Children are Watching

by stopdainsanity2

When I entered kindergarten - I was put into a class for the mentally retarded (because I lived in a neighborhood with a growing population of families of mexican descent). My teacher assumed I did not speak English and required special bilingual support which was not available at the time. Yes - I was a Mexican-American citizen child.

It literally took 2 weeks for my parents to force the school to place me in the mainstream kindergarten class -- even though I could respond to questions in English. At the time if was easier for frustrated- overworked teachers (not bad people), who felt school district should have a place for spanish speaking children to learn (reasonable), to send me to the special needs class - no questions asked. Although the error was corrected, as a child I never lost the feeling I was not welcomed and somehow my rights as a citizen were not equal to those of white americans. Be careful - children are watching.