New York mother sends daughter to school wearing 'N-word' shirt

[AMilliONAIRE]

AMITYVILLE, N.Y. - Second-grader Jaiden Haber was sent to the principal's office -- not for bad behavior, but for her T-shirt's slogan.

Last week, the principal told Jaiden, 8, to change her shirt, which read, "N the 'N' Word" and "It's time!"

Jaiden's mother, Karen, 45, said teachers at Northwest Elementary in Amityville should have "seized the moment" to discuss the shirt because it aimed to encourage tolerance.

But district superintendent John Williams said the word's inflammatory effect outweighed the shirt's potential educational value. He said Amityville schools strive to regularly instill cultural lessons.

Either way, it could have been used more effectively as a lesson for the students.

Joye Brown: 8-year-old's pretty pink tee targets an ugly word
Our top photo galleries Photos "To send a little white girl wearing this shirt into a very diverse district that is almost 90 percent nonwhite was not the way to address this word," he said yesterday. "It's a lightning rod."

A gym teacher noticed Jaiden's shirt and sent her to the principal, who asked her to change into a school shirt because hers was a "distraction," Williams said.

That violated Jaiden's First Amendment rights, said Tara Keenan-Thomson, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union's Nassau chapter. "All students have the right to wear what they want, and this does not stop at the school gates, regardless of content or how old she is," she said.

Karen Haber said she received some of the shirts from Intrigue Concepts Inc., of Roosevelt, as payment for work done. She distributed 17 of them during Jaiden's birthday party in school a month ago.

"I never expected it to be blown up like this," Haber said. "But innocently enough, Jaiden's made an impact on society -- maybe even history."

Jaiden said she didn't understand the statement she was making with her shirt. "My mom picked it out," she said. "She thought it would look nice on me. I don't know why they made me take it off."

Karen Haber said she should have explained the shirt to her daughter, but wanted to "keep her innocent.

"Some parents criticize me for putting it on her since she's so young," Haber said. "But when I hear a 5-year-old tossing around that word, I know I would stick it on Jaiden, even if she were a newborn baby."

One parent said cultural awareness should begin early. "Racial issues are still sensitive, but there needs to be a dialogue," said Angela Roberts, 27, who was picking up her nieces from Northwest Elementary yesterday. "The school might have felt unprepared to deal with something like this. But it's a reality."

Another parent said racial education should be saved for high school. "You need to start somewhere and sometime," said Elizabeth Jex, 29, "but does it have to start with an 8-year-old girl?"

[swt_juice_34]

Its mess up that her moma said it will look cute on her . She knows better .thats why im glad my kids go 2 a school that wear uniforms ;-) . No gang colors and no slang words .

[SUPREMEBEEYATCH]

I THINK THE UNIFORMS SHOULDVE SOLVED ANY AND ALL PROBLEMS OF THAT NATURE BUT THE SCHOOLS SYSTEM SO BASS ACKWARDSTHAT MOST OF THE SCHOOLS ON THE UNIFORM TIP IS ELEMENTARY WHEN REALLY IT SHOULD B ENFORCED AT ALL MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS BCUZ THE LIL ONES DONT POSE MUCH OF A THREAT SO YEA THAT WAS ALL THE WAY WRONG:eek:

[Jasminesmom]

I work at an Elementary school, and I think it's needed for all grade levels. Some parents send their little girls to school in hoochie coochie outfits, when there are perverted janitors looking at them (not all janitors are perverts, but I'm talking about one in particular).