Ketchup

 Greg, a student from Yemen, was chased up the stairs after the last bell of the day by Darlene. Both are fifth graders. Darlene was angry because Greg had called her the N-word. Darlene is African-American. She was correct to be furious at this violation. Greg, who is still very much in the process of learning English, landed squarely in the tracks of the challenge of learning words and their weight without understanding their dimension. He has spent the last two years on a playground where he has regularly heard that word used as a taunt, as a greeting, in anger and in celebration. He made no note of who was saying it to whom. And when. This meant that, when he was sitting in the office nursing the scrapes and bruises inflicted by Darlene once she caught up to him, I had to explain the reason why he should do everyone a favor and just go ahead and delete this word from his vocabulary. 

As I was administering this lecture, it became apparent that there was another layer to these events. Darlene, having spent the afternoon building animosity toward Greg for his persistent and non-specific annoyances, told a friend that she should be ready to record what she had already determined would be a beat-down after school. The friend, Alice, was excited to be involved in such a "mature" level of conflict. Greg did not disappoint when the bell rang, and he tossed that one forbidden epithet in the direction of Darlene. The chase was on. Darlene stands a full head taller than Greg, and if she hadn't done the job it is likely that the swarm that followed the scene would have finished him off. 

All captured on the phone dutifully carried by Alice. 

Now a few more details: Alice is Latina. All three of these kids were in a fifth grade classroom that had a substitute that day. It is unlikely that any of this behavior would have taken place if their regular teacher had been with them that day. Most days, the melting pot that is Horace Mann Elementary provides infinite opportunities for racial and cultural understanding. It's part of education, after all. It's part of being in a community. 

Until suddenly all those agreements and understandings are forgotten. Alice went directly to the cafeteria to share the video she took with the students in the after school program. This had the effect of taking that lightly stirred melting pot and pitching it onto the floor. Now we had a much larger problem. 

Parents were called. Tough conversations were had. Promises were made to change the way we all do things. But the word was out. And the video. And it will take a long time to get the ketchup back in the bottle.