What to do when a teacher calls the color 'peach', 'skin color'?

My stepson and I were painting pumpkins today, when he told me he wanted the "skin color" paint (the last time I checked, there is a HUGE spectrum of 'skin colorS').





He goes to a predominately white... I mean almost completely white rural country school... I think I've seen one biracial kid at his school... that's it! I asked him who told him that this peach color was "skin color" and he told me his teacher. I told him that his teacher is wrong, and I showed him lots of pictures of people with lots of different skin tones (as well as variations of what SEEMS like one skin color).





How do I go about handling this? I'd love to go up to the teacher and go off on her, but I don't want her taking anything out on the kid, and I don't want to jump to conclusions. I just feel like I'm part of the problem if I keep my mouth shut. So how should I approach her?

What to do when a teacher calls the color 'peach', 'skin color'?
What if you wrote her a quick dated note that just mentioned that this situation had put you in the awkward position of contradicting her to your son, which confused him, but that of course you teach that skin comes in many colors? That it troubles you that she or any teacher in the school might teach this, and "Could it be that my son got it wrong?"





My thought is that this could give her an out but would get your message through.





However, then I would follow up with a phone call and pursue it to the end. If she denies it, I think she will clean up her act and not do it again, and she will know you are watching. She should not take it out on your child, but you can watch for signs. (Keep a copy of your note, by the way, in case you need it later.) She just may admit it and say, OMG, what a goof I am -- you may have taught a lesson here.





Remember, it's not that long ago that Crayola had a pinkish crayon color called "flesh." Times are changing, but sometimes it's slow.





Let's hope you don't have to raise a stink at the school level, because if you do, it will not go very well in a rural setting. You just might have to, however, and if so, do it in a very mature way. You just cannot be screechy, preachy, holier-than-thou. The only way would be to appeal to the basic fairness and tolearance of Americans and their respect for the law of the land.





Sometimes, it is just necessary to do, and, yes, you would be part of the problem if you kept your mouth shut. I am in a similar situation at work, where I must speak up, even though it is jeopardizing my job. Painful but necessary.
Reply:I think you are over reacting - it's possibly the colour of some people's skin so what's the problem. Its just a figure of speech - your step son I am sure is aware that people come in lots of colours.
Reply:First, let me commend you on the approach you took with your step son to show him that we are not all one color.





How you approach the teacher is going to make all the difference to the way that she treats your son as well as other children in the future. You want to speak to her calmly. Try to schedule a time with her where the two of you can sit and discuss things without interuption. Let her know that you are uncomfortable with her teaching the children that peach is the universal skin tone, and you would rather her use color names instead of relating them to objects.





Remember to stay calm and don't get upset.
Reply:I would suggest a chat with the teacher, but not a "go up and go off on her" type of meeting. I understand and applaud your upset at this very narrow-minded view of the world, but you'll catch more flies with sugar than with honey.





Just request a meeting and explain to the teacher (calmly) that you try to instill a broad world view to your children, including the knowledge that skin comes in more than just the peach variety. Since most schools are also trying to broaden their students' horizons, you can suggest to your son's teacher that it is perhaps a bit limiting to continue to refer to "peach" as "skin tone". Crayola hasn't used that name for that color in YEARS!!





Good luck!
Reply:I think when I was little Crayola actually had a peach crayon called "skin" (I'm 29 now). So maybe she's just stuck back in time a little. You could send a note to school with your stepson or just call the principal and have them talk to the teacher. It's probably just an honest oversight.
Reply:This is an excellent question.





First of all, if you feel aggrieved (about any aspect of your son's schooling), by all means speak to the teacher, and if that has repercussions for your son then take the matter to the school principal. You are absolutely within your rights to express your grievances.





When I was at primary school (small-town in Scotland - all white) we called skin-coloured paint 'skin-coloured'. I don't think that was necessarily a bad thing, but I hope things would have been different if there had been any non-white kids in the class.





In a way it's no worse than using the word 'white' (or indeed 'peach') to describe Caucasian skin. Abstracting from one's own frame of reference to describe a colour may be short-sighted, but generalising from concrete terms (white, peach) to describe skin-colour is equally limiting.





On a happier note, you might find this interesting. It seems Crayola now makes a whole range of 'multicultural' crayons and markers :-)





http://www.crayolastore.com/product_list...





Out of interest, the names of the colours in these sets are: black, red, mahogany, peach, brown, dark brown, light brown and tan
Reply:It is indeed a strange way of explaining a color, especially for a teacher.


I think you're right not to directly confront the teacher with your concerns, because she seems to be the kind that would take it out on your kid.


It's probably best to make your point clear by subtle hints. For example you could have your stepson tell his teacher: "Here's my project madam, my mom and I decided to paint it peach as there are way too many skin colors to choose from.


Hopefully that will help some or at least gets her thinking a bit.





I wish you the best of luck with it.
Reply:What color would you say his skin is? Is he truly white (as in, the color of computer paper?) or is he sort of a peachy-pink color (as most caucasians are)? I seriously doubt this teacher meant any harm when she told the kids this. Do you know in what context the referred to the color peach as being "skin colored"? Was she saying that black people are evil and that the true color for real people is the color of a peach? (HIGHLY doubtful), or was she saying that most caucasian people have some variant of peach as their skin tone? How old is your stepson? Is he in kindergarten? If so, you have no idea of truly knowing how his teacher used the term when referring to skin tone. Is he in middle school? If so, ask him specifically before you confront the teacher or the principal of the school.





My guess (and of course, I personally don't know anyone involved in this sitaution) is that your step son is probably very young, and this teacher was trying to find a good way to describe what color a peach is. Would you be just as upset if he had referred to a band-aid as skin color?
Reply:Personally I would ask the teacher this question. "Do Peach Color Represent All The Colors Of The People On This Planet?" "If Not Why Aren't We Reflecting The Various Other Shades And Hues?"
Reply:You definitely need to go and speak to the teacher, if only to get the facts.





I believe individual schools in the UK have to have a policy on this, so decide how what you have heard fits with the policy (or you might want to challenge the policy!).





If you think she acted out of order, put a complaint in, to the headtecher.





Remember, you can do this without your kid knowing.








Good luck!
Reply:i would approach her open minded. for all you knowthe teacher could have been refering to Peach as 'your' skin color and your sun just said skin color. the teacher is trying to similate to make things easier to remeber. but i would go talk to her and if you get the feeling that im wrong and she is being a little racialy biased sock her in the face and remind her that there are alot more skin colors than white or as she refers peach.
Reply:Wow.





I'm shocked.





(I'm also glad I took the time to read your whole message, as at first I felt like replying to you after I read your question).





Well, do you think your teacher should be sued for that?





If she should, then perhaps all or almost all people in my country should also be.





Because when buying underwear, we refer as 'flesh colour' or 'skin colour', to the colour that is close to the skin of Caucasian people.





It had never occurred to me that there are people with different skin tones and so, this might not be an appropriate term to refer to the colour of Caucasian people. (But also, I grew up in a region where virtually all people were Caucasian, although the number of people from other ethnicites has been increasing to my joy).





While at this, perhaps we should also sue those who labeled Caucasian people as 'white', since their skin colour is by no means the same as milk or snow..





Personally, I think that sometimes, when people are trying to be 'politically correct', they don't know they are just making 'a mountain out of a molehill'...
Reply:What IS IT with you BRAINWASHED PEOPLE?





You go about handling it by letting him know he is WHITE... and he doesn't need to apologize to ANYONE because he is WHITE..





Geezus... what is this idiotic school system becoming?
Reply:You tell the teacher that this colour is pink.
Reply:I'm not sure how old your step-son is but children typically cut to the chase and get the point of the conversation rather than expressing everything that was said and could have given the conversation completely different connotations.





If you're super concerned, go and talk to the teacher about what was said in class that day but don't "go off on her." As you said, it's a, pretty much, all white school and so naturally when they're coloring people they would color them in their own image. I went to an almost all white school as well and the teacher told the white kids to use the peach too but the teacher told me that brown was a "skin color" because I'm brown and she told the one other non-white kid in the class to use some other color (I think it was burnt sienna or something like that) because he was NA. No one thought anything of it.





I applaud your dedication to diversity and your desire to raise your child to know that there are people out there who don't look like him but it's important to remember that children don't think like adults. As long as you're teaching him that at home, a crayon situation at school isn't going to derail your goals.
Reply:ask other parents if there kids have said anything like this, and maybe write a letter and ask if they learn about other cultures, and take it from there. I can see why your so annoyed hun.
Reply:You are right. Taking this up directly with the teacher might cause problems for your kid in school. I would suggest talking to other parents about it and if you are ready, take it up with the teacher or principal as a group and not individually. Good Luck!
Reply:In a predominantly white area, she could be adjusting to the "norm." If she has no races outside Northern European in her classroom, and given the limits in the crayon box, peach may be the only option that gives the impression the skin has been colored. She may be working for a practicality standpoint. She may have always been taught the skin on a picture should be colored, and given the options, only had peach as an option, so it is referred to by her as "skin color." She may not in any way be trying to be racial, just practical.





If it were me, I'd just ignore it, having told my son the difference and options, and move on. I'm assuming this is a lower grade. Sometimes the best way to handle something is just teach your kid the way you want them to be taught - you are the one on one. The teacher has to deal with numbers, availability, and so on.





Another note, I might have told my child that the pumpkin has a skin color, it is orange. To change it would be denying the pumpkin its uniqueness. That would be giving the lesson of varying skin colors and individuality a concrete example. You may have even said, lets get some squashes and make different faces, just like the world has.





No offense is intended, but as a closing note, I'd like to add that we have been so sensitized to not offending anyone who isn't white in this culture that we sometimes go off a bit too harshly when it appears that we are giving the Northern European ethnicity too much air space. It is good to be aware of the cultures, but it can backfire if we spend too much time OVER emphasizing them - thus making note of our differences. At the end of the day, we are all just people.
Reply:Kids wont learn in schools nowerdays cos they gave away so many rights from the teachers and you cant do nothing if there out of order so how they gonna learn if the teacher has no power?





i seen it happen in that last few years already in england the kids are just getting worse
Reply:I am a caucasian man, but my skin is not peach. I have a lot more of a red tint than peach, but to answer your question. I would leave it alone, have my kids color the picture as close to their skin color as possible. Then I would explain to my kids that although teachers are smart people. They sometimes get things wrong. If I notice any other possible racism from this teacher I would request a conference with a mediator and try to keep my cool and confront her politely
Reply:Stop reading so deeply into this. Peach is a flesh-tone color, along with many other colors. If the teacher said it was the only skin color there was, then you'd have a reason to find out if they're color blind. How would you describe the colors mauve and aubergine?
Reply:Maybe his teacher just needs their conciousness raising a little...try painting another pumpkin in another possible colour for skin and send them both in, saying you weren't sure which skin colour the teacher wanted..
Reply:Do you mean your only 2 choices here are keep your mouth shut or go off on her? Real mature. There's an obvious middle ground: don't jump to conclusions, like you said, and just go to her and talk calmly about it. Ask her why she said it, and then try to figure out honestly if she meant something racial by it or is just uneducated and doesn't know any other way to call that color. Then explain to her what you told us, that there are many skin colors, etc. And if you're not comfortable with your kid continuing in that class after the conversation with her, talk to the principal about changing teachers. If you keep your mouth shut you are part of the problem, but if you think the only other option is aggression, guess what? You're a part of the problem.



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