DS said he was called a “Paki” at school today. How to handle with school?

[Usernamealreadyexists]

DS (9) came home quite upset today as he said a boy in his class called him a “Paki” on the way to a lesson. He told a teacher who dismissed what he said by saying it was probably a misunderstanding and to put it behind him. The boy denied it and said he called him the name of a moon. Nobody else heard it. I said it’s possible the boy didn’t know what it meant or that DS misunderstood. He’s a tough one and very little phases him but he was genuinely angry. I don’t want to minimize how he is feeling (as the teacher did) but I’m not sure how to approach it with school given that there were no witnesses. He attends a prep, which isn’t very hot on discussing/acknowledging issues of diversity.

@Serin yep they were. They used the excuse of it being at the end of the day, trying to keep classes in bubbles, new teachers, Covid, etc. They clearly had no policy, which has now been exposed. That’s one good thing to have come out of it. Private schools will be impacted upon by the financial crisis - they cannot afford for a reputational hit. I know some private schools have a zero tolerance policy, escalation with parents called in immediately. Others handle it far worse than ours did. DS’s school claims there have never been any racist incidents in the history of the school. Hmmm ok. I say they need to be teaching other schools a thing or two, in that case .

@IcedLimes yes, I did tell them the way it was dealt with was no different to my school in the 80s. They were humble enough to accept my points.

Is your son ok now? Puck sounds nothing like P*

@Guineapigbridge

It's so depressing that this is still happening in 2020.

Kids have said stupid stuff since the world began. What's happening now, in 2020, is that we're teaching them to be victims. What ever happened to sticks and stones will break my bones? We're teaching our kids to buckle instead of be reslient.

We are teaching our DC to stand up against racist remarks. That is the opposite of buckle. Its fat weaker to tell them to not rock the boat and be resilient in the face of racism.

@IcedLimes he found the whole thing very stressful and said he wants to forget about it. I think questioning kids alone in these circumstances isn’t the best idea. I reassured him that he did the right thing and it would help other kids. I do worry if he will now be treated differently because I kicked up a fuss. That’s another worry for parents in these circumstances.

What ever happened to sticks and stones will break my bones? We're teaching our kids to buckle instead of be reslient

You think people should accept being called racist names? Why are you a racist?

Agree - it’s far easier to be quiet and not rock the boat but what does that change? DS is still very young. Kids need to learn there is a process for dealing with this. I’m sure he will come across it again and he will learn to be resilient when he develops the right language and confidence to fight back. This wasn’t the occasion to.

I'd report that to the head. No way should teachers tell kids to ignore racist insults. That's outrageous.