As in,
"Mrs. K, you black too."
That's the compliment I received from one of my students today. They did their Civil Rights presentations today and as one student was explaining Malcolm X and Black Power, there was an outbreak of Black Power salutes in the class. I was the only white person in the classroom. They could have left me out, but they didn't. They included me in the celebration by saying, "Mrs. K, you black too." To which I responded with two bangs on my chest and a Black Power fist in the air.
I got another compliment last week too, that meant alot to me. We were discussing discrimination and stereotypes, which is always fun. For example, "All Asians are smart. All Hispanics play soccer. All blacks are great athletes. Women are bad drivers." Those are the G-rated ones. Then someone added "All blondes are dumb." One of my special ed students, who does not understand sarcasm or kissing up, said "Well, Mrs. K, you proved that one wrong."
I gave him some extra credit.
2 comments:
That just makes me laugh. You are doing a great job!
I find such comments cute.
I have also seen discrimination treated in different ways in the course of my travels. In Malaysia, it is seen as normal; sometimes positive and sometimes negative depending on the situation and how one handles it. In Philippines, it is treated as a joke. In Australia, it is usually treated as negative so one would not make such remarks publicly. I am not entirely sure how it works in Cambodia just yet.
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