DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a Black literature teacher at a high school. One of my non-Black students wrote a short story about racism and included the N-word. He used the full word. I told him that his use of the word was inappropriate, but I didn’t mark him down.
I told my fellow Black teachers about my student’s use of the N-word, and they told me that I should’ve penalized him. I think that my student had good intentions and meant to write an educational piece, but the delivery was wrong. Should I have penalized him? -- Conflicted Teacher
DEAR CONFLICTED TEACHER: Does your school have a clear policy on what language can or cannot be used in school, and more specifically, in classwork? I ask because you want to make sure that your students follow school protocols.
I do not think that you should have penalized your student unless that’s the rule. Instead, read the story to analyze the plotline is and the gist of the story. Challenge your student on his use of that word and any other hot-button words in his story. Ask if there are any other words that could better describe what he was getting at. Push him to be creative and to reach further in his use of language. Use this opportunity to expand your student’s mind and get him to think differently instead of shutting him down or triggering him to dig in his heels on this type of language because you either embarrassed him or backed him into a corner. In other words, teach him.