Saturday, April 18, 2009
Race In the Classroom
This article should have been the model for the entire book. "I started with children and actual events rather than the literature or theory."(476) I usually read something with a highlighter in one hand and a pen in the other, but halfway through this article I put both down. Had I continued to use the highlighter, I would have ended up with a lot of yellow pages. This was the first article that made me truly reflect upon my own experience as a student. The section on whites as the minority was of particular interest to me, since I attended MPS. It was interesting to see that although one of the primary goals for the school was to create a diverse and equal environment, paying more than just lip service to the idea, the author still felt that they had fallen way short of their goal. Race is something that just doesn't get talked about; it's like the 500lb gorilla in the room, everyone knows its there but no one wants to acknowledge it. I tried to remember an instance when race was seriously discussed in one of my classes. All I came up with was a particular instance during the LA riots, when my teacher sat down with us to discuss what was going on. I don't remember any of the particulars, but I can remember that it was one of those moments when you no longer feel like you're in school; the classroom and the real world kind of melt together. This teacher, Mr.Baumgardner, was the best teacher I had because he was so real, but not everyone has a knack for discussing such controversial subjects as race. I think it is simple enough to provide minority students with a forum to air their grievances, but a truly productive conversation has to include whites too. I think that a lot of times, white students in urban schools are afraid to express their sentiments on race. First of all they are the minorities in these schools, and therefore may not feel so emboldened to speak up. Secondly, white students may worry that they will be labeled racist if they express any misperception or prejudices they may have. I think we are all prejudice in some degree, and until we can admit that and try to sort through the stereotypes, it will always be extremely difficult to deal with race.
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I also liked this article and appreciated that it provided real life examples of what has happened in a class room setting and specific ways in which these issues were (or were not) addressed. We learned both of success stories AND failures. I also think Jervis did a great job pointing out that race impacts everyone. It is easy for whites to ignore race, not only because they are not the victims of institutionalized racism, but also because whiteness is so much seen as the norm in our society that it becomes invisible. When whites hear about a "racial issue" or even take a class about race, they tend to think that it will involve or be taught about non whites because they do not think of themselves as having a racial identity. They just think of themselves as "normal."
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Great read. The reason I went into teaching was so that I could address the "real world" issues with kids and give them the tools necessary to navigate this complicated planet!
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting as a white person to consider racial issues. I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and never once thought of my race as a child. It was only when I moved to Milwaukee and began my student teaching (I do not have a single white student) that I finally began to consider myself as "belonging" to a race. Very interesting.