Re: the N word

On 7 Jul 2006 05:37:54 -0700, "boumtje" <boumtje@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:


not sure how to deal with something...

as i've mentioned before, i work in an english language school where
most of the students are refugees from africa but there are also kids
from the middle east, asia, south america and eastern europe

most days i play basketball at recess with the students...it's usually
4 on 4 and about 5 of the 7 kids playing are from africa...now, the
african kids are usually into hiphop and when we're playing they use
the N word liberally...i'm not really comfortable with it, but i just
ignore it

lately though, some of the non-black kids have started using it as
well...no-one seems to have a problem with it...i don't think any of
them understand the power of the word...it's just something that
rappers call themselves and each other...the black kids aren't bothered
at all when a chinese kid calls them "***"

so my question is this...should i try to discourage them from using the
word? it's not a problem in this situation, but what if that chinese
kid uses it later with people he doesn't know? he doesn't understand
that he could get his arse kicked if he said it to the wrong person

and if i do try to explain that he shouldn't use the word, how exactly
do i go about it? how do i explain to someone who's just learning
english and western culture that he's not allowed to use the word when
it seems like everyone else around him is allowed to use it?


What if the boys were also calling all the girls "bitches" because
they hear it in songs? If it didn't seem to pose any real problems
among the students, would you still allow it?

I was watching Lil Kim's "Countdown to Lockdown" and noticed that one
of Kim's black A&R people repeatedly called her asian PR person
"Eggroll". What if the african kids picked that up and started
calling all the asian kids "eggroll"? Would you allow it?

What if the kids were calling each other "faggots" and "pussies"?
Would you allow it?

Rappers curse a lot in their records. Would you allow the kids to use
that type of language toward each other in front of you or toward you,
for that matter?

Derogatory terms of any kind really have no place in a school setting.
It's not causing any problems right now, but like you seem to be
saying, the world is a lot bigger than that little playground and
those kids have to go out into it someday. Don't send them out
ignorant.

I wouldn't make a huge fuss of it. I'd just handle it in the same
manner that you handle cuss words. People say it a lot and they'll
hear it a lot.....but that doesn't mean that you have to repeat
everything you hear. Leave the "street language" in the streets.
.

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