Friday was a disaster in classroom management. The 5th grade class had been tolerable before, but the 2 or 3 trouble-makers continued to be disruptive today, and for some reason, they just rebelled at any attempt to maintain discipline and a quiet working environment. After I reminded them that I would be writing a note to their teacher about their behavior, and trying to punish them by keeping them in after school, one boy accused me of being racist(!) with the statement that is the title for this post. A couple of others were just plain disrespectful, dropping the F-bomb in Spanish. I don't know if I will be returning to the classroom, though I think I have one or two more days there.
I've seen spoiled white kids (3rd and 4th grades) behave poorly, but never have I seen one willing to use the F-word at their teacher. While the 5th grade students weren't so daring as to cuss in English, still to do it in Spanish when they know the teacher understands, or at least can guess the meaning of what they are saying is rather defiant.
Perhaps the attempt to manipulate the situation into one where the blame can be put on the teacher, by calling him a racist or hater, is worse than the cussing. Or does it reflect some the his frustrations at being unnoticed or even picked on by others?
Whose fault is it that the students act like this? Their parents? (After all, what can teachers and parents really do to discipline them?) What does this say about their character and culture? What is the causal relationship between poverty and the lack of character?
Maybe it has to be asked: would those who are enthusiastic about the immigration of Mexicans into the United States be so eager to have them here if they had to spend a day with Mexican-American children in the classrooms?
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