Is this an example of White Privilege?
When I was in 8th Grade attending public school in a suburb of St. Louis, I got my class schedule and it indicated I had been placed in a remedial reading class. I (age 13) went to the office, told the first person at the desk it was a mistake, and they changed my schedule. I don’t even think I told my parents it happened.
Now look at this web exclusive by Mandy Van Deven from COLORLINES, about a Laotian American teen, “Lori Phanachone (who) transfered to a high school in Iowa from a school in new york, Lori indicated that she spoke a language other than English at home. As a result, the teenager, who was born in California was forced to take a basic English-proficiency exam every year or face disciplinary action.”
Lori, who was 7th in her class and had a 3.9 grade average faced increasingly serious punitive action from the ADULTS IN CHARGE because of her refusal to take the exam. She was rightly offended at even being asked to take it in subsequent years, after complying and taking the test upon her initial transfer to Storm Lake High School in Iowa.
I thought educators were supposed to protect and nurture children. Did I miss something?
