Sorrow Of The SideKick #6

So the SideKick comments on my one post today, two more counting this one. Well, unlike certain apparently retired guys who drive around all day with their dog in the front seat, I had to work today. I subbed at an AltEd program, a group of kids that I really like. Things got dicey when a group came in to finish up a quiz for a Native American Studies class. The kids were all Natives & were a bit offended by the last question, an essay question. It asked what they would do to improve the schools so they could better serve Native Americans. An OK question. But the followup said - for example: Native kids have the highest rate of dropping out, being suspended, being in Special Ed. classes, & being disciplined. The kids responded by saying the teacher was telling them that they were all morons. I couldn't agree more. He then asked what could they personally do to counter the problems. He just assumed that what he said was true. What pissed me off was the arrogance & lack of sensitivity the teacher exhibited. For Christ's sake, how could he ask these kids what they personally could do. He doesn't suggest any of the underlying conditions that might, might, result in the behaviors he describes, he just assumes it's all about personal choice. One young woman, bless her good heart, wrote that she could be nicer to white teachers, but that white people had a lot of problems too. I understand that the teacher was upset with their responses. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who needs to grow up.

So SideKick, ease up. Just because I have newly installed DSL, yes, yes, installed by you, the SideeffingKick, doesn't mean I can work at that speed. I need to adjust myself. Right now I'm enjoying WWOZ from New Orleans. You can click on their button in the left sidebar & listen yourself & donate, you cheap bastards. But I'm also posting this narrative on racism in the frozen north, without irony, which, of course, is dead.