Low Man on the Totem Pole????

Our eighteen-year-old son was riding in the car with us one day. We started talking about one of the articles I had written for this site. He told me how proud he was of me and I must tell you, it made my day. Then, my son started talking about an incident that had happened at his school. My husband and I listen intently and when his story was over. We just sat there in amazement. I know we were all thinking the same thing. How can this still be going on?

Here is my son's story. In my words, from his mouth.

There was a High School basketball game. My Son did not attend this game but because of what had happened at that game, the whole school had to participate in a Racial Slur Seminar, through the class room environment. From what I could understand from my son, as he heard it, at this basketball game there were apparently things said back and forth from each side that could be misconstrued as racial chants. It seems that the other school was very upset about this, even though they were saying racial things as well. It was then decided that all the students at my son's high school would participate in a class room discussion about "respect and diversity." I found this part to be good and well warranted.

Here is the part that I found offensive and could not believe my ears when my son was telling me this.

His Second period teacher, who teaches ethnically oriented crafts such as, Batiks, Molas, and basket weaving was leading this "respect and diversity" discussion in his second period class. When she made a comment about "being the low man on the totem pole' meaning that was a bad place to be. Our Family is not from any Northwest Indian Tribe. Yet we have been taught through a few locals that we know, that being the low man on the Totem is a very honored place and that using this term to describe someone who is bad off is indeed, a very racial term. It was a this point that my son raised his hand and tried to explain to her that being the low man on a Totem was a place of honor and that what she had said was wrong and in itself was a racial slur. She then proceeded to tell him that he was wrong and insisted he was to sit down and be quiet.

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