A week ago, I encountered a student that was hurt by the word "Jew." She is Jewish and found the word to be offensive (and negatively used throughout history). I am one of the theology teachers at the school - in addition to being one of the English teachers - and frequently use the terms "Jews", "Israelites", or "Hebrews" when referring to the Old Testament text in the Bible. Before she pointed this discomfort out I had been aware of the negative tinge this word held. For centuries Jewish people have been disregarded, mistreated, and slandered; however, it took this child to mention her hurt in order to bring up my discomfort. I quickly realized that every time I used this word in class, she became uncomfortable and the classroom environment became slightly unsafe for her. We had a class discussion on how this minor problem could turn into a larger one throughout the year, and the students acknowledged that they didn't even realize what an impact this one word made.
This incident now has me thinking about the immense impact we can have on one person. They can carry your negative or positive influence around for a long time, maybe even a life time. Is it that society has become far more sensitive and politically correct than we used to be? Do teachers practice this 'political correctness' as well?
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I was quite impressed at her courage to tell you her feelings. I understand how the word Jew has been a negative word for her. I am wondering what did you do to solve this problem?
ReplyDeleteJust like you i find it extraordinary how a teacher can change their practice and language for one child. As teachers we are fully aware of what seems to be simple for us can make such a negative effect on others. We as educators never want to hurt a child, so we decided to change our habits without thinking about it. I am amazing at this wonderful activity that we teachers do.