Stopping the Spread of Hate in Schools
This article was
written originally for MultiBriefs Education.
It seems these days that
every news broadcast starts with a look at a hate crime happening somewhere in
our world. These cries could be as big as the recent attacks in New Zealand,
where dozens were killed in Christchurch mosque attack; or as small as a hate
crime story happening in the town next door. America’s youth are growing up in
an age where they are seeing these instances of hate in a constant basis, and
it is our job as educators to help them process, reflect, and take action to
turn the tide on this awful trend for their generation.
Late last year, the FBI reported a 25% increase in hate crimes in schools
and colleges from 2016 to 2017. The FBI tracks instances of criminal incidents
motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual
orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity. Of the 7,175 instances of
hate reported to the FBI in 2017, 10.5% occurred in schools and colleges. As an
educational community, we must take action to curb this trend, particularly
when the hate crimes are happening right in our classrooms, hallways, and
school campuses.
In this recent PBS News Hour article,
Courtney Norris discusses how teachers are trying to stop the spread of hate.
Instances of hate can start at a very young age, and can manifest in very
simplistic ways. Norris provided examples of how hate starts to manifest at the
elementary level. One such example was a 10-year-old Muslim student in
Massachusetts who discovered death threats in her school cubby, letters that
stated, “You’re a terrorist,” and “I will kill you.” The letters initiated a
hate crime investigation by the school and local authorities, but after four
months, neither agency yielded any suspects. Educators, according to
Superintendent Robert Tremblay, used the instance as a “teachable moment,” by
introducing training to help both staff and students.
Norris also reported out
on a Massachusetts 2017 Department of Justice conference
offered to educators, advocates, and community leaders by the U.S. Attorney’s
Office as way to help participants learn and share ideas about preventing and
effectively responding to hate speech in the state’s K-12 schools. Reflecting
on the conference, acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb stated, “Preventing
and responding to hate speech in our schools is essential to ensuring equal
educational opportunities for youth in Massachusetts. All young people have a
right to learn in a safe and welcoming environment that fosters respect for
diversity and nurtures healthy development.”
In an article last summer, Education
Week’s Francisco Vara-Orta took an in depth look at the status of hate in
America’s schools. Vara-Orta wrote, “Swastikas on bathroom stalls. Chants of
'Build the wall.' Notes that say 'Go back to Mexico.' Education Week found
hundreds of reports of hate and bias in schools.” Education Week conducted a
review of 472 verified hate accounts in schools from 2015-2017 to find that
most incidents targeted black and Latino students, as well as those who are
Jewish or Muslim. “The n-word” was one of the most common hate words used in
these instances, as well as phrases such as “build the wall” and “go back to
[insert foreign country name here, usually Mexico].” Swastikas were the most
common hate symbol used by students. Interestingly, November 9, 2016 (the day
after Trump’s election) was the day with the single most instances of hate in
K-12 schools of the three year review period. Vara-Orta went on to analyze
several different hate cases in various school settings to bring context to the
problem and offer potential solutions.
Comments
Post a Comment