Parents, it's time for us all to sit our kids down for a little talk. The subject? Recess. Or more specifically, the games they're playing out in the schoolyard. Because the last thing any of us need is a note home from the school that our kids were caught playing "slaves" on the playground.
Gulp.
Parents of third graders at Camp Creek Elementary School in Lilburn, Georgia were understandably shocked when they learned their kids' version of catch split the teams into "slaves" and "slave catchers." But news that a district investigation found the game was something the kids devised on their own -- rather than set up by a teacher -- should actually leave folks feeling better. These little kids probably aren't racist.
Is it possible? Sure. ANYTHING is possible. But at 8-years-old, it's more likely, they're just undereducated about how serious slavery really was.
Generally, kids turning things into a game isn't nefarious. It's just what kids do. They make up games. At my daughter's school, the current favorite is "puppies," which sounds entirely boring to my husband and I but is apparently the bees knees if you're in first grade. Much more benign than what the parents are dealing with in Georgia, but work with me here, people.
The point is, by and large, kids simply look to something in their lives as inspiration for their games. And if they don't know the meaning of a particular topic or just how serious it is, they may well poke fun.
In the case of those little 8-year-olds, slavery is the topic of the day in social studies. Apparently, the lesson wasn't well taught, something I'm willing to bet has changed since the story blew up. That's how we prevent racism in our country -- by educating our kids.
Which provides a good lesson to the rest of us parents out here. We need to be aware of what our kids think is fun or funny and when they're talking about things they just don't seem to understand. I know I just had to correct my 6-year-old after she used a certain four-letter word that begins with the letter S (and is neither snow nor salt) because she didn't know it wasn't something nice girls say!
What have you caught your kids doing or saying that required a big sit down about what that REALLY means?
Image via nzgabriel/Flickr
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Comments 24
I don't really have a problem with them playing this as long as they weren't dividing the kids into teams slaves/slavecatchers based on their own skin colors. That would have been wrong and sending the wrong message. If they were taking turns and just playing catch, it's no big deal. They are exploring their world just as they do with every other topic they are introduced to. Does anyone need to monitor their play and talk? Sure, make sure it is appropriate and nice. But kids will be kids and IMO, this is a good way to bring up the topic again and for parents to have the discussion again about respecting other people and letting the kids know that slavery in all forms still goes on all across the world right now, be it of white, black, asian or any other color and both men, women and children. If they are only taught this in a historical context, the kids maybe are able to make light of it because they don't know it's still a problem in the world at this very minute. While I don't have a problem with their play, I think I have a problem with GA school systems.