Tolerance.org: Teaching Tolerance: IVORY TOWER: Lessons for a Teacher: IVORY TOWER: Lessons for a Teacher
Veteran teacher Dottie Blais writes openly about a question that too often is left unspoken and unanswered: How does a teacher's whiteness get in the way of successful multicultural education?
by Dottie Blais
Only one student ever told me to my face that she hated me and meant it. It happened more than 20 years ago, and I'll never forget the moment.
Shonda and I were seated across from each other in the shabby chairs of the teachers' lounge at the public high school of a small town in the Deep South. It was the only place I'd been able to find for our impromptu conference, and the matter at hand was urgent. Shonda wanted to drop out of the gifted program; in fact, she had already stopped coming to class. She had been vague with the counselor about her reasons, and she had not discussed the decision with me.
In our conference, I bombarded her with well-intentioned questions: What's going on? Is anything wrong at home? Why didn't you tell me you were having problems?
Her quiet answer shocked me: "I hate you."
"What?" I asked, even though I had heard quite clearly what she said.
"I hate you," she repeated without embellishment.
"Wh . . . Why?" I asked. But the conference was over because Shonda ran out of the room. Stunned, I couldn't even get out of my chair to go after her.
So Shonda dropped out of the program. Her parents didn't argue with her about her decision because they knew how strong-willed she was, and they wanted her to be happy. She simply stopped talking to me. For nearly a year I was left with unanswered questions. What had I done to elicit such hatred from her? How could I have failed her so miserably?
