Teacher confiscated AKA shirt from girl at school

[Phrozen Sands]

Originally Posted by PrettyBoy

And over a damn sorority shirt! I wouldn’t give a damn if it was a Nupe. Nobody is taking anything off my kid without calling and asking me first, or some furniture WILL get moved in that camp. Period.

Hahahahahahahaha!!!

[Sen's Revenge]

I think it is important to consider several issues of a larger order here.

First, why is this news? How did it become news? What are the cultural and intercultural issues at play here which make it newsworthy?

Why did the parent feel that her child's anonymity was less important than bringing this to a news outlet?

Would a Black family have had more awareness of the taboo of wearing Greek symbols and signs?

Why is the taboo around this seemingly de-emphasized?

What role do the norms around predominantly white GLOs play in our own opinions about this? Example: Your "new members" can usually wear letters, but ours cannot.

I am not saying that the teacher was correct in her execution of this, but she's entitled to be offended by something that is important to her. A note home without the wardrobe change might have sufficed.

My opinion is that a lower class white woman was offended by an upper-class Black woman exerting power over her in a fairly embarrassing way*, and decided to go full throttle on the retaliation by involving the media.

This should not have been news.

*and this has happened so often over the years on this very website, I know exactly how this conversation will turn out lol

[carnation]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

I think it is important to consider several issues of a larger order here.

First, why is this news? How did it become news? What are the cultural and intercultural issues at play here which make it newsworthy?

Why did the parent feel that her child's anonymity was less important than bringing this to a news outlet?

I am not saying that the teacher was correct in her execution of this, but she's entitled to be offended by something that is important to her. A note home without the wardrobe change might have sufficed.

This should not have been news.
[/I]

Of course it's news! It would have been news had they both been black, or both been white, or it wasn't even a Greek shirt. NO teacher has a right to decide on her own to take a child's shirt away and give her some random shirt!

[Zach]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

I think it is important to consider several issues of a larger order here.

First, why is this news? How did it become news? What are the cultural and intercultural issues at play here which make it newsworthy?

Why did the parent feel that her child's anonymity was less important than bringing this to a news outlet?

Would a Black family have had more awareness of the taboo of wearing Greek symbols and signs?

Why is the taboo around this seemingly de-emphasized?

What role do the norms around predominantly white GLOs play in our own opinions about this? Example: Your "new members" can usually wear letters, but ours cannot.

I am not saying that the teacher was correct in her execution of this, but she's entitled to be offended by something that is important to her. A note home without the wardrobe change might have sufficed.

My opinion is that a lower class white woman was offended by an upper-class Black woman exerting power over her in a fairly embarrassing way*, and decided to go full throttle on the retaliation by involving the media.

This should not have been news.

*and this has happened so often over the years on this very website, I know exactly how this conversation will turn out lol

Powerful questions that make ya go.. hmmm.

[carnation]

I have taught for 50 years and I guarantee y'all that if any teacher took any shirt from any child here, it would make the news.

[Zach]

Probably. But there’s a plethora of empirical evidence that supports the idea that white people have a hard time accepting black leadership. I think that’s part of what that white woman’s issue was.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by Zach

Probably. But there’s a plethora of empirical evidence that supports the idea that white people have a hard time accepting black leadership. I think that’s part of what that white woman’s issue was.

Most teachers I know have had black admins or leads. As long as they were good admins/leads, no one cared what color they were. Truth.

Our boss in exchange student life is black. All the families under her are white or East Indian. We love her! She doesn't let any of those exchange students mess with her or us!

[lake]

Originally Posted by carnation

I have taught for 50 years and I guarantee y'all that if any teacher took any shirt from any child here, it would make the news.

Wow...50 years! How do you still have an intact mind!? I bet nothing scares you!

[carnation]

Originally Posted by lake

Wow...50 years! How do you still have an intact mind!? I bet nothing scares you!

Also, I have 13 children and 18 grandchildren. I have no tolerance for drama or crap. I wanna just teach, period.

[lake]

Good points!

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

I think it is important to consider several issues of a larger order here.

First, why is this news? How did it become news? What are the cultural and intercultural issues at play here which make it newsworthy? My impression was that it was because it involved a young child.

Why did the parent feel that her child's anonymity was less important than bringing this to a news outlet? This is a very good point! Usually parents are screaming that their child's privacy was violated.

Would a Black family have had more awareness of the taboo of wearing Greek symbols and signs? I don't know.

Why is the taboo around this seemingly de-emphasized? I think because it's just a shirt (yes, it's just a shirt) and it involved a child.

What role do the norms around predominantly white GLOs play in our own opinions about this? Example: Your "new members" can usually wear letters, but ours cannot. I don't know.

I am not saying that the teacher was correct in her execution of this, but she's entitled to be offended by something that is important to her. A note home without the wardrobe change might have sufficed. Very good points. I think the note home would have more than sufficed.

My opinion is that a lower class white woman was offended by an upper-class Black woman exerting power over her in a fairly embarrassing way*, and decided to go full throttle on the retaliation by involving the media. I don't know.

This should not have been news. I used to work in print and broadcast media. Quite honestly it was probably a slow news day.

*and this has happened so often over the years on this very website, I know exactly how this conversation will turn out lol

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

I think it is important to consider several issues of a larger order here.

First, why is this news? How did it become news? What are the cultural and intercultural issues at play here which make it newsworthy?

Why did the parent feel that her child's anonymity was less important than bringing this to a news outlet?

Would a Black family have had more awareness of the taboo of wearing Greek symbols and signs?

Why is the taboo around this seemingly de-emphasized?

What role do the norms around predominantly white GLOs play in our own opinions about this? Example: Your "new members" can usually wear letters, but ours cannot.

I am not saying that the teacher was correct in her execution of this, but she's entitled to be offended by something that is important to her. A note home without the wardrobe change might have sufficed.

My opinion is that a lower class white woman was offended by an upper-class Black woman exerting power over her in a fairly embarrassing way*, and decided to go full throttle on the retaliation by involving the media.

This should not have been news.

*and this has happened so often over the years on this very website, I know exactly how this conversation will turn out lol

Nashville area native, and most upper/middle class families send their kids to private schools or the public magnet schools. Most Metro Nashville public schools are rough. The particular school in question is in an area of lower socioeconomic citizens. As a former teacher, these are the schools I preferred working in. So many good things come out of these schools; it just never makes the news. I say that because your assumption about lower class white resentment of more upper class and educated black teacher is most likely on point.

This did not need to make the news. Did the teacher handle things the best way? Probably not, but this is just the local news catering to the lowest common denominator for clicks/views. Teachers confiscate stuff all the time from students. Had it been me, I probably would have bought the child a new sparkly pretty shirt and called the mom to explain the importance of the letters and asked her not to wear it anymore. (And yes, I bought students new clothes all the time with my own money when I saw a need.)

[FSUZeta]

How did you determine that the white family was lower class?

Do you think a middle or upper class white family would have known the AKA shirt should not be worn?

Do you think a lower class black family would realize that wearing the AKA shirt was taboo?

[Zach]

I’m stereotyping but I don’t have a monopoly on that problem. She’s definitely a low class white woman. Probably never even been to college.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by Zach

I’m stereotyping but I don’t have a monopoly on that problem. She’s definitely a low class white woman. Probably never even been to college.

While not going to college may make a difference in knowing what AKA is, it certainly isn't a guarantee. I am a male who attended an expensive private university *with* greek life (14 NIC, 5 PHC) and I didn't know *any* of the Historically Black GLOs until well after I graduated. (The NPHC fraternities and sororites had city chapters that were generally organized at the larger Public College elsewhere in the City). And even once I did know them, I wouldn't have associated it with the year and the colors until even later.

[Zach]

Originally Posted by naraht

While not going to college may make a difference in knowing what AKA is, it certainly isn't a guarantee. I am a male who attended an expensive private university *with* greek life (14 NIC, 5 PHC) and I didn't know *any* of the Historically Black GLOs until well after I graduated. (The NPHC fraternities and sororites had city chapters that were generally organized at the larger Public College elsewhere in the City). And even once I did know them, I wouldn't have associated it with the year and the colors until even later.

My guess about her background was just based on what she looked like. That’s stereotyping, which is what I was doing. We were talking about race and stereotyping on another thread and another member of this site called me out by telling me everybody is guilty of stereotyping, so I’m not hiding it. I doubt she even finished high school. With you, that just comes down to a lack of exposure. If you’re not exposed to something, how would you know? The fact that you’re educated and have been exposed to Greek life, you were made aware that BGLO are Greek organizations like WGLO. You gotta remember, we started ours because we weren’t allowed in yours due to skin color during the turn of the 20th century.

To put a side note to Sen’s Revenge’s post about the low class white woman not liking an upper class black woman exerting power over her, that’s really more of a fact than an opinion. I believe that because black success isn’t what white America signed up for when enslaved Africans were brought to America. Blacks were never meant to be prosperous, or powerful, or even educated, and measures were put in place during and after slavery to ensure that they did not rise above their prescribed station. Even though America’s slave-owning whites are long dead, versions of the structures they established still linger, affecting people’s attitudes, beliefs, and expectations or prescriptions for who should be in power. That low class white woman has those same beliefs because it was passed down to her that she is “better” than the most educated black person. So that could be the very reason is made news. I don’t believe all whites share the same attitude as she does, but generally uneducated whites like her don’t know any better. Although there are some educated whites who share the same beliefs too.