Hoping to combat prejudice, schools across the country have been making an effort to educate and inform students about the realities of racism. Although this may seem like a good thing, many of these schools are coming under fire from parents who disagree with their teaching methods. After an elementary school sent home a letter about white privilege with her 8-year-old son, one mom spoke out about how uncomfortable it made her — sparking a major debate in the process.
Amber Pabon's son came home with the sensitive pamphlet in his folder last month.
Pabon told WTVD that the pamphlet, titled "Step 3: (Begin to) Understand the Concept of White Privilege," was released by staff at Hunter Magnet Elementary in Raleigh, North Carolina. It discussed things like white disproportionate representation in all parts of our society ranging from the government to media and education. It also talked about other instances of white privilege that exist in our society.
The mom said she was immediately angered by the fact that the paper was given to her second-grade son. "He's 8 years old. What does he need to know about racism or white privilege?" she said.
"Mommy, are white people better than me?" her son asked her, according to Pabon.
After seeing how upset her son was, Pabon doesn't think it's the school's place to educate kids about racism. "I think the message itself is inappropriate because yes there is racism out here, and they need to learn about it. But let the parents do that," she said. "Because like I said, if she's [his teacher] teaching him the way she knows, it could be completely different from the way I know. And me being part of the black community, I know different from how the white community sees it."
The school district pointed out the pamphlets were meant for adults and weren't taught in class.
The PTA Advocacy Team sent home the information to parents in the students' weekly folders as part of an 11-step guide introduced by the Citizenship & Social Justice campaign to help them to better understand racism, prejudice, and privilege. The steps are sent home with students every week; parents also get them through emails, and the PTA Advocacy Team posts them publicly on their Facebook page. However, Poban said the only one she received was the one about white privilege.
A mission statement on the pamphlet sent home with Poban's son is specifically addressed to parents and guardians and says that the 11-step process is "focusing on generating awareness and empathy to create a safe and equitable Hunter Community."
Members of the PTA told WTVD that the program started in February to specifically highlight issues during Black History Month. They also said that they've received "overwhelmingly positive" feedback from other parents. The PTA added that parents have can opt-out of receiving messages from the 11-step program, which Poban has reportedly done.
Poban's anger has sparked a major debate on social media.
Some agree that she's totally justified in feeling like her 8-year-old son is too young to learn about racism.
Many think that the white privilege pamphlets only promote division among kids and parents.
Others are congratulating Hunter Magnet Elementary for taking steps to combat racism.
And they're pointing out that this school is only trying to do what's best for the child.
"That mom should be glad her kid is getting educated," one parent wrote. "He needs to be able to recognize the injustices that's going to come his way."
