My son opened up to me last week about a boy in his class making racist comments towards him. Obviously he was unaware that the comments were racist but this boy was saying "you're Chinese" "you're Indonesian" you have asian eyes" . My children are half Vietnamese and I want them to be proud of who they are and proud of their culture. I don't want them to feel as though there is something wrong with them because of their ethnicity. I'll be speaking to the principle on Monday. I know the issue will be dealt with appropriately as I have complete trust in the school but what would you say to the principle? What action should be taken? What consequences are appropriate for this act of bullying? Have you been in this situation? How did you handle it? This child is only 9. It's concerning that this is happening at such a young age and I'm concerned that the attitude of this boy could influence other children to behave the same way.
3 Replies
I'd leave it to the principle to come up with an appropriate punishment in first instance, but usually they start with re-education of the child in question. If the behaviour continues then the school will escalate.
Sadly the child is probably repeating something they hear at home. So the child thinks the behaviour is 'normal' or 'appropriate'.
Speak with the teacher and or principal. They will have some strategies. Was it done in a racist or teasing way or was in genuine interest / observation that the child didn't know the pc way to express it.
Also, is your son taking it as a negative? That would be my focus, to help him overcome it. You could remind him that we all have differences and in another class somewhere in the world, in Australia, is a classroom full of children with dark eyes and only one with blue eyes. So in that class, he would be the different one, so teasing you over how your eyes look makes him the silly one!
Good idea speaking to the Principal. I'd recommend speaking to the class teacher too. They may not know that this is going on, especially if the perpetrator is waiting for an opportune moment - a Year 3/4 class room can be loud!
Is your son hurt by the taunting? Did he just find it annoying?
For such obvious statements, I'd teach him to reply with facts. For instance, If they say "You're Chinese/Indonesian" he could say "Actually, I'm Vietnamese". If they say "You have Asian eyes" he could say, "That's because I am Asian".
Take the power away from the words by owning them!
The best thing my parents ever taught me was responses to the taunts. It gave me ideas on how to respond and take the power back.