MOSTIMES IT'S VERY TOUGH FOR NIGERIAN(OR AFRICAN KIDS) IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS.

 

As someone that has taught in the American school system for a while, I believe I have enough experience to talk about this issue. Nigerian or even African students are having a hard time in American schools. Especially in highschools, these kids suffer great deal of discrimination and intimidation. 

American kids usually look down on their African counterparts, they see them as less than. They are mocked and made fun of at will. Even the American kids that come close for 'friendship', end up using this opportunity to ask rather demeaning questions, just to make them feel bad.

The major culprits in this type of behavior are the African-American students. They could care less when expressing their hatred for African students. They engage primarily in name calling, bullying, and sometimes even gang up to beat up the African students.

And this definitely creates a feeling of inferiority in the African kids, and this makes them become loners, and then see school as a form of punishment. And there's something else that's common. Kids of African parents that are born in the US, tend to avoid African kids that immigrated from the African continent. It's a very common trend. Some of these American-born kids deny their roots and 'hide' their native names. They find it hard to associate with the country of their parents' birth, for fear of being ridiculed.

Also, with a foreign accent, it makes the African kids stand out. Then they have to do whatever it takes to get rid of the accent, but for some it's an impossible task. But unfortunately this type of discrimination gets no kind of attention. Even when the kids complain to their parents, what they are told is 'You just have to endure it, and then use your good grades to shut them up.' But for the most part this type of advice doesn't work, it's easier said than done.

And most of the kids who try so hard to blend-in with the American kids just to get accepted, hardly end well. As they yearn for acceptance, they overindulge in all kinds of ill activities that land them in various types of troubles. Some end up joining a gang, or in jail, or addicted to drugs. I mean the list is endless.

But fortunately, most African kids turn out to be very upstanding adult citizens. These are the ones that perform excellently well in college, and even break academic records. Thank God for these ones. But if you have a conversation with them on their experience(s) in middle and highschool, it's never a pleasant one. They seem to just have to live with the hurt.

And this is why I want to tell any African parent that has a kid in a US school, or is planning to relocate to the US with his/her family; make sure you have a plan on how to help them out whenever they come complaining. Make sure you have a clear knowledge of the history of your school of choice on bullying, and how they handle bullying. Some schools are just terrible in handle bullying. And never wave-off or dismiss your child's complaints on whatever issues he's having at school, 'cause even the teachers are also known to bully African kids too!

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