Chapter 3: The Middle East

Mrs. Lee is a new 4th grade teacher in an elementary school in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and has many students of Arabic descent, mainly from the Middle East. She addresses one of the students, Saeed, who does not seem to follow instructions. Her concern turns into frustration as she tries to explain to the student that he needs to follow directions like everyone else in the class. She feels offended. Saeed just smiles at her. She takes that as a sign of disrespect. She reports the case to the principal and sends a long email to the parents about what happened, requesting their help in addressing their son’s behavior issue. Saeed’s father gets upset and talks with Saeed about his behavior; in return, Saeed explains to his father that he could not follow the teacher’s instructions. He only smiled because he felt embarrassed in front of the class and meant no disrespect. Saeed’s father remembers that he used to do that in front of his teacher and father when he felt bad. The fake smile was a culturally accepted way to cover his feelings of pain and embarrassment.