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7:17 p.m. - 2007-12-06
streets
Today a little tiff that has been brewing between three of my 9-11 year old girls came to a head. Apparently one of them started telling everyone that one of the other girls "acts like a white girl." We'll call her Lakayla. So Lakayla comes crying to me and tells me the story. What to say. What to say. "Sorry?" "I'm a white girl...is that bad?" "Ignore them?"

Of course no one would admit to actually saying that...to the white-girl director...plus no one wants to be a "snitch." They are so ridiculous sometimes. Snitch...that's when someone comes forward to be a witness for a murder trial and the murderer and friends threaten to kill them. Why are they using words like that for these little tiny issues??? Can't we go back to calling it "tattling?"

In their world, that's the worst thing you can be, apparently. It's way better to be a liar than a snitch. How do you teach kids about honesty and justice and fairness when they already have these values so deeply ingrained? If you lie to someone in charge you might get caught or you might not...I can only tell about half the time when they are lying anyway. You might get a time out or your mom called (who will probably reward you for not 'snitching"). If you snitch, you get beat up the next day on the school bus.

So many seemingly sensible rules go against their survival instincts. I don't want to castrate them in that regard, but I also want them to WANT to rise above all of that. How is that possible with so many more powerful forces propelling them deeper into the notion that the way of the streets in their neighborhood is the only realistic way to live?

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