Recently I went for a walk up the hill one afternoon. A group of middle school boys were coming down the hill. As the last four boys went past me, one of them said something with an Indo-Pak accent.

I turned around and said, “What did you say?” One of them replied, “It wasn’t me.”

“Come here and say that,” I said. No response. I continued with my walk with lots of emotions, planning my options.

As I walked down the hill I saw a group of boys running around on the field. I wondered if that was them. It was. I walked over and spoke to the coach. I told him about the incident and that in the 13 years I have been in the United States I have never experienced a racist incident until today.

According to my dear friend Rachel. I am an emotional old bag. So of course I got a little upset when I spoke to the coaches.

The head coach asked me how I would like to handle it and asked if I would recognize the boy. I couldn’t. I said that he should speak to the boys. If he owns up, great. Let the others know that if they keep quiet they are an accomplice and equally guilty.

Mocking, bullying, intimidating, is not okay be it race, religion, size, sexual preference, anything.

He asked if I had a minute and if he could speak to the boys now. I said that was fine.

He went over to one group, then the other. A young boy came over in my direction. He apologized, said he was with his friends and made a dumb choice. I commended him for owning up and told him that takes courage. I also told him that I was very upset, that I have been teaching at Cal High for eight years and have never experienced anything like this.

He checked that I was a teacher at Cal High and then told me he would be going there next year. I asked him his name and told him that I will remember it.

I’m glad it was resolved there and then. I hope that he will make good choices from now on. I came home and spoke to my kids, to check that they have never mocked anyone like this, and hopefully never will.

My respect to all the Muslim women who wear hijab, to all the Sikh men who wear turbans. We are surrounded by a lot of ignorance. Zero tolerance to prejudice of any form.

I’m sure many of you would have done something similar.

Poor kid gets the accent wrong, I appear at his practice, and he may have me as his teacher!

Definitely a great teaching-learning moment.

As an educator during these tender years of these kids lives, it is our responsibility to teach more than just the subject.

Something that really saddened me was the death of Tyler Clementi. I had a discussion with all my students about how wrong Dharun Ravi’s actions were and on so many levels.

May we all be more tolerant of each other.

Niazi is a math teacher at California High School.