Is my child racist?! I don’t know what to do!

[Namechangefour]

Before I begin, I should say: I’m mixed race though look very white.

I was telling my my 5-year-old that I am going to look for someone to look after him after-school one day a week from next term. And he said, “Fine but please can you not choose anyone black?” I drilled this down and down and down and he meant what he said. Not someone black.

I said “Why?”

And he said “I don’t know.”

I said, “You know grandma was black?” (He never met her, she died before he was born).

And he said, “I know, but I don’t want you to choose anyone black.”

I said, “You know mummy is half black?”

And he said, “I know, but please don’t choose anyone black.”

I had absolutely no idea what to say. I remember reading once that you shouldn’t shame children for saying things like that, and we were in a cafe at the time, so all I said was, “You know what you said isn’t good, right?”

And he said, “I don’t know all the things yet!”

I didn’t want to get into it (mostly because I didn’t want to get it wrong) so I said we’d talk about it later.

But I am still totally unable to think what to say. I’m heartbroken. Completely and utterly heartbroken.

Can someone give me some advice? I don’t know what to do! And I don’t know why he’s saying things like that! We live somewhere pretty multicultural in london, though his school is quite cringe-worthily white and middle class.

@BertrandRussell Yup, that's what sealions do. Attempt to sound ever so reasonable, while piling on more and more bad-faith bullshit.

ReanimatedSGB

Do you actually have a point that is pertinent to this discussion? Or are you just here to try and infantilize other posters like BertrandRussell all the time with your bizarre narration. We're having a discussion, and a thankfully polite one at that. If you're not capable of contributing, don't.

You're like those sad men on Oxford Street with their giant speakers rambling on about Jesus whilst the rest of the world gets on with their lives.

It is interesting that political parties will suggest, discuss and kick about restrictive practices to hit fee paying schools but not faith schools.

Have any faith schools emerged from the Academys in England?

Are the results from faith schools in challenging areas disproportionately better than the non faith schools?

Looking at educational performance based on race, its not as clear cut that white means clever and non white means not. Indeed there appear to some white demographic groups that are very poor in performance.

Surely if children bring home schoolbooks which show what they are covering in school, a loving parent who cares, and has a good undestanding of English can help, support and encourage their dc to do well, as whether white, black, brown or pink with purple polkadots it is generally accepted that education, qualifications are the main way out of repetative cycle.

And no I dont accept shrieking that poor parents havn't got the time, the skills or the ability to help their children.
Although I hate a lot of wjhat Stormy does and sings about, I do applaud his initiative to help clever black children who are capable to get to the Russell group universitys.

“ Are the results from faith schools in challenging areas disproportionately better than the non faith schools?”

Faith schools only outperform non faith schools with similar catchments when they are oversubscribed and admissions criteria other than proximity come into force.

BertrandRussell
Why do you think the Porsche dealer is not being racist?

Holiday homework, Devereaux. Work it out for yourself. Or, as my mother used to say “Run and find out”.

Holiday homework, Devereaux. Work it out for yourself. Or, as my mother used to say “Run and find out”.

That doesn't make any sense. How can I find out what you think, when your thoughts are in your head?

By asking you, obviously. Which is what I'm doing.

Come on, let's face it. It's very odd BertrandRussell, how you keep evading answering this question. Could it possibly be because you know - and believe me, I know - that were you to utter the reason you'd know you have contradicted yourself entirely, and that your whole argument accusing schools of being racist doesn't make any sense.

Have a bit of a think about why you believe the Porsche dealer isn't racist. It's exactly the same reason why the school isn't either. But you want to believe the school is racist, it's the only explanation you will allow yourself to believe. From that starting point, maybe you'll see why what you write about schools being racist is so completely nonsensical.

Happy Christmas.