So... we are basically halfway through the term. Let's open up the forum to anything you wish related to our course (topics, progress, application of material, other issues in social justice education, political implications, etc.). Go for it!
I really enjoy this class! I really liked the last three activities we did in class yesterday (Tuesday)! It was so great to see everyone's inner feeling we thought we couldn't share. It shows us we are all different in who we are and same in the fact that we all have our own identities and all of us have something we think we can't share with everyone.
So, in this class we are trying to get rid of our stereotypes, oppressions and having a "right" answer to everything. In process of being and becoming aware, we will let go of stereotypes. But I wonder, do some of them ever go away? Do you think that with some of them, we will always have a lingering doubt, unless we confront it with someone the stereotype is about? Even if we feel like the stereotype will go away once we clear it up with someone, we don't ask because it might offend someone. To me, that's not social justice. To me that's being oppressed and feeling guilty and having a lowe self esteem because you are doubting yourself rather than get the answer.
Although this class is helping us be aware of our biases, blindspots and stereotypes, what ARE we going to do when we don't have each others or Dr. Greenfields feedback on our reactions to our learning of Social Justice? Is there a way to continually think about Social Justice other than teach it. Someday down the road, when we lose sight of the goal of Social Justice, how will we get back in line? I'm always excited about things intitially and the excitement wears off after a while. How do I keep the excitement this class has created in every one of us?
Sorry the thoughts were completely random. Hope you guys can understand where I'm coming from.
The reading of our secret identities was so powerful last night. I thought about it as I left and wished that I had not chickened out. I gave what was asked for, but I didn't write down one of my hardest identities to think about or deal with because ignoring it is easier than facing it.
I think the world tends to operate like that - ignoring what is hard to face - and social injustice is often the result. Courage and confidence can go a long way in changing that, and that is what I have been thinking about for the future. I want to give my students courage and confidence so that they can face themselves, change what needs changing, and have their voices heard.
I am finally at the point, after last night's class where I feel like I am getting it. I have been overwhelmed by the lack of control I feel I have been having over my own thought process. I have always been the kind of person who knows where I stand, and have been fairly immovable on those positions. Questioning those positions has been a true emotional roller coaster, but I am now coming into a place where I am at peace with the ride.
I agree with Courtney on the reading of the identities, and I am also feeling I made a safe choice. Honestly, it was difficult for me to think of something that is "secret." I am generally so open. Even now I am still wondering how I could have gone even further, and I am wondering if the things I don't have the courage to admit to others are issues that I can't even admit to myself. I've been repressing them for so long, I wonder if I can get to them without really digging. Getting my emotions in check while dealing with the course content I feel can help me gain that courage, and own my experiences...not bury them. Going through this process can only give me the experience I need to understand my students who may be going through the same process.
I am really enjoying the class and seeing everyone's different opinions. In all my other classes, I have known there was a huge diversity on issues like the ones we discuss, but you are never given the opportunity to discuss or share how one another feels. I also really liked the line we formed across the room and depending on how you felt about an issue depended on where you stood in the line. I thought it was great, because it showed how two people can agree on one issue, but disagree on another. I also liked hearing the answers to "why did you put yourself in that spot in the line?".
I have mentioned many times before that I think social justice is a great concept, but will be difficult to achieve in some aspects. I believe that along with having a better understanding for what social justice is, I will be a better teacher because I have thought about all these issues before going into the classroom. I feel more prepared to deal with controversial topics and understand other people's feelings. So no matter what level of social justice I obtain in my classroom, this class has been great in helping me open my eyes and being more accepting of other people's thoughts and opinions.
I enjoy the thoughts the the class invokes within my mind. There are times that I question things I have believed to be true for many years. Not very often do I change my mind on how I feel about the issue, but I am now more open to accepting other ideas about the issue.
I am looking forward to the 2nd half of the class!
Santhiya, I think you make a good point about how to keep social justice in the forefront of our minds, long after this class is over, and outside of the classroom. I think part of really embracing the idea of social justice is acknowledging that there's no ONE appropriate context for it. As someone who truly cares about social justice, it's not enough to just "teach" it or incorporate into the classroom. The best advocate for change will be the one who actively seeks (and finds) new ways and environments in which to implement social justice. Find an organization like Batey Urbano, or start your own (haha, as if we'd have the time as teachers!!...maybe this would be an idea for post-retirement); participate in workshops that will allow you to hone your skills as a social justice advocate even more; continue to expose yourself to the 'uncomfortable.' My question is whether one can actually tire of it all. It sounds so exhausting to continually push yourself to limits in order to open your field of vision. But I totally get what you're saying. How do we stay motivated? It's a great question.
I have also enjoyed this class. There have been many comments made by Dr. G as well as everyone else that have pushed me to think outside of my comfort zone. I too was moved by the secret identities. Hats off to all who wrote them. It speaks volumes for all of us. In chapter 4 one section states that three broad goals of a social justice education course are to increase personal awareness, expand knowledge, and encourage action. I am definitely looking at myself in relation to my numerous identities; and advantaged and targeted groups, through a new lense. I already knew that some people struggle for basics like healthcare, housing, education, etc., but I never realized my contribution to the oppression as an individual or member of a group; I have expanded my knowledge in a short time. I also feel encouraged to take action. If I have been contributing to oppression by the "little " things that I have been doing (or not doing) then I know it is possible to contribute to social justice, using my awareness and new knowledge, by doing many "little " things as well! I am asking myself now, what more can I do besides waiting for those teachable moments? How can I initiate some action that will have an impact?
I found the secret identity such a great way to 1.) explore how we feel silenced about some aspect of our own lives and 2.) parallel this class with the work I do as a counselor. So often in working with high school aged students the presenting problem is not the real problem. I hear things like my friend... that is a sure sign that the friend is the person in front of you.
I really like that this class is about more than just theory or the textbook. I appreciate all the activities that bring home and to my work the material presented. I think providing activities will make the message come home for the students I work with, too.
One lingering thought that I continue to have is that with all the work I do as an individual to be an ally, advocate for social justice issues and the self reflection and personal work I undergo I will always be seen as a part of a group. A group of privileged White people. Still thinking about how I will deal with that as I move forward.
I too also really enjoyed the secret identity game. I, like most other wrote something very personal about my family on my slip. I think the most interesting thing was to see how many different identities are actually “secretly” represented in our class. I believe that for me, I have been (and am still) working on not holding my own biases that could hinder potential relationships. Just last week I was guilty of looking at my 2009-2010 class list and trying to figure out who was an ELL student, who lived in the county club community, who was Indian, etc. just from looking at their name on a list! This brought me back to our very first class discussion on the importance of names. Santhiya, I love your question about if stereotypes really “go away”? I have never considered myself as someone who abides by stereotypes, but I still can’t believe I tried to “size” my class up. When this class is said and done, I feel by biggest concern is still how to create powerful, emotion evoking social justice lessons that are applicable to 5 year olds.
The last two days at work, I have noticed an interesting change in myself due to this class... let me preface by saying that I work in a Neurology Outpatient Clinic at UNC Hospital - and we offer a program called Charity Care there for patients who don't have insurance. I see all kinds of people every single day - people travel from all over the state (and beyond) to get their needs met where I work. I really wish I could say that we help them... regardless of their economic, medical, or social status. In the last two days in particular, I have really paid attention to how I treat the patients as they check out. I am quite ashamed to admit how many stereotypes filter through my behavior - SUBCONSCIOUSLY. I capitalize it b/c I am really shocked how deeply embedded stereotypes are in me - and how I've been behaving without even realizing it. The last day or so I've just been listening to myself as patients approach me and realizing that I judge how much money they'll have to pay - or not - based on what they look like, how they're dressed, or how they speak. I am someone who prides myself on my exposure to diversity, I am a part of many "targetted" groups and I know what it feels like to be judged before you are even given a chance... and here I was, listening to myself do exactly the same thing to these patients. I see a lot of social injustice at my job, and rarely do I speak out against it. For instance, my boss will bend over backwards for patients who come in for infusion treatments that involve drugs that bring in thousands of dollars to our clinic - and treat others who come in for less expensive treatments or who don't necessarily bring in lots of money - like they don't matter. I regularly watch my boss patronize people because they are sick - she speaks to them like they are 3-year-olds, just because they are sick. I'm not innocent... I realized today how I talk to Spanish speaking patients - how reluctant I am to try to speak Spanish back to them to help meet them halfway. I only know a little bit of Spanish - but I rarely try to meet them halfway. Today one of the new girls (who's much less jaded than I ;)) said, "Gracias" to a patient and his face lit up and he smiled and asked her if she spoke Spanish. She said no, but it was obvious how much he appreciated her efforts. I decided that I'm going to try and at least say "Gracias" to every Spanish patient that comes to check out - b/c there's no reason why I shouldn't!! More than that, I realized that I get really frustrated when they call because I can't understand them or help them and instead of going the extra mile, I often just transfer them to the Spanish Line, which is a completely inadequate option for them! Today I thought - my god! These people are just as sick as the other patients, but they can't even explain to me what's happening - what if they really need to see or speak to a doctor urgently, and I just transferred them to a machine that says, "Leave your name and your medical record number and an interpreter will call you back."
So, obviously I'm feeling a new level of guilt and with it - responsibility. I found it easier towards the end of the day to be a little bit nicer to the patients - (after all it isn't their fault my job is impossibly chatotic and stressful!) - and rather than allowing the stereotyps that have been systematically embedded in my psyche to take over - I am trying now to realize how far reaching they are and to tame them and eventually change them.
(okay - so I definitely wrote a book - sorry! it wouldn't even let me post the whole thing! so here's the rest!!!)
So, I do think changing stereotypes is possible. I do believe that we can't change them without confronting them, and by knowing someone with the social identities we stereotype the most can have a powerful impact on the validity and maintenance of those stereotypes. After all, the reason stereotypes exist is because they are constantly reinforced - but we have to ask ourselves if they are reinforced b/c the stereotypes are true, or because our stereotypes have changed our viewpoint and caused us to see a false reality when confronted with them?
I wondered on the way home last night what it would be like if we all just stood up and read our own "secrets" - I wonder how powerful that would be in breaking down some stereotypes. I mean, was I the only one who secretly wished someone would know it was me... so they would think twice about the sterotypes they had towards my secret social identity?? So I could explain to them all the things I'm NOT? I think it is so interesting that we all hide so many crucial things inside - the fear in us is so great - but if we would trust each other more and fear each other less, we could get a lot more accomplished.
So one of the questions seems to be - what is the next step after this class? For many of us it will be at least a year before we are in the classroom (assuming that hiring freezes are lifted some time before the end of the decade). I think that one way is to continue to broaden our cultural awareness and make personal connections with people that are outside our social identity. As NCSU students we have access to hundreds of clubs and organizations that represent different viewpoints. How about attend a meeting or a social event sponsored by one of the groups? Another possibility would be to do some volunteer work to gain access and exposure to a demographic that you haven't had much access to before - the VA hospital in Durham, a community youth center in a low income neighborhood, a homeless shelter are three examples of places that I am personally going to make an effort to both do some good for the community and to bring some new personal perspectives to. The disabled are only disadvantaged when they are put in physical and social environments which do not meet the needs of people who do not fit the profile of "normal". And taking a new view that it isn't my position make children with fewer economic opportunities act like me, but to enhance their own gifts and help them see the possibilities for opportunity and hopefully negate some aspects of learned helplessness in terms of "sense of possibility". My question is how do I do this without seeming condescending or like I am doing "charity work"?
Thank you for that post, Karen. It invoked much emotion for me. I could only imagine a struggle to seek help, the fear that I may not get the care that I need. You are showing so much compassion, that I think you will make a real difference for many people, not only the targeted people, but also for members of privileged groups, like me, that feel inspired by you sharing what you are processing inside, and your desire to make a change.
I agree that getting to know people in targeted groups as individuals can help erase bias or stereotyping. We grew up believing that homosexuality was not part of God’s plan so it was wrong. As I have met and enjoy friendships with homosexuals. I do not think it is wrong anymore.
I think the topic of stereotypes is such a fascinating one. Karen you bring up a good question about whether stereotypes are self-reinforcing or reinforced by us. I personally don't know if I can ever meet the challenge of completely eliminating my stereotypes. It seems an innate characteristic of the human mind to want to compartmentalize and define. Maybe it is the same function that leads us on a continual search for meaning. We fear the unknown and therefore we create our own understanding of it. I would be so curious to see how people all around the world viewed stereotypes. Doesn't the work of sociology even create and reinforce sterotypes? Sociologists study groups of people and cultures. Then they tell us, for example, how Asian family values differ from Western family values. This generlly only touches the surface and doesn't reach any true depth to someone's identity. And, there are ALWAYS outliers and nuances. But somehow we find it helpful to know this difference. I think statistics can create powerful stereotypes too. On the one hand, they are used to raise awareness and create empathy in support for social change: A disproportionate number of youth arrested for violent crimes are African American. But on the other hand, they create a backlash where people who are unfamiliar become more wary and pass judgment. For me, the question is what do we do with these stereotypes. I think you can take groups and make some general statements about them that tend to be true amoung their members. But that shouldn't lead us to any further assumptions. So what do we use this information for? It should be used for the good. For example, understanding cultural differences so that we can make our teaching more equitable. But if an African American walks into our class and we assume they might commit a crime, that is so detrimental and doesn't do anybody any good, and is flat out false. We cannot assume anything about any individual in any group. I met a man from Saudi Arabia one night. He said, "I know what you must think about me. You are scared of me. All Americans are." That was so sad to hear. But he had stereotyped me as an "American" that was close minded and fearful of his people. In reality, we both stood there, two individuals, each with a unique story, wanting to connect and understand the other.
I am enjoying my time spent in this class. The material and the discussions are very interesting, exciting and sometimes uncomfortable but as mentioned in our reading the uncomfortable feeling is apart of the learning process. With that said I am a little reluctant when it comes to particpating openly in some of our discussions. I think, for me, it comes from the fear of being known as the minority female who thinks she "knows it all." After Monday's discussion when some of the classmates expressed their feelings toward the reading in my head I kept thinking of all the examples of the targeted groups and how for the most part I can be placed under several of those catergories. It may seem as an "awakening" for many but for me its sad and depressing, not to say that there aren't exceptions within my race, but I know too many individuals that aren't given or aware of the opprotunities out there to better themselves or their situation. I feel that if there were more minority students in the class I would be more comfortable sharing my personal experiences when it comes to being oppressed because of my race. Maybe its a little bias of my own to believe that all minority students would have issues with oppression because oftheir race. I just feel that it would be a lot easier to share those experiences when I know that there are people not just listening to a story but people who listen and truly relate because they have been through the same or similar situation.
Like some others have said, my eyes were really opened Tuesday when Dr. Greenfield read those anonymous papers. Talking about diversity and acutally having it apply to your situation. It really was a lot different hearing all of the different voices in our own classroom shining a light on how diverse we really are. I felt liberated for everyone after that exercise, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I was happy to get my feelings off of my chest.
I also enjoyed having the opportunity to teach everyone on Tuesday. Actually teaching a lesson is a lot different talking about teaching or wanting to teach. It was strange because I heard a lot of people that weren't very confident in their abilities as a teacher do a fantastic job, so I thought I could reassure everyone that the messages they taught came through loud and clear on my end and I thought they all did a fantatsic job.
I'm anxious to see how things work next week as we all are taught by our classmates in group settings. I don't know about the rest of your groups, but we've already learned so much about our topic (race) and how we want to teach it an make it apply to your lives. I hope you get as much out of listening to our lesson as we are preparing it.
I too have been enjoying the class and it has been a wonderfully, relaxing and interesting welcome break to the other class that many of us are taking.
I also wanted to comment on the activity that we did at the end of class the other day. I found myself STRUGGLING to think of an identity that I keep hidden. I was thinking and thinking and could come up with nothing really. What I put down was true but in reality it is something that I will share pretty openly with people. As soon as I walked outside on Wednesday night I started thinking of other things that I should have written. There are parts of my identity that only a few people know about, parts that I have kept hidden from my family and parts that I get embarrassed about.
I am trying to figure out how 5 minutes before that moment,I couldnt think of those things. I guess it shows how much we can oppress things when we want to. If they are not part of the things that we talk about or the things that we show on a day to day basis, we literally try to igonore them. But those very things that I tried to ignore are major parts of my life that I know have affected me and will continue to shape the way I want my future to be.
I wonder if anyone else realized the identities that they had forgotten as soon as they left? Just curious...!
The activity we did in class the other night where we wrote down something not many people knew about us was really powerful. We learned about each other as a collective group, but the anonymity made the exercise much more powerful. I was wondering if an activity like this would fly in the high school classroom. I imagine some students would get upset if they thought their secrets had been leaked to the class, and then parents would get involved, and then the concept behind the activity would backfire. Instead of unifying the group, it would segregate it.
In studying for our group presentation I have learned a great deal about the role of race and immigration in curricular design. Biases and stereotypes plague the socialization processes in America. In a country which claims to have liberty and justice for all, we have not truly achieved either in 240 years. Then again, we must think that the United States has only been a country for this amount of time, and although there hasn't been nearly enough, progress has been made. It's hard to argue objectively when you are in support of social justice sometimes, but achieving true social justice means you have to see both sides of the story.
Since one of my undergrad majors is in Communication Media, the idea of framing within the media is of great interest to me. Chapter 6 discusses an event after Hurricane Katrina about how the media framed different races - White people taking bread from a flooded convenience store were portrayed as "finding bread," while Black people doing the same thing were framed as "looting a flooded store." This really stuck out to me.
One last thing - the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in DC yesterday was a horrible tragedy. White supremacy extremists in my opinion are just as much terrorists as any member of al Quaida. That's just my two cents.
Heather I totally agree with your comment that your mind is thinking in an uncontrolled, or better yet, unplanned way. Santhiya, Emmy, I wonder if once you accept a dimension of this concept that it gets intergrated into your normal thought pattern. You notice more. It becomes less emotionally exhausting and more "normal practice". You routinely consider creating a fair classroom. You routinely think of all your students. Kind of like other issues of fairness in the class. You wouldnt let the boys take more time to answer math problems...because that would be unfair. I hope the same holds true for SJ. This class is helpful but Im done having a heavy heart over this- it feels too draining. I just want to help in any way that I can. One thing that stood out to me was the other night when we did the class lessons for eachother. We were all cramming to come up with a plan. (I was freaking out:)- my brain was fried). But I really preffered the lessons where we as a group were being invited to do something. As a "fake 7th grader" that type of instruction seemed to go by quicker, far more engaging. As a future teacher, it made me think I want to be one of those kinds of teachers. I want to have a very interactive classroom. I loved the idea of the Jeopardy game as an example of how "big" to plan. Just found it really exciting. It made me wonder what is available to re-motivate teachers...especially the ones that Jeffrey was talking about. Im such a cheerleader, what can I say. For me that will be the goal. Teach because you were meant to-teach big because you are supposed to! Elise the identity thing the other night was great to hear for me too. I thought of how easy it is to think that you and those that you know are the ones that have had layers in life. Then you hear the collective experience and you realize most people know struggle and limitation. It was so touching. Bigger than that actually.
I am so sorry that I missed class on Tuesday evening - if I had a choice I would not have. It sounds like that final excercise was powerful. I know that this class is spilling over into other aspects of my life, and appropriately so. I was talking about several issues from class on Tuesday evening with some friends who aren't close confidants, but I think our discussion was even better for that. It was interesting to see some of the same initial fear/discomfort reactions when I started to talk about AAE, in particular. I also have been having conversations via facebook with an old high school friend. I don't think we ever once acknowledged our friendshhip in terms of her being African American and my being white. And in our high school, while we weren't unusual (or even unusually close), there was a definite self-segregation working and there were tensions at times.
I was also reflecting on the continuum line exercize. I talked to my mom about it and she pointed out that my feeling we need both sides of the continnum represented sometimes is not off the wall coming from my very political family. My father was one of those long - haired types in the 60s, but he also went "clean with Gene" if any of you remember that movement. Gene was a close friend of my father until his death. My father is all about the power of moving within the systems to promote change (he's a lobbyist, no less), but we've also always been told that sometimes you need someone shouting on one end while another is whispering at the other. It's harder to tune out both than it is to tune out one or the other individually.
Anisha, I think I have been struggling with the same things you have been. I've been a little confused about what to do in class sometimes. Thanks for expressing clearly, especially the last part, what I could not. But I know know I have biases and I am an oppressor. During the discussions, I try to think about how the group I oppress against must feel. In that way, this class has helped me tremendously. I'm also thankful for the things I learn in this class from a perspective of being a teacher some day. Hearing other student's thoughts will prepare me for knowing my students when I teach.
Since it sounds like some of you took some risks on Tuesday night when I was not there, I thought I'd do the same. Alot of this is free writing, and I am not going to re-read it before posting - I am just putting it out there. Take it as you will. Warning: I haven't shared a poem I've written in a good 20 years and tehre's probably a good reason for that.
I wrote the following when I was thinking about what it means to be in the advantaged group, and what it might be that in acknowledging those advantages, that I need to give up. Most of the time, I have a voice, and what I think I need to give up is that I don't always need to be using it. I believe in making personal connections to the material we are reading, and yet....part of me really needs to remember that silence is something I can give back in a good way - like yielding time on the Senate floor. Yes, exactly that! If you don't know, during specific debates, Senators are giving a particular amount of time - they can use every minute...or they can "yield it back" to the floor or to a colleague...they can choose to allow someone else's voice to be heard...
Your voice is beautiful to me though the words sometimes hurt
i am not what i thought i was to you to me to
i am a good person i AM i mean well
but this isn't about me
this is about your beautiful voice
listening hearing? so often in a whisper
your beautiful voice
in the background.
turn UP the volume so i can hear i can
this isn't about me
but i want
this isn't about me
to HEAR
this isn't about me
your angry voice
i want to this isn't about me to cry when i hear your mournful voice
but it isn't for me to do that to be that
it's in me
your beautful voice
speak. sing. shout i'll listen this isn't about me i'll be silent this isn't about me
I enjoyed the anonymous identity activity we did at the end of class on Tuesday. It was an eye opening experience to think that my future students could also be dealing with the same things and not trust any one enough to be able to talk about it and work through it. By not being able to live in a society that accepts people for who they what will be the result for students who have hidden identities? Will they feel silenced and opressed forever? Will they eventually talk to someone and fear the response? Worse yet, will they commit suicide because they do not have an outlet for what is happening inside of them? This exercise really showed me the importance of creating a classroom environment that is safe for all students to discuss what is affecting them. I had a ten year old boy tell me he wanted to commit suicide because his mom wasn't going to buy him any more toys. To some this could have been seen as a joke but I took it very seriously and asked him questions that gave me insight into his home life, school, and peers. It was a scary moment for me but now with this class I can see the importance of getting to know my students on their level and helping them to feel safe and secure with me as their friend/teacher. By gaining this boys trust we were able to discuss the real reason behind him wanting to commit suicide--he didn't think his mom loved him anymore because she wasn't going to buy him things. He equated love with receiving material things. I don't know if this pertains to social justice but in some round about way I think it does. Because even though he is a white male, he still has influences and things that he cannot control that will change his positionality.
In response to Elise, I also thought about something else to write down after class was over.
I'd like to thank the class for allowing my students to share their ideas and for welcoming them with open arms. Both of those young men mean a great deal to me, and they have been on the verge of a "break out" into realizing their incredible potential. You would not believe how good they felt after tonight's class. Excited about believing that they helped y'all out, they expressed a desire to work with me to visit a whole bunch of schools to talk to students this year. I really appreciate everyone's encouraging words and thoughtful questions....
I wish I attended class on Tuesday night...instead was home with a bug. The secret identity activity seemed very powerful based on the many comments about it. This is one of the activities that exemplifies the hands on approach to social justice Dr. Greenfield delivers. I appreciate his passion and encouragement and have enjoyed conversing and interacting with you all in the class.
I, too, enjoyed Tuesday night's activity. I had a hard time thinking of something secret because I tell my close friends and family just about everything. But I felt close to people in the class after the identities were read because I shared some with others and felt moved by them all. What a gift. The young men who visited our class tonight were delightful. What I was most impressed (besides their sweet personalities) was their insight that teachers need to spend one-on-one time with students and form a relationship them. I think that was said three or four times. Fortunately, I imagine that will be one of the most fun and rewarding parts of teaching and therefore easy to do. Tonight's group did a wonderful job. It is interesting that the part of the movie shown was about a teacher creating a relationship with a student. There are so many insightful comments on these blogs. It takes me a while to read them all and then I feel as though I cannot add anything new. But reading them really lifts my faith in people. It makes me feel happy and hopeful to be around people who care about these issues. Santhiya, I was thinking about how to stay excited about social justice issues in the future. I think maybe the awareness we get from this experience of learning about and discussing social justice issues with future teachers will change us in some way. We will take that change with us and, as Dr. Greenfeild said tonight, it will become easier and easier to do and will just become natural to us. We won't be perfect, but we will be moving in the right direction. So, I guess what I am saying is that it won't be necessary to stay excited about it because it will just be part of who we are.
Since I have been in this class, I have tried looking back to when I was in school and remember a specific time when I or another classmate was treated unfairly. I can recall many instances where children treated either myself or other children unfairly (which they all do); but I can not remember a specific time where I or someone else was treated unfairly due to an identity. This being said, I also have a terrible memory, and I know this can not be the case for the entire time in was in school, from elementary to college. I also have to take into consideration that just because I don’t remember it or didn’t see or hear it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, just like the story Dr. Greenfield told on Tuesday about some students that were upset by some things his professor had said that he didn’t hear. Now that I am more aware of Social Justice and how it can affect children; I have started to pay closer attention to people around me and the people I work with. I have heard several teachers refer to the growing numbers of Hispanic children that are coming into the schools and how they don’t like having them in their classes because they can’t speak English. They complain because they have to learn a few phrases in Spanish so they can, at minimum, give these students basic instructions, such as sit down, stand, listen, and be quiet. But I have also heard teachers make remarks at how quickly they are able to pick up our language. I believe Joanne said tonight that children are natural problem solvers, and if you watch and observe children it is very true!
Elise...I wanted to tell you that I felt the exact same way! I was the last person sitting in my group to come up with something, and what I wrote was nothing really too (I only wrote it because Dr. Greenfield was coming around with his bag)! When he finished reading all of the identities that people had written, I felt as if I completely forgot that I was allowed to use my brain! I felt like what I had written was so rediculous in comparison to some of the things other people had! But, as soon as I was driving home, it was like I had so many things I could have put down that I do not share; unlike the thing I wrote-which was not something I really keep to myself. I just could not think of anything significant to write about myself at that moment. It is good to know I wasn't the only one out there that seemed to have a brief moment of memory loss.
I wanted to respond to Santhiya and Anisha. Santhiya, in your first comments you mentioned what we would do about social justice when we are not longer taking this class. Here is how I see this. It seems the idea of this class is that social justice is presented so that as teachers we know how to respond when there is a lack of it or when someone in our schools questions our sense of social justice. This could be from parents, other teachers or even administrators.
Having seen this, as some of our classmates who have been teaching also know, is that because of our awareness from this class we may have an addtional component to our conscience for this.
Also, for Anisha, who made a point of how people may judege someone by their race regarding the approach to social justice, there is nothing wrong with that. People who have the same experiences whether visible from the outside or not do sympathize. As educators, I hope that we can go above that. For example when I was in your group to make up the rhyme, there were some that wanted us to write about our common physical traits at first. In that case, we all had dark hair. Yet, when we opened our minds, we found that we all were teachers that had the same course of study which was Humanities.
Mariel - I really enjoyed your poem. I had my first struggle with SJ when the topic of AAE was raised. The video of the kids learning with Jeopardy helped open up my mind on the issue of AAE, but right now, your poem has impacted my thought process on linguicism. I love poetry, and I especially like the style in which you wrote, which is rather like my own when I write poetry - short, emphatic phrases that are longer thoughts disjointed and placed with pause and room for breath. I love poetry that defies the principles of standard English - so why am I not more open with speech that does the same thing? Why do I only want to accept it in the form of poetry when speaking is a poetic expression at times? Why have I limited what I love to a specific format? Why have I imposed unfounded restrictions on others when it comes to verbal expression?
The biggest impact on my thoughts of AAE came from Deas and Cedric last night. I loved listening to them and packed away their advice for when I am eventually in the classroom. Their words did not always fit as "standard English" but what did that matter when their message was always so clear and invaluable? They were great young men, and I hate to think that as recently as a few weeks ago - had they been my students - I would have thought they needed my help to "fix" their speech patterns. So blind! How do you get caught up on something so insignificant?!? I can't believe that I could have missed their message because of my stupid standard English expectations.
Granted, I still am an advocate of standard English, but my appreciation for the ideas expressed despite the form of expression has grown by challenging my stance on standard English expectations. Thanks Dr.G for presenting that challenge and for indirectly opening my eyes by inviting Deas and Cedric.
Courtney - yep, I think we've had some very similar issues with AAE - my preconceptions definately ruled out that it was anything other than (and this is not intended to offend) bastardized, bad English. It humbled me to see how I had not questioned how it had been framed for me at all. Silence is a big issue with me - I don't like to think that I would have been actively silencing some of my students by refusing too hear what they were saying and paying a bit too much attention to how they were saying it.
I have really enjoyed being in this class. I feel lucky to be among such an enlightened group of people who are open to new ideas and experiences. Tuesday’s secret identity activity was very powerful and I felt terrible when Dr. G began reading them because I did not share anything all that personal. I did not feel comfortable enough to actually write something that personal down on paper. I think writing something down can be very intimidating because it seems permanent. I was not ready to face some parts of my identity. It made me aware of how many times I may feel like I have succeeded in reaching out to a student and perhaps they are holding back due to feeling too vulnerable. I am sorry I missed Thursday night’s class. I sounds like it was really inspiring.
I think that the idea of social justice in a classroom is something that I subconsciously thought about, but not really to the full extent that we have discussed in this course. I mean, it only makes since to me to try to give everyone an equal chance to learn. However, I am now beginning to think of many more ways that that is possible without just resaying the same things in different terms or slower or repeating things over and over. Real life applications for people, based on what they know and what they are about, seems to make a lot of sense.
I guess my issue thus far has been feeling like this book is saying we have to have these open discussions all of the time about social justice issues. But I guess the book is more geared to those who are teaching social justice, not those teaching certain subjects. Now I feel its more possible to incorporate social justice into the learning without feeling like I have to open the class up all the time like we tend to do in this course.
I also thought the activity Tuesday night was pretty interesting. I shared something that I keep quite secretive unless it's with family or friends that I am extremely close with. So hearing other people who had things they keep to themselves makes me feel a connection to everyone. Maybe I can't understand your problem, but I understand their is something you hide that you may not be proud of just like I do. I have to admit though, I would like to know who went with what so I could ask questions about some of them to learn some things.
Chris....Thanks for the comment....I know that there are people who would be able to relate or at least sympathize with my or another's past experience(s) but I was explaining how it's uncomfortable sharing those experiences when not many people in the class look like you, although the exercise we did in class really showed that everyone comes to the class with baggage and most of us can relate on many levels. I realize that I have a lot of more "opening" up to do if I want to have a great experience with my future students.
Santhiya...it's so refreshing to hear that I'm not alone and someone shares some of the thoughts and feelings I do. Like you, this class has helped me tremendously. I've been thinking about my identity and how I play a role in this society and in this world more in the past two weeks than I have in my 24 years of existence on this earth.....And I know that this class will give me the tools and resources to effectively educate my students about social justice.....so thank you Dr. Greenfield...
Larry, I think that that idea of social justice from the book is, as I agree with you that it is not for specific subjects. It is just about awareness. This is why this goes into sociology. Sociology writes entire books about something that will only present itself in brief moments in the classroom. Of course, there is the long scenario too. Padaeia covers much of this as related to instruction.
What I found from other classes was really neat when I actually had classes with teachers who actually taught at the same schools that I was teaching at. Even though people in this class are from different disciplines, I think everyone will find out how small the teaching community actually is. That has NOTHING TO DO WITH AVAILABLE JOBS, but it has everything to do with networking. I have met so many fascinating teachers and not just in my own licensure area.
I'm really enjoying the class. I have found myself more deeply considering some self-directed prejudices in myself, and it has been difficult and enlightening to allow me to consider myself disabled, even if it is hopefully temporary.
I've been reflecting on all the things we've discussed and learned a great deal outside of class, and I am excited to consider how I'll work to incorporate social justice issues into a middle school science curriculum.
I also really enjoyed the AAE Jeopardy video, and it helped me understand how to respect kids' own language while still teaching them how to integrate into the professional world when and if they choose to later in life.
I will admit there have been very few times in my life that I have felt like a minority; however, I walked into this class feeling like one. It was slightly unnerving. One identity I presently have is being a non-traditional student, in that I am many years older than my classmates and professors. For the most part that identity merges with my other identities as we share classroom activities and I focus on all the thought provoking information presented. I believe our classroom is a safe and respectful environment for everyone, who chooses, to use their voice, take a chance, share experiences; we can learn so much from diverse perspectives, whatever identity is chosen, but especially if it is from a targeted group. I enjoyed our enthusiastic guest speakers Thursday night. The honesty of their responses, from their personal experiences, to our questions shed light on several topics that I can carry forward to help make me a better and more informed facilitator.
This class has been surprisingly enriching. I feel like I am finally starting to understand the realities and complexities of something that I always wanted to participate in: social justice education. As I have become aware of society's pervasive hierarchy, and my own place in that hierarchy, I have wanted to do my part to challenge it. But I never made it past good intentions; like becoming a teacher to influence children. Now I am finally beginning to understand the full power and potential I can have as a teacher using social justice education. This class has both amplified the fear and anticipation of entering the classroom. I am scared by all the opportunities of messing up, but I am excited by all the chances I will have to implement social justice and positively change a student's future.
What I really love about social justice education is the way it connects to reality. I was always a dedicated student, and followed that academic life through a master’s degree. Then I had that moment of awakening when I realized how detached I was from reality, and how poorly trained/prepared I was for reality. That is one reason why I am here, I want to engage and participate in the world I live in, and I am excited to use social justice education in that engagement.
I will admit that several of the issues raised in discussion have made me uncomfortable, but I am so glad that we kept going. In my experience, I sought out challenging situations, but I have largely removed myself from the ambiguous and sensitive issues such as racism and classism. Thanks to the dynamic and incisive discussions in this class I am becoming more comfortable with my own identities. Therefore I am more comfortable with the idea of openly discussing the intersections of my identities with others, whether that is as advantaged and targeted groups or companions in the same group.
What I really love about social justice education is the way it connects to reality. I was always a dedicated student, and followed that academic life through a masters. Then I had that moment of awakening when I realized how detached I was from reality, and how poorly trained/prepared I was for reality. That is one reason why I am here, I want to engage and participate in the world I live in, and I am excited to use social justice education in that engagement.
I will admit that several of the issues raised in discussion have made me uncomfortable, but I am so glad that we kept going. In my experience, I sought out challenging situations, but I have largely removed myself from the ambiguous and sensitive issues such as racism and classism. Thanks to the dynamic and incisive discussions in this class I am becoming more comfortable with my own identities. Therefore I am more comfortable with the idea of openly discussing the intersections of my identities with others, whether that be as advantaged and targeted groups or companions in the same group.
First of all, I am glad to see that so many others also had that lapse the other night when we were supposed to write our hidden identities. But I thinkit goes far beyond the idea of simply "we forgot"..This class has already made me think in so many different ways and this is a prime example.
I dont think its simply that we forgot but that we chose to forget and supress those identities that we keep so hidden. Anyway..I could go on that topic for hours, no need to bore you all!
But I have noticed how much this class has become a part of my daily conversation. I find myself mentioning "identities" and "privileges" in every day common conversation.I am not the type to be an extremist in any direction but I am enjoying this new sense of information and almost like enlightenment. I know, I know...it almost sounds trite..but I have never had a course integrate itself so deeply in my daily activities.
Its funny to realize how so many of my friends and family members KNOW about this course and so many that are interested in the course.
I guess it goes to show you how many people actually do have an interest in these things but when we aren't faced with the ideas, its hard to address them. The last "diversity" class, per se, that I took was in college. I will be totally honest and say I dont even remember it. I think it filled some requirement and I am ashamed to say I cannot even remember more.
But that is why I think it is important to start early. If we incorporate things early, students will stop seeing accents as a sign of "ignorance" and begin to see everything in a way that we now imagine.
I am still uncomfortable with a lot of the things we have mentioned in class and I too, like Courtney, enjoy, love and respect the previously mentioned "Standard English". We all still have a lot of personal opinions, biases and perspectives that cannot be altered by a 4 week course. But I think whats so remarkable about Dr. Greenfield's class is that they are questioned.
I keep coming back to this blog to read what has been added. I have never been in a class that stayed with me throughout each day like this one does. I want to chime in on what Mariel and Courtney C. said about their initial impressions of AAE. I never realized that my love of "properly spoken" English could have the unintended effect of diminishing my opinion of those who do not speak it the way I valued it to be spoken. I never thought of poetry or lyrics to songs or colloquialisms as improper English - they are acceptable, yet when I hear people whose "first" language is English speak it differently, I assume it is improper English. Who am I to say what is or isn't proper English? I loved learning a little about AAE the other night. That was the first time I have ever been presented with the thought that all forms of language are equlvalent, but some are given more social power. I will continue to think about that.
I agree with Nancy that this class really does stay with you throughout the day. I almost feel like before taking this class, that I lived a totally different life. Now that I am more socially aware of what is going on in the world around me, I feel compelled to analyze everything that happens, with regard to how the world works, and who would be in a priveleged or oppressed group. I think I do this so that I can note where I am in each situation, and who I need to level with so that I will be on an equal level with those around me. Situations that used to not phase me, I feel called to change. It is an amazing feeling to be totally aware of what's going on in the world around you and know that you can do something to change it for the better.
This class has really stayed with me on a daily basis as well (and no, it's not only because all I do outside of work now is read, blog, sleep, eat, write!) I was having a very interesting conversation with my husband and our realtor at lunch Thursday - talking about neighborhoods and our house search. When my husband and I were looking for houses it was very interesting that when we looked at neighborhoods that were more in our price range, if we saw more black people than white people in the neighborohood - my husband would say, "I don't know, I don't think I want to live in a black neighborhood." Needless to say... that sparked pretty intense discussions. I, the white woman, was aguing with my black husband about how wrong it was for him to discriminate against black people by saying he didn't want to live in a "black" neighborhood. I'm pretty sure that no one would've guessed the conversation would've gone this way. It is very similar, though, to many things we've learned in class about how targeted groups accept "their place" in a socially unjust society and as a result end up stereotyping themselves! My husband's argument was that we had to look out for ourselves, and that if we bought a house in a predominantly black neighborhood, our house would not appreciate in value as much. As appalling as it was to hear my husband speak this way - it was difficult to argue with him. My argument was that if everyone had that attitude then we would eventually have total segregation in our neighborhoods and that it would take removing this stereotypical language from our vocabulary entirely before we could really affect change... so that conversations like the one we had about where to buy our house wouldn't be necessary. My husband would probably kill me if he knew I was blogging about this... but it's relevant and I thought it may give you all some food for thought...
One thing our guest speakers on Thursday had to say that really struck me (and I believe relates to the situation above) was when they were discussing the repuation that Shaw University has (I didn't realize it had such a bad reputation) and Sedrick said, "If it was that bad, Dr. Greenfield wouldn't be teaching there." I thought that was so amazing - that having Dr. Greenfield teach there changed their whole perception of the school and gave them a source of pride. I want to be that kind of teacher. I want to be less afraid of what school I end up teaching at, and more afraid of not teaching at the school I can make the most difference at (if that makes sense).
Mariel, thanks for sharing your poem - I know how nervous I am when putting my poetry "out there" and it means a lot that you shared it w/us. It's a great piece!
This class stays with me all day too. I am glad it was my first class. It will shade my future classes. Unfortunately, I dont think any other class is gonna be as much fun:) It has been stirring and people in the class have taught me so much. Smart ideas, people that arent afraid to speak their mind. Smart witty comments. I have really enjoyed hearing people talk.
The excercise the other night, with the two gentleman from Shaw was great. They were honest, and sweet. I wished they could go to middle schools and talk to teachers. Heck I think Dr. G should market a workshop for teachers. If I was a teacher I would want to know how to reach young students at risk. My daughter is in middle school and I wish someone would go and reinvigorate some of the teachers. I will never forget the charge "Dont give up on them". That is what stood out to me. I will never forget hearing them talk about school. You could tell all they wanted was for teachers to treat them with respect, be cool and not give up on them. I will never forget listening to them. I will always remember hearing them talk. I thought they were outstanding.
This weekend I saw a middle aged African American lady that works at my daughters school . We chatted and I told her about grad school. Most people in my neighborhood have seen me as a stay at home mom for 11 years so she was suprised. She said PLEASE DONT TELL ME YOU ARE GONNA BE A TEACHER!!! I said yes...why. She responded, Because kids today, they arent like your kids...they...dont ...want to learn like your girls do. I paused. Deeply suprised.
This whole time that we have been talking about "oppression" and all these statistics, reading the Nieto book.... I have been thinking that African Americans know all of this. (Not sure if that makes sense) I am sitting here thinking that all African American people know about the inequities in Aig and special ed etc etc. They have been oppressed, they know the system is unfair. Here is a 60 something, intelligent African American, employed by the school system and she said Kids dont want to learn. It just made me realize, not everyone knows how bad the oppression is. (Not sure if that makes sense).
What followed was a great moment. I was mindful to not spout off my new found stats toooo eagerly. So I just added Well maybe the school system hasnt met some of the students needs. I think I will be a good teacher. She looked at me for a long time. She said, well Im very glad to hear you say that. I cant get over how much I have learned. Thanks to everyone for being so cool to share stuff!
Elise, I agree that the course really does have a way of permeating our every day lives. Just the other day, my husband shocked me by saying "I can't wait until this class is over and you're back to normal." Imagine his surprise when I told him that I didn't think there is any going back. My mind has opened in such a new way, I don't WANT to go back to my old way of thinking. Hopefully, it may rub off a little on him, too.
Nancy-- I too have been very engaged in this class and the board. I have found myself pondering different ideas that spawned from class discussions, the board, or Dr. Greenfield's comments. I think this energy is great for us and others who are experiencing this course the same way.
I have enjoyed reading all the comments. I have to agree with everyone else has said about the class staying with you throughout the day. This class has infiltrated my job, my relationship with my husband, and my perception of people from another race. I currently work with school age children and I am consciously making an effort to get to know each and everyone one of them on a personal level so I can plan programs for them. My husband and I have had multiple discussions about our roles in the house and how they were established. At the mall the other night I made a an effort to not hold my purse when black or Hispanic males walked by. It's amazing how much more aware of all biased things I used to do I am.
One thing that stuck out to me in recent reading was the article on Native Americans and their feelings toward sports team taking their identities as mascots.
I am a die-hard Washington Redskins football fan. I see both sides of this issue and am ultimately really torn between the two arguments. I think it is wrong for Native Americans to be used as sports mascots if they have specifically explained how offensive it is to them and have filed lawsuits in order for the teams to change their names. The issue with the Redskins is the most prominent example. After all, how many teams would be allowed in the league under the names Brownskins or Yellowskins these days? Only a month ago was yet another piece of legislation thrown out regarding the name change.
Here's where I find myself at a crossroads. I can't imagine calling the Redskins anything else. To me they are a team, a collective unit working toward excellence. Their name represents something intimidating yet something that deserves respect. When the team was first formed, the term Redskin was unfortunately not all all politically incorrect. The name was chosen because Washington wanted a team of warriors, so Redskins was chosen. Over the past eighty years or so, times have changed, but the identity of the Washington Redskins has not. Championships have been won, respect has been earned - all under one name.
I know it's offensive, and I hate that it is - but to me and a lot of other fans it is anything but a derogatory slur to Native Americans. We are proud to be associated with Native American warriors, but the people choosing names eighty years ago could have picked one less demeaning.
I love reading all the comments. I took two online courses over the fall and spring where we also had blogs to share, but this time it seems that the class is much more wide open (which I love) - the other two classes, there were too many people just trying to write what they hoped the teacher wanted to read - yeech! For me, I've been hit in the face by this whole Ebonics thing. During my first year back to teaching after a 10 yr absence, I went back to always correcting my student's language use. When they said, "Can I use the bathroom?" I always replied, "I don't know. Have you ever done it before?" That one was probably not so bad since it was just grammatical, but when I think about how my African American students would tell me something, e.g., in that they had already turned in their test or homework, would say, "Mines is right dere, on top of da stack," or they would follow "axing" a question with, "What about dat?" I would think I was being funny by supposedly correcting them. In reality, I could have been hurting some feelings and possibly, even if they didn't react to it, could have been subconsciously sending a message that I thought they were stupid. Man oh man! I can't wait til next semester! One of the best things about teaching is being able to start over and do it again, try again to get it right, do it better than last time. How many people can actually do that with their jobs? I feel for Dr Williams who coined the term Ebonics and for the Oakland teachers who wanted to use Ebonics as a springboard to teach their African American students a more standard English. How garbled the message became - and how embarrassing - if you read the Ebonics Timeline, you see our own Senator Lauch Faircloth making a fool out of himself (and NC in the process) with his assanine comments - geesh. How do I take all this and transform the way I've been teaching from the "correct Norkusian way" to incorporate what my varied students bring to the table? Rather than have them wash their hands and change clothes before they sit down at my table for meat and potatoes, I now see it like my students creating a giant buffet full of all kinds of things from everywhere - I have to figure out how to help them see what they might see as their "baggage" or burden as really something to be shared at the table - a real smorgasbord! My next hurdle is hip-hop. Wondering if I can create that Batey Urbano atmosphere where students will feel empowered to express themselves in their own “word-sound pictures” but my wheels are starting to turn in that direction. I already know that it’s got to be more and run deeper than just writing rap verses about Ben Franklin. Any ideas will be appreciated. Can't wait til fall.
Changing how you teach starts with changing how you think, and then realigning your thinking with your actions. Sigh. I learned that the hard way this past weekend. I went to the eye doctor with my husband and he needed new glasses. I'm not a big fan of his current ones, so I wanted to find something that I thought would look great. I had him try things on and only had him look in the mirror if I liked something. Two of the women (one white and one African American) that worked there tried to help us. The white woman and myself were doing the same thing, pulling things, having him try them on, and then making a decision on them without really getting his feedback. I hardly ask for his opinion anymore because it is a battle to get anything out of him. He either says yes or no, and more often than not, it's a no. The reason behind those answers seem unimportant for him to share unless I ask repeatedly, so I've stopped asking and just giving him selected options that I like to choose from.
Well, when the white woman and I liked a pair of glasses on him and he said "no", I just assumed it was the color or something and went back to looking. The African American woman took the initiative and said, "What was wrong with those?" I spoke up and said, "He probably doesn't like the color." To which she responded, "Well, I think that I will ask him since no one else is. Zach, why don't you like those glasses?" He made a comment about the sides (arms?) being too thick, and that normal glasses didn't look like that. I was surprised he voiced his opinion at all, and while I recovered from my shock, she said, "Well now we have something to go forward with."
I didn't realize it then, but I have taken to silencing my husband. I've had too hard of a time trying to get his opinion in the past that I have given up on even giving him the chance to voice an opinion he might freely share. That realization really hurt me. I plan on sitting down with him and talking about it, and work on changing our communication styles so that we are both satisfied with the content of our conversations (which will probably require some compromising) and both feel heard and understood.
All that we are learning is applicable to so many parts of our lives, not just ones that deal with our "others".
I was intrigued by Estelle Trann's article on the myth of Asians as the "model minority." The article's point is hopefully grasped by teachers, i.e., just b/c a student is Asian does not mean that he or she is brilliant and/or hard-working, and so we teachers need to approach these students without this stereotypical assumption, and we also need to be aware that our Asian students may have already been damaged by such assumptions in the past. The article, however, did not do enough to dispel the notion (for me anyway) that Asians might be taking over the US. Its statistics are reassuring to a point, but other input, such as Thomas Friedman's book "The Word Is Flat" and McLeod & Brenman's “Did You Know?/Shift Happens” videos are such powerful appeals with data and dynamic presentation to make an American contemplate moving to Australia. This past semester, I had five Asian students - 3 Chinese and 2 Korean, and they were indeed a "mixed bag" of academic performers. In the article, Catherine Diep reminded me of Sarah in my 4th pd class. It was surprising to me that Sarah was not a better student, but my only criteria for feeling that way was that she was Asian (Chinese, but from the mainland or Taiwan, I don’t know; I never asked). She struggled to make a B, usually C’s. In my 1st pd class, however, was Yuhan, also Chinese, and he was very sharp, scoring 93 (highest score of all my students) on the EOC exam. Jong-wan, a Korean, also did very well, scoring 86 (3rd highest). Tim, also Korean, scored an 80 and, like Sarah, struggled with his studies, but mostly with tardiness and absences; his ave was a C. Like Yuhan, who slept many times in class after the quiz of the day, Tim was probably just bored with the pace and the apparent dullness of his classmates in this basic-level class. I will face many more challenges than I had anticipated next semester, "thanks" to ED 508. Another now added on will be to look at each of my students as individuals, regardless of American cultural background or foreign ethnicity. There's more I could say on this, especially about the difference in performance I have seen between males and females from the Middle East, but I better save that for another blog, and after some further insights from our class.
Stephanie, I like your ideas about being prepared for reality. I sometimes feel the same way, like we're in our own little bubble worlds and when something deviates from what we deem "normal" we reject it (consciously or unconsciously). I like how this course makes us challenge why we consider things normative, and what I've realized is that sometimes it's not my own personal feelings, some things I see as normal have just been socially constructed that way and I haven't taken the time to evaluate the situation personally. Every future teacher should take this course to prepare for the real world of teaching in order to relate to each and every one of their students.
I really enjoy this class! I really liked the last three activities we did in class yesterday (Tuesday)! It was so great to see everyone's inner feeling we thought we couldn't share. It shows us we are all different in who we are and same in the fact that we all have our own identities and all of us have something we think we can't share with everyone.
ReplyDeleteSo, in this class we are trying to get rid of our stereotypes, oppressions and having a "right" answer to everything. In process of being and becoming aware, we will let go of stereotypes. But I wonder, do some of them ever go away? Do you think that with some of them, we will always have a lingering doubt, unless we confront it with someone the stereotype is about? Even if we feel like the stereotype will go away once we clear it up with someone, we don't ask because it might offend someone. To me, that's not social justice. To me that's being oppressed and feeling guilty and having a lowe self esteem because you are doubting yourself rather than get the answer.
Although this class is helping us be aware of our biases, blindspots and stereotypes, what ARE we going to do when we don't have each others or Dr. Greenfields feedback on our reactions to our learning of Social Justice? Is there a way to continually think about Social Justice other than teach it. Someday down the road, when we lose sight of the goal of Social Justice, how will we get back in line? I'm always excited about things intitially and the excitement wears off after a while. How do I keep the excitement this class has created in every one of us?
Sorry the thoughts were completely random. Hope you guys can understand where I'm coming from.
The reading of our secret identities was so powerful last night. I thought about it as I left and wished that I had not chickened out. I gave what was asked for, but I didn't write down one of my hardest identities to think about or deal with because ignoring it is easier than facing it.
ReplyDeleteI think the world tends to operate like that - ignoring what is hard to face - and social injustice is often the result. Courage and confidence can go a long way in changing that, and that is what I have been thinking about for the future. I want to give my students courage and confidence so that they can face themselves, change what needs changing, and have their voices heard.
I am finally at the point, after last night's class where I feel like I am getting it. I have been overwhelmed by the lack of control I feel I have been having over my own thought process. I have always been the kind of person who knows where I stand, and have been fairly immovable on those positions. Questioning those positions has been a true emotional roller coaster, but I am now coming into a place where I am at peace with the ride.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Courtney on the reading of the identities, and I am also feeling I made a safe choice. Honestly, it was difficult for me to think of something that is "secret." I am generally so open. Even now I am still wondering how I could have gone even further, and I am wondering if the things I don't have the courage to admit to others are issues that I can't even admit to myself. I've been repressing them for so long, I wonder if I can get to them without really digging. Getting my emotions in check while dealing with the course content I feel can help me gain that courage, and own my experiences...not bury them. Going through this process can only give me the experience I need to understand my students who may be going through the same process.
I am really enjoying the class and seeing everyone's different opinions. In all my other classes, I have known there was a huge diversity on issues like the ones we discuss, but you are never given the opportunity to discuss or share how one another feels. I also really liked the line we formed across the room and depending on how you felt about an issue depended on where you stood in the line. I thought it was great, because it showed how two people can agree on one issue, but disagree on another. I also liked hearing the answers to "why did you put yourself in that spot in the line?".
ReplyDeleteI have mentioned many times before that I think social justice is a great concept, but will be difficult to achieve in some aspects. I believe that along with having a better understanding for what social justice is, I will be a better teacher because I have thought about all these issues before going into the classroom. I feel more prepared to deal with controversial topics and understand other people's feelings. So no matter what level of social justice I obtain in my classroom, this class has been great in helping me open my eyes and being more accepting of other people's thoughts and opinions.
I enjoy the thoughts the the class invokes within my mind. There are times that I question things I have believed to be true for many years. Not very often do I change my mind on how I feel about the issue, but I am now more open to accepting other ideas about the issue.
I am looking forward to the 2nd half of the class!
Santhiya, I think you make a good point about how to keep social justice in the forefront of our minds, long after this class is over, and outside of the classroom. I think part of really embracing the idea of social justice is acknowledging that there's no ONE appropriate context for it. As someone who truly cares about social justice, it's not enough to just "teach" it or incorporate into the classroom. The best advocate for change will be the one who actively seeks (and finds) new ways and environments in which to implement social justice. Find an organization like Batey Urbano, or start your own (haha, as if we'd have the time as teachers!!...maybe this would be an idea for post-retirement); participate in workshops that will allow you to hone your skills as a social justice advocate even more; continue to expose yourself to the 'uncomfortable.' My question is whether one can actually tire of it all. It sounds so exhausting to continually push yourself to limits in order to open your field of vision. But I totally get what you're saying. How do we stay motivated? It's a great question.
ReplyDeleteI have also enjoyed this class. There have been many comments made by Dr. G as well as everyone else that have pushed me to think outside of my comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI too was moved by the secret identities. Hats off to all who wrote them. It speaks volumes for all of us.
In chapter 4 one section states that three broad goals of a social justice education course are to increase personal awareness, expand knowledge, and encourage action. I am definitely looking at myself in relation to my numerous identities; and advantaged and targeted groups, through a new lense. I already knew that some people struggle for basics like healthcare, housing, education, etc., but I never realized my contribution to the oppression as an individual or member of a group; I have expanded my knowledge in a short time. I also feel encouraged to take action.
If I have been contributing to oppression by the "little " things that I have been doing (or not doing) then I know it is possible to contribute to social justice, using my awareness and new knowledge, by doing many "little " things as well! I am asking myself now, what more can I do besides waiting for those teachable moments? How can I initiate some action that will have an impact?
I found the secret identity such a great way to 1.) explore how we feel silenced about some aspect of our own lives and 2.) parallel this class with the work I do as a counselor. So often in working with high school aged students the presenting problem is not the real problem. I hear things like my friend... that is a sure sign that the friend is the person in front of you.
ReplyDeleteI really like that this class is about more than just theory or the textbook. I appreciate all the activities that bring home and to my work the material presented. I think providing activities will make the message come home for the students I work with, too.
One lingering thought that I continue to have is that with all the work I do as an individual to be an ally, advocate for social justice issues and the self reflection and personal work I undergo I will always be seen as a part of a group. A group of privileged White people. Still thinking about how I will deal with that as I move forward.
I too also really enjoyed the secret identity game. I, like most other wrote something very personal about my family on my slip. I think the most interesting thing was to see how many different identities are actually “secretly” represented in our class. I believe that for me, I have been (and am still) working on not holding my own biases that could hinder potential relationships. Just last week I was guilty of looking at my 2009-2010 class list and trying to figure out who was an ELL student, who lived in the county club community, who was Indian, etc. just from looking at their name on a list! This brought me back to our very first class discussion on the importance of names. Santhiya, I love your question about if stereotypes really “go away”? I have never considered myself as someone who abides by stereotypes, but I still can’t believe I tried to “size” my class up.
ReplyDeleteWhen this class is said and done, I feel by biggest concern is still how to create powerful, emotion evoking social justice lessons that are applicable to 5 year olds.
The last two days at work, I have noticed an interesting change in myself due to this class... let me preface by saying that I work in a Neurology Outpatient Clinic at UNC Hospital - and we offer a program called Charity Care there for patients who don't have insurance. I see all kinds of people every single day - people travel from all over the state (and beyond) to get their needs met where I work. I really wish I could say that we help them... regardless of their economic, medical, or social status. In the last two days in particular, I have really paid attention to how I treat the patients as they check out. I am quite ashamed to admit how many stereotypes filter through my behavior - SUBCONSCIOUSLY. I capitalize it b/c I am really shocked how deeply embedded stereotypes are in me - and how I've been behaving without even realizing it. The last day or so I've just been listening to myself as patients approach me and realizing that I judge how much money they'll have to pay - or not - based on what they look like, how they're dressed, or how they speak. I am someone who prides myself on my exposure to diversity, I am a part of many "targetted" groups and I know what it feels like to be judged before you are even given a chance... and here I was, listening to myself do exactly the same thing to these patients.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of social injustice at my job, and rarely do I speak out against it. For instance, my boss will bend over backwards for patients who come in for infusion treatments that involve drugs that bring in thousands of dollars to our clinic - and treat others who come in for less expensive treatments or who don't necessarily bring in lots of money - like they don't matter. I regularly watch my boss patronize people because they are sick - she speaks to them like they are 3-year-olds, just because they are sick. I'm not innocent... I realized today how I talk to Spanish speaking patients - how reluctant I am to try to speak Spanish back to them to help meet them halfway. I only know a little bit of Spanish - but I rarely try to meet them halfway. Today one of the new girls (who's much less jaded than I ;)) said, "Gracias" to a patient and his face lit up and he smiled and asked her if she spoke Spanish. She said no, but it was obvious how much he appreciated her efforts. I decided that I'm going to try and at least say "Gracias" to every Spanish patient that comes to check out - b/c there's no reason why I shouldn't!! More than that, I realized that I get really frustrated when they call because I can't understand them or help them and instead of going the extra mile, I often just transfer them to the Spanish Line, which is a completely inadequate option for them! Today I thought - my god! These people are just as sick as the other patients, but they can't even explain to me what's happening - what if they really need to see or speak to a doctor urgently, and I just transferred them to a machine that says, "Leave your name and your medical record number and an interpreter will call you back."
So, obviously I'm feeling a new level of guilt and with it - responsibility. I found it easier towards the end of the day to be a little bit nicer to the patients - (after all it isn't their fault my job is impossibly chatotic and stressful!) - and rather than allowing the stereotyps that have been systematically embedded in my psyche to take over - I am trying now to realize how far reaching they are and to tame them and eventually change them.
(okay - so I definitely wrote a book - sorry! it wouldn't even let me post the whole thing! so here's the rest!!!)
ReplyDeleteSo, I do think changing stereotypes is possible. I do believe that we can't change them without confronting them, and by knowing someone with the social identities we stereotype the most can have a powerful impact on the validity and maintenance of those stereotypes. After all, the reason stereotypes exist is because they are constantly reinforced - but we have to ask ourselves if they are reinforced b/c the stereotypes are true, or because our stereotypes have changed our viewpoint and caused us to see a false reality when confronted with them?
I wondered on the way home last night what it would be like if we all just stood up and read our own "secrets" - I wonder how powerful that would be in breaking down some stereotypes. I mean, was I the only one who secretly wished someone would know it was me... so they would think twice about the sterotypes they had towards my secret social identity?? So I could explain to them all the things I'm NOT? I think it is so interesting that we all hide so many crucial things inside - the fear in us is so great - but if we would trust each other more and fear each other less, we could get a lot more accomplished.
So one of the questions seems to be - what is the next step after this class? For many of us it will be at least a year before we are in the classroom (assuming that hiring freezes are lifted some time before the end of the decade). I think that one way is to continue to broaden our cultural awareness and make personal connections with people that are outside our social identity. As NCSU students we have access to hundreds of clubs and organizations that represent different viewpoints. How about attend a meeting or a social event sponsored by one of the groups? Another possibility would be to do some volunteer work to gain access and exposure to a demographic that you haven't had much access to before - the VA hospital in Durham, a community youth center in a low income neighborhood, a homeless shelter are three examples of places that I am personally going to make an effort to both do some good for the community and to bring some new personal perspectives to. The disabled are only disadvantaged when they are put in physical and social environments which do not meet the needs of people who do not fit the profile of "normal". And taking a new view that it isn't my position make children with fewer economic opportunities act like me, but to enhance their own gifts and help them see the possibilities for opportunity and hopefully negate some aspects of learned helplessness in terms of "sense of possibility". My question is how do I do this without seeming condescending or like I am doing "charity work"?
ReplyDeleteThank you for that post, Karen. It invoked much emotion for me. I could only imagine a struggle to seek help, the fear that I may not get the care that I need. You are showing so much compassion, that I think you will make a real difference for many people, not only the targeted people, but also for members of privileged groups, like me, that feel inspired by you sharing what you are processing inside, and your desire to make a change.
ReplyDeleteI agree that getting to know people in targeted groups as individuals can help erase bias or stereotyping. We grew up believing that homosexuality was not part of God’s plan so it was wrong. As I have met and enjoy friendships with homosexuals. I do not think it is wrong anymore.
I think the topic of stereotypes is such a fascinating one. Karen you bring up a good question about whether stereotypes are self-reinforcing or reinforced by us. I personally don't know if I can ever meet the challenge of completely eliminating my stereotypes. It seems an innate characteristic of the human mind to want to compartmentalize and define. Maybe it is the same function that leads us on a continual search for meaning. We fear the unknown and therefore we create our own understanding of it. I would be so curious to see how people all around the world viewed stereotypes. Doesn't the work of sociology even create and reinforce sterotypes? Sociologists study groups of people and cultures. Then they tell us, for example, how Asian family values differ from Western family values. This generlly only touches the surface and doesn't reach any true depth to someone's identity. And, there are ALWAYS outliers and nuances. But somehow we find it helpful to know this difference. I think statistics can create powerful stereotypes too. On the one hand, they are used to raise awareness and create empathy in support for social change: A disproportionate number of youth arrested for violent crimes are African American. But on the other hand, they create a backlash where people who are unfamiliar become more wary and pass judgment. For me, the question is what do we do with these stereotypes. I think you can take groups and make some general statements about them that tend to be true amoung their members. But that shouldn't lead us to any further assumptions. So what do we use this information for? It should be used for the good. For example, understanding cultural differences so that we can make our teaching more equitable. But if an African American walks into our class and we assume they might commit a crime, that is so detrimental and doesn't do anybody any good, and is flat out false. We cannot assume anything about any individual in any group. I met a man from Saudi Arabia one night. He said, "I know what you must think about me. You are scared of me. All Americans are." That was so sad to hear. But he had stereotyped me as an "American" that was close minded and fearful of his people. In reality, we both stood there, two individuals, each with a unique story, wanting to connect and understand the other.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying my time spent in this class. The material and the discussions are very interesting, exciting and sometimes uncomfortable but as mentioned in our reading the uncomfortable feeling is apart of the learning process.
ReplyDeleteWith that said I am a little reluctant when it comes to particpating openly in some of our discussions. I think, for me, it comes from the fear of being known as the minority female who thinks she "knows it all." After Monday's discussion when some of the classmates expressed their feelings toward the reading in my head I kept thinking of all the examples of the targeted groups and how for the most part I can be placed under several of those catergories. It may seem as an "awakening" for many but for me its sad and depressing, not to say that there aren't exceptions within my race, but I know too many individuals that aren't given or aware of the opprotunities out there to better themselves or their situation. I feel that if there were more minority students in the class I would be more comfortable sharing my personal experiences when it comes to being oppressed because of my race. Maybe its a little bias of my own to believe that all minority students would have issues with oppression because oftheir race. I just feel that it would be a lot easier to share those experiences when I know that there are people not just listening to a story but people who listen and truly relate because they have been through the same or similar situation.
Like some others have said, my eyes were really opened Tuesday when Dr. Greenfield read those anonymous papers. Talking about diversity and acutally having it apply to your situation. It really was a lot different hearing all of the different voices in our own classroom shining a light on how diverse we really are. I felt liberated for everyone after that exercise, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I was happy to get my feelings off of my chest.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed having the opportunity to teach everyone on Tuesday. Actually teaching a lesson is a lot different talking about teaching or wanting to teach. It was strange because I heard a lot of people that weren't very confident in their abilities as a teacher do a fantastic job, so I thought I could reassure everyone that the messages they taught came through loud and clear on my end and I thought they all did a fantatsic job.
I'm anxious to see how things work next week as we all are taught by our classmates in group settings. I don't know about the rest of your groups, but we've already learned so much about our topic (race) and how we want to teach it an make it apply to your lives. I hope you get as much out of listening to our lesson as we are preparing it.
See you all tonight.
I too have been enjoying the class and it has been a wonderfully, relaxing and interesting welcome break to the other class that many of us are taking.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to comment on the activity that we did at the end of class the other day. I found myself STRUGGLING to think of an identity that I keep hidden. I was thinking and thinking and could come up with nothing really. What I put down was true but in reality it is something that I will share pretty openly with people. As soon as I walked outside on Wednesday night I started thinking of other things that I should have written. There are parts of my identity that only a few people know about, parts that I have kept hidden from my family and parts that I get embarrassed about.
I am trying to figure out how 5 minutes before that moment,I couldnt think of those things. I guess it shows how much we can oppress things when we want to. If they are not part of the things that we talk about or the things that we show on a day to day basis, we literally try to igonore them. But those very things that I tried to ignore are major parts of my life that I know have affected me and will continue to shape the way I want my future to be.
I wonder if anyone else realized the identities that they had forgotten as soon as they left? Just curious...!
The activity we did in class the other night where we wrote down something not many people knew about us was really powerful. We learned about each other as a collective group, but the anonymity made the exercise much more powerful. I was wondering if an activity like this would fly in the high school classroom. I imagine some students would get upset if they thought their secrets had been leaked to the class, and then parents would get involved, and then the concept behind the activity would backfire. Instead of unifying the group, it would segregate it.
ReplyDeleteIn studying for our group presentation I have learned a great deal about the role of race and immigration in curricular design. Biases and stereotypes plague the socialization processes in America. In a country which claims to have liberty and justice for all, we have not truly achieved either in 240 years. Then again, we must think that the United States has only been a country for this amount of time, and although there hasn't been nearly enough, progress has been made. It's hard to argue objectively when you are in support of social justice sometimes, but achieving true social justice means you have to see both sides of the story.
Since one of my undergrad majors is in Communication Media, the idea of framing within the media is of great interest to me. Chapter 6 discusses an event after Hurricane Katrina about how the media framed different races - White people taking bread from a flooded convenience store were portrayed as "finding bread," while Black people doing the same thing were framed as "looting a flooded store." This really stuck out to me.
One last thing - the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in DC yesterday was a horrible tragedy. White supremacy extremists in my opinion are just as much terrorists as any member of al Quaida. That's just my two cents.
Heather I totally agree with your comment that your mind is thinking in an uncontrolled, or better yet, unplanned way. Santhiya, Emmy, I wonder if once you accept a dimension of this concept that it gets intergrated into your normal thought pattern. You notice more. It becomes less emotionally exhausting and more "normal practice". You routinely consider creating a fair classroom. You routinely think of all your students. Kind of like other issues of fairness in the class. You wouldnt let the boys take more time to answer math problems...because that would be unfair. I hope the same holds true for SJ. This class is helpful but Im done having a heavy heart over this- it feels too draining. I just want to help in any way that I can.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me was the other night when we did the class lessons for eachother. We were all cramming to come up with a plan. (I was freaking out:)- my brain was fried). But I really preffered the lessons where we as a group were being invited to do something. As a "fake 7th grader" that type of instruction seemed to go by quicker, far more engaging. As a future teacher, it made me think I want to be one of those kinds of teachers. I want to have a very interactive classroom. I loved the idea of the Jeopardy game as an example of how "big" to plan. Just found it really exciting. It made me wonder what is available to re-motivate teachers...especially the ones that Jeffrey was talking about. Im such a cheerleader, what can I say. For me that will be the goal. Teach because you were meant to-teach big because you are supposed to!
Elise the identity thing the other night was great to hear for me too. I thought of how easy it is to think that you and those that you know are the ones that have had layers in life. Then you hear the collective experience and you realize most people know struggle and limitation.
It was so touching. Bigger than that actually.
I am so sorry that I missed class on Tuesday evening - if I had a choice I would not have. It sounds like that final excercise was powerful. I know that this class is spilling over into other aspects of my life, and appropriately so. I was talking about several issues from class on Tuesday evening with some friends who aren't close confidants, but I think our discussion was even better for that. It was interesting to see some of the same initial fear/discomfort reactions when I started to talk about AAE, in particular. I also have been having conversations via facebook with an old high school friend. I don't think we ever once acknowledged our friendshhip in terms of her being African American and my being white. And in our high school, while we weren't unusual (or even unusually close), there was a definite self-segregation working and there were tensions at times.
ReplyDeleteI was also reflecting on the continuum line exercize. I talked to my mom about it and she pointed out that my feeling we need both sides of the continnum represented sometimes is not off the wall coming from my very political family. My father was one of those long - haired types in the 60s, but he also went "clean with Gene" if any of you remember that movement. Gene was a close friend of my father until his death. My father is all about the power of moving within the systems to promote change (he's a lobbyist, no less), but we've also always been told that sometimes you need someone shouting on one end while another is whispering at the other. It's harder to tune out both than it is to tune out one or the other individually.
Anisha, I think I have been struggling with the same things you have been. I've been a little confused about what to do in class sometimes. Thanks for expressing clearly, especially the last part, what I could not. But I know know I have biases and I am an oppressor. During the discussions, I try to think about how the group I oppress against must feel. In that way, this class has helped me tremendously. I'm also thankful for the things I learn in this class from a perspective of being a teacher some day. Hearing other student's thoughts will prepare me for knowing my students when I teach.
ReplyDeleteSince it sounds like some of you took some risks on Tuesday night when I was not there, I thought I'd do the same. Alot of this is free writing, and I am not going to re-read it before posting - I am just putting it out there. Take it as you will. Warning: I haven't shared a poem I've written in a good 20 years and tehre's probably a good reason for that.
ReplyDeleteI wrote the following when I was thinking about what it means to be in the advantaged group, and what it might be that in acknowledging those advantages, that I need to give up. Most of the time, I have a voice, and what I think I need to give up is that I don't always need to be using it. I believe in making personal connections to the material we are reading, and yet....part of me really needs to remember that silence is something I can give back in a good way - like yielding time on the Senate floor. Yes, exactly that! If you don't know, during specific debates, Senators are giving a particular amount of time - they can use every minute...or they can "yield it back" to the floor or to a colleague...they can choose to allow someone else's voice to be heard...
Your voice is beautiful
to me
though the words sometimes hurt
i am not
what i thought i was
to you
to me
to
i am a good person
i AM
i mean well
but this isn't about me
this is about
your beautiful voice
listening
hearing?
so often in a whisper
your beautiful voice
in the background.
turn UP the volume
so i can hear
i can
this isn't about me
but i want
this isn't about me
to HEAR
this isn't about me
your angry voice
i want to
this isn't about me
to cry
when i hear your mournful voice
but it isn't for me
to do that
to be that
it's in me
your beautful voice
speak. sing. shout
i'll listen
this isn't about me
i'll be silent
this isn't about me
your beautiful voice
I enjoyed the anonymous identity activity we did at the end of class on Tuesday. It was an eye opening experience to think that my future students could also be dealing with the same things and not trust any one enough to be able to talk about it and work through it. By not being able to live in a society that accepts people for who they what will be the result for students who have hidden identities? Will they feel silenced and opressed forever? Will they eventually talk to someone and fear the response? Worse yet, will they commit suicide because they do not have an outlet for what is happening inside of them? This exercise really showed me the importance of creating a classroom environment that is safe for all students to discuss what is affecting them. I had a ten year old boy tell me he wanted to commit suicide because his mom wasn't going to buy him any more toys. To some this could have been seen as a joke but I took it very seriously and asked him questions that gave me insight into his home life, school, and peers. It was a scary moment for me but now with this class I can see the importance of getting to know my students on their level and helping them to feel safe and secure with me as their friend/teacher. By gaining this boys trust we were able to discuss the real reason behind him wanting to commit suicide--he didn't think his mom loved him anymore because she wasn't going to buy him things. He equated love with receiving material things.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this pertains to social justice but in some round about way I think it does. Because even though he is a white male, he still has influences and things that he cannot control that will change his positionality.
In response to Elise, I also thought about something else to write down after class was over.
I'd like to thank the class for allowing my students to share their ideas and for welcoming them with open arms. Both of those young men mean a great deal to me, and they have been on the verge of a "break out" into realizing their incredible potential. You would not believe how good they felt after tonight's class. Excited about believing that they helped y'all out, they expressed a desire to work with me to visit a whole bunch of schools to talk to students this year. I really appreciate everyone's encouraging words and thoughtful questions....
ReplyDeleteI wish I attended class on Tuesday night...instead was home with a bug. The secret identity activity seemed very powerful based on the many comments about it. This is one of the activities that exemplifies the hands on approach to social justice Dr. Greenfield delivers. I appreciate his passion and encouragement and have enjoyed conversing and interacting with you all in the class.
ReplyDeletetest..
ReplyDeleteI, too, enjoyed Tuesday night's activity. I had a hard time thinking of something secret because I tell my close friends and family just about everything. But I felt close to people in the class after the identities were read because I shared some with others and felt moved by them all. What a gift.
ReplyDeleteThe young men who visited our class tonight were delightful. What I was most impressed (besides their sweet personalities) was their insight that teachers need to spend one-on-one time with students and form a relationship them. I think that was said three or four times. Fortunately, I imagine that will be one of the most fun and rewarding parts of teaching and therefore easy to do.
Tonight's group did a wonderful job. It is interesting that the part of the movie shown was about a teacher creating a relationship with a student.
There are so many insightful comments on these blogs. It takes me a while to read them all and then I feel as though I cannot add anything new. But reading them really lifts my faith in people. It makes me feel happy and hopeful to be around people who care about these issues.
Santhiya, I was thinking about how to stay excited about social justice issues in the future. I think maybe the awareness we get from this experience of learning about and discussing social justice issues with future teachers will change us in some way. We will take that change with us and, as Dr. Greenfeild said tonight, it will become easier and easier to do and will just become natural to us. We won't be perfect, but we will be moving in the right direction. So, I guess what I am saying is that it won't be necessary to stay excited about it because it will just be part of who we are.
Since I have been in this class, I have tried looking back to when I was in school and remember a specific time when I or another classmate was treated unfairly. I can recall many instances where children treated either myself or other children unfairly (which they all do); but I can not remember a specific time where I or someone else was treated unfairly due to an identity. This being said, I also have a terrible memory, and I know this can not be the case for the entire time in was in school, from elementary to college. I also have to take into consideration that just because I don’t remember it or didn’t see or hear it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, just like the story Dr. Greenfield told on Tuesday about some students that were upset by some things his professor had said that he didn’t hear.
ReplyDeleteNow that I am more aware of Social Justice and how it can affect children; I have started to pay closer attention to people around me and the people I work with. I have heard several teachers refer to the growing numbers of Hispanic children that are coming into the schools and how they don’t like having them in their classes because they can’t speak English. They complain because they have to learn a few phrases in Spanish so they can, at minimum, give these students basic instructions, such as sit down, stand, listen, and be quiet. But I have also heard teachers make remarks at how quickly they are able to pick up our language. I believe Joanne said tonight that children are natural problem solvers, and if you watch and observe children it is very true!
Elise...I wanted to tell you that I felt the exact same way! I was the last person sitting in my group to come up with something, and what I wrote was nothing really too (I only wrote it because Dr. Greenfield was coming around with his bag)! When he finished reading all of the identities that people had written, I felt as if I completely forgot that I was allowed to use my brain! I felt like what I had written was so rediculous in comparison to some of the things other people had! But, as soon as I was driving home, it was like I had so many things I could have put down that I do not share; unlike the thing I wrote-which was not something I really keep to myself. I just could not think of anything significant to write about myself at that moment. It is good to know I wasn't the only one out there that seemed to have a brief moment of memory loss.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to respond to Santhiya and Anisha. Santhiya, in your first comments you mentioned what we would do about social justice when we are not longer taking this class. Here is how I see this. It seems the idea of this class is that social justice is presented so that as teachers we know how to respond when there is a lack of it or when someone in our schools questions our sense of social justice. This could be from parents, other teachers or even administrators.
ReplyDeleteHaving seen this, as some of our classmates who have been teaching also know, is that because of our awareness from this class we may have an addtional component to our conscience for this.
Also, for Anisha, who made a point of how people may judege someone by their race regarding the approach to social justice, there is nothing wrong with that. People who have the same experiences whether visible from the outside or not do sympathize. As educators, I hope that we can go above that. For example when I was in your group to make up the rhyme, there were some that wanted us to write about our common physical traits at first. In that case, we all had dark hair. Yet, when we opened our minds, we found that we all were teachers that had the same course of study which was Humanities.
Mariel - I really enjoyed your poem. I had my first struggle with SJ when the topic of AAE was raised. The video of the kids learning with Jeopardy helped open up my mind on the issue of AAE, but right now, your poem has impacted my thought process on linguicism. I love poetry, and I especially like the style in which you wrote, which is rather like my own when I write poetry - short, emphatic phrases that are longer thoughts disjointed and placed with pause and room for breath. I love poetry that defies the principles of standard English - so why am I not more open with speech that does the same thing? Why do I only want to accept it in the form of poetry when speaking is a poetic expression at times? Why have I limited what I love to a specific format? Why have I imposed unfounded restrictions on others when it comes to verbal expression?
ReplyDeleteThe biggest impact on my thoughts of AAE came from Deas and Cedric last night. I loved listening to them and packed away their advice for when I am eventually in the classroom. Their words did not always fit as "standard English" but what did that matter when their message was always so clear and invaluable? They were great young men, and I hate to think that as recently as a few weeks ago - had they been my students - I would have thought they needed my help to "fix" their speech patterns. So blind! How do you get caught up on something so insignificant?!? I can't believe that I could have missed their message because of my stupid standard English expectations.
Granted, I still am an advocate of standard English, but my appreciation for the ideas expressed despite the form of expression has grown by challenging my stance on standard English expectations. Thanks Dr.G for presenting that challenge and for indirectly opening my eyes by inviting Deas and Cedric.
Courtney - yep, I think we've had some very similar issues with AAE - my preconceptions definately ruled out that it was anything other than (and this is not intended to offend) bastardized, bad English. It humbled me to see how I had not questioned how it had been framed for me at all. Silence is a big issue with me - I don't like to think that I would have been actively silencing some of my students by refusing too hear what they were saying and paying a bit too much attention to how they were saying it.
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed being in this class. I feel lucky to be among such an enlightened group of people who are open to new ideas and experiences. Tuesday’s secret identity activity was very powerful and I felt terrible when Dr. G began reading them because I did not share anything all that personal. I did not feel comfortable enough to actually write something that personal down on paper. I think writing something down can be very intimidating because it seems permanent. I was not ready to face some parts of my identity. It made me aware of how many times I may feel like I have succeeded in reaching out to a student and perhaps they are holding back due to feeling too vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry I missed Thursday night’s class. I sounds like it was really inspiring.
I think that the idea of social justice in a classroom is something that I subconsciously thought about, but not really to the full extent that we have discussed in this course. I mean, it only makes since to me to try to give everyone an equal chance to learn. However, I am now beginning to think of many more ways that that is possible without just resaying the same things in different terms or slower or repeating things over and over. Real life applications for people, based on what they know and what they are about, seems to make a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteI guess my issue thus far has been feeling like this book is saying we have to have these open discussions all of the time about social justice issues. But I guess the book is more geared to those who are teaching social justice, not those teaching certain subjects. Now I feel its more possible to incorporate social justice into the learning without feeling like I have to open the class up all the time like we tend to do in this course.
I also thought the activity Tuesday night was pretty interesting. I shared something that I keep quite secretive unless it's with family or friends that I am extremely close with. So hearing other people who had things they keep to themselves makes me feel a connection to everyone. Maybe I can't understand your problem, but I understand their is something you hide that you may not be proud of just like I do. I have to admit though, I would like to know who went with what so I could ask questions about some of them to learn some things.
Chris....Thanks for the comment....I know that there are people who would be able to relate or at least sympathize with my or another's past experience(s) but I was explaining how it's uncomfortable sharing those experiences when not many people in the class look like you, although the exercise we did in class really showed that everyone comes to the class with baggage and most of us can relate on many levels. I realize that I have a lot of more "opening" up to do if I want to have a great experience with my future students.
ReplyDeleteSanthiya...it's so refreshing to hear that I'm not alone and someone shares some of the thoughts and feelings I do. Like you, this class has helped me tremendously. I've been thinking about my identity and how I play a role in this society and in this world more in the past two weeks than I have in my 24 years of existence on this earth.....And I know that this class will give me the tools and resources to effectively educate my students about social justice.....so thank you Dr. Greenfield...
Larry, I think that that idea of social justice from the book is, as I agree with you that it is not for specific subjects. It is just about awareness. This is why this goes into sociology. Sociology writes entire books about something that will only present itself in brief moments in the classroom. Of course, there is the long scenario too. Padaeia covers much of this as related to instruction.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found from other classes was really neat when I actually had classes with teachers who actually taught at the same schools that I was teaching at. Even though people in this class are from different disciplines, I think everyone will find out how small the teaching community actually is. That has NOTHING TO DO WITH AVAILABLE JOBS, but it has everything to do with networking. I have met so many fascinating teachers and not just in my own licensure area.
I think you're doing fine Anisha. It's still a journey for me too. Many teachers have told me that it is one that continues.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying the class. I have found myself more deeply considering some self-directed prejudices in myself, and it has been difficult and enlightening to allow me to consider myself disabled, even if it is hopefully temporary.
ReplyDeleteI've been reflecting on all the things we've discussed and learned a great deal outside of class, and I am excited to consider how I'll work to incorporate social justice issues into a middle school science curriculum.
I also really enjoyed the AAE Jeopardy video, and it helped me understand how to respect kids' own language while still teaching them how to integrate into the professional world when and if they choose to later in life.
I will admit there have been very few times in my life that I have felt like a minority; however, I walked into this class feeling like one. It was slightly unnerving. One identity I presently have is being a non-traditional student, in that I am many years older than my classmates and professors. For the most part that identity merges with my other identities as we share classroom activities and I focus on all the thought provoking information presented. I believe our classroom is a safe and respectful environment for everyone, who chooses, to use their voice, take a chance, share experiences; we can learn so much from diverse perspectives, whatever identity is chosen, but especially if it is from a targeted group. I enjoyed our enthusiastic guest speakers Thursday night. The honesty of their responses, from their personal experiences, to our questions shed light on several topics that I can carry forward to help make me a better and more informed facilitator.
ReplyDeleteThis class has been surprisingly enriching. I feel like I am finally starting to understand the realities and complexities of something that I always wanted to participate in: social justice education. As I have become aware of society's pervasive hierarchy, and my own place in that hierarchy, I have wanted to do my part to challenge it. But I never made it past good intentions; like becoming a teacher to influence children. Now I am finally beginning to understand the full power and potential I can have as a teacher using social justice education. This class has both amplified the fear and anticipation of entering the classroom. I am scared by all the opportunities of messing up, but I am excited by all the chances I will have to implement social justice and positively change a student's future.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really love about social justice education is the way it connects to reality. I was always a dedicated student, and followed that academic life through a master’s degree. Then I had that moment of awakening when I realized how detached I was from reality, and how poorly trained/prepared I was for reality. That is one reason why I am here, I want to engage and participate in the world I live in, and I am excited to use social justice education in that engagement.
I will admit that several of the issues raised in discussion have made me uncomfortable, but I am so glad that we kept going. In my experience, I sought out challenging situations, but I have largely removed myself from the ambiguous and sensitive issues such as racism and classism. Thanks to the dynamic and incisive discussions in this class I am becoming more comfortable with my own identities. Therefore I am more comfortable with the idea of openly discussing the intersections of my identities with others, whether that is as advantaged and targeted groups or companions in the same group.
What I really love about social justice education is the way it connects to reality. I was always a dedicated student, and followed that academic life through a masters. Then I had that moment of awakening when I realized how detached I was from reality, and how poorly trained/prepared I was for reality. That is one reason why I am here, I want to engage and participate in the world I live in, and I am excited to use social justice education in that engagement.
I will admit that several of the issues raised in discussion have made me uncomfortable, but I am so glad that we kept going. In my experience, I sought out challenging situations, but I have largely removed myself from the ambiguous and sensitive issues such as racism and classism. Thanks to the dynamic and incisive discussions in this class I am becoming more comfortable with my own identities. Therefore I am more comfortable with the idea of openly discussing the intersections of my identities with others, whether that be as advantaged and targeted groups or companions in the same group.
First of all, I am glad to see that so many others also had that lapse the other night when we were supposed to write our hidden identities. But I thinkit goes far beyond the idea of simply "we forgot"..This class has already made me think in so many different ways and this is a prime example.
ReplyDeleteI dont think its simply that we forgot but that we chose to forget and supress those identities that we keep so hidden. Anyway..I could go on that topic for hours, no need to bore you all!
But I have noticed how much this class has become a part of my daily conversation. I find myself mentioning "identities" and "privileges" in every day common conversation.I am not the type to be an extremist in any direction but I am enjoying this new sense of information and almost like enlightenment. I know, I know...it almost sounds trite..but I have never had a course integrate itself so deeply in my daily activities.
Its funny to realize how so many of my friends and family members KNOW about this course and so many that are interested in the course.
I guess it goes to show you how many people actually do have an interest in these things but when we aren't faced with the ideas, its hard to address them. The last "diversity" class, per se, that I took was in college. I will be totally honest and say I dont even remember it. I think it filled some requirement and I am ashamed to say I cannot even remember more.
But that is why I think it is important to start early. If we incorporate things early, students will stop seeing accents as a sign of "ignorance" and begin to see everything in a way that we now imagine.
I am still uncomfortable with a lot of the things we have mentioned in class and I too, like Courtney, enjoy, love and respect the previously mentioned "Standard English". We all still have a lot of personal opinions, biases and perspectives that cannot be altered by a 4 week course. But I think whats so remarkable about Dr. Greenfield's class is that they are questioned.
I keep coming back to this blog to read what has been added. I have never been in a class that stayed with me throughout each day like this one does.
ReplyDeleteI want to chime in on what Mariel and Courtney C. said about their initial impressions of AAE. I never realized that my love of "properly spoken" English could have the unintended effect of diminishing my opinion of those who do not speak it the way I valued it to be spoken. I never thought of poetry or lyrics to songs or colloquialisms as improper English - they are acceptable, yet when I hear people whose "first" language is English speak it differently, I assume it is improper English. Who am I to say what is or isn't proper English? I loved learning a little about AAE the other night. That was the first time I have ever been presented with the thought that all forms of language are equlvalent, but some are given more social power. I will continue to think about that.
I agree with Nancy that this class really does stay with you throughout the day. I almost feel like before taking this class, that I lived a totally different life. Now that I am more socially aware of what is going on in the world around me, I feel compelled to analyze everything that happens, with regard to how the world works, and who would be in a priveleged or oppressed group. I think I do this so that I can note where I am in each situation, and who I need to level with so that I will be on an equal level with those around me. Situations that used to not phase me, I feel called to change. It is an amazing feeling to be totally aware of what's going on in the world around you and know that you can do something to change it for the better.
ReplyDeleteThis class has really stayed with me on a daily basis as well (and no, it's not only because all I do outside of work now is read, blog, sleep, eat, write!) I was having a very interesting conversation with my husband and our realtor at lunch Thursday - talking about neighborhoods and our house search. When my husband and I were looking for houses it was very interesting that when we looked at neighborhoods that were more in our price range, if we saw more black people than white people in the neighborohood - my husband would say, "I don't know, I don't think I want to live in a black neighborhood." Needless to say... that sparked pretty intense discussions. I, the white woman, was aguing with my black husband about how wrong it was for him to discriminate against black people by saying he didn't want to live in a "black" neighborhood. I'm pretty sure that no one would've guessed the conversation would've gone this way. It is very similar, though, to many things we've learned in class about how targeted groups accept "their place" in a socially unjust society and as a result end up stereotyping themselves! My husband's argument was that we had to look out for ourselves, and that if we bought a house in a predominantly black neighborhood, our house would not appreciate in value as much. As appalling as it was to hear my husband speak this way - it was difficult to argue with him. My argument was that if everyone had that attitude then we would eventually have total segregation in our neighborhoods and that it would take removing this stereotypical language from our vocabulary entirely before we could really affect change... so that conversations like the one we had about where to buy our house wouldn't be necessary. My husband would probably kill me if he knew I was blogging about this... but it's relevant and I thought it may give you all some food for thought...
ReplyDeleteOne thing our guest speakers on Thursday had to say that really struck me (and I believe relates to the situation above) was when they were discussing the repuation that Shaw University has (I didn't realize it had such a bad reputation) and Sedrick said, "If it was that bad, Dr. Greenfield wouldn't be teaching there." I thought that was so amazing - that having Dr. Greenfield teach there changed their whole perception of the school and gave them a source of pride. I want to be that kind of teacher. I want to be less afraid of what school I end up teaching at, and more afraid of not teaching at the school I can make the most difference at (if that makes sense).
Marielswig - loved the poem! Encore, encore!
ReplyDeleteMariel, thanks for sharing your poem - I know how nervous I am when putting my poetry "out there" and it means a lot that you shared it w/us. It's a great piece!
ReplyDeleteThis class stays with me all day too. I am glad it was my first class. It will shade my future classes. Unfortunately, I dont think any other class is gonna be as much fun:) It has been stirring and people in the class have taught me so much. Smart ideas, people that arent afraid to speak their mind. Smart witty comments. I have really enjoyed hearing people talk.
ReplyDeleteThe excercise the other night, with the two gentleman from Shaw was great. They were honest, and sweet. I wished they could go to middle schools and talk to teachers.
Heck I think Dr. G should market a workshop for teachers. If I was a teacher I would want to know how to reach young students at risk. My daughter is in middle school and I wish someone would go and reinvigorate some of the teachers. I will never forget the charge "Dont give up on them". That is what stood out to me. I will never forget hearing them talk about school. You could tell all they wanted was for teachers to treat them with respect, be cool and not give up on them. I will never forget listening to them. I will always remember hearing them talk. I thought they were outstanding.
This weekend I saw a middle aged African American lady that works at my daughters school . We chatted and I told her about grad school. Most people in my neighborhood have seen me as a stay at home mom for 11 years so she was suprised. She said PLEASE DONT TELL ME YOU ARE GONNA BE A TEACHER!!! I said yes...why. She responded, Because kids today, they arent like your kids...they...dont ...want to learn like your girls do. I paused. Deeply suprised.
This whole time that we have been talking about "oppression" and all these statistics, reading the Nieto book.... I have been thinking that African Americans know all of this. (Not sure if that makes sense) I am sitting here thinking that all African American people know about the inequities in Aig and special ed etc etc. They have been oppressed, they know the system is unfair. Here is a 60 something, intelligent African American, employed by the school system and she said Kids dont want to learn. It just made me realize, not everyone knows how bad the oppression is. (Not sure if that makes sense).
What followed was a great moment. I was mindful to not spout off my new found stats toooo eagerly. So I just added Well maybe the school system hasnt met some of the students needs. I think I will be a good teacher.
She looked at me for a long time. She said, well Im very glad to hear you say that.
I cant get over how much I have learned. Thanks to everyone for being so cool to share stuff!
Elise, I agree that the course really does have a way of permeating our every day lives. Just the other day, my husband shocked me by saying "I can't wait until this class is over and you're back to normal." Imagine his surprise when I told him that I didn't think there is any going back. My mind has opened in such a new way, I don't WANT to go back to my old way of thinking. Hopefully, it may rub off a little on him, too.
ReplyDeleteNancy-- I too have been very engaged in this class and the board. I have found myself pondering different ideas that spawned from class discussions, the board, or Dr. Greenfield's comments. I think this energy is great for us and others who are experiencing this course the same way.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading all the comments. I have to agree with everyone else has said about the class staying with you throughout the day. This class has infiltrated my job, my relationship with my husband, and my perception of people from another race. I currently work with school age children and I am consciously making an effort to get to know each and everyone one of them on a personal level so I can plan programs for them. My husband and I have had multiple discussions about our roles in the house and how they were established. At the mall the other night I made a an effort to not hold my purse when black or Hispanic males walked by. It's amazing how much more aware of all biased things I used to do I am.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stuck out to me in recent reading was the article on Native Americans and their feelings toward sports team taking their identities as mascots.
ReplyDeleteI am a die-hard Washington Redskins football fan. I see both sides of this issue and am ultimately really torn between the two arguments. I think it is wrong for Native Americans to be used as sports mascots if they have specifically explained how offensive it is to them and have filed lawsuits in order for the teams to change their names. The issue with the Redskins is the most prominent example. After all, how many teams would be allowed in the league under the names Brownskins or Yellowskins these days? Only a month ago was yet another piece of legislation thrown out regarding the name change.
Here's where I find myself at a crossroads. I can't imagine calling the Redskins anything else. To me they are a team, a collective unit working toward excellence. Their name represents something intimidating yet something that deserves respect. When the team was first formed, the term Redskin was unfortunately not all all politically incorrect. The name was chosen because Washington wanted a team of warriors, so Redskins was chosen. Over the past eighty years or so, times have changed, but the identity of the Washington Redskins has not. Championships have been won, respect has been earned - all under one name.
I know it's offensive, and I hate that it is - but to me and a lot of other fans it is anything but a derogatory slur to Native Americans. We are proud to be associated with Native American warriors, but the people choosing names eighty years ago could have picked one less demeaning.
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ReplyDeleteI love reading all the comments. I took two online courses over the fall and spring where we also had blogs to share, but this time it seems that the class is much more wide open (which I love) - the other two classes, there were too many people just trying to write what they hoped the teacher wanted to read - yeech! For me, I've been hit in the face by this whole Ebonics thing. During my first year back to teaching after a 10 yr absence, I went back to always correcting my student's language use. When they said, "Can I use the bathroom?" I always replied, "I don't know. Have you ever done it before?" That one was probably not so bad since it was just grammatical, but when I think about how my African American students would tell me something, e.g., in that they had already turned in their test or homework, would say, "Mines is right dere, on top of da stack," or they would follow "axing" a question with, "What about dat?" I would think I was being funny by supposedly correcting them. In reality, I could have been hurting some feelings and possibly, even if they didn't react to it, could have been subconsciously sending a message that I thought they were stupid. Man oh man! I can't wait til next semester! One of the best things about teaching is being able to start over and do it again, try again to get it right, do it better than last time. How many people can actually do that with their jobs? I feel for Dr Williams who coined the term Ebonics and for the Oakland teachers who wanted to use Ebonics as a springboard to teach their African American students a more standard English. How garbled the message became - and how embarrassing - if you read the Ebonics Timeline, you see our own Senator Lauch Faircloth making a fool out of himself (and NC in the process) with his assanine comments - geesh. How do I take all this and transform the way I've been teaching from the "correct Norkusian way" to incorporate what my varied students bring to the table? Rather than have them wash their hands and change clothes before they sit down at my table for meat and potatoes, I now see it like my students creating a giant buffet full of all kinds of things from everywhere - I have to figure out how to help them see what they might see as their "baggage" or burden as really something to be shared at the table - a real smorgasbord! My next hurdle is hip-hop. Wondering if I can create that Batey Urbano atmosphere where students will feel empowered to express themselves in their own “word-sound pictures” but my wheels are starting to turn in that direction. I already know that it’s got to be more and run deeper than just writing rap verses about Ben Franklin. Any ideas will be appreciated. Can't wait til fall.
ReplyDeleteChanging how you teach starts with changing how you think, and then realigning your thinking with your actions. Sigh. I learned that the hard way this past weekend. I went to the eye doctor with my husband and he needed new glasses. I'm not a big fan of his current ones, so I wanted to find something that I thought would look great. I had him try things on and only had him look in the mirror if I liked something. Two of the women (one white and one African American) that worked there tried to help us. The white woman and myself were doing the same thing, pulling things, having him try them on, and then making a decision on them without really getting his feedback. I hardly ask for his opinion anymore because it is a battle to get anything out of him. He either says yes or no, and more often than not, it's a no. The reason behind those answers seem unimportant for him to share unless I ask repeatedly, so I've stopped asking and just giving him selected options that I like to choose from.
ReplyDeleteWell, when the white woman and I liked a pair of glasses on him and he said "no", I just assumed it was the color or something and went back to looking. The African American woman took the initiative and said, "What was wrong with those?" I spoke up and said, "He probably doesn't like the color." To which she responded, "Well, I think that I will ask him since no one else is. Zach, why don't you like those glasses?" He made a comment about the sides (arms?) being too thick, and that normal glasses didn't look like that. I was surprised he voiced his opinion at all, and while I recovered from my shock, she said, "Well now we have something to go forward with."
I didn't realize it then, but I have taken to silencing my husband. I've had too hard of a time trying to get his opinion in the past that I have given up on even giving him the chance to voice an opinion he might freely share. That realization really hurt me. I plan on sitting down with him and talking about it, and work on changing our communication styles so that we are both satisfied with the content of our conversations (which will probably require some compromising) and both feel heard and understood.
All that we are learning is applicable to so many parts of our lives, not just ones that deal with our "others".
I was intrigued by Estelle Trann's article on the myth of Asians as the "model minority." The article's point is hopefully grasped by teachers, i.e., just b/c a student is Asian does not mean that he or she is brilliant and/or hard-working, and so we teachers need to approach these students without this stereotypical assumption, and we also need to be aware that our Asian students may have already been damaged by such assumptions in the past. The article, however, did not do enough to dispel the notion (for me anyway) that Asians might be taking over the US. Its statistics are reassuring to a point, but other input, such as Thomas Friedman's book "The Word Is Flat" and McLeod & Brenman's “Did You Know?/Shift Happens” videos are such powerful appeals with data and dynamic presentation to make an American contemplate moving to Australia.
ReplyDeleteThis past semester, I had five Asian students - 3 Chinese and 2 Korean, and they were indeed a "mixed bag" of academic performers. In the article, Catherine Diep reminded me of Sarah in my 4th pd class. It was surprising to me that Sarah was not a better student, but my only criteria for feeling that way was that she was Asian (Chinese, but from the mainland or Taiwan, I don’t know; I never asked). She struggled to make a B, usually C’s. In my 1st pd class, however, was Yuhan, also Chinese, and he was very sharp, scoring 93 (highest score of all my students) on the EOC exam. Jong-wan, a Korean, also did very well, scoring 86 (3rd highest). Tim, also Korean, scored an 80 and, like Sarah, struggled with his studies, but mostly with tardiness and absences; his ave was a C. Like Yuhan, who slept many times in class after the quiz of the day, Tim was probably just bored with the pace and the apparent dullness of his classmates in this basic-level class. I will face many more challenges than I had anticipated next semester, "thanks" to ED 508. Another now added on will be to look at each of my students as individuals, regardless of American cultural background or foreign ethnicity. There's more I could say on this, especially about the difference in performance I have seen between males and females from the Middle East, but I better save that for another blog, and after some further insights from our class.
Stephanie, I like your ideas about being prepared for reality. I sometimes feel the same way, like we're in our own little bubble worlds and when something deviates from what we deem "normal" we reject it (consciously or unconsciously). I like how this course makes us challenge why we consider things normative, and what I've realized is that sometimes it's not my own personal feelings, some things I see as normal have just been socially constructed that way and I haven't taken the time to evaluate the situation personally. Every future teacher should take this course to prepare for the real world of teaching in order to relate to each and every one of their students.
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