Same here, as a kid I went to a school where there was a lot of diversity, but my class had a lot of white people and the teacher would always favouritise them. It was annoying and I had a hard time
Can we just take a minute to appreciate this quote though: "Even though you are at the centre of your experience, that doesn't mean that there aren't other experiences that don't centre you." Amazing.
Yeah I had to keep rewinding to hear it. Well, bc I wasn't sure of what I was hearing, at first. Then was like 🤔 oh shit, she's gonna go deep. When you start "gesturing"? When speaking. You know she felt passionate about that one 😁.
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
This happened to me once. This happens to black children too. I was accused of cheating and they called my parents because I did the math in my head and my mother who hated new math taught me the short cuts. So I learned to do math in my head but the teacher said I couldn't do that. So she hauled me before the VP and my parents and made me explain. So I did and they still didn't believe me. So my father said test him now. If he can't do the math in his head that will become apparent. They tested me and I did the math flawlessly. I even asked if they wanted me to do a harder question because the ones they were giving me were too easy. LOL! I wasn't traumatized but it taught me that even when you tell the truth, people will not always believe you.
Ryooken happened to me too, in high school I had anxiety about going to class and was often absent, making me a bad student because I missed a lot of knowledge for class, but I remember being really interested about one sociology assignment about ads and I did mine on greenwashing, I did a lot of researches and was really proud of my assignment, and the teacher thought I cheated, that an adult had done it for me, and her thinking I was too dumb to do a good assignment really broke my heart
Some teachers are just bitter shits. I had a 6th grade teacher who only had bullying her students as a means to feel better. One day while coloring topographic maps, she physically hauled my friend out of her chair. She held up her map in front of the class and said "See this children, this is how NOT to complete the assignment! Tina failed". Tina asked to go to the bathroom and when she was denied, sat at her desk crying for the remainder of the period. Not one person spoke or laughed. We'd all been there before 😟
That's not a silly trauma. Those things impact kids. I'm really glad that she was able to contact that teacher later in life and speak her piece from a position of conviction and strength.
Not only that but she was able to defend her childhood self. She didn’t feel like she had someone to defend her besides her drama teacher. But being able to stand up as an adult and face her adversary and her trauma takes strength and vulnerability. I’m so proud of her!
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
That teacher is horrible. No one deserves to be wrongfully accused of plagiarism. I’ve heard stories of people who have been wrongfully accused and the process they have to go through to prove they didn’t plagiarize is terrible.
How many plagiarists are you going to allow to flourish for your ideals? If a plagiarist steals a scholarship or an entrance slot or a passing grade from a future Constance Wu in the future, are you okay with that? What will you say to a future Nichole Silva who says to you: "They knew or strongly suspected this person was doing this, and they let it go on for how many years? No one deserves to get their real, deserving work passed over for a fake. I heard stories of people who had to fight to get their spot reinstated and the process they have to go through to receive what they earned is terrible"? This world isn't just one injustice at a time with causes that are isolated from the rest of the world that can be simply identified and remedies; this world is all of the injustices piled up against each other, balancing precariously with most of us crushed underneath. If you manage to get your head above water enough to do something about it, which thread do you pull to try and improve the world? If you decide to do something and it goes wrong, should people blame you, and call you inept, uncaring, lazy, evil? If people do that, should anyone stop them? Should you stop pulling to respond to the personal attacks on you, keep pulling on your chosen thread, switch threads frantically until one feels right, pull everything you can reach, or just sink back into obscurity with regret and resigned yourself to getting crushed with the rest of us again? These wicked problems have no right answer, only tradeoffs. Do you know that teacher's story? I sure don't. I didn't know Constance as a kid, either. I wish she had been believed by more of the authority figures in her life. I wish she hadn't felt like her parents were powerless to address these problems and protect her. But in this life, we get hurt. And she's done well for herself afterwards. But fixing problems like these isn't about what people deserve, but what you can do about it to make it better.
@@Gee-xb7rt Well that escalated quickly. There's no indication that this is happening here. Besides, from the way you talk you think it's okay to do to white kids? Get your mind right, and your words will follow. You don't run around accusing _anybody_ of crimes just because you can.
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
unfortunately, that can be said about any profession. As long as the result is the same, the people with power to change things don't care how people got the result.
I can never forget this. It's almost 2 decades ago when I was 10, an asian kid in my class was yelled at by the teacher in front of everybody because he didn't get his parents sign a permission slip. She asked why didn't they sign it. He said "They don't understand English..." Her reply was "YOU know English and YOUR parents doesn't? UNACCEPTABLE" and walked away. One of his friend was curious himself and asked why don't they don't speak English and the asian kid explained that it's because they grew up in Korea all their life and went through high school and college only in Korea. That shit I cannot ever forget because I was an Asian immigrant myself.. so when Constance said she felt the need to protect her parents.. I knew what she meant
i'm kind of lucky to be 3rd gen, I missed that, but I do see the racism friends of mine's parents face because the whites think you are lesser for going to universities in Asia and speaking with an accent.
@Tianruo Yang She really was a racist white teacher. Y'know one of those asian kids who were born here or came here as a baby, so they dont even speak their native language well? that was the case for the kid. He spoke very little Korean so he must had difficulty translating that for the parents. Or that he gave them to his parents to deal with it but they didnt even understand, so they just left it hanging, hoping to ask someone to translate it but never had the chance to.
Fuck, that hurts bc I’ve known friends who had to learn how to file taxes at a young age bc their mom had trouble understanding it. I’m lucky that my mom learned English so I could communicate with her, but sometimes it’s still hard bc she still asks me to explain what other ppl are saying to her. My aunt had brain cancer and all she was able to speak was Vietnamese, so I couldn’t understand her last words to me. Idk what I’ll do if the same thing happens to my mom
Nah. If I moved to South Korea they would 100% expect me to know it enough of their language to understand what’s going on if I enrolled my kids in their schools. It’s not racism, it’s merely societal expectation that you can freaking communicate or make accommodations otherwise. You know how fing racist Korea and China are to foreigners? You’ve seen nothing yet. I’d only assume it gets worse if more white people went to their country. Expecting people will learn languages isn’t racist, it’s merely logical if you want to live there.
The part where she talks about trying to protect her parents was very relatable. I've had the same type of experience when I was younger, almost the exact same situation when I was in first grade, I was the only immigrant kid in my class/the only person who seemed "un-American" and didn't speak English well. My teacher was always mean to me and belittled me and I didn't want to get my parents involved thinking she would just insult them and probably make things more difficult for my entire family because my parents barely spoke English. Didn't realize it at the time but looking back, she showed many signs that she was racist/xenophobic and treated me like shit because she knew I had a language barrier and couldn't retaliate.
It's not that she was racist, it's just that she was neglected and insecure. Her parents either spoke down to her and were always angry at her, or she just wasn't given very much love and attention. Kids in this situation tend to act out by being hurtful to others.
@@Leoo117 Except that she always singled me out. Like yeah she wasn't great to the other kids but for me in particular she seemed to be out to get me all the time.
@@yiyanghuang7589 Maybe because you were a little different. And bullies tend to go after the ones that are a little different because its easier and they think they can get others to join in to validate their actions. Its possible that she was inadvertently taught to be racist by her parents too, but either way, kids like that are in emotional pain. And as a result, she spread and projected that pain on to you. I'm sorry you had to go through that though. It sounds like the cycle of being hurtful stopped with you though.
Denying her the proper credit of her own work as a child, then trying to take that credit for herself now that Constance is an adult. Sounds about right.
I mean, yeah, but in a way she kinda did make her who she is. All of these years later and it clearly shows in a good way. Everyone gets knocked down at some point, she kept going and it paid off.
My mom always says, 'you can accuse me of ANYTHING, but once you accuse me of lying, when I haven't, I will hate you forever'. She feels very strongly about that.
Yeah. If she really just wanted confirmation from her peers, then she could have done that on her own behind the scenes. That was about putting Ms. Wu down.
Some teachers are just poor at what they do. My sister was dyslexic and as a result she was sent to a room for extra help with her learning disability a few times a week. Her 4th grade teacher made a comment to her about her not being very smart due to having to leave the room for help. (This was quite a few years ago now.) The help my sister received helped her tremendously, and she no longer needed it in junior high and high school. She went on to be an honor student , and when she graduated she made sure that her 4th grade teacher was made aware of her accomplishment.
Teachers do this. My teachers loved to embarass me in front of the whole class. Thats how they deal with kids. They like to break them. Especially in elementary school when the kids still cant really think for themselves yet and look for parental (teacher) guidance. Its quite cruel. But there are good and bad teachers. There are good ones out there. Just like there are good and bad kids. In all fairness I misbehaved a lot. I always thought the school system shares a lot of similarities with the prison system.
I am an immigrant from Eastern Europe. We immigrated to the U.S. when I was ten. Here in the U.S. in one of my classes, I was asked to draw a crown. I drew a crown that females wore in Russian folk tales. The teacher told me "That is not a crown." I was like yes it is. She was like no it's not. She was so wrong.
I think this is a good lesson in general. When an answer doesn't fit your idea of correct, then it might be wise to ask questions. Then everyone can learn.
Some people don't like being corrected and it's worse when those people are teachers. I was the only Jewish person in my class of 300 and a teacher spent the class teaching about Judaism and was wrong in his definition of a menorah. I took in a book that defined different types of menorahs and he still insisted he was right and even lowered my grade for questioning him.
My parents were refugees. I was born in the states. I mainly grew up in the Midwest suburbs. In 4th grade, I remember a teacher telling me if I didn't feel it was necessary, I didn't hafta say the pledge of allegiance. I never told my parents bc I didn't think it was the big of a deal... I was 9! I didn't really grasp what the pledge of allegiance meant. I guess, I knew I was different. I just didn't really always feel that way. Now that I'm older, I'm slightly amused how he/the school went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I was cool w/ his daughter. I hung out w/ her a couple of times. I ended up (in the future) explaining to her how I thought it was kinda funny through Facebook. As far as racial tension, none of my elders were ever that outright rude. I remember a handful of kids trying to be that way. One ended up on my soccer team. We just had to tolerate each other. I think she was just jealous bc otherwise, I don't really understand her hate. It was out of no where. Bought some juice on my day to bring drinks at soccer game once to outstand me once too. Kid stuff... That person who prob thinks she's having a war w/ u. Yet, she barely even crosses your mind. Another guy also called me a chink. Stole my yearbook & wrote "I'm sorry what I said. I hope we can still be friends. P.S. you bro runs really fast." ? We weren't really friends. Friends of friends but ok. I don't doubt that overall, ppl could've had their thoughts. They just weren't as ignorant to always express them as much. Then I moved south. ... Southerners: if you don't like it, you can move. My mind: progress 👍(👎)
@@Lori_L same! I spent 15 years of my life questioning my cultural history because my history teachers only taught what was in the books or their version of it. It caused alot of self hate that I didn't understand. Alot of teachers need to stop with the "Because I'm the teacher, I'm right" mentality because that can screw up the way some children learn.
awwww suck it up buttercup ...you said russian folktales ....no one would know that but a russian and guess what your not in russia so who gives a fark ...stop crying baby
@@dancemaniac3868 exactly but i bet that teacher is bitter AF now that shes proven to the entire world shes brilliant DESPITE having horrible teachers... success is the best revenge. I was never bullied by kids, it was the teachers that bullie me.... bastards lol
That’s why we need to have Asian representations in the mainstream culture. We need more narratives like this to widen our perspectives so that we can grow together as a society and country.
Emma Lam I was disappointed though when I found out Constance is with some basic looking White dude though. She pretends like she's woke but does the same thing as those me love you long time self-hating, Whitewashed Asian chicks. Ali Wong is MUCH BETTER. Look how she made "Always be my Maybe", THE FIRST ASIAN-AMERICAN ROM COM WITH FULL ASIAN COUPLE.
It happened the same thing to me. My literature teacher didn't like me cause I was Asian and because she didn't find any grammar issue on my papers she'd correct the words I'd chosen to use and give me 4/10 because of that. One time I made my classmates read my paper, they were all moved by it and surprised by the score I received. So that day I gathered some courage and asked my teacher if I offended her in anyways and if there was anything I've done to make her believe I wasn't deserving a decent score. She replied "Why would you ask me that? You're so pretty, I've nothing against you" From that replied I realized that I wasn't the one with the problem, but she was. I'm from Italy and I was born and raised here, and each word I've chosen to use on every single paper was the right one I wanted and intended to use to express my feelings and my thoughts. After high school, I went to University and graduate in Media and Journalism. I've worked as a journalist, worked and many integration projects between the Asian and the Italian community, got on National television and did way more than her f**king score made me believe I was possible to do. In all that, I didn't have my parents support. My dad was too busy thinking about work and my mom was a classic tiger mom, so whenever I'd go home with low score she would blame me for being too flawed.
OMG, I just wanted to hug her as she spoke of how her teachers, save the one, disregarded and demeaned her. I hope, during that phone call, she really gave that something to think about.
😅😂🤣 I remember in 4th grade, we had to do these, I guess comprehension tests. Where we'd have to read so many different books& then be tested on them. So once, I read this really thick chapter book. & My teacher was like, "do you even understand what you're reading?" My mind: yes. Just bc it's more lengthy doesn't all of sudden make me not understand. There was prob more vocab but... I still scored pretty high. He was prob proud. I don't remember all the details. Just that I read the book & he questioned me about it. But I thought I could've skipped some reading. Then he was like 😒 ok you were good for awhile... But u need to keep up w/ your points. Half ass, lazy me... Damnit, ok.
I’m Mexican i totally understand what she meant by trying to protect your parents from whatever is happening in school like they have so much shit to deal with, school problems are not going to be one of them.
I can't understand how the other teachers allowed Constance to be publicly humiliated like that and actually participated in the process! It's not something you do to any child! That's speaks of an incredible abuse of power and sheer bullying! Teachers who shame kids in any way, shape or form, should be fired! And then we wonder why some kids refuse to go to school or even end up dropping out, because of such traumatizing experiences! You go girl!! We got you!! 👊😊🖑
Being a child of an immigrant speaks of a diff experience. You carry a responsibility to protect your parents and help them from ignorant ppl. I've seen my parents be treated as if they were dumb and taken advantage of bc they did not speak english that well but they are actually smarter than a lot ppl (they speak 5 languages!) and basically built their lives over from the ground up. Seeing their struggles makes me stand up to bullies like that now and I appreciate the things i have more.
charmer5886 Yes! I relate to this completely. I’m so protective of my parents because of this, and it extends to anyone with an accent now. I have the utmost respect for immigrants, refugees, and anyone striving to learn a new language in a foreign place. It takes a strength, courage, and intelligence that many people will never understand. I’m so grateful for my immigrant parents and the perspective they have given me.
@Tek Gid uhm for all we know America is already a shithole and it’s not that great anymore stupid. With that chicken president you have hahahaha lol good luck
charmer5886 so I’m 18 and I work at Walmart where so many people with different backgrounds shop. I often get Hispanic costumers with their children who speak English either “fluently” or better than their parents who either speak broken English or don’t speak it at all, and I’m always patient and take into consideration the position the child is put into because a lot of times it’s a younger daughter or son who can’t be older than myself, and as a Nigeria female who immigrated here but who has been fortunate to learn America at such a young age to where I speak it better than Yoruba (a Nigerian language) I understand and truly emphasize with them, I would want the same respect and patient from if this were me or my mother or father, and helps to say “thank you” and “have a great day” with a genuine smile, letting them know that they’re okay.
My mom did this to me, every single thing that came out of me, she would either doubt it , cross check it to see if i have copied it or simply tell me i got lucky, She hated me so much all my childhood ( because i remind her so much of my dad who she hates so much) she always told me bad things about me. Like say things like that my DNA is from my father and he is an evil cruel, mean, unintelligent person and so I am also like him, and that I do not have a way out of this. She would say things like "you must be so jealous of your friends, they are so much prettier than you" . When i got my period and started gaining weight and developing breasts she would mock me for looking "lumpy" and "toady" and not skinny like my friends. The narrative that she kept building about me haunts me till this day. I try confronting her about it and she blames me for living in the past. But the thing is, that trauma is my present, it affects the way i think 24*7. She has cost me so many lost opportunities, i wish there was a way for me to make her understand just how horrible she has been.
I never thought I would come across someone who experienced the same childhood at the hands of their cruel mother. No one ever understands. I envy them because it's unfathomable the things she would do or say. I became truly blessed the moment I cut her from my life. Unfortunately, many other aspects of my life are consumed by the years of bullshit she made me feel.
Grandma Here, make Peace with the fact that: YOUR MOM IS WITCH FROM HELL! & put her in the past & move toward the future! Life is too short to keep reliving the hell you endured!! STOP IT!! Look up "team fearless" here on youtube, they are Awesome & this quote is from them: " NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE DEFINED BY SOMEONE ELSE'S OPINION"! Quit Mom & learn to LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, Life is Beautiful & So ARE YOU!!!!!!!!
My mother hated me cuz i looked like my grandmother n cuz my father loved me cuz of that same reason ( i looked like his mom) , i honestly dont know what a loving mother feels like , i cant remember the last time i was hugged n kissed by her like maybe it never happened so you are not alone , one way i could deal with things is by reminding myself that we can't control people n their feelings , i learned to not mind what is , that allowed me to accept that i got no motherly love n that it's fine that way , i also know that there's so much love in this world and that i was starving for it so it's a waste to keep knocking on a door that won't open.. i dont know if im healed but it's not blocking the flow of my life , I'm very stable and my attachment style is a secure one
She’s not gonna change unless she chooses to which will be when she’s ready. You’re not her limitations, projections, or insecurities. I grew up with a toxic mom as well and made the choice to stop speaking to her. That is an act of self love! Cutting toxic people out. There is resistance at first but that’s a false story where you *think* you need them to understand. Even if they do, they may not be willing to admit it. You deserve respect and to fully live your life and be surrounded by people that will honor/nourish that. ❤︎
@2:27 this weird thing that happens with the kids of immigrants. In a strange way, sometimes you feel like you have to protect your parents. As a child of immigrants myself, I vouch for this. This was said so beautifully with such raw sincerity. I feel so much for Constance Wu and what she had to go through.
so what your saying is your a crybaby little pussy ......ive lived in many countries treated by some same way did i cry like you hell no if they dont like me fuck em there were plenty of folks who did ..what this means is that there are assholes in evry country has nothing to do with the country just those people ...grow up fucking crybaby
@@dudedude869 not what I'm saying at all lolol It seems like those assholes in every country that you mentioned have hurt you so much that you're trying to convince yourself not to be a crybaby and to grow up. It's okay to cry. It's okay to protect yourself lol
I was accused of plagiarism in seventh grade English for my creative writing assignment. My teacher couldn’t prove it, of course, so she just marked down my work. At the end of the year, she even sent me to summer school. My writing is, and always has been, the one thing that made me feel competent in school, and she knocked me down. It stayed with me until 12th grade, when my AP Literature teacher said this: “I always have one student who hits their stride at the end of the year; this time, it’s you!” That will ALWAYS stay with me.
Sakinah Abdussamad as a teacher myself, I have to say the best, most emotionally supportive teachers are usually in the fine arts! They’ve experienced the same abuse and struggle and know how to stand up for kids now!
the way she explained the experience of second generation americans is so accurate... you really are protecting your parents. my parents had to lose everything in order for me to gain the privilege i have.
Yeah, I hadn't even thought about it but she's dead on. I remember feeling guilty and hiding it when things like that would happen bc I didn't want my parents to think all that sacrifice had been wasted.
The description is amazing! "Questioning validity without evidence is risky. Public chastisement without evidence is entirely unnecessary. Assuming someone is less intelligent because they look and sound different.....well.... that's just evidence of your own ignorance."
she is so inspirational. Constance Wu is sassy and not all may like her attitude, but she is truly talented and she doesn't put up with crap. I think that is so cool. She's authentic and genuinely kind.
Constance has me shook with her wisdom and insight! As a child of immigrants I completely relate. What a terrible school experience. It's awful to fear the truth not being enough.
I had a teacher like that too, in Grade three. She couldn't stand me and literally accused me of EVERYTHING that she claimed went wrong in that class. I went from being a straight A student to getting Ds. I was also sent home with notes for my parents almost daily! One week I had no notes so my dad asked me what happened and I told him my teacher was off on holidays for hannukah (or whatever jewish holiday it was). My dad realized the problem and went to the principal to demand I be moved to another class. The principal who was of the same persuasion as the teacher refused. My dad transferred me to another school right away and I went back to straight A report cards. My father took my next two report cards to the principal in my previous school and after the second time, the principal yelled at my dad and told him if he came back again, he'd call the police to charge him with trespassing. I think this girls teacher either had it out for her because of her ethnicity or maybe was jealous she was so beautiful. Sounds like her teacher was of the same ethnicity as mine. Parents NEED to speak up and get their children away from such vile teachers. I still think about that vile person, but trust that she had a miserable life and it will just get worse for her in the next life - much hotter so to speak.
I agree. None of the teachers could bully me or my siblings out of fear of my mother. Growing up I never was afraid of answering back to teachers when I know that I was in the right because I knew I have a mother who would stand by me.
God I hope that teacher isn't still teaching! That is such an abusive person! And to children! Constance, if she is, please call her superiors and advise them of this abuse, so that no other child will have to suffer it. Much love to you.
Not sure how to answer your question. Travelling around the world and seeing different landscapes, animals, people and architecture and more importantly learning and living amongst them deepens our understanding and gives us a different ‘point of view’
Yep. This happened to me, too. It was 40 years ago, and the sting and hurt of that moment were branded into my memory. You never forget. Constance Wu's memory and pain were palpable and she predicted tears...still, so many years later. I feel bad for her, but am glad she's been able to prove them wrong.
What you’re describing is called racism, and growing up in a similar part of Virginia to immigrant parents i completely understand that dichotomy of trying to protect your parents
Ah, must EVERYTHING be about race! Europeans ALSO speak languages other than English and they are sometimes teased or mocked for their accents or vocabulary TOO!
@anders damin -- There are many reasons to treat others badly. Those who would opt to do so are usually cognitive bottom feeders and emotionally lazy; when they treat a person of different culture or "race" badly, they usually go for the low hanging fruit-- they stigmatize due to race and/or cultural differences. Those same bottom feeding, emotionally lazy abusers will treat those in their same ethnic and/or racial circles badly due to socioeconomic status, physical characteristics, gender or sexuality. Nasty people will always find something to attack others for and If there's a deviation racially/culturally, they will exploit it. Claiming abuse of this form is not always about race is the type of claim a simpleton would make.
Marlon Moncrieffe yes, because it is. Europeans are teased by whom? White Americans whose ancestors are also immigrants but are so far removed from their culture that they consider themselves above anyone else and have a superiority complex. Ignorance, racism, prejudice, insecurity, xenophobia, hate plague societies. Be honest about it.
As an Asian girl who grew up in a western country, I'm grateful for all of you in the comments. Discrimination exists, yes, but we're going backwards as a society by playing into the race wars perpetuated by the media and the education system. It's modernized helter skelter and weaponized victimhood. As someone from a third world country, nothing is more insulting to me than the west tearing itself apart over sensationalized discrimination. The world is an awful place filled with suffering, suffering does not discriminate when it descends down upon a person no matter where they're from, or what race or gender they are.
Rica Chu I think that’s coming from a place of privilege to say it’s over sensationalized and I hope you never feel the discrimination that can be not only subtle as being made to feel like your work for whatever reason is less than or having to protect your parents from people saying ignorant and hurtful things but it can also be as scary. I live in a place where not only does discrimination exist in our daily lives but in some places encouraged! And I can not speak to growing up in the mid west but I can speak to the culture in parts of central VA which if you didn’t know that’s where Constance grew up can at times very racially charged
I remember in high school I told the librarian I wanted to check out “Breakfast at Tiffany” and he told me it was too sophisticated for me. Now what kind of a jerk says that to a kid?
I was actually talking about the book, not the movie. I’ve seen the movie and it is unfortunate that Mickey Rooney’s character is there. I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t speak to it, but I should!
Wow. I watched that movie when I was little and years later believed the descriptions stating that it was great. However, I watched it again recently and hated all the characters. The story was not moving at all. If the book is any like the movie, then that librarian probably thinks Donald Trump is sophisticated too. Anyway, maybe the librarian thought the theme was intended for a mature audience but used the word "sophisticated" instead.
Clauce Micro whatever he meant adults need to be careful what they say to kids because they can easily have a deep, life long psychological impact on them. They’re so impressionable.
'The truth sometimes isn't enough.' Wow, I really felt that. I fell out with some Asian Indian (I'm British Indian) friends when they accused me of something that I didn't do. I offered evidence that I didn't do it, but they still alienated me and refused to look at the evidence. I had made these new 'friends' and ended up going back to my old friends who were white British who didn't even care that I had moved away from them over the previous years. Sometimes the truth isn't enough when people are looking for an excuse for something. I really understood who my true friends were but the trauma of those friendships I know had a lot to do with my drug use after. I'm sober now btw. I learned a lot about race/identity over the years. For lots of immigrants, their identity is their ethnicity/religion/country but mine wasn't. I always felt they thought I was too white but I'm ok with that now. I'm just me.
I hope she did! If I ever found out I hurt one of my students with my actions, I would want to be called out on it! I would want to be given the chance to sincerely apologize and learn from my mistakes so I never hurt another student that way again. It is absolutely insane that teachers are able to get away with this and not receive any discipline.
Although not from a race standpoint, I relate to her trauma so much because in third grade (the grade in which they start teaching English in Israel) my English teacher told my mom I would never speak a word of English. This still weighs heavily in my heart, because although she thought I was dumb, by middle school I was placed into the highest level of English classes and by high school I took extra units in English (translation) on top of my regular classes. I now live in Australia and speak English on a daily basis and everyone is always so amazed at my English when they hear I'm from Israel and not somewhere in North America (as I speak without an accent)... I was so vulnerable in third grade, and she made me feel dumb (like many of my other teachers) because they didn't understand ADD, and now I still wish I could carry a full conversation in English with her to prove her wrong.
I'm glad she went back to that shit of a teacher years later but I hope more that she went back to the drama teacher who beleive her, they are they one who need be acknowledged and thanked. Given her attitude and insight she has here I'm sure she did but its something we all need to keep in mind when we focus on the negatives we forget to see and embrace the positives for what or who they are.
samantha ramirez on behalf of all teachers, I am so sorry that happened to you. I hope you never stopped writing, because your thoughts and feelings are important! 💕
WOW, this is the first time I have heard someone else articulate a similar experience to the one I had in middle school. It took me a long time to cope with the feelings of inadequacy that stemmed from my teachers accusations, and the humiliation of having to on the spot rewrite my assignment in front of my entire class so that she could compare the two to determine if I had written the original. Unfortunately, this was not the only time that she went out of her way to insult or belittle myself and other students that were not on her list of favourites. She was just a mean spirited person who should not have been in such an influential position. I didn't tell my parent's either but God help me if anyone ever treats my future children like that.
What she said about children of immigrants is 200% true. That was such an important thing to hear - in terms of shedding light on the not so obvious. Ugh I love her
I love her so much! She’s so brilliant. That teacher probably feels just as humiliated as she made Constance feel now that she has become so successful. Karma is amazing!
She is so well-spoken and fluent. I cannot imagine going through this as a child, I too would be haunted for years after. I felt a physical piercing in my chest (not to be dramatic but that's what it felt like) when I was hearing her story because I can imagine being in that position and feeling so alone and scared. Blessings to you, Constance.
I'm so very pleased she shared that _plagiarism story_ after all. Of course now I'm understandably curious about the teacher's reaction to her phone call years later.
"Even though you physically are the center of your experience, that doesn't mean that there aren't other experiences that don't center you." Wow. Just wow.
Me too, but it was 8th grade for me & I had just moved from the hood to the burbs & ended up being one out of two african americans in all AP classes. Luckily I have an old soul so the 1st couple of months of school I had more teachers who were my friends then my actual peers. So my other teachers let the substitute know that those were Absolutely my words & let her have it! I adored my teachers/professors they were So supportive. I couldn't believe I was even accused.
I had a similar experience with my 5th grade teacher who also happened to have been my older sister's 5th grade teacher. I knew Ms. Forshay was racist because my sister had so many discriminatory experiences with her, but I didn't know how bad she really was. So, one day in 5th grade during recess, I fell off the gym bars and hit my head hard on the side metal bar because my hand slipped while I was flipping. Ms. Forshay was on the field as a narc that day and must've seen me. I went to the nurse's office to ice the bump on my head. When I returned to the homeroom, she mocked me in front of the whole class jeeringly singing "Huh huh, looks like Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall! Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall~! Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall! HAHAHAHA" Then cajoled the students to laugh at me with her. In my head, I thought, "Why the f*ck would you sing this and who the hell is Humpty Dumpty?" She always graded me harder than any other student, even harder than other East Asian kids. When my sister had Forshay as a homeroom teacher 3 years prior, Forshay couldn't believe my sister's big, Western-looking eyes were natural, so she interrogated her: "How do you have big eyes like a white person?" Luckily, my dad remembered the accounts of her that my sister and I reported and when it came to my turn to have Forshay as a homeroom teacher, my dad cursed her out at the mid-year 1:1 parent-teacher meeting. My dad grilled her by laying out the offenses she committed before her and ended the meeting with "You're a dumb, fucking racist bitch. That's what you are." I'll never forget the look on Ms. Forshay's face: speechless and incredulous that my dad spoke perfect English with a hint of a UK accent (that's where he learned English) and for being put in her place. After that, she stopped harassing me. I was lucky, but countless other immigrant kids were not, as Constance's case proves. It's important to share our experiences as kids, as it may help immigrant kids today, who experience racism by teachers and administrators, to cope better.
As a former teacher as well as a student who has been accused of plagiarism I have been in both positions. The problem is that some students do plagiarize. As teacher it's important not to reward the theft of ideas that belong to others. That's what citing sources is for. That said, in the days before the Internet it was harder to prove. But the way Constance's teacher handled the situation was totally inappropriate. Some students write exceptionally well at a young age. Their style is sophisticated and sometimes it's hard to determine whether or not they have copied from others. Because I too was told that I couldn't be that good I made sure never to do that with my students. I spoke to them about the ideas in the paper and asked whether they'd forgotten citations for certain aspects. If they maintained that the ideas were theirs, I took their word for it. If they were lying, well, I'd rather mistakenly trust a student and be duped than humiliate a student. I'm glad she confronted the teacher in question later in life. Such messages that you're not good enough stick.
Wow, I had a very similar experience in high school. Was traumatized over the whole ordeal and hated writing for the longest time after that. Teachers accusing and embarrassing a student like that can really affect their education and passion about a subject. Even going into the first year of college I hated writing essays because I was writing in fear that something similar would happen again even though I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong. My parents also didn’t speak English fluently and had a heavy accent and I can relate with what Constance said about “protecting them” in a way and not letting them be worried. Thank you for sharing your story Constance.
She is so beautiful! Can't believe those teachers were so horrible to her when she was a child. How humiliating and painful that must have been to her and what a great person she was for protecting her parents! But she had the last laugh by gaining success!
My mum is very smart and can speak well, but she’s very shy. I still remember when my teacher told that my mum couldn’t speak italian and wasn’t smart, I couldn’t even talk back and I was in tears 😢
A woman that hides behind snide remarks and bullying is a pitiful sight to see. Full of insecurities and the need to feel superior when she is threatened in some way. I'm sure she seen in your mom a feminine and graceful glow she wish she had. 💗
Her experience as an immigrant resonated with my so much, I don’t know why this video was in my recommended or why I clicked on it but it just made me realise somethings and dropped truth bombs I wasn’t ready for. People making fun of your terminology, teachers underestimating you especially with English. And protecting your parents from things they don’t understand. Just everything. Listening to this was so freaking overwhelming.
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
@@ianthomas1201 I doubt it. People who react this strongly and can recite a memory with that much detail aren't lying. Also her body language is so reactive, the way she looks to the side as if to remember a detail (compared to when people look you straight in the face as if reciting a rehearsed story) is an indicator that her memory is the truth. Well, truth to her at least (we'll never know unless we were there).
@@ianthomas1201 EVEN IF she was lying, you don't do that to a child. She could have talked to her face to face, instead of humiliating her like that. This was not in any way the right way to handle the situation.
I really wish more Americans would get out of their “box” and travel. It opens the perspective. The teacher couldn’t believe Constance wrote the opening paragraph because in her mind she had already figured out her intelligence level, how well she wrote, her vocabulary etc. so when she read the term paper it just didn’t make sense. She “pre-judged” Constance, which left no room for the truth. What an ignorant teacher. And also, she was probably jealous.
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
I’m glad she shared her story and got to express the hurt from her experience, but I don’t like the fact that he pressured her into telling it. Especially after she said she was uncomfortable telling it because it would make her emotional.
I get that they don't want students to plagiarize but this isn't even the first time I've heard of something this crazy happening. When I was in high school a classmate of mine got in trouble for having the same idea as others in a paper he wrote. The topic? Slavery, and how it was bad. He had to write a whole new essay on how plagiarism is wrong and that he'll never do it again. I just wonder what the other 15 students in the same class wrote about if having the opinion that slavery is wrong is plagiarism?
Lets be 100% honest here. There are a lot of 22 and 23 year olds that become teachers not because they have a passion for teaching or want to help the generation behind them. alot of them become teachers because they can't find a job in the field they majored in. So you have parents handing over their kid to young adults that have not a care in the world about teaching and this is the result you get. A teacher traumatizing a child with their choice of words. I do believe teachers should be paid more but the process to becoming a teacher should be more complex.
Nana Gyambibi But that’s not the case in this scenario. You have a point, many young grads transition to teaching because it’s a job opening and not what they’re capable of doing. In Constance’s case, the teacher singled her out and all but one other teacher agreed she wasn’t good enough to write that paper. Being in VA the child of immigrant parents, I think it was more xenophobia/prejudice targeted towards her
Oh please, the young adults you are describing by your own logic not care enough about their job to go to this extent. Most young adults just go by the book and are rather light hearted. It’s the older disgruntled teachers that are soul crushers
Have to second the other responses, it tends to be the older teachers who not only don't give a fuck but actually enjoy inflicting cruelty. If I ever had a young teacher in school I knew I would be okay but as soon as any 40+ walked in there was a high chance the semester would be hell
There are a lot of people who went to teaching because they can't get a job in the field they majored in. There are also people who studied education because they were told to because those who can't do teach and that they're too dumb to do anything else. It doesn't pay much it will let them live. Seeing children who are doing great makes them feel smaller knowing that those children will surpass them. This bitterness just grows in time. Most teachers I got that actually traumatized me are old. Those who know that they will get away with it anyway.
Thank you Constance for sharing your story. It really made me reflect to a similar experience I faced in elementary. What I found particularly insightful in your truth was when your teacher, purposely, made you feel unimportant and unintelligent was not fair to you and your overall well-being but, looking at you now and how successful you are just goes to show that you are more that what that teacher accused you of. So many innocent children are faced with similar situations where it is not fair to them. Not all people can teach but, bless those one in a million teachers who show us kindness and believe in us.
Wow I teared up. what that teacher did was terrible. And she is very well -spoken. I appreciate how she can effectively communicate her experiences (as traumatizing as it was). I struggle with that.
Thank you for sharing your story. You spoke for all of us who had teachers shaming us for who we are. I had a teacher who made fun of me for getting a free school lunch card every week. He would call my name out loud and made me walk up to get my card while making snarky remarks. When I became a teacher, I told myself that I would never be that person.
This reminds me of one of my elementary school teachers who, looking back, I think may have been slightly racist (I was one of the few Asian students at the school). I was a pretty quiet student, never spoke out or spoke up much at all really. I got the sense this teacher never liked me, although I wasn't his student and didn't cross paths with him much - I even avoided it if i could. Once I was playing volleyball for class (I'm not athletic/talented at it at all). He was coaching us and yelled at me in front of everyone because I missed the ball. It was just uncalled for and weird considering that he seemed unfazed by the other (might I add, non-Asian) people who also weren't athletic. Some of my classmates even said they were surprised I wasn't crying. Another time, he was listing off students and assigning them a teacher for a Sports Day event. He called my name, and I assumed I'd wait until he was finished listing names before going to the teacher. Apparently that was a stupid thing to do, since he put down his clipboard, stared at me, grabbed my arm and then yanked me over to the teacher saying, "THIS is Mr. X." I can't quite articulate his demeanour or tone in addressing me, but what I can say is that I understand the humiliation and shame that Constance is talking about. To be degraded in such a way, especially by someone who is supposed to be a trusted figure of authority and fairness... It still makes me cry at times almost 10 years later. I hate that she had to go through that, but I'm so glad she was brave enough to share it.
No Money Mo Problems - I used to sit next to a "friend" in school. She was Caucasian. The teacher accused me of copying off of her during tests. He made me move away to another seat. My scores stayed the same, her's went down. He gave me the strangest look when he realized, and he stopped mistreating me after that. But then he actually moved me back next to her!!!! I was so happy when he moved us! (Her looking at my paper always made me so uncomfortable. I had asked her to stop bc I feared we would both get in trouble.) But she was my "friend". So I never told. So basically even when he figured it out, he let her continue to cheat off me. But when he thought it was the black girl he wanted to put a stop to it. Let that sink in.
Wow. Reminded me of what Brene Brown calls a childhood creative wound. Some of our deepest. Good to see Constance Wu has moved forward from it, even if it remains painful. Glad she had someone at the time, the drama teacher, who believed in her, not just believed her.
I am a teacher myself now, but I cried so hard watching this, I have because it happened to me too! I had to live with my dad briefly in a very small town during the 7th grade and all the teachers disliked me. I loved to write and I wrote a paper on a book by Sonya Sones called “stop pretending”. My paper was so different from the other students’ that she accused me of plagiarism, I didn’t have a teacher to stick up for me or a parent who cared enough to get involved. She wasn’t able to prove that I plagiarized so the matter was eventually dropped, but it really strongly affected me. My sister, who I was devastated I couldn’t live with at the time, went to a Sonya Sones book signing and told her what happened to me, and Sonya signed a book with a special message for me to keep writing. It got me through so much during rough periods of my life, I had a lot of trouble trusting others with my work after that and especially with trusting myself. It’s one of the many reasons I became a teacher, so that no child would EVER have to feel like that on my watch. Thank you for talk about this Constance! I love your work so much, and now I feel connected to you in a really unexpected way! 💕
I've been traumatized by many teachers back when I was a kid even in college I've had traumatizing experiences with some doctors/professors that lead me straight to depression.
@@frenchvanilla7109 school, yes. But I paid for university education so idk if that counts as public or not. Here's something to read: I've been yelled at to the point my heart almost popped out of my chest just because the teacher didn't hear knock on her door, I've been told that I wasn't good enough in anything just like Constance there and theachers hated me for being the new girl and I came late so how dare I expect to succeed(they thought I was spoiled and stupid just because I lived in another country and whenever I did something "smart" it was somehow because I lived in that country lol), and one time the reviewd my results 3 times in front of the whole class to make sure they didn't make a mistake cuz how could I get a high grade. I saw a teacher look at me with so much hate and aggression in her eyes, among other stories. I grew up scared to speak to anyone or be myself it fucked me up. Teachers can really fuck up your life or build you up into a successful genius.
@@Elufah369 Well you didn't deserve any of that. Shame on all the adults that abuse children in any way. At least you were able to separate what was true about yourself and what was not. I hope you have recovered, as for the evil teachers karma does not miss a beat.
this resonated with me a lot because i had a similar experience with my teacher. she pulled me aside and told me to fix how i speak (i used 'um' a lot) because "it was annoying" and i was doing it on purpose for attention, not knowing that i just had trouble framing my words. this was 3rd grade and im now a junior and it still impacted me, so listening to constance made me feel less alone and give me my power back
I lived in the US just for a couple of years but I have so many experience which is similar to hers - or her parents.Look how much she encouraged other people to speak up on their experience as an immigrants, minorities including Asians. Shout out to Constance Wu! This is the reason why there should be more successful people who can speak up and advocate minorities.
Wow what kind of crap teachers did she have? Im so sorry that happened. A teacher's job is to inspire and to teach of course. Hopefully those teachers lost their licenses but probably not. I had a geometry teacher who used to pull crap with students. He didn't have a clue how to do geometry but did he get in trouble? No he got promoted instead even though everyone taking his class was failing. Just wth? Teachers can be bullies too.
Poor Constance! I know it's weird, but as a child of Asian immigrants, I can't relate at all to protecting my parents. I had a teacher who really hurt me and I told my mom. She immediately went to school and reduced that horrible teacher to tears.
When I was in grade 7, my class was getting hepatitis B vaccines, and I have a tendency to faint from shots (though this was the first time that it happened to me so I didn't know then). So I passed out in the library in front of my whole class which was already embarrassing enough. Then at recess, the librarian asked if I was okay, to which I responded "yes". Then she said, kind of to herself but definitely intending for me to hear "What people do for attention". Fortunately, my friend who was there assured me she knew I didn't lose consciousness on purpose, but in grade 7 I had like no self-esteem and likely social anxiety, and I felt humiliated for a long long time after that. I would frequently remember this incident and worry that people thought I did it for attention. The worst part is that I loved that teacher before that point, her personality was similar to Constance's teacher, she was loud, cheerful, confident, funny and everybody loved her. It wasn't until many years later that I even realized what she said was completely out of line, that you should never say something like that to a child, even if you do think they're just trying to get attention, and that I wasn't the one at fault. I'm 27 now and I often consider trying to call her to tell her how hurtful what she said was to me, but I never have. Maybe one day I will.
I have such high esteem for Constance Wu- She's just got it. She's got my heart (since way before, but this video made me come to terms with the fact that she's one of my favorite human of the millennia)
had a similar experience with 2 of my 5th grade teachers. it has a huge impact on you whether youre conscious of it or not. teachers hold such a moral responsibility and children should be told they are capable of everything and anything
That teacher was certainly not qualified. I’m so sorry that happened to you, and hope you will put a positive spin on this and use your platform to educate teachers in the world. It could save a lot of children. All the very best!
wow. i had a similar experience in 8th grade. however, my story wasn't so traumatizing. my teacher thought i plagiarized based purely because she thought the writing was "too good," but after a quick search, she believed me. she never paraded me in front of other teachers.
That's so true! A lot of ppl think their culture or language is the standard especially if they don't explore outside their country or interact with ppl different than them. The drama teacher and parents sound amazing
Wow... this one hit home. I was kicked out and demoted from my honors English class my sophomore year of high school for not “keeping up” with the rhetoric lessons and not understanding the literature. Forward years later, I earned my English: RHETORIC and Composition major from university, and I became a technical writer. Constance is amazing and I’m so glad she shared this story. I’m in tears because of how much I relate to her with the writing and her reference to being a first gen kid.
when she said that about children protecting their immigrant parents about things they don’t understand...i felt that
same here
I felt that so hard. I can't even describe it
Me too
literally made me cry
Same here, as a kid I went to a school where there was a lot of diversity, but my class had a lot of white people and the teacher would always favouritise them. It was annoying and I had a hard time
Can we just take a minute to appreciate this quote though: "Even though you are at the centre of your experience, that doesn't mean that there aren't other experiences that don't centre you." Amazing.
BRUH IK I J WROTE THAT DOWN ON A STICKY NOTE BAHAHAHAH
It is a great idea!
Yeah I had to keep rewinding to hear it. Well, bc I wasn't sure of what I was hearing, at first. Then was like 🤔 oh shit, she's gonna go deep. When you start "gesturing"? When speaking. You know she felt passionate about that one 😁.
She definitely wrote that term paper!
bono start taking notes
Wow. punishing and humiliating a child for excellence. that is horrific.
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
And she has a voice to talk about this to all to see what happened to her. We have many kids who are going through that!
This happened to me once. This happens to black children too. I was accused of cheating and they called my parents because I did the math in my head and my mother who hated new math taught me the short cuts. So I learned to do math in my head but the teacher said I couldn't do that. So she hauled me before the VP and my parents and made me explain. So I did and they still didn't believe me. So my father said test him now. If he can't do the math in his head that will become apparent. They tested me and I did the math flawlessly. I even asked if they wanted me to do a harder question because the ones they were giving me were too easy. LOL! I wasn't traumatized but it taught me that even when you tell the truth, people will not always believe you.
Ryooken happened to me too, in high school I had anxiety about going to class and was often absent, making me a bad student because I missed a lot of knowledge for class, but I remember being really interested about one sociology assignment about ads and I did mine on greenwashing, I did a lot of researches and was really proud of my assignment, and the teacher thought I cheated, that an adult had done it for me, and her thinking I was too dumb to do a good assignment really broke my heart
Some teachers are just bitter shits. I had a 6th grade teacher who only had bullying her students as a means to feel better. One day while coloring topographic maps, she physically hauled my friend out of her chair. She held up her map in front of the class and said "See this children, this is how NOT to complete the assignment! Tina failed". Tina asked to go to the bathroom and when she was denied, sat at her desk crying for the remainder of the period. Not one person spoke or laughed. We'd all been there before 😟
That's not a silly trauma. Those things impact kids. I'm really glad that she was able to contact that teacher later in life and speak her piece from a position of conviction and strength.
Yes!! I'm so glad she's in a place where she can call out the wrongdoings of the adults in her childhood
say her *piece
@@orestispalampougioukis6043 ah, you are correct! www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/say-your-piece-versus-peace-usage
@@Pipsquacky :)
Not only that but she was able to defend her childhood self. She didn’t feel like she had someone to defend her besides her drama teacher. But being able to stand up as an adult and face her adversary and her trauma takes strength and vulnerability. I’m so proud of her!
Yo I promise teachers, cops and managers need to pass mental heath classes before they can take the job.
AGREED!!!! 👏👏👏👍👍
YES
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
Parents should be added to that list too.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
That teacher is horrible. No one deserves to be wrongfully accused of plagiarism. I’ve heard stories of people who have been wrongfully accused and the process they have to go through to prove they didn’t plagiarize is terrible.
I had a teacher that did it in front of the class, the teacher was teaching the whole class how to be racist when their white fragility is threatened.
How many plagiarists are you going to allow to flourish for your ideals? If a plagiarist steals a scholarship or an entrance slot or a passing grade from a future Constance Wu in the future, are you okay with that? What will you say to a future Nichole Silva who says to you: "They knew or strongly suspected this person was doing this, and they let it go on for how many years? No one deserves to get their real, deserving work passed over for a fake. I heard stories of people who had to fight to get their spot reinstated and the process they have to go through to receive what they earned is terrible"? This world isn't just one injustice at a time with causes that are isolated from the rest of the world that can be simply identified and remedies; this world is all of the injustices piled up against each other, balancing precariously with most of us crushed underneath. If you manage to get your head above water enough to do something about it, which thread do you pull to try and improve the world? If you decide to do something and it goes wrong, should people blame you, and call you inept, uncaring, lazy, evil? If people do that, should anyone stop them? Should you stop pulling to respond to the personal attacks on you, keep pulling on your chosen thread, switch threads frantically until one feels right, pull everything you can reach, or just sink back into obscurity with regret and resigned yourself to getting crushed with the rest of us again? These wicked problems have no right answer, only tradeoffs. Do you know that teacher's story? I sure don't. I didn't know Constance as a kid, either. I wish she had been believed by more of the authority figures in her life. I wish she hadn't felt like her parents were powerless to address these problems and protect her. But in this life, we get hurt. And she's done well for herself afterwards. But fixing problems like these isn't about what people deserve, but what you can do about it to make it better.
@@xandercorp6175 You don't run around accusing minorities of crimes just because you can, ok?
@@Gee-xb7rt Well that escalated quickly. There's no indication that this is happening here. Besides, from the way you talk you think it's okay to do to white kids? Get your mind right, and your words will follow. You don't run around accusing _anybody_ of crimes just because you can.
@@xandercorp6175 when I want the opinion of a useless idiot you will be the first one I call. hold your breath waiting.
This is why so many teachers should NOT be teachers! I'm so thankful for all of the teachers who supported me like her drama teacher supported her!
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
@@siriolsen7805 what point are you trying to make by linking to a book that is only available on amazon for $50??
unfortunately, that can be said about any profession. As long as the result is the same, the people with power to change things don't care how people got the result.
That’s so true. They spent their energy on lying about they overworked and being underpaid.
Agreed
I can never forget this. It's almost 2 decades ago when I was 10, an asian kid in my class was yelled at by the teacher in front of everybody because he didn't get his parents sign a permission slip.
She asked why didn't they sign it. He said "They don't understand English..."
Her reply was "YOU know English and YOUR parents doesn't? UNACCEPTABLE" and walked away.
One of his friend was curious himself and asked why don't they don't speak English and the asian kid explained that it's because they grew up in Korea all their life and went through high school and college only in Korea. That shit I cannot ever forget because I was an Asian immigrant myself.. so when Constance said she felt the need to protect her parents.. I knew what she meant
i'm kind of lucky to be 3rd gen, I missed that, but I do see the racism friends of mine's parents face because the whites think you are lesser for going to universities in Asia and speaking with an accent.
@Tianruo Yang She really was a racist white teacher. Y'know one of those asian kids who were born here or came here as a baby, so they dont even speak their native language well? that was the case for the kid. He spoke very little Korean so he must had difficulty translating that for the parents. Or that he gave them to his parents to deal with it but they didnt even understand, so they just left it hanging, hoping to ask someone to translate it but never had the chance to.
Fuck, that hurts bc I’ve known friends who had to learn how to file taxes at a young age bc their mom had trouble understanding it. I’m lucky that my mom learned English so I could communicate with her, but sometimes it’s still hard bc she still asks me to explain what other ppl are saying to her. My aunt had brain cancer and all she was able to speak was Vietnamese, so I couldn’t understand her last words to me. Idk what I’ll do if the same thing happens to my mom
Nah. If I moved to South Korea they would 100% expect me to know it enough of their language to understand what’s going on if I enrolled my kids in their schools. It’s not racism, it’s merely societal expectation that you can freaking communicate or make accommodations otherwise. You know how fing racist Korea and China are to foreigners? You’ve seen nothing yet. I’d only assume it gets worse if more white people went to their country. Expecting people will learn languages isn’t racist, it’s merely logical if you want to live there.
The part where she talks about trying to protect her parents was very relatable.
I've had the same type of experience when I was younger, almost the exact same situation when I was in first grade, I was the only immigrant kid in my class/the only person who seemed "un-American" and didn't speak English well. My teacher was always mean to me and belittled me and I didn't want to get my parents involved thinking she would just insult them and probably make things more difficult for my entire family because my parents barely spoke English. Didn't realize it at the time but looking back, she showed many signs that she was racist/xenophobic and treated me like shit because she knew I had a language barrier and couldn't retaliate.
Yiyang Huang it was too relatable; it hurts.
I did as well. Being African American, I had to always be better than those who didn't measure up at all.
It's not that she was racist, it's just that she was neglected and insecure. Her parents either spoke down to her and were always angry at her, or she just wasn't given very much love and attention. Kids in this situation tend to act out by being hurtful to others.
@@Leoo117 Except that she always singled me out. Like yeah she wasn't great to the other kids but for me in particular she seemed to be out to get me all the time.
@@yiyanghuang7589 Maybe because you were a little different. And bullies tend to go after the ones that are a little different because its easier and they think they can get others to join in to validate their actions. Its possible that she was inadvertently taught to be racist by her parents too, but either way, kids like that are in emotional pain. And as a result, she spread and projected that pain on to you. I'm sorry you had to go through that though. It sounds like the cycle of being hurtful stopped with you though.
my bet is that horrible 'teacher' tells everyone how she made Constance who she is.
wow yea, seems personal for you too. that sucks
I hope she went back to rub it in her face for doubting her
That teacher is probably dead from embarrassment
Denying her the proper credit of her own work as a child, then trying to take that credit for herself now that Constance is an adult. Sounds about right.
I mean, yeah, but in a way she kinda did make her who she is. All of these years later and it clearly shows in a good way. Everyone gets knocked down at some point, she kept going and it paid off.
It is the WORST feeling being accused of lying, when you haven’t.
My mom always says, 'you can accuse me of ANYTHING, but once you accuse me of lying, when I haven't, I will hate you forever'. She feels very strongly about that.
I agree, I worked with her for an year
You can feel the hurt in her eyes :(
That is pure cruelty. Regardless what the outcome that teacher didn't have to parade her to all teacher to just try to prove that teacher's point.
Yeah. If she really just wanted confirmation from her peers, then she could have done that on her own behind the scenes. That was about putting Ms. Wu down.
Some teachers are just poor at what they do. My sister was dyslexic and as a result she was sent to a room for extra help with her learning disability a few times a week. Her 4th grade teacher made a comment to her about her not being very smart due to having to leave the room for help. (This was quite a few years ago now.) The help my sister received helped her tremendously, and she no longer needed it in junior high and high school. She went on to be an honor student , and when she graduated she made sure that her 4th grade teacher was made aware of her accomplishment.
Teachers do this. My teachers loved to embarass me in front of the whole class. Thats how they deal with kids. They like to break them. Especially in elementary school when the kids still cant really think for themselves yet and look for parental (teacher) guidance. Its quite cruel. But there are good and bad teachers. There are good ones out there. Just like there are good and bad kids. In all fairness I misbehaved a lot. I always thought the school system shares a lot of similarities with the prison system.
I am an immigrant from Eastern Europe. We immigrated to the U.S. when I was ten. Here in the U.S. in one of my classes, I was asked to draw a crown. I drew a crown that females wore in Russian folk tales. The teacher told me "That is not a crown." I was like yes it is. She was like no it's not. She was so wrong.
I think this is a good lesson in general. When an answer doesn't fit your idea of correct, then it might be wise to ask questions. Then everyone can learn.
Some people don't like being corrected and it's worse when those people are teachers. I was the only Jewish person in my class of 300 and a teacher spent the class teaching about Judaism and was wrong in his definition of a menorah. I took in a book that defined different types of menorahs and he still insisted he was right and even lowered my grade for questioning him.
My parents were refugees. I was born in the states. I mainly grew up in the Midwest suburbs. In 4th grade, I remember a teacher telling me if I didn't feel it was necessary, I didn't hafta say the pledge of allegiance. I never told my parents bc I didn't think it was the big of a deal... I was 9! I didn't really grasp what the pledge of allegiance meant. I guess, I knew I was different. I just didn't really always feel that way. Now that I'm older, I'm slightly amused how he/the school went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I was cool w/ his daughter. I hung out w/ her a couple of times. I ended up (in the future) explaining to her how I thought it was kinda funny through Facebook. As far as racial tension, none of my elders were ever that outright rude. I remember a handful of kids trying to be that way. One ended up on my soccer team. We just had to tolerate each other. I think she was just jealous bc otherwise, I don't really understand her hate. It was out of no where. Bought some juice on my day to bring drinks at soccer game once to outstand me once too. Kid stuff... That person who prob thinks she's having a war w/ u. Yet, she barely even crosses your mind. Another guy also called me a chink. Stole my yearbook & wrote "I'm sorry what I said. I hope we can still be friends. P.S. you bro runs really fast." ? We weren't really friends. Friends of friends but ok. I don't doubt that overall, ppl could've had their thoughts. They just weren't as ignorant to always express them as much. Then I moved south. ... Southerners: if you don't like it, you can move. My mind: progress 👍(👎)
@@Lori_L same! I spent 15 years of my life questioning my cultural history because my history teachers only taught what was in the books or their version of it. It caused alot of self hate that I didn't understand. Alot of teachers need to stop with the "Because I'm the teacher, I'm right" mentality because that can screw up the way some children learn.
awwww suck it up buttercup ...you said russian folktales ....no one would know that but a russian and guess what your not in russia so who gives a fark ...stop crying baby
Uhh Sam didn’t ask her what the teacher said after she called her! I hope she apologized. That’s so rude!
People like that never apologize. They make excuses.
@@dancemaniac3868 exactly but i bet that teacher is bitter AF now that shes proven to the entire world shes brilliant DESPITE having horrible teachers... success is the best revenge. I was never bullied by kids, it was the teachers that bullie me.... bastards lol
Yeah, because racists always apologize for their ignorance.
Her opinion doesn't even matter
@@nomdeplume2213 I doubt the teacher even cares or remembers, but yeah teachers should know that they affect kids a LOT
"There can be a 100 teachers in the room and 99 don't believe in you but she had this one. All it takes is 1 that changed your whole life."
Ya,if you can see past the 99. That's hard to do at any age especially at 12.
@@robertlaporte2998 You did not get the joke
With the right support, anything is possible
That’s why we need to have Asian representations in the mainstream culture. We need more narratives like this to widen our perspectives so that we can grow together as a society and country.
Wait what does what you said have to do with what she said?
YOU'RE SO HOT representation matters, how can anyone not understand that??
@@DynamicDreamer2785 uhh where did I say otherwise
Emma Lam I was disappointed though when I found out Constance is with some basic looking White dude though. She pretends like she's woke but does the same thing as those me love you long time self-hating, Whitewashed Asian chicks.
Ali Wong is MUCH BETTER. Look how she made "Always be my Maybe", THE FIRST ASIAN-AMERICAN ROM COM WITH FULL ASIAN COUPLE.
@@niccolom4556 let her date who she wants
It happened the same thing to me. My literature teacher didn't like me cause I was Asian and because she didn't find any grammar issue on my papers she'd correct the words I'd chosen to use and give me 4/10 because of that. One time I made my classmates read my paper, they were all moved by it and surprised by the score I received. So that day I gathered some courage and asked my teacher if I offended her in anyways and if there was anything I've done to make her believe I wasn't deserving a decent score. She replied "Why would you ask me that? You're so pretty, I've nothing against you" From that replied I realized that I wasn't the one with the problem, but she was. I'm from Italy and I was born and raised here, and each word I've chosen to use on every single paper was the right one I wanted and intended to use to express my feelings and my thoughts. After high school, I went to University and graduate in Media and Journalism. I've worked as a journalist, worked and many integration projects between the Asian and the Italian community, got on National television and did way more than her f**king score made me believe I was possible to do.
In all that, I didn't have my parents support. My dad was too busy thinking about work and my mom was a classic tiger mom, so whenever I'd go home with low score she would blame me for being too flawed.
sorry to hear that :( but know that therapy or counseling could def help you work though all that trauma
@@jiminstinyhands7776 it's ok :D I know my worth and I learned the problem wasn't mine but hers
Good for you girl! That teacher was a nasty ass biotch who was jealous. I bet she couldnt even dreamt of what you've accomplished.
@@namesurname2341 glad to hear that sis !
Happy for you girl
OMG, I just wanted to hug her as she spoke of how her teachers, save the one, disregarded and demeaned her. I hope, during that phone call, she really gave that something to think about.
I was really hoping she was going to say that all of them told that other teacher off but only one of them believed her. That's horrific.
@@neonoires I couldn't agree more. Horrific is exactly what it was.
you hug her while i punch the teachers.
that cow did it cause she was Asian that was it, and she saw her future already and wanted to stop it that its in a nut shell
😅😂🤣 I remember in 4th grade, we had to do these, I guess comprehension tests. Where we'd have to read so many different books& then be tested on them. So once, I read this really thick chapter book. & My teacher was like, "do you even understand what you're reading?" My mind: yes. Just bc it's more lengthy doesn't all of sudden make me not understand. There was prob more vocab but... I still scored pretty high. He was prob proud. I don't remember all the details. Just that I read the book & he questioned me about it. But I thought I could've skipped some reading. Then he was like 😒 ok you were good for awhile... But u need to keep up w/ your points. Half ass, lazy me... Damnit, ok.
I’m Mexican i totally understand what she meant by trying to protect your parents from whatever is happening in school like they have so much shit to deal with, school problems are not going to be one of them.
I can't understand how the other teachers allowed Constance to be publicly humiliated like that and actually participated in the process! It's not something you do to any child! That's speaks of an incredible abuse of power and sheer bullying! Teachers who shame kids in any way, shape or form, should be fired! And then we wonder why some kids refuse to go to school or even end up dropping out, because of such traumatizing experiences! You go girl!! We got you!! 👊😊🖑
Star Voyager teachers can’t be fired because they’re union thugs
@@cecilyerker that damn tenure gives them way too much protection
I had a teacher that did that to me I got revenge on it, I felt no remorse at all.
Teachers really don't understand how much of an influence they can have on their students.
Being a child of an immigrant speaks of a diff experience. You carry a responsibility to protect your parents and help them from ignorant ppl. I've seen my parents be treated as if they were dumb and taken advantage of bc they did not speak english that well but they are actually smarter than a lot ppl (they speak 5 languages!) and basically built their lives over from the ground up. Seeing their struggles makes me stand up to bullies like that now and I appreciate the things i have more.
charmer5886 Yes! I relate to this completely. I’m so protective of my parents because of this, and it extends to anyone with an accent now. I have the utmost respect for immigrants, refugees, and anyone striving to learn a new language in a foreign place. It takes a strength, courage, and intelligence that many people will never understand. I’m so grateful for my immigrant parents and the perspective they have given me.
@Tek Gid uhm for all we know America is already a shithole and it’s not that great anymore stupid. With that chicken president you have hahahaha lol good luck
Tek Gid Yeah they’re turning America into a shit hole not the racist assholes like yourself bye bitch 🖕
charmer5886 so I’m 18 and I work at Walmart where so many people with different backgrounds shop. I often get Hispanic costumers with their children who speak English either “fluently” or better than their parents who either speak broken English or don’t speak it at all, and I’m always patient and take into consideration the position the child is put into because a lot of times it’s a younger daughter or son who can’t be older than myself, and as a Nigeria female who immigrated here but who has been fortunate to learn America at such a young age to where I speak it better than Yoruba (a Nigerian language) I understand and truly emphasize with them, I would want the same respect and patient from if this were me or my mother or father, and helps to say “thank you” and “have a great day” with a genuine smile, letting them know that they’re okay.
@charmer5886 me too
My mom did this to me, every single thing that came out of me, she would either doubt it , cross check it to see if i have copied it or simply tell me i got lucky, She hated me so much all my childhood ( because i remind her so much of my dad who she hates so much) she always told me bad things about me. Like say things like that my DNA is from my father and he is an evil cruel, mean, unintelligent person and so I am also like him, and that I do not have a way out of this. She would say things like "you must be so jealous of your friends, they are so much prettier than you" . When i got my period and started gaining weight and developing breasts she would mock me for looking "lumpy" and "toady" and not skinny like my friends.
The narrative that she kept building about me haunts me till this day. I try confronting her about it and she blames me for living in the past. But the thing is, that trauma is my present, it affects the way i think 24*7. She has cost me so many lost opportunities, i wish there was a way for me to make her understand just how horrible she has been.
I never thought I would come across someone who experienced the same childhood at the hands of their cruel mother. No one ever understands. I envy them because it's unfathomable the things she would do or say. I became truly blessed the moment I cut her from my life. Unfortunately, many other aspects of my life are consumed by the years of bullshit she made me feel.
Grandma Here, make Peace with the fact that: YOUR MOM IS WITCH FROM HELL! & put her in the past & move toward the future! Life is too short to keep reliving the hell you endured!! STOP IT!! Look up "team fearless" here on youtube, they are Awesome & this quote is from them: " NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE DEFINED BY SOMEONE ELSE'S OPINION"!
Quit Mom & learn to LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, Life is Beautiful & So ARE YOU!!!!!!!!
My mother hated me cuz i looked like my grandmother n cuz my father loved me cuz of that same reason ( i looked like his mom) , i honestly dont know what a loving mother feels like , i cant remember the last time i was hugged n kissed by her like maybe it never happened so you are not alone , one way i could deal with things is by reminding myself that we can't control people n their feelings , i learned to not mind what is , that allowed me to accept that i got no motherly love n that it's fine that way , i also know that there's so much love in this world and that i was starving for it so it's a waste to keep knocking on a door that won't open.. i dont know if im healed but it's not blocking the flow of my life , I'm very stable and my attachment style is a secure one
She’s not gonna change unless she chooses to which will be when she’s ready. You’re not her limitations, projections, or insecurities. I grew up with a toxic mom as well and made the choice to stop speaking to her. That is an act of self love! Cutting toxic people out. There is resistance at first but that’s a false story where you *think* you need them to understand. Even if they do, they may not be willing to admit it. You deserve respect and to fully live your life and be surrounded by people that will honor/nourish that. ❤︎
@2:27 this weird thing that happens with the kids of immigrants. In a strange way, sometimes you feel like you have to protect your parents. As a child of immigrants myself, I vouch for this. This was said so beautifully with such raw sincerity. I feel so much for Constance Wu and what she had to go through.
so what your saying is your a crybaby little pussy ......ive lived in many countries treated by some same way did i cry like you hell no if they dont like me fuck em there were plenty of folks who did ..what this means is that there are assholes in evry country has nothing to do with the country just those people ...grow up fucking crybaby
@@dudedude869 Do you need a bottle of milk? Calm your ass down.
@@dudedude869 not what I'm saying at all lolol It seems like those assholes in every country that you mentioned have hurt you so much that you're trying to convince yourself not to be a crybaby and to grow up. It's okay to cry. It's okay to protect yourself lol
I was accused of plagiarism in seventh grade English for my creative writing assignment. My teacher couldn’t prove it, of course, so she just marked down my work. At the end of the year, she even sent me to summer school. My writing is, and always has been, the one thing that made me feel competent in school, and she knocked me down. It stayed with me until 12th grade, when my AP Literature teacher said this: “I always have one student who hits their stride at the end of the year; this time, it’s you!” That will ALWAYS stay with me.
Fantastic! your 12th-grade teacher helped you heal the harm done by the other teacher years before. That's remarkable.
Big up to Constance's drama teacher for believing she did write the opening to her paper 😍
Sakinah Abdussamad as a teacher myself, I have to say the best, most emotionally supportive teachers are usually in the fine arts! They’ve experienced the same abuse and struggle and know how to stand up for kids now!
the way she explained the experience of second generation americans is so accurate... you really are protecting your parents. my parents had to lose everything in order for me to gain the privilege i have.
Yeah, I hadn't even thought about it but she's dead on. I remember feeling guilty and hiding it when things like that would happen bc I didn't want my parents to think all that sacrifice had been wasted.
The description is amazing!
"Questioning validity without evidence is risky. Public chastisement without evidence is entirely unnecessary. Assuming someone is less intelligent because they look and sound different.....well.... that's just evidence of your own ignorance."
This is spot on
she is so inspirational. Constance Wu is sassy and not all may like her attitude, but she is truly talented and she doesn't put up with crap. I think that is so cool. She's authentic and genuinely kind.
Constance has me shook with her wisdom and insight! As a child of immigrants I completely relate. What a terrible school experience. It's awful to fear the truth not being enough.
I had a teacher like that too, in Grade three. She couldn't stand me and literally accused me of EVERYTHING that she claimed went wrong in that class. I went from being a straight A student to getting Ds. I was also sent home with notes for my parents almost daily! One week I had no notes so my dad asked me what happened and I told him my teacher was off on holidays for hannukah (or whatever jewish holiday it was). My dad realized the problem and went to the principal to demand I be moved to another class. The principal who was of the same persuasion as the teacher refused. My dad transferred me to another school right away and I went back to straight A report cards. My father took my next two report cards to the principal in my previous school and after the second time, the principal yelled at my dad and told him if he came back again, he'd call the police to charge him with trespassing.
I think this girls teacher either had it out for her because of her ethnicity or maybe was jealous she was so beautiful. Sounds like her teacher was of the same ethnicity as mine. Parents NEED to speak up and get their children away from such vile teachers. I still think about that vile person, but trust that she had a miserable life and it will just get worse for her in the next life - much hotter so to speak.
I agree. None of the teachers could bully me or my siblings out of fear of my mother. Growing up I never was afraid of answering back to teachers when I know that I was in the right because I knew I have a mother who would stand by me.
You Nazi's always find a way to blame the Jews...pathetic.
God I hope that teacher isn't still teaching! That is such an abusive person! And to children! Constance, if she is, please call her superiors and advise them of this abuse, so that no other child will have to suffer it. Much love to you.
never underestimate insecure people's ability to power trip on middle school kids
Constance is so well spoken! I love how she narrated the whole incident.
well spoken ...you must be joking
@@dudedude869 i doubt OP meant it as a racist remark, given the point of the video...i think they meant well
@@smg8048 You're overestimating his intelligence. It seems like he said that because he doesn't imagine Wu as somebody that's very well spoken.
Well-spoken? Talk about poor choice of word...
Was just about to comment how she’s so well spoken. She’s amazing
I'm glad Constance was strong enough to share this
Bilingual people are much more open minded!! And a threat to those who can’t see beyond borders
Not sure how to answer your question. Travelling around the world and seeing different landscapes, animals, people and architecture and more importantly learning and living amongst them deepens our understanding and gives us a different ‘point of view’
Yep. This happened to me, too. It was 40 years ago, and the sting and hurt of that moment were branded into my memory. You never forget. Constance Wu's memory and pain were palpable and she predicted tears...still, so many years later. I feel bad for her, but am glad she's been able to prove them wrong.
What you’re describing is called racism, and growing up in a similar part of Virginia to immigrant parents i completely understand that dichotomy of trying to protect your parents
Ah, must EVERYTHING be about race!
Europeans ALSO speak languages other than English and they are sometimes teased or mocked for their accents or vocabulary TOO!
@anders damin -- There are many reasons to treat others badly.
Those who would opt to do so are usually cognitive bottom feeders and emotionally lazy; when they treat a person of different culture or "race" badly, they usually go for the low hanging fruit-- they stigmatize due to race and/or cultural differences. Those same bottom feeding, emotionally lazy abusers will treat those in their same ethnic and/or racial circles badly due to socioeconomic status, physical characteristics, gender or sexuality. Nasty people will always find something to attack others for and If there's a deviation racially/culturally, they will exploit it.
Claiming abuse of this form is not always about race is the type of claim a simpleton would make.
Marlon Moncrieffe yes, because it is. Europeans are teased by whom? White Americans whose ancestors are also immigrants but are so far removed from their culture that they consider themselves above anyone else and have a superiority complex. Ignorance, racism, prejudice, insecurity, xenophobia, hate plague societies. Be honest about it.
As an Asian girl who grew up in a western country, I'm grateful for all of you in the comments. Discrimination exists, yes, but we're going backwards as a society by playing into the race wars perpetuated by the media and the education system. It's modernized helter skelter and weaponized victimhood. As someone from a third world country, nothing is more insulting to me than the west tearing itself apart over sensationalized discrimination. The world is an awful place filled with suffering, suffering does not discriminate when it descends down upon a person no matter where they're from, or what race or gender they are.
Rica Chu I think that’s coming from a place of privilege to say it’s over sensationalized and I hope you never feel the discrimination that can be not only subtle as being made to feel like your work for whatever reason is less than or having to protect your parents from people saying ignorant and hurtful things but it can also be as scary. I live in a place where not only does discrimination exist in our daily lives but in some places encouraged! And I can not speak to growing up in the mid west but I can speak to the culture in parts of central VA which if you didn’t know that’s where Constance grew up can at times very racially charged
I remember in high school I told the librarian I wanted to check out “Breakfast at Tiffany” and he told me it was too sophisticated for me. Now what kind of a jerk says that to a kid?
I was actually talking about the book, not the movie. I’ve seen the movie and it is unfortunate that Mickey Rooney’s character is there. I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t speak to it, but I should!
Wow. I watched that movie when I was little and years later believed the descriptions stating that it was great. However, I watched it again recently and hated all the characters. The story was not moving at all. If the book is any like the movie, then that librarian probably thinks Donald Trump is sophisticated too. Anyway, maybe the librarian thought the theme was intended for a mature audience but used the word "sophisticated" instead.
Clauce Micro whatever he meant adults need to be careful what they say to kids because they can easily have a deep, life long psychological impact on them. They’re so impressionable.
Jonathon Ziegler I agree. 🙂
Very insightful...glad she called the teacher years later and expressed her views!
'The truth sometimes isn't enough.' Wow, I really felt that. I fell out with some Asian Indian (I'm British Indian) friends when they accused me of something that I didn't do. I offered evidence that I didn't do it, but they still alienated me and refused to look at the evidence. I had made these new 'friends' and ended up going back to my old friends who were white British who didn't even care that I had moved away from them over the previous years. Sometimes the truth isn't enough when people are looking for an excuse for something. I really understood who my true friends were but the trauma of those friendships I know had a lot to do with my drug use after. I'm sober now btw.
I learned a lot about race/identity over the years. For lots of immigrants, their identity is their ethnicity/religion/country but mine wasn't. I always felt they thought I was too white but I'm ok with that now. I'm just me.
I'd love to know that teacher's response when she called her years later. Did she apologize ?
I hope she did! If I ever found out I hurt one of my students with my actions, I would want to be called out on it! I would want to be given the chance to sincerely apologize and learn from my mistakes so I never hurt another student that way again. It is absolutely insane that teachers are able to get away with this and not receive any discipline.
Although not from a race standpoint, I relate to her trauma so much because in third grade (the grade in which they start teaching English in Israel) my English teacher told my mom I would never speak a word of English. This still weighs heavily in my heart, because although she thought I was dumb, by middle school I was placed into the highest level of English classes and by high school I took extra units in English (translation) on top of my regular classes. I now live in Australia and speak English on a daily basis and everyone is always so amazed at my English when they hear I'm from Israel and not somewhere in North America (as I speak without an accent)... I was so vulnerable in third grade, and she made me feel dumb (like many of my other teachers) because they didn't understand ADD, and now I still wish I could carry a full conversation in English with her to prove her wrong.
I'm glad she went back to that shit of a teacher years later but I hope more that she went back to the drama teacher who beleive her, they are they one who need be acknowledged and thanked. Given her attitude and insight she has here I'm sure she did but its something we all need to keep in mind when we focus on the negatives we forget to see and embrace the positives for what or who they are.
Teachers don’t understand that some of the things that they do, as small as it is, can affect us for the rest of our lives.
My fifth grade teacher accused me of plagiarism too. I was so confused, sad, and angry.
samantha ramirez on behalf of all teachers, I am so sorry that happened to you. I hope you never stopped writing, because your thoughts and feelings are important! 💕
WOW, this is the first time I have heard someone else articulate a similar experience to the one I had in middle school. It took me a long time to cope with the feelings of inadequacy that stemmed from my teachers accusations, and the humiliation of having to on the spot rewrite my assignment in front of my entire class so that she could compare the two to determine if I had written the original. Unfortunately, this was not the only time that she went out of her way to insult or belittle myself and other students that were not on her list of favourites. She was just a mean spirited person who should not have been in such an influential position. I didn't tell my parent's either but God help me if anyone ever treats my future children like that.
What she said about children of immigrants is 200% true. That was such an important thing to hear - in terms of shedding light on the not so obvious. Ugh I love her
I love her so much! She’s so brilliant. That teacher probably feels just as humiliated as she made Constance feel now that she has become so successful. Karma is amazing!
4:20 “You have to get out of the box of saying there is one normative standard.” 👁💖👁 Preach Wu!
Experiences in early life is so crucial to a person's development. If only more people would be more sensitive and empathetic.
That teacher was horrible. Doing that to a child. :(
She is so well-spoken and fluent. I cannot imagine going through this as a child, I too would be haunted for years after. I felt a physical piercing in my chest (not to be dramatic but that's what it felt like) when I was hearing her story because I can imagine being in that position and feeling so alone and scared. Blessings to you, Constance.
I'm so very pleased she shared that _plagiarism story_ after all. Of course now I'm understandably curious about the teacher's reaction to her phone call years later.
"Even though you physically are the center of your experience, that doesn't mean that there aren't other experiences that don't center you." Wow. Just wow.
This exact thing happened to me in the 6th grade... not the marching in front of all the other teachers part, but every other part of it.
Me too, but it was 8th grade for me & I had just moved from the hood to the burbs & ended up being one out of two african americans in all AP classes. Luckily I have an old soul so the 1st couple of months of school I had more teachers who were my friends then my actual peers. So my other teachers let the substitute know that those were Absolutely my words & let her have it! I adored my teachers/professors they were So supportive. I couldn't believe I was even accused.
Same. I only now realize how racist it was.
I had a similar experience with my 5th grade teacher who also happened to have been my older sister's 5th grade teacher. I knew Ms. Forshay was racist because my sister had so many discriminatory experiences with her, but I didn't know how bad she really was. So, one day in 5th grade during recess, I fell off the gym bars and hit my head hard on the side metal bar because my hand slipped while I was flipping. Ms. Forshay was on the field as a narc that day and must've seen me. I went to the nurse's office to ice the bump on my head. When I returned to the homeroom, she mocked me in front of the whole class jeeringly singing "Huh huh, looks like Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall! Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall~! Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall! HAHAHAHA" Then cajoled the students to laugh at me with her. In my head, I thought, "Why the f*ck would you sing this and who the hell is Humpty Dumpty?" She always graded me harder than any other student, even harder than other East Asian kids. When my sister had Forshay as a homeroom teacher 3 years prior, Forshay couldn't believe my sister's big, Western-looking eyes were natural, so she interrogated her: "How do you have big eyes like a white person?"
Luckily, my dad remembered the accounts of her that my sister and I reported and when it came to my turn to have Forshay as a homeroom teacher, my dad cursed her out at the mid-year 1:1 parent-teacher meeting. My dad grilled her by laying out the offenses she committed before her and ended the meeting with "You're a dumb, fucking racist bitch. That's what you are." I'll never forget the look on Ms. Forshay's face: speechless and incredulous that my dad spoke perfect English with a hint of a UK accent (that's where he learned English) and for being put in her place. After that, she stopped harassing me.
I was lucky, but countless other immigrant kids were not, as Constance's case proves. It's important to share our experiences as kids, as it may help immigrant kids today, who experience racism by teachers and administrators, to cope better.
your story is sooo satisfying
"We have tissues." Lol!
As a former teacher as well as a student who has been accused of plagiarism I have been in both positions. The problem is that some students do plagiarize. As teacher it's important not to reward the theft of ideas that belong to others. That's what citing sources is for. That said, in the days before the Internet it was harder to prove. But the way Constance's teacher handled the situation was totally inappropriate.
Some students write exceptionally well at a young age. Their style is sophisticated and sometimes it's hard to determine whether or not they have copied from others. Because I too was told that I couldn't be that good I made sure never to do that with my students. I spoke to them about the ideas in the paper and asked whether they'd forgotten citations for certain aspects. If they maintained that the ideas were theirs, I took their word for it. If they were lying, well, I'd rather mistakenly trust a student and be duped than humiliate a student.
I'm glad she confronted the teacher in question later in life. Such messages that you're not good enough stick.
Oh man. That just zinged my heart in a huge way.
I had a teacher accuse me, too. She was also a loudmouth and covertly a racist.
its very difficult to separate white people from their fragility, they have to feel better about themselves by making everyone else lesser.
@@Gee-xb7rt the teacher could've been any race. What are you talking about.
@@gardengloop1060 hi triggered snowflake, how is your fragility today?
@@Gee-xb7rt in what way was I even slightly offended. I'm just staying a fact.
Wow, I had a very similar experience in high school. Was traumatized over the whole ordeal and hated writing for the longest time after that. Teachers accusing and embarrassing a student like that can really affect their education and passion about a subject. Even going into the first year of college I hated writing essays because I was writing in fear that something similar would happen again even though I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong. My parents also didn’t speak English fluently and had a heavy accent and I can relate with what Constance said about “protecting them” in a way and not letting them be worried. Thank you for sharing your story Constance.
She is so beautiful! Can't believe those teachers were so horrible to her when she was a child. How humiliating and painful that must have been to her and what a great person she was for protecting her parents! But she had the last laugh by gaining success!
My mum is very smart and can speak well, but she’s very shy. I still remember when my teacher told that my mum couldn’t speak italian and wasn’t smart, I couldn’t even talk back and I was in tears 😢
Benedicta D. Tristemente in Italia ci sono ancora razzismo e xenofobia.. mi chiedo se le cose cambieranno mai
@@gp5508 si...io conosco bene (dopo cinque anni in Italia.)
A woman that hides behind snide remarks and bullying is a pitiful sight to see. Full of insecurities and the need to feel superior when she is threatened in some way. I'm sure she seen in your mom a feminine and graceful glow she wish she had. 💗
@@szdesiree well said!
Mi dispiace, da italiana mi vergogno del mio paese quando sento cose del genere. Che schifo.
Did it not occur to the interviewer that to ask what the teacher said after Constance called her when she was 22.
OMG! This interview is so golden. So many truth bombs! Thank you Constance, for speaking out on such topics.
Her experience as an immigrant resonated with my so much, I don’t know why this video was in my recommended or why I clicked on it but it just made me realise somethings and dropped truth bombs I wasn’t ready for. People making fun of your terminology, teachers underestimating you especially with English. And protecting your parents from things they don’t understand. Just everything. Listening to this was so freaking overwhelming.
Girl, I wish I could hug you tight. We believe you. We believe in your talent.
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
What if she was lying?
@@ianthomas1201 I doubt it. People who react this strongly and can recite a memory with that much detail aren't lying. Also her body language is so reactive, the way she looks to the side as if to remember a detail (compared to when people look you straight in the face as if reciting a rehearsed story) is an indicator that her memory is the truth. Well, truth to her at least (we'll never know unless we were there).
@@ianthomas1201 EVEN IF she was lying, you don't do that to a child. She could have talked to her face to face, instead of humiliating her like that. This was not in any way the right way to handle the situation.
I really wish more Americans would get out of their “box” and travel. It opens the perspective.
The teacher couldn’t believe Constance wrote the opening paragraph because in her mind she had already figured out her intelligence level, how well she wrote, her vocabulary etc. so when she read the term paper it just didn’t make sense. She “pre-judged” Constance, which left no room for the truth. What an ignorant teacher.
And also, she was probably jealous.
Sam is such a great interviewer. One of my favourites now to watch/listen to.
Anyone with symptoms of mental health issues should check out the Andrew Cutler protocol. Google «andy cutler rebecca rust lee» for a great article explaining the protocol, and search for the success stories, and «what not to do» as there are things that you might be taking that is hurting you, like cilantro and chlorella. Wish you all the best
i could listening to her for hours. she's so intelligent and humble
ugh. Many teachers/counselors traumatize me... T.T Go Constance. Most honest spoken Asian Celeb
she did it cause she was Asian and she was just jealous
Pakuja - why do you Asian women worship racist white men?
I’m glad she shared her story and got to express the hurt from her experience, but I don’t like the fact that he pressured her into telling it. Especially after she said she was uncomfortable telling it because it would make her emotional.
I get that they don't want students to plagiarize but this isn't even the first time I've heard of something this crazy happening. When I was in high school a classmate of mine got in trouble for having the same idea as others in a paper he wrote. The topic? Slavery, and how it was bad. He had to write a whole new essay on how plagiarism is wrong and that he'll never do it again. I just wonder what the other 15 students in the same class wrote about if having the opinion that slavery is wrong is plagiarism?
OMG. This is just unbelievable... I don’t think i would ever recover from such a trauma.. my heart goes out to you sweetie. ❤️
Lets be 100% honest here. There are a lot of 22 and 23 year olds that become teachers not because they have a passion for teaching or want to help the generation behind them. alot of them become teachers because they can't find a job in the field they majored in. So you have parents handing over their kid to young adults that have not a care in the world about teaching and this is the result you get. A teacher traumatizing a child with their choice of words. I do believe teachers should be paid more but the process to becoming a teacher should be more complex.
Nana Gyambibi But that’s not the case in this scenario. You have a point, many young grads transition to teaching because it’s a job opening and not what they’re capable of doing. In Constance’s case, the teacher singled her out and all but one other teacher agreed she wasn’t good enough to write that paper. Being in VA the child of immigrant parents, I think it was more xenophobia/prejudice targeted towards her
Oh please, the young adults you are describing by your own logic not care enough about their job to go to this extent. Most young adults just go by the book and are rather light hearted. It’s the older disgruntled teachers that are soul crushers
Have to second the other responses, it tends to be the older teachers who not only don't give a fuck but actually enjoy inflicting cruelty. If I ever had a young teacher in school I knew I would be okay but as soon as any 40+ walked in there was a high chance the semester would be hell
There are a lot of people who went to teaching because they can't get a job in the field they majored in. There are also people who studied education because they were told to because those who can't do teach and that they're too dumb to do anything else. It doesn't pay much it will let them live. Seeing children who are doing great makes them feel smaller knowing that those children will surpass them.
This bitterness just grows in time. Most teachers I got that actually traumatized me are old. Those who know that they will get away with it anyway.
I actually feel like my most traumatizing teachers were the middle aged to old ones lolol
Thank you Constance for sharing your story. It really made me reflect to a similar experience I faced in elementary. What I found particularly insightful in your truth was when your teacher, purposely, made you feel unimportant and unintelligent was not fair to you and your overall well-being but, looking at you now and how successful you are just goes to show that you are more that what that teacher accused you of. So many innocent children are faced with similar situations where it is not fair to them. Not all people can teach but, bless those one in a million teachers who show us kindness and believe in us.
Wow I teared up. what that teacher did was terrible. And she is very well -spoken. I appreciate how she can effectively communicate her experiences (as traumatizing as it was). I struggle with that.
Thank you for sharing your story. You spoke for all of us who had teachers shaming us for who we are. I had a teacher who made fun of me for getting a free school lunch card every week. He would call my name out loud and made me walk up to get my card while making snarky remarks. When I became a teacher, I told myself that I would never be that person.
13 teachers who only speak loud American English disliked this video.
This reminds me of one of my elementary school teachers who, looking back, I think may have been slightly racist (I was one of the few Asian students at the school). I was a pretty quiet student, never spoke out or spoke up much at all really. I got the sense this teacher never liked me, although I wasn't his student and didn't cross paths with him much - I even avoided it if i could.
Once I was playing volleyball for class (I'm not athletic/talented at it at all). He was coaching us and yelled at me in front of everyone because I missed the ball. It was just uncalled for and weird considering that he seemed unfazed by the other (might I add, non-Asian) people who also weren't athletic. Some of my classmates even said they were surprised I wasn't crying.
Another time, he was listing off students and assigning them a teacher for a Sports Day event. He called my name, and I assumed I'd wait until he was finished listing names before going to the teacher. Apparently that was a stupid thing to do, since he put down his clipboard, stared at me, grabbed my arm and then yanked me over to the teacher saying, "THIS is Mr. X."
I can't quite articulate his demeanour or tone in addressing me, but what I can say is that I understand the humiliation and shame that Constance is talking about. To be degraded in such a way, especially by someone who is supposed to be a trusted figure of authority and fairness... It still makes me cry at times almost 10 years later. I hate that she had to go through that, but I'm so glad she was brave enough to share it.
Similar stuff happened to me. Only found out recently its quite common for POC growing up
Yeah that happened to me and I am white.
No Money Mo Problems - I used to sit next to a "friend" in school. She was Caucasian. The teacher accused me of copying off of her during tests. He made me move away to another seat. My scores stayed the same, her's went down. He gave me the strangest look when he realized, and he stopped mistreating me after that. But then he actually moved me back next to her!!!! I was so happy when he moved us! (Her looking at my paper always made me so uncomfortable. I had asked her to stop bc I feared we would both get in trouble.) But she was my "friend". So I never told. So basically even when he figured it out, he let her continue to cheat off me. But when he thought it was the black girl he wanted to put a stop to it. Let that sink in.
Wow. Reminded me of what Brene Brown calls a childhood creative wound. Some of our deepest. Good to see Constance Wu has moved forward from it, even if it remains painful. Glad she had someone at the time, the drama teacher, who believed in her, not just believed her.
Well, this made me cry. Especially her protecting her parents.
I am a teacher myself now, but I cried so hard watching this, I have because it happened to me too! I had to live with my dad briefly in a very small town during the 7th grade and all the teachers disliked me. I loved to write and I wrote a paper on a book by Sonya Sones called “stop pretending”. My paper was so different from the other students’ that she accused me of plagiarism, I didn’t have a teacher to stick up for me or a parent who cared enough to get involved. She wasn’t able to prove that I plagiarized so the matter was eventually dropped, but it really strongly affected me. My sister, who I was devastated I couldn’t live with at the time, went to a Sonya Sones book signing and told her what happened to me, and Sonya signed a book with a special message for me to keep writing. It got me through so much during rough periods of my life, I had a lot of trouble trusting others with my work after that and especially with trusting myself. It’s one of the many reasons I became a teacher, so that no child would EVER have to feel like that on my watch. Thank you for talk about this Constance! I love your work so much, and now I feel connected to you in a really unexpected way! 💕
I've been traumatized by many teachers back when I was a kid even in college I've had traumatizing experiences with some doctors/professors that lead me straight to depression.
Really? Did you go to public school your whole life?
@@frenchvanilla7109 school, yes. But I paid for university education so idk if that counts as public or not.
Here's something to read:
I've been yelled at to the point my heart almost popped out of my chest just because the teacher didn't hear knock on her door, I've been told that I wasn't good enough in anything just like Constance there and theachers hated me for being the new girl and I came late so how dare I expect to succeed(they thought I was spoiled and stupid just because I lived in another country and whenever I did something "smart" it was somehow because I lived in that country lol), and one time the reviewd my results 3 times in front of the whole class to make sure they didn't make a mistake cuz how could I get a high grade. I saw a teacher look at me with so much hate and aggression in her eyes, among other stories. I grew up scared to speak to anyone or be myself it fucked me up.
Teachers can really fuck up your life or build you up into a successful genius.
@@Elufah369 Well you didn't deserve any of that. Shame on all the adults that abuse children in any way. At least you were able to separate what was true about yourself and what was not. I hope you have recovered, as for the evil teachers karma does not miss a beat.
this resonated with me a lot because i had a similar experience with my teacher. she pulled me aside and told me to fix how i speak (i used 'um' a lot) because "it was annoying" and i was doing it on purpose for attention, not knowing that i just had trouble framing my words. this was 3rd grade and im now a junior and it still impacted me, so listening to constance made me feel less alone and give me my power back
Preach it Constance. Great interview.
I lived in the US just for a couple of years but I have so many experience which is similar to hers - or her parents.Look how much she encouraged other people to speak up on their experience as an immigrants, minorities including Asians. Shout out to Constance Wu! This is the reason why there should be more successful people who can speak up and advocate minorities.
Wow what kind of crap teachers did she have? Im so sorry that happened. A teacher's job is to inspire and to teach of course. Hopefully those teachers lost their licenses but probably not. I had a geometry teacher who used to pull crap with students. He didn't have a clue how to do geometry but did he get in trouble? No he got promoted instead even though everyone taking his class was failing. Just wth? Teachers can be bullies too.
Poor Constance! I know it's weird, but as a child of Asian immigrants, I can't relate at all to protecting my parents. I had a teacher who really hurt me and I told my mom. She immediately went to school and reduced that horrible teacher to tears.
When I was in grade 7, my class was getting hepatitis B vaccines, and I have a tendency to faint from shots (though this was the first time that it happened to me so I didn't know then). So I passed out in the library in front of my whole class which was already embarrassing enough. Then at recess, the librarian asked if I was okay, to which I responded "yes". Then she said, kind of to herself but definitely intending for me to hear "What people do for attention".
Fortunately, my friend who was there assured me she knew I didn't lose consciousness on purpose, but in grade 7 I had like no self-esteem and likely social anxiety, and I felt humiliated for a long long time after that. I would frequently remember this incident and worry that people thought I did it for attention. The worst part is that I loved that teacher before that point, her personality was similar to Constance's teacher, she was loud, cheerful, confident, funny and everybody loved her. It wasn't until many years later that I even realized what she said was completely out of line, that you should never say something like that to a child, even if you do think they're just trying to get attention, and that I wasn't the one at fault. I'm 27 now and I often consider trying to call her to tell her how hurtful what she said was to me, but I never have. Maybe one day I will.
I have such high esteem for Constance Wu- She's just got it. She's got my heart (since way before, but this video made me come to terms with the fact that she's one of my favorite human of the millennia)
had a similar experience with 2 of my 5th grade teachers. it has a huge impact on you whether youre conscious of it or not. teachers hold such a moral responsibility and children should be told they are capable of everything and anything
That teacher was certainly not qualified. I’m so sorry that happened to you, and hope you will put a positive spin on this and use your platform to educate teachers in the world. It could save a lot of children. All the very best!
wow. i had a similar experience in 8th grade. however, my story wasn't so traumatizing. my teacher thought i plagiarized based purely because she thought the writing was "too good," but after a quick search, she believed me. she never paraded me in front of other teachers.
I hope every one of those teachers who didn't believe her, are full of SHAME, while watching this.🤨
That's so true! A lot of ppl think their culture or language is the standard especially if they don't explore outside their country or interact with ppl different than them. The drama teacher and parents sound amazing
Wow... this one hit home. I was kicked out and demoted from my honors English class my sophomore year of high school for not “keeping up” with the rhetoric lessons and not understanding the literature. Forward years later, I earned my English: RHETORIC and Composition major from university, and I became a technical writer. Constance is amazing and I’m so glad she shared this story. I’m in tears because of how much I relate to her with the writing and her reference to being a first gen kid.