Inappropriate comments from teaching assistant

badkitti

You know what? its perfectly normal to mix people up who have similar features - even if it just the same skim colour. I've Taiwanese friends who will tell you all white people look the same. I'm now working in Africa, and the teachers and pupils can't tell one white person from another either - even if one has blond hair and the other dark they will still mix us up as they aren't used to using hair clues to differentiate. And, yes, the african children look similar to me at first as well. I even had trouble telling boys from girls, and still do if they are very young.

Its takes time and exposure for most people to tell the difference in people of a different race, especially if they have not grown up in a mixed race background.

Also, FWIW, I believe 'black' is the correct term these days.

sunshine_shell

I'm a teacher and i get all the kids mixed up no matter what they look like..... i call them all petal or something like that.... that way no one gets offended!

TheBex

sunshine_shell wrote: »

I'm a teacher and i get all the kids mixed up no matter what they look like..... i call them all petal or something like that.... that way no one gets offended!

:rotfl:I love that, it's my saviour among friends-of-friends... I've met ten times now, I can't ask your name, so I'm calling you Sugar. Then I do it to my friends to try to make it look normal!

Gingham_Ribbon

It sounds like the TA is trying and doesn't mean any harm. She does sound like she could do with some more training though. Hopefully you can all move on from it now - unless more occurs I don't think there is any harm done.

Tola_2

I teach in a primary school and I can tell you, teachers and classroom assistants alike never have a minute, attending the needs of all the children in their care. It is so easy to get childrens names mixed up, we're only human. I have to say I feel you were totally over the top going straight to the head about this. I'm quite sure that assistant has been so good to your child on many an occasion when you don'y even realise it. Please think beofore going straght to the headteacher again on such a trivial matter. There are far more important things in life!!!