Student heckling other kids

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Classroom Management Chatboard

Student heckling other kids

by Amanda

Aug 19, 2011

Our school is very diverse. This year, I have a Hispanic student who is heckling Chinese students by making faces and pretending to speak the language. We already talked about hate crime and talked to his mother. Ideas?

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Sara On 8/19/11, Amanda wrote: > Our school is very diverse. This year, I have a Hispanic > student who is heckling Chinese students by making faces > and pretending to speak the language. We already talked > about hate crime and talked to his mother. Ideas?

The prejudice in the Hispanic community in regard to Asians runs pretty dee...See MoreOn 8/19/11, Amanda wrote: > Our school is very diverse. This year, I have a Hispanic > student who is heckling Chinese students by making faces > and pretending to speak the language. We already talked > about hate crime and talked to his mother. Ideas?

The prejudice in the Hispanic community in regard to Asians runs pretty deep. In the recent past, many Koreans opened small grocery stores in some predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods - and this happened all over the country. The Koreans take a big risk and keep the stores open 24 hours and they do fairly well with these stores. The neighborhood kids see this and resent it.

Overall there is a great resentment toward Asians because the Asian kids tend to do well in school. You hear about gangs in the city - ever hear of an Asian gang? Culturally Asians have advantages that blend well with the traditional expectations of American society. The traditional cultural behaviors of Asians help them to succeed in the U.S.

Which earns them the dislike of Hispanics who struggle with prejudice and the English language both. But you're saying in your diverse school, you have one Hispanic kid heckling your Asian kids? That doesn't sound too bad.

But what does he do when you tell him to stop? You haven't told us that. This is not about 'hate crimes' - this is about your classroom and the community of your classroom. Yes maybe he will go on to engage in hate crimes but I doubt it. You're telling him this may get him in trouble in the future?

Do you tell Hispanic jokes in class? I doubt it. Have you pointed that out to him? Do you favor some students over others? I doubt it and have you pointed that out to him? With such a student, I try to get them talking about why they're doing it - why make fun of someone you don't even know? What's that about? What does that get you?

And then I tell them what it will get them in my class - it will eventually get them the full force of my anger - after I've been open to discussing their behavior with them. I do not expect my students' parents to be able to control their kids in my classroom - I control the kids in my class. I model the behavior I expect from them and I do not ridicule any student for any reason and I expect the same of them. Do I ridicule the Spanish language to you? Ask him that. "What makes you think it's appropriate to do these things in my class because clearly it's not. I don't do it and I wouldn't allow anybody to do it to you."

Google ' South Philadelphia High School' Asian prejudice and see what comes up. Have your students read about what's been going on there. Open it up to class discussion - is this the kind of school community we want to be?

And then - teach the class some Mandarin or Cantonese and some Spanish. Teach them why the Chinese languages sound 'funny' to our ears - they're tonal languages and English and Spanish are not tonal languages.

Good luck.

Aug 30, 2011

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