Dear fellow classmates,
       

Take a look around you. You live in America, a beautiful country that had to fight long and hard for its equality of all men and women. Yet, what the country sees is not the same vision from the lenses of a foreigner because even in a country where justice is its foundation, behind the walls of a classroom, justice is not served. Everyday, foreign substitute teachers are stoned with rude and uncalled-for behaviors and comments from students. But with patience and respect we can stop this trend of injustice. Furthermore, racial injustice of foreign  substitute teachers is unjust as it unrightfully degrades an individual simply because of their background and because they are mistreated without cause.
     

There is a difference between judging someone for the purpose of safety and judging someone because of their looks or ethnicity. Therefore, how can judging a foreign substitute teacher in the negative sense be just when it devalues the life of that individual? Adeuke Chachine, a Nigerian who immigrated to America at the age of forty five, substituted for a teacher in the Aledo Independent School District and remarked his experience as “cruel” and “horrendous”. He recalled the students “making fun of his accent” and was deeply distressed from this (Armijo). This act of mockery from the students clearly puts this poor man to affliction. Solely because an individual is “different”does not give reason for mistreatment. The same could be said to Mrs. Yupar, a forty four year old immigrant from Burma who claims she “was not seen eye to eye,” in her memories as a substitute teacher in America (Ertll). Therefore, this lack of respect devalues these individuals not only as a substitute teacher, but as a  human being, as well. This saddens me to know that a country so praised upon its incorporation of diversity is much contradicted when it goes against its own ideology of social acceptance. Moreover, this ignorance of different cultures makes one blind from the laws of moral justice.
     

In addition, how can racial injustice be justified when foreign substitute teachers are mistreated without cause? Mr. Hruska, a German native, was unable to conduct an involving class discussion and “witnessed the rolling of the eyes from a few students” (Lyell). This was an unfortunate situation for a man whose innocence was ignored as his accent seemed to ridicule him. Also, I personally witnessed this same charge-without reason in my high school. A sweet lady by the name of Mrs. Khan, who despite her efforts to engage thoughtfully with the class, was verbally attacked and laughed at because of her “strange” pronunciation of words. The next day, when the original teacher returned, the students falsely gave a bad review of the substitute and complained “She couldn’t even speak English!”. The fact that her accent was clearly noticeable invoked students to actively mock her. Yet, in the midst of all this, there was something that they all forgot; no unfair or inappropriate actions from the substitute had taken place to offend these students. Furthermore, in the act of injustice comes innocence being ignored and overseen. 
     

However, it is understandable that people naturally become frustrated and irked when faced with communication barriers, yet, at the same time, it is just as frustrating when a foreign substitute teacher has to adapt to an entirely different atmosphere than they are accustomed to. For example, it was extremely evident that Mrs. Khan tried to  read clearly the instructions given from the teacher to the class, and she even warned the class to excuse her English, as she was well aware that her accent would be challenging for some students to understand. However, does speech impairment give reason for mockery? Likewise, at times, it is important to take a step into the other person’s shoe before behaving in a certain way.   
   

  Moreover, racial injustice of foreign  substitute teachers is unjust as it unrightfully degrades an individual simply because of their background and because they are mistreated without reason.Yet, forgive me if this letter seems to target all students for its purpose was not to point out the villain, considering I am well aware that not all students behave in this way. I am here simply to proclaim, to all those whom this applies to, to change the way we respond and behave towards foreign substitutes. To give them our patience and willingness to cooperate. To imagine what it feels like from a substitute's perspective so that justice may truly be served. For although it is only one substitute, behind one desk, for one class period, it is still the one reason why our founding fathers established a justice system made equal for all. Therefore, you, although only one student, still makes up one classroom, composes one school, and builds up one country, and thus has the power to stop this trend of negligence. But until then, I will remain behind my desk and default to questioning the justice of my country.

Your fellow classmate,
Sherin M.

                                  Works Cited
Armijo, Debra. "Disadvantages of Being a Substitute Teacher. 2nd Article."Bubblenews, 26 Aug. 2013.
Ertll, Randy Jurado. "Substitute Teachers Deserve More Respect." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Sept. 2014.
Lyell, David. "Are You a 'Real Teacher'?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Jan. 2015.