Zero Tolerance

01Dec
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

In the aftermath of the presidential election, many disturbing incidents have been reported in our schools and by our children. You may have heard about the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) incident involving a substitute teacher. A sixth-grade teacher was caught in an audio recording telling his students that their parents would be deported and they would be placed in foster care, adding that he had all their mommy’s and daddy’s information to give to the government. If you wish to hear the dreadful incident, you can listen to it here.

Considering the abhorrent and hate-filled campaign run by President-Elect Trump and the increase in hate speech, crime and bullying in our schools since his election, we want to ask everyone to be ever vigilant. We must demand zero tolerance of hate in our schools and classrooms and especially by the adults who have access to our kids. If your child comes home and shares a story of a student or a teacher that has made your child feel uncomfortable, report it immediately, and file a formal complaint. We cannot allow the normalization of hate speech in our schools.

In the case of the 6th grader at LAUSD, she had a cell phone to tape part of the incident, but not every student has a cell phone. If a teacher says something that should be reported, students should band together to report it to their principal immediately. Parents should sit down with their children and have a very serious conversation about the events that are unfolding and what they need to do if they or someone in their class is a victim of hate speech or bullying.

Another thing parents can and should do is be proactive. Organize a meeting between concerned parents and staff to address the matter head on. Go in and let your voices be heard, and let them know that we demand ZERO TOLERANCE for hate against our community and our children.  The classroom should remain a welcoming and safe environment for our students. Any teacher that has a problem with teaching our kids should submit a letter of resignation and go find employment elsewhere.

Now more than ever we need to speak out. Demand a ZERO TOLERANCE racism and hate speech policy for schools and classrooms!

What do you think?

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

2 thoughts on “Zero Tolerance”

  1. Luis

    But when a school says zero tolerance for rule infractions, all kinds of groups and protests arise. ..you can’t zero tolerate one group without another…that’s censorship.

    Reply

  2. Lety

    In this case, we say zero tolerance as it pertains to the bullying and intimidation of children. The alternative is to tolerate it, even a little, which is not acceptable.
    Thank you for your comment.

    Reply

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