Self-Story Two: An Educators Comment

I am sitting in class talking with my friends, trying to talk over everyone else just to be heard, waiting for class to start. Our teacher is sitting at the back talking with some other students. It will probably be about ten more minutes before we start. We all had our phones out looking for the most intriguing news we could find to share with the class as we did every day for the first twenty minutes. “I’m going to talk about this topic” said one of my friends, “Dang I was going to say that one” said another one. It was so loud in there it was almost impossible to not hear anyone else’s conversation. I could even hear the conversation our teacher was having with another student; they seemed to be talking about a student that was two years younger and not in a great context. It then occurred to me they were talking about my uncle, who is an Indigenous boy who my grandparents had adopted when we were little. They were making some questionable comments about him. “I don’t like that kid; he is just another one of those kids who isn’t going anywhere in life like the rest of them,” I overheard these words come out of our teachers mouth. 

I froze in my seat after hearing those words! I cannot believe that these words were coming out of a teachers mouth. This was a man who is supposed to education us and is a city council leader as well. Where did he have any right to be saying that about a student, especially when he does not know him at all. He had never been his teacher let alone ever had an interaction with him and yet he thought he had the right to make any sort of comment about him. Where did he think he could make these claims about the student’s life when he has no idea what the student is going through on their own time. If students were to hear these negative things being said about themselves from a grown adult it could cause them to down spiral. Who knows what could end up happening? My mind was whirling out of control with all of these thoughts, it was making me sick thinking about it. 

 I could feel myself getting worked up and it started to feel really hot in the room. I began to take off my jacket and was lost in my thoughts. It then clicked in my brain the last part of his comment. “Like the rest of them,” was he really making that comment? Our school was normally so good at trying to accommodate all students and make everyone feel as though they have a place. Then this had to happen. I wondered how many other students had he every made those comments about?

My friend tapped my shoulder; I nearly jumped out of my chair. “You okay? We are starting class.” I turned back towards the front. “Alright classes tell me what is new in the world today?” Class began as if nothing had just been said about a student in that context. I knew I needed to talk to someone as soon as I got the chance because this was not sitting right with me.