Crofton Ebert Elementary
Facing blatant racism was a new experience. I had witnessed racism daily as a kid but I never expected to see it when I was teaching. I now know that I had a very naive outlook. I believed people had enough class to keep some of their opinions to themselves and let the rest of the world go on. I was doing my observational part of pre-service teaching at Crofton Ebert near Five Points in Denver. We spent one day a week at the school. We were required to work with a master teacher and observe and help when we could. We had to do a upper elementary and primary rotation. We also had to do an urban school and a suburban school. Crofton Ebert was my urban primary grades rotation. I was in a second grade class with a very talented teacher. The school had two very different demographics. Most were from the neighborhood which was lower socio-economic and the other group was officers children bussed in from Lowry Air Force base. At the time Denver was still under court ordered busing from a decision in 1969. This was the result and teachers had to deal with two very different groups.
The group differences took an ugly turn one a day when I was in the classroom. The teacher and I were getting kids ready for a morning activity when the principal brought in a new student with their mother. Transience was a common occurrence so we were not surprised. What did surprise us was the conversation with the mother. In the class we shared supplies because it was easier than having everything separated. This was the way many of us handled supplies in a primary classroom. The mother had brought the supplies for the student but told us that they had to be separate. What came next was a huge surprise and something that has stuck with me since. The mother told us, “Keep these separate because she is not to share with THOSE KIDS.” As I looked over I saw students of every skin color and economic background but it was obvious what she meant. The teacher very calmly told the mother that she could take the supplies home and use them there but in the classroom we all share, It was very simple and non-confrontational but one of the best lessons I ever learned about teaching. To her credit, the mother was shaken by the response and apologized for what she said and that we could use the supplies in the class.
Since those days I have seen more instances of racism and classism in my teaching. Many of those people could not be shaken into reality. It was this type of lesson that gave me some preparation to teach at Montview and understand family and community dynamics. I also had another experience at Crofton Ebert. As we were talking one day about my year at Harrington Elementary as a student in 1969-1970. I had an amazing fourth grade teacher named Miss Kinealy. As students we thought she was great. It turned out that Miss Kinealy was the after-school coordinator at Crofton Ebert and I had a chance to tell her what she meant to me and all of the students. She taught me many lessons that are in no curriculum but still resonate with me today. I now tell all of my high school students to wait until after the ten year reunion and then go find a teacher that meant something to them and tell them. Nothing has the same impact as a student telling a teacher what they said or did that made a positive impact on the student. I say it all the time and you may hear it a few times before the blog is finished. “I do not want to be judged on what a student does on a test, I want to be judged by what the student becomes. I will take that all day long!” The reason for the ten year wait is for the student to really see and feel the impact. Often the impact doesn’t occur for many years.