Racism in school…

Racism is all around us. We do not even realize it at the time; however, racism is real, and needs to be taken seriously. Children are easily influenced by parents, teachers and peers. Some of these views can be reflected on what children say in their day to day lives. Throughout my schooling experience, I have heard countless people use words I will not say on this post. Students using these words are usually unaware of how hurtful and impactful they really are.

My first real experience with racism took place outside the classroom at the hockey rink. We were competing in provincials and were in a neck and neck battle with Moose Jaw, the winner would get to go the provincial final! The series was a hard fought battle between both teams and unfortunately we lost; however, this is not what I remember from those two heated games against Moose Jaw.

My team had three players who were indigenous. Two of them played on my line. We had great success and other teams struggled to defend us, as we continued to pressure and outwork the opponent. During a little scrum in the corner I heard something that I will never forget. A boy on the other team yelled at my line mate, “go back to the reserve”. Now as a young boy, I was shocked. My dad was the coach of the team and I went back to the bench and told him. To put it nicely he was not very happy. After the game he talked to the other coach about it, and the teams coach did not seem to care one bit. As a young boy who is only 9-10 this really hit home with me and I couldn’t believe it. This is where my understanding began, in that hockey rink on a cold winters day.

I vividly remember the car ride home. I had so many questions that I needed answers for. The ride home from hockey games usually consisted of joy, laughter, and my dad critiquing my game and telling me how to improve; however, this time the setting was dark and gloomy. I remember asking this question “why did that guy say that?” my parents talked to me about racism and how big of a deal it is and the ins and outs. I became emotional in this conversation echoing that it isn’t fair they are treated this way because of their skin colour. The thing that still bothers me to this day is I didn’t do anything to stop it, I didn’t help the defenseless.

Keeping this story by my side has allowed me to reflect upon other instances throughout my life that involved racism. This story allowed me to see other forms of racism. At school only the white kids would hang out, nobody would include the others. At lunch people would bring something that wasn’t “normal food” and would get picked on. Racism is all around us, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you might miss it.