A recent online news story caught my eye. The story involves a ten year old boy who went home for lunch from school. Upon return to school, he is ridiculed and teased by the children because he smells like fried fish. The teacher rather than chatting to the children about different smells, tells the child to go to the hall where she sprays him with Fabreeze.
Here is the link to the news story:
The teacher did not treat the child fairly or with respect rather her treatment of the child served to make the child feel embarrassed and different from his classmates. The child’s “developing sense of self is hurt by name-calling, teasing, and exclusion based on identity. And children who engage in such hurtful behaviors are learning to be bullies” (Derman Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 6). In this case the teacher is reinforcing the children’s attitudes to this child with her own behavior.
The boy’s mom wants an apology from the teacher. As a parent and educator, I am upset that an adult would treat a child this way. The incident makes me wonder why the teacher thought that spraying a child with Fabreeze would be acceptable.
In this situation, I believe the teacher needs to explore her own thinking, behavior and words. She needs to consider how her behavior has impacted the child and how to turn the situation around. “The better you know yourself, the better you can understand your own responses to the children and families you work with” (Derman Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 21). Additionally, the teacher in this story needed to “gently but firmly intervene, support the child who has been hurt by the biased behavior, and help children learn other ways of interacting” (p. 6).
References
Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J.O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Wow, Tamara! I am shocked by this teacher's reaction to this incident in her room. Personally, I would have used it as a teachable moment. I am sure that this made the child feel embarassed. If this isn't addressed properly, I'm sure the child will not want to return to school.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is a outrage I can't believe a teacher would contribute to such behavior and also tolerate this type of behavior. You are so right as an educator you have to look within before you judge anyone or deal with your own personal thoughts, and beliefs on prejudice and diversity. Great post.
ReplyDelete