School assuming things about my mixed race son

[TulipDragonfly]

DS (5) has come home today. I'm white, his dad is British born Chinese (ie, his parents came over from China, he looks Chinese but was bought up in the UK has never been to China and can't speak Chinese)

Mummy did you know I can speak chinese?

No darling, you can't

Yes I can, my teacher told me I could

But you can't sweetie!

Yes, she looked in her book and told me I could! And so I can!

She got him to speak a bit of Chinese to the whole class - hes such a little people pleaser that he said" I tried to speak Chinese" (he just made some noises mi Ka la ta do hi sa - what he thinks Chinese sounds like) and then she said 'well done'

Wibu to go into the school tomorrow and clear up that he can't speak Chinese, and I'm slightly concerned that they've just made an assumption he can because of what he looks like?

I agree, it doesn't get better with age.

My friend, white English, married a Malaysian man. People would speak to him (ignoring his wife) in other languages because of his looks, he had darker skin and curly hair with oriental features, so quite a few languages were tried. He only spoke English.

Their son was bullied at school because of his looks.

Do go in and find out what happened.

I'd be furious if someone assumed my kids could speak their ancestral language. They can't. They're British and speak English. Absolutely complain OP.

I was laughing too at the way he made up some chines sounds and that she didn’t know that they weren’t Chinese.
Well done to him. He sounds really bright 🙂

It sounds like a mistake on some forms. Definitely clear it up by talking to school.

With regards to PP saying to have taken at face value a child saying they can't. I've taught secondary students who DO speak an additional language or languages and have done all possible to pretend they didn't (even though they were EAL and home were hoping to get them to sit a GCSE in their other language). Sometimes students, for whatever reason, hide the fact they have other languages. Equally though the common sense would have have been to stop pushing it if they insisted.

My DD4 is mixed race. I'm white, her (absent) father is Sri Lankan. My partner (who she calls Daddy) is also white. She has my surname and is christened Catholic.
Last year a TA banned her from eating at a nursery party as there was a bacon quiche on the plates and 'You're not allowed to eat that!'
I hit the roof and eventually removed her from the nursery when the HT said it was an honest mistake.

I reckon this is a data error. The 'book' she looked in was probably her register- sounds like there's been an information mix up in there, possibly originating from SIMS. Are there any other children with the same surname?

Go in and say something like 'Just wondering whether your records are accurate for DS, because he says you have it recorded that he speaks Chinese.'

Roly
The forms are filled out by the parents and as op said why would he show up as bi-lingual if she never put it on the form ?

Teacher is just presuming.

@snowball28 I can't believe a nursery worker said that to you-that is disgusting and shocking!

EAL kids give the school some leverage in their contextual data. So, although my son can't speak Greek, and both his parents were born here, he does hear it amongst extended family and therefore I put it down on the form. Even if OP ticked British-Chinese, the school should not have made an assumption about language.

The rest of DSs class are probably now at home showing off the new words that he has ‘tought’ them.

It does sound like she was mixing him up with another child so would definitely clear up any misunderstanding. They may think DS knows some Cantonese/Mandarin etc and is just being a bit shy about not wanting to speak it to the rest of his class. His teacher needs to know he actually doesn’t speak anything apart from English so he isn’t put in that position again.

does it flipping matter? this is first world issue.

I remember being at school with a lad who was Asian. One of the teachers came up to him and was like ‘one my students has drawn this chinese alphabet drawing can you tell me what it means?’
He was like I’m Malaysian for God’s sake! -but yes I can actually read chinese and it means this- 🙊

It could be a data error- we had a child with an incorrect surname (totally different, not just typo or similar) on SIMs, even though the parent had obviously filled out the form correctly. Definitely worth chatting with the teacher and checking what’s gone on.

My three are mixed Asian, one is white passing. The difference in assumptions made, and treatment is atsounding. As a teacher, I would never make assumptions based on those data collection forms, because they are often filled in.... Incorrectly ( I had a child last year who barely spoke English, mum barely spoke English, dad insisted they only spoke English at home.Forn said only English spoken It was not English they spoke in at the classroom door. Figured out it was swahili when I asked an elder sibling) I would also never ask a child to speak out in their home language unless they wanted to... Especially not "Chinese" as I'm. Not sure that's actually a language...

Not looking forward to this with my kids. They're all mixed race and the same mix however look very different with two passing for white and one looking very obviously not white. Saddened by these stories.

I think it's most probably to do with Chinese New Year starting tomorrow. I expect the teacher was looking for ways to introduce it to the children and make it relevant for them.

Mention it to her, Op, but don't worry about it too much unless her attitude gives you cause.

QueenieInFrance

I am an EAL bi-lingual support worker and I work with nearly 40 children who between them speak over 25 languages - nearly all of them have parents who DO NOT speak English or very little. Schools only work with the info they get about each child.
I would never presume what language a child or their family can speak.
And many can speak but not read or write their mother tongue because they are only 7 - 10 years old.

Sorry I know this shouldn't be but I would find this hilarious! Visions of a small boy misleading the whole class and teacher by speaking "Chinese"

We get given a list of EAL children (English as an additional language). This list can range from a grandparent speaking to the child in another language to children who have arrived in the UK the Sunday before coming to school.

EAL means children who have English as an additional language so they shouldn't be recorded as such unless they speak in english and another language. A grandparent speaking it is a ridiculous reason to be recorded as EAL.

snowball that is a racist comment and I would be complaining about that.

Op the fact that she read it means it mist be written or recorded somwwhere.i would go to her tomorrow and ask her why she thought DS spoke Chinese. she may refer to a form and then you can get to the office to change it.

I agree with the people who say it's a data input error. It should be easy to clear up by talking to the teacher.

I'm of mixed heritage btw

My worry is that the teacher didn’t listen to him.

Before I get blasted, I am mixed race, English and Caribbean. Waiting interminably at a hospital appointment, I watched in appalled fascination as an older Caribbean nurse tried to get a Philippino nurse to translate for a Chinese patient. The older nurse was genuinely bemused that the Philippino nurse would not help. The Philippino nurse seemed resigned about it and told me that it happened all the time as she took my blood pressure later. I don’t think society is as cosmopolitan as we like to think. This was in a large London teaching hospital and the nurse was quite senior.

School gets extra money for EAL pupils so that's why they will have registered him as EAL

Seline, I have 2 mixed race DC and it has been easier for them than me. The kids are much more accepting.

Perhaps the school are collecting data and boosting their EAL figures