how can I boost ds's self esteem he's dealing with negative comments about his colour

[ilsi]

Can anyone help me out with some advice on how to boost my ds self esteem he's dealing with negative comments about his colour for the first time. I'm black my husband is Italian and we live in a small town in Italy and it's not very cosmopolitan. My ds started primary school in sept. He's started saying thing like "I'm ugly" when I talked to him about it he's tells me it's what his classmates say to him along with other remarks. I've been to the schooland talked to his teachers and there are now dealing with the situation and I'm trying really hard to boost his self esteem and tell him he's special and wonderful and so lucky to have a mummy who comes from ghana and a daddy from italy, and that he's beautiful but he's 6 and really sensitive.

How else can I help him?

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and links. It's has got me on a roll. Just to update you all. I'm planning an afternoon workshop with ds class.The teacher was very willing, I suspect it has a lot to do with taking an hours break! but nevertheless she's given her ok.

My general lesson plan would be like this:

The world and the different continents
africa where I come from
what's special about where i come from music, food, clothes, weather
famous and interesting african people inventors, musicians, sports stars

At the end I hope to leave them all with some material to colour in and stick into a classbook or something. I'm downloading material for them to make a collage and colour in maps and other bits and pieces. Fingers crossed.

It's great that you're going to do a workshop. As you probably know, there's quite a lot of info on the net to help you, e.g. colouring/craft ideas lesson plans make a mask map colouring printouts label African animals

And don't forget to let us know how it goes.

I haven't read all the posts, just got to where you were talking about role models. Has Barack Obama been mentioned? Or are the children too young to be aware of Foreign Politics!!

I'd love to see him be the prez..

misfit

I think one reason hmaybe down to Italian being very regional and not having a strong national identity (apart from football). They don't get on with themselves never mind getting on with foreigners.! There's a big north south divide. And most regions have their own strong culture with a dialect, food, customs.

The main reason is there's no history of mass intergration of other nationalitites in Italy, it's happening now really. Italians themselves have emigrated all over the world but have never dealt with an influx of other nationalities. I think we' re Britain 50 years ago.

Plus the media only adds to ignorance by fuelling the usual stereotypes of Africa being one big jungle or one big mud hut and how we're all starving and come to Italy to increase crime blah blah blah. I've been here many years and it's always the same story.

On a positive note Italy is now has a growing immigrant population, be it small, and so soon there will be a generation of italians who are black, chinese, indian etc..and thing will get better. It'll take a long time before it's anything like the UK where black faces are in the media, in positions of power and influence and not seen as second class.

in a friends house she has a sign saying....

some go red with anger
pink with embarassment
green with sickness and envy
blue with sadness

and they dare say im coloured???

I've started off with lewis hamilton as ds knows who he is. We went onto his website and he has a pic of himself in a go cart at about age 10 or near that . I asked ds who he looked like and and he replied with a (grin)"he looks like me mummy!" we read a bit of his bio and ds was happy.

Barack for prez? that would be amazing i and really hope it happens.