Prejudice

Yesterday I was blessed with a substitute teaching job. The second one this school year. You never know what you will be asked to do, and you never know what you are walking into. I was asked to teach middle school in a school I had not been in for four years. This age group is all about testing boundaries, especially with substitutes. So when I handed out an ELA test for 7th graders, I was at first taken aback when a child asked me what this word means, Prejudice. I looked at the child and realized that he really didn't know. So I quietly tell this child,"Well you can be prejudiced for or against something. It is like if someone asks your mom's opinion of you. Of course she is going to only say nice things about you, because she is prejudice. On the other hand if you don't like something or someone it works the opposite way. Do you understand?"

The child nodded that they did.

A couple of minutes later, I have another child approach me with the same question. Then another and another, so after the 4th child, I decided to be louder in my definition of this word on their test that seemed to be giving them some problems. I expounded a little more of my definition for the kids as a whole to include that, Prejudice was an inability to see what is really in front of you, because of strong emotion, whether it was love or hate. When I said this to the entire class, there was one face that stood out. It was a face of understanding and just plain, are you kidding me. For a moment this child held my gaze, gave me an incredulous smile, then a nod, and then she continued with her test.

All my classes were very well behaved, I had no issues at all. They were a complete joy. After my day ended I had several students make a point to say "Have a great weekend Miss Puissegur. Look I remembered how to say your name."

I thought more about my day, what went well, what didn't, just a normal check list on how to be a better substitute teacher. I thought that I had made a good impression on those students. I thought about that word, Prejudice. If it had been someone else, what would their angle on the definition be? My first response, when I saw that that child didn't know the word, was a little touching. I saw such innocence, and I had to tell him the meaning of this word. My heart went instantly to a place out of love for children, all children. My knee jerk response to the word was You can't ask me, I'm prejudice, because I love my kids so much. That is what popped into my mind first. After the day, and the test, I did realize that the word, Prejudice, is hardly ever used to express a clouding of judgment due to love. While this is sad, I also realized that I just taught love first, not hate first. So I think that I had a good day.