Park Elementary School
I learned a lesson today. A life lesson. And it took the tears of a child. I'm the teacher. I learn from my students everyday. But today's lesson was profound.
That you know the child's name is not important. He could have been any student in any classrooom. He is a child of color. Which race does not matter--African American, Hispanic, Indian, Asian.
For weeks we had battled the racist acts directed at him by students in our school. As this week drew to a close, he and I sat down to discuss how it had been going for him.
He tries so hard to be tough, to fight back. He has a reputation as a fighter. But this day, the weeks, months, --yes, the lifetime--of racism seemed too large a burden to bear. his jaw quivered as he fought back the pain--but to no avail. Tears of release squeezed out the corners of his dark eyes and slid freely down his cheeks. He sobbed in my arms. I wept with him, feeling for once, the depth of his hurt. Pain brought by a difference he can't--he shouldn't want--to change. His tears washed away the film that had distorted my white perspective of the world.
Mine is a small rural--and mostly white--farming community. It has been too easy for me to close my eyes to the pain racism causes in children--in people. Yes, I'd seen the hurtful effects repeatedly--from a safe distance. But when my pain in viewing racism became too uncomfortable, I had the luxury of retreating. Pretending it didn't exist--especially not in our nice little community.
My student does not have the luxury of retreat. No release. Except the tears. And the hope of a better tomorrow.
Tomorrow. A place where tolerance, acceptance--even celebration--of diversity exist. A place of peace.
His dream of tomorrow is my task for today.
Those tears must remind me everyday that I can't turn my back. For me, it is no longer an option. I must fight this problem which so overwhelms this child--any child. I need to be so uncomfortable with the pain that I act out against it--regardless of how unpopular it may seem.
As Gandhi said, "If we are to reach real peace in the world, we shall have to begin with children."
For me, it began with the tears of a child.