Mrs. Ford
Ryan’s kindergarten teacher at Wedgewood Elementary who used to tell Ryan that he said inappropriate things at inappropriate times. After overhearing an offensive joke that he did not understand, Ryan repeated the following joke to his African-American teacher:
There’s a white man, a black man and a Chinese man on top of a mountain. The Chinese man says that he is going to do something for the good of his country and jumps off the mountain. The white man says he is going to do something for the good of his country and so he pushes the black man off of the mountain.
After the joke, Ryan stood laughing even though he did not understand. Appalled, Mrs. Ford summoned the two kindergarten teachers whose rooms sandwiched her center room. Mrs. Toles and Mrs. Boyles, who were both African-American, gathered with Mrs. Ford in a circle around young Ryan. Mrs. Ford asked Ryan to repeat the joke and so he did. The three astounded teachers stared down at a glowing young Ryan who thought he was a comic sensation at the young age of six. Mrs. Ford lead Ryan to the office to repeat the joke to the administration but no action was taken since it was obvious that Ryan didn’t know any better.
That evening Ryan went home to tell his mother, Bonnie, that he told Mrs. Ford the joke and that she made him tell all the other teachers. Bonnie was so mortified that she dared not even apologize to the teacher, fearing that such a simple explanation would reflect poorly on her family.
It was in Mrs. Ford’s kindergarten class where Ryan first met Sarah Bennett and Amanda Evans.