I have lived in this country for close to 20 years and never experienced discrimination until we enrolled our son at Northshore Christian Academy. Being unfamiliar with the US public school system (we were worried about bullying among kids), we decided to go with a private school, assuming the atmosphere there would be better. Soon enough we realized this was not the case. Children get bullied, not by other children, but by the adults entrusted (and paid) to care for them! If your child is black be prepared to fight for them even harder. The discrimination is systematic, yet subtle. The first time you notice it you think, no can't be. I'm just over analyzing the situation. Around the fourth to sixth time you stop and take stock and realize you are dealing with pure unadulterated discrimination. We are talking small things like if your child is involved in an altercation with another non-black child yours will be penalized for it while the other is prayed for, yet the other child was the aggressor. Your child will be dis-enrolled from an after school program without prior notice to you and without any explanation. When your child is standing in line with other kids and he moves his leg because it hurts and says 'ow" they will be punished for talking at the wrong time, yet when his white friend blurts out something nothing happens to him. When a white student tells you that their black friend has to be careful because whenever they are caught doing the wrong thing he/she normally gets it worse it clears all your doubts. And sometimes it is obvious and unapologetic, like when a teacher tells you that he does not think your child can play the trumpet because your child's "lips are too large".....yes, it was said.
Our son, who has always been a very happy child, got so depressed in kindergarten that he started referring to himself as a bad boy....at 6 years of age. He would say, "It's ok. I know I am a bad boy" or "You know so and so's brother? The one who is a bad boy like me..." It got so bad we sought the help of a pediatric behavioral specialist. After several appointments the specialist told us we needed to remove him from this environment. She pointed out that she has several students from this school as young as kindergarten who were battling serious depression. She said that the kids are constantly being ridiculed and embarrassed in front of their colleagues by teachers, coupled with negative reinforcement that is ruining their self image. Trying to work with the school counselor, Mr. Berge, was equally frustrating for her; the counselor wants all the information from the specialist regarding the children but will not share any back, even if the parents have requested in writing that he shares all the child's info in order to help them. We ran into this first hand. The counselor claimed he does not keep any notes on the kids, never mind we found out much later that he had been pulling our son from class and speaking with him in seclusion without our information or consent!
Now that our son is in a new school he is back to his normal self. He keeps exclaiming how much he likes his new teacher. When asked what he likes about her the answer is consistently the same, "she does not yell at us." Wait, what?! Exactly how much were you getting yelled at at Northshore????
In a meeting with the K-2 principal (Mrs. Winningham), the counselor, and our son's teacher, the teacher could hardly put a sentence together. She was flustered and kept looking towards the principal as if trying to make sure she stayed in her lane and was not saying the wrong thing. She looked fearful, yet in all our other interactions with her she was always normal. The counselor was as useful as tits on a bull. The principal, at best, is incompetent, and at worst harmful to children. Her only way to help a child is by punishing them in order to 'help' them make better choices. Have you ever heard of positive reinforcement? This place is a joke. Spend your money elsewhere. If you insist on this school at least save some money for therapy because your child will need it.
One last thing, whenever our son hears of China his first response is, "Is that the place where they do not allow people to pray to God." This along with many other things he has said, has made it clear to us that he has been taught that non-christians are 'bad' people. I was raised christian and attended private christian schools and at no point was hate perpetuated in our curriculum or church. At NCA children are taught that it is us versus them, and of course we are better because we are christians. read more