"White is the Enemy"

[adrie]

Looking for a bit of input from other moms with their kids in kindergarten, specifically public school; or anyone else who would like to chime in. Sorry, as this will be long.

My daughter just started kindergarten this month; actually we switched schools from our local public to a bilingual school of choice as I really want to help her learn a second language. Anyways, fast forward to last week or so and my daughter comes home from school and says to me "Mom, white is the enemy," while pointing to white on a piece of paper. She informed me that her teacher said this to her at school but couldn't give me any other details about the circumstances around why such a phrase had been uttered.

So today, I had our first parent-teacher conference, and all went really great. Our daughter is "above average" according to her teacher, which is no small feat, as some kids are turning 6 in a few months and she is not yet 5. Anyways, I asked the teacher about this phrase, stating I was concerned. She then proceeded to show me a diagram of three pencil crayons; with one coloured perfectly in the lines; the middle one somewhere in between, and the last one scribbled all over and out of the lines. There was a happy face pictured below the first "perfectly" coloured pencil crayon and a sad face underneath the poorly coloured crayon. I should also mention that none of the three crayons remained "white." Now what the teacher mentioned to me to connect the diagram with the phrase was that some kids get tired with colouring as it hurts their hands so she uttered that phrase to encourage them to keep colouring...does this not strike anyone else as off? It still seems like a really odd message to be teaching as far as I'm concerned.

Obviously, my daughter is thinking the colour white is the enemy now, which it is not, and why would you teach that to any child in a multicultural school, especially a child who is white? Colours are not "enemies." Also, what about things that remain white which you don't colour, such as the snow, a dove, a snowman, etc.? Are they the enemy too? See where this could lead? Obviously, I do not want my daughter to further in her cognition and understanding of such a message and then inferring we, as white people, are the "enemy."

Any input or thoughts at all?

 

[SarahBear]

Yeah, perhaps not the best phrasing, but no one is perfect. If it is a singular issue, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it's part of a larger concerning pattern, I would be more concerned. I'd also talk to your daughter about why the teacher said it and what she really meant by it. I'd also explain why talking like that won't be allowed at home and why you disagree with the teacher.

 

[CaptainMummy]

If a teacher said that to my girls, whilst colouring, they would know that it meant they hadn't to leave any white. They definitely wouldn't assume anything else white is an enemy. It is a bit of an odd way to say it, but I wouldn't worry.

 

[adrie]

If a teacher said that to my girls, whilst colouring, they would know that it meant they hadn't to leave any white. They definitely wouldn't assume anything else white is an enemy. It is a bit of an odd way to say it, but I wouldn't worry.

But the question is why. Why can't they leave any white if they so choose? Why can't they stop colouring if their hands hurt? It just doesn't make sense to me. Colours are not enemies, so not only is the statement false, but it sounds sinister. Could you imagine had the teacher stated "black is the enemy?" I'm concerned that this is part of a larger, public school system programming.

Not only that, the explanation she provided with the diagram of the three crayons didn't seem to coincide with the phrase itself.

 

[adrie]

Yeah, perhaps not the best phrasing, but no one is perfect. If it is a singular issue, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it's part of a larger concerning pattern, I would be more concerned. I'd also talk to your daughter about why the teacher said it and what she really meant by it. I'd also explain why talking like that won't be allowed at home and why you disagree with the teacher.

I've definitely tried to do so, and I guess I'm going to have to do so again and again, as my daughter has continually used the phrase ever since. Typical impressionable, literal thinking 4 year old here.

 

[SarahBear]

Yeah, perhaps not the best phrasing, but no one is perfect. If it is a singular issue, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it's part of a larger concerning pattern, I would be more concerned. I'd also talk to your daughter about why the teacher said it and what she really meant by it. I'd also explain why talking like that won't be allowed at home and why you disagree with the teacher.

I've definitely tried to do so, and I guess I'm going to have to do so again and again, as my daughter has continually used the phrase ever since. Typical impressionable, literal thinking 4 year old here.

Yes, just keep drilling it in. This is part of the reality of having other people take care of our children. Even parents can make similar mistakes by accidentally teaching their kids something they don't really mean. Also, remember that kids learn through repetition, so when she uses the phrase, just treat it as another opportunity to teach what you really want her to learn. Think about when toddlers point to the same things over and over and over again to ask "what's that?" They like to hear you repeat the name so they can practice listening and remembering the words until they fully internalize them. It's the same idea with this except that she is processing something more complex.

 

[misspriss]

I would find the phrase concerning. I think it is part of something larger.

Really should you be telling any little kids something is the enemy? Maybe cavities or cold germs, but a color? Vilifying a color? That is exactly what they are doing, teaching little children to vilify a color. Given the current racial climate in the US, this is not a poor choice of words, it would be intentional here. If a teacher can't grasp the nuance in that, they probably shouldn't be teaching.

It would be so much more appropriate to call it "empty space" and tell kids "Don't leave any empty space!" or "Be sure to color all the empty space! We want LOTs of bright color, all the space in the lines!"

 

[pa2k84]

At 4 any attempt to put pen to paper is fab, it's up to the child in question what colour and how much they want to colour surely? Very odd, there is no way I would pull up a child for only colouring a little bit of a picture (don't actually like colouring sheets at all but that's another matter!)

 

[misspriss]

At 4 any attempt to put pen to paper is fab, it's up to the child in question what colour and how much they want to colour surely? Very odd, there is no way I would pull up a child for only colouring a little bit of a picture (don't actually like colouring sheets at all but that's another matter!)

If my 3 year old just scribbles a little over a picture, I do encourage her to fill it in a little more, but just "Don't you want to color a little more?" because she does like 3 scribbles on a page and wants to do a new one....we go through a lot of coloring pages! but yeah, if she doesn't want to, we don't push it.

With the 5 year old, I strongly encourage him to stay in the lines and fill the entire space, there is a difference. It helps with fine motor skills to do the fine work involved in filling in without going out of the lines. But I wouldn't tell him the white was the enemy!

 

[adrie]

I would find the phrase concerning. I think it is part of something larger.

Really should you be telling any little kids something is the enemy? Maybe cavities or cold germs, but a color? Vilifying a color? That is exactly what they are doing, teaching little children to vilify a color. Given the current racial climate in the US, this is not a poor choice of words, it would be intentional here. If a teacher can't grasp the nuance in that, they probably shouldn't be teaching.

It would be so much more appropriate to call it "empty space" and tell kids "Don't leave any empty space!" or "Be sure to color all the empty space! We want LOTs of bright color, all the space in the lines!"

Thank you so much for validating my feelings. I agree with you 100%. Your examples of "enemies" are a-ok in my book and also age appropriate. Do you remember seeing germs or bug viruses with mean looking faces? haha too cute. It's too sinister a phrase in my book to be taken as something casual or benign; which is how they are seemingly trying to spin this. I will have my ears open for other strange messages and I'm not against pulling my daughter out of a space I don't agree with. It's unfortunate as I really wanted my child to get into this school, and now she has done so, and bam! An issue right off the bat. I keep telling myself that this is only kindergarten, and her teacher will change year to year.

 

[adrie]

Yeah, perhaps not the best phrasing, but no one is perfect. If it is a singular issue, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it's part of a larger concerning pattern, I would be more concerned. I'd also talk to your daughter about why the teacher said it and what she really meant by it. I'd also explain why talking like that won't be allowed at home and why you disagree with the teacher.

I've definitely tried to do so, and I guess I'm going to have to do so again and again, as my daughter has continually used the phrase ever since. Typical impressionable, literal thinking 4 year old here.

Yes, just keep drilling it in. This is part of the reality of having other people take care of our children. Even parents can make similar mistakes by accidentally teaching their kids something they don't really mean. Also, remember that kids learn through repetition, so when she uses the phrase, just treat it as another opportunity to teach what you really want her to learn. Think about when toddlers point to the same things over and over and over again to ask "what's that?" They like to hear you repeat the name so they can practice listening and remembering the words until they fully internalize them. It's the same idea with this except that she is processing something more complex.

Just had another drill session with my daughter as we speak. HA! How ridiculous. "What is white Valla? Not the enemy!" Good girl.

 

[morri]

You can't compare compare "Attack White or " white is the enemy" with Attack Black or similar because white people havent suffered from discrimination and instutional racism like black and poc (especially in settler countries)
However I wouldnt approve of the art teacher notion that only a fully coloured pencil is perfect. if you want to colour it perfectly use a computer, I think it stifles children creativity to demand that they colour in stuff perfectly.

 

[adrie]

I'm leaving my overall thoughts about what you are going on about here alone but suffice it to say you are proving my point. People would be literally up in arms if the phrase was reversed. The point is that it's not okay regardless of the colour used. Period.

 

[kirstybumx3]

Totally agree. Not taking away from black history and whatever but it wouldn’t be acceptable had that been used. Don’t think it’s ok to say it about yellow, blue, green etc either. Kids so young take so much literally. To say a single colour is the enemy is crazy. My grandma once told Rio his jumper was made out of real sheep and he wouldn’t wear a jumper for ages afterwards I can imagine if I told Rio a colour was the enemy he would avoid that colour in anything, at all costs, that’s just how he is.