A furious mum has slammed her daughter's school after claiming a teacher repeatedly read out a racial slur then tried to normalise it — by talking like a rapper.
The Year 8 pupils were studying John Steinbeck's American classic 'Of Mice and Men' in a recent English lesson in which the word 'n*****' is repeatedly used.
An anonymous parent claims her child – the only black girl in the classroom – let it be known she felt uncomfortable – so the teacher decided to change tack.
The mum claimed he then began reading the N-word aloud in a style commonly featured in rap songs – which did little to ease her 12-year-old's concerns.
The mum, whose daughter attends Orchard School in Bristol, said: "After she mentioned it he was trying to normalise it, so instead of pronouncing '-er' at the end, he said '-ga'.
"So it was still being said, but maybe he was trying to make it a bit more hip.
"I believe if my daughter was gay, or if anything was said that was homophobic, it would be treated a lot more seriously.
"We're not trying to accuse him of being racist – I don't think he was being malicious – but I don't think he was taking her seriously enough.
"He should have treated the situation a bit more sensitively."
The parent said her daughter's other English teacher, who takes the class for half of the lessons, adopts a more preferable approach when reading the text.
She said: "The other English teacher, they see the word and they leave it out, just out of consideration for others."
The outraged mother took her 12-year-old out of school and kept her off the next day (September 27) as she demanded an explanation from the authorities.
She said she phoned up the school office and informed the receptionist about the nature of her complaint in the hope of speaking to a teacher, but says she was not given that opportunity.
The parent said she was worried her daughter's experience could be "life-changing", voicing fears the girl would face a similar struggle to that which she has encountered.
The parent said: "Sometimes I feel I live in a world where, because of the colour of my skin, I'm not being taken seriously. I would hate to think my daughter will grow up the same way."
Julia Hinchliffe, the school's headteacher, released a statement following the incident.
She said: "As a school with a vibrant, flourishing and ethnically diverse community, we understand more than most the sensitivities and important social issues which arise in books like 'Of Mice and Men' and many others which have been taught in classrooms across the city and indeed the country for several decades.
"In this case, we fully understand that we did not immediately and fully address the parent's concerns and we are reviewing how we deal with such complaints in future.
"We have spoken to the parent in person and on the phone and we will continue to do so as we endeavour to resolve this.
"We also constantly review how teachers introduce and teach the important social issues which arise.
"In fact, our experience is that when we do teach this book in Year 8 we see greater tolerance and reduced name-calling.
"The context of this book in the classroom is important. 'Of Mice and Men' was written by John Steinbeck in 1937, and tells the tale of two typical migrant workers.
"It covers the themes of poverty, sexism, and racism, as well as messages about life for the very poorest people in America at the time of the Great Depression.
"Of Mice and Men' was a core text for the GCSE examination for many years, until 2014 when all American texts were removed from the syllabus.
Source: Read Full Article