Sometimes – well, often – a tutor finds herself put on the spot, prompted to provide answers about more than grammar or computation. It’s part of the challenge – and the delight – of building relationships with students on their way to academic success.
By Antoinette Martin
During Black History Month, the first-grade student I work with handed me a book he’d grabbed off the shelf whilst on a trip to the bathroom, and he demanded an answer. Pointing to a picture on the book cover showing 1960s civil rights protestors flanked by policemen with snarling dogs, he urgently wanted to know this:
“Why are those people scaring those dogs?”
“No, R.,” I said, “something else is going on here. The dogs are not scared. They are police dogs and they are trying to scare the people, who are marching in the street.”
“Why?”
“The people are marching because they want to have the same rights as everyone else. A long time ago, when this picture was taken, the laws were very unfair. You notice how the people all have brown skin? The laws said that people with brown skin did not have the same rights as white people, and that they had to drink at different water fountains, eat at different restaurants, and go to different schools.”
“But why do the police want them to leave?”
“It is the job of the police to make sure people follow the laws we have, right? So, they have to do that sometimes even when the law is unfair. But these people marching in the street are doing their jobs, too. They are not causing trouble. They are marching to get people to listen to them about the need to change the unfair laws.”
“But police are good. I might want to be a police.”
“You would be an excellent police officer. I know you would never try to hurt anyone who is just trying to get their rights and be treated fairly.”
“But the dogs? Those dogs are trying to bite the people.”
“I am sure they are good dogs, but the police train them to do what they say. Right here in this picture, the police are using those dogs to scare those people, you are right. I do not like what is going on here, because we know people have the same rights no matter what color skin they have, and that is all the brown-skinned people are saying.”
“Yes. But why did that happen?”
“Well, you know how African people were brought here a long time ago as slaves? When that ended, people still kept treating those with dark skin unfairly, and arguing and fighting about what their rights were. You see in the picture how all the police officers are white? Black people were not even allowed to be police in those days. But now…the police officers you know are not all white, I bet.”
“No. But do they still have those dogs?
“Yes, those are police dogs. Sometimes, the police need help chasing a burglar, or finding a bomb, and they bring their dogs along because they are brave and can run fast and even sniff for bombs.”
“Wait. They can sniff for bombs?!”
“OK, time to get this math homework done. We got a little sidetracked after your break. But remind me to tell your mom we talked about this. It was very interesting.”
“Yes. Oh my….what the…? Look at this picture! They are spraying those people with hoses!”
“Uh-huh. That happened too.”
“Why?”