Posted on 08/05/2019 3:34:50 PM PDT by EdnaMode
A 12-year-old thinks the premise of Oh, the Places Youll Go! belies structural racism. Whats a parent to do?
My 12-year-old daughter had a sticker on her water bottle with a quote from Dr. Seuss: You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. A classmate told her the sticker was racist because many people cant choose what they want to do because of structural racism. My daughter peeled off the sticker and threw it away. When she told me about it, I was at a loss. I believe structural racism is real and pernicious, but I also think we should teach children that they have agency. And my daughter and I like the stickers message. Help!
M.P.
Twelve-year-olds are not famous for nuance. (Their greater claim may be making classmates feel bad about their water bottles.) But you are an adult. Start a conversation with your daughter that goes beyond slogans and stickers to a more thoughtful consideration of race.
She has surely learned about slavery in her history classes. But tell her about some of the subtler discrimination that makes up structural racism: our long history of inequality in housing and educational opportunities for people of color, for instance, and the modern-day hangover of those unfair policies.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“A classmate told her the sticker was racist because many people cant choose what they want to do because of structural racism.”
Better answer would be your classmate is a liar.
Yertle the Turtle bump
What, he really did like green eggs and ham???
Unless your “daughter” is actually a guy you have nothing to worry about.
The only institutionalized bigotry in the US today is against white males.
No - just the socialists who lie that groups have no choices but what government gives them.
Complain to the school. These people (NYT) are insane. Wouldn’t the quote support full equality and even gender selection? What is controversial about having feet and a brain?
Democrats are evil.
I was hoping she'd peel it off and stick it over the stupid kid's mouth.
The kid that said this is racist has been “BRAIN WASHED”! I have had many black friends that have succeeded. Education is needed but personal willingness to choose to succeed is needed. If one chooses to fail you will fail. Not everyone will be at the same point in life. There are easier roads for some. But, not all whites succeed. The biggest advantage is having at least one parent who seriously does their best to succeed. To inspire you to do better. That is what is needed. However we now have families with multiple generations only interested in welfare.
The biggest gap is the Ambition Gap.
Structural racism starts in the ghetto with submissive misery.
She’ll learn about racism when she applies for college and discovers that admissions officers have different sets of standards for applicants depending on their race. She may need higher grades than her peers to get ‘acctepted’.
No! Green ham and eggs will make you sick as heck. Just don’t eat it.
Before Dr. Suess, there was Dick and Jane. Dick and Jane is what was used for my education at school. Dr. Suess who was too controversial for public schools.
Cue the video of the people calling out for help when the escalator suddenly stopped working.
A 12 year old classmate shouldn't know about alleged 'structural racism' let alone lecture a classmate on the subject.
Adults are poisoning the minds of young children for political purposes.
These children are now victims of the idiot adults and screwed up for life because they now believe there's nothing they can do to better their lives.
This is mental child abuse.
My mom once served me green eggs and ham.
Not even on St. patrick’s day?
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