In a recent article, two Greeley Central High School teachers were involved in a teacher student fight over the student’s hat. On Monday October 27, in the hallway, a teacher asked a student to remove his hat. It is said that the student began cussing and the teacher proceeded to remove the hat from the student’s head. The student responded by punching the teacher three times. A second teacher helped to escort the student to the office and the student punched the teacher.
The school has rules and those rules include a dress code. Normally, included in the dress code is not wearing a hat in the building. How we get students to follows those rules is more important.
The hat is the student’s personal property. School staff should be careful with a student’s personal property. I remember as an assistant principal, there were occasions when I had to confiscate student’s property. However, I had certain delegated authority and a relationships with most students.
Teachers who do not have positive relationships with students should not attempt to remove student property when the student decides to become violent. That is why they have security in the schools. If the student is not harming anyone, then report the infraction to the administrator and go back to teaching.
The student will remain angry at both teachers for the rest of the year. This student will feel that the actions of the teachers are unjustified. Many Black students who are attempting to rise to leadership in the school will do everything to upset the teacher. This is the equivalent of making the teacher lose their cool. Which is the primary objective.
Another point to consider is that in the process of removing the hat suppose the teachers did some minor damage to the student. Then we have a Whole new ball game. All that student has to do is to go to the emergency room and complain about pain the they are having as a result of the teacher student fight. Then that means that the hospital has to report the incident to the local social services and the teachers job could be on the line.
If the teachers behavior is rejected by the parent, then these two teachers will find themselves in a long battle. Taking the students hat is the equivalent of touching the student. The Black community teaches their children that under no circumstances is an adult outside of the family allowed to touch you.
Teachers are better off with teaching and allowing administrators to do their job. Here are several tips for avoiding teacher student fights over a student wearing a hat.
The best way to avoid a teacher student fight over a hat is to report the incident to an administrator. Find out the students name. Make the request to remove the hat by calling him Mr. [His last Name]. This will make the student feel that you respect him.
Taking the hat will only work in you have already established a positive relationships with the student. If the student does not remove the hat, it can escalate into a fight.
Instead, give the student a choice. Pull the student to the side away from the crowd and give him the choice to remove the hat or you will report the violation. This keeps the situation from escalating into disrespect towards a teacher, insubordination, or open defiance for a student hat. When you provide a student with a choice, you are extending yourself to a student who may be troubled by something else. You are also extending yourself to develop a positive relationship and other students will gravitate towards you because of your positive efforts.
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~ Joe Vas ~ Perth Amboy Mayor “Dr. Campbell’s Cultural Relationship Training Program is comprehensive, informative, and should be required training for all schools”
~ Darrell Pope ~ Hutchinson Kansas NAACP President
Racism is a menace and so we’ve been taught for ages which is the primary need for a diversity expert. However, even in this modern society of today where we see a lot of colored celebrities performing on stage with huge fan followings and of course an Afro-America President for the USA, we are still in a phase where racism exists in all its brutal glory and has been eating away at the society like a plague.
Classrooms, are one of the most affected areas where color differences and racism exists to its extremes. Even after decades of progress and a lot of communal efforts at bridging the gaps between colored students, white students and teachers, it is sad to say that the disparities still exist and are just as pronounced today as they were back in the 1950s. Colored students, even in the likes of New York City, are attending under resourced schools or have been significantly isolated and made to be unequal in regular schools.
Even if the teachers are well-intentioned, perpetuating the structural racism that has taken deep roots into the fabric of our education system is a tough task and make the need for a diversity expert imperative. Teachers need to recognize the biases that exist within the classroom and also take conscious measures to address them and their own biases of course.
James Baldwin once said, “it is your very own responsibility to change this society, if you think of yourself as an educated person.” Dr. Derrick L. Campbell took this quote very effectively and straight to the heart and thus this Classroom Racism Exterminator happened. Classroom Racism Exterminator is an initiative that will teach you about your duty and moral obligation towards eliminating racism from the classrooms. This is where and how you will learn about what you need to do to produce a better society that is free of biases and disparities amongst the blacks and the whites.
Because we understand how classroom biases and conversations about racism are difficult and how teachers and students almost avoid the topics altogether, we have put together a range of effective methods and products to help address the problem at hand and talk meaningfully to counter issues related to race and racism in the classroom.
Diversity expert Dr. Campbell understands that it takes a lot of courage to talk about race and racism and that racial issues need to be viewed through a very critical lens that can understand and attend to the pertaining aspects of racism in the classroom. And therefore through this website we have made a conscious effort to eliminate racism from the classroom and make the educational system equal and beneficial for all.
We know and we understand that there are no words that can actually describe how racism feels. There are cases and everybody tends to deal with it in their own manner. Some might lash out verbally or others might just withdraw into shells. Whatever the case, people don’t talk about it openly and teachers don’t really make a conscious effort at addressing the issue. We don’t really know if our children or if the youth is learning to be educated or become racists in their classroom.
Our program is focused on helping children of color and regardless of their race, their full potential. We want every student to be able to recognize and reach their full potential so that they think of themselves as responsible citizens of their country and not regard themselves as worthless human beings.
Here you will find motivational books and flash card games, all of which have been designed focusing on eliminating racism completely from our classrooms. The books and the games have been consciously designed keeping in mind the American society and educational system. It is a small effort on our and Dr. Campbell’s part to help this society become a better place to live in.
A little about diversity expert Dr. Campbell
Dr. Derrick L. Campbell the driving force behind Classroom Racism Exterminator is a dynamic figure and a constant source of motivation for us. He has a Bachelors of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology, Math Education, a Masters in Education Administration and also holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership.
Dr. Campbell is a well known personality throughout the nation. He has lectured at various events including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference and a lot of local churches. He is a personality well dedicated towards eliminating the plague of racism from our classrooms and helping every child recognize his/her true potential not the color of their skin.
He realizes how a child would feel if he/she was made to think they are worthless human beings. Diversity expert Dr. Campbell is compassionate and related to the experiences and therefore this initiative is a constant and continual effort to eliminate racism manifested in us, completely from the classroom and from our society.
Transforming the gap between student perceptions and teacher intentions 
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