of what s/he says and has a blueprint in his or her mind for how the discussion will proceed, s/he can NEVER know or be in control of what someone else in the class might come out with or say that could be offensive and hurtful to someone else sitting there.

Sixth graders should not be called upon to defend the nuances or practices of their race or nationality or religion etc. in school.
This is not a discussion I would have started in a sixth grade classroom. Just as if I had intercepted a note that said, 'So and so is a fat, ugly slag,' I'd have not read it aloud and started a discussion about calling people fat and ugly or a slag, calling attention to whoever the note was written about.
Because, know this, everyone in the class knew who wrote the note and who it was about.
A more appropriate discussion to have would be to generally speak about how hurtful it is to call other people names or something like that.

And yeah, I do take this seriously as I know that children and people of all ages are easily hurt and teachers should work to minimize that in a classroom - not put the spotlight on certain kids.

I agree with U, boomer.
I favor freedom of speech.
Government has no authority to squelch it.





David