My
class has recently started work on reading and discussing Maya Angelou’s “High
School Graduation,” which seems like it is a great story to inform students on
the context and issues that students had to deal with during times of
segregation. I actually really enjoyed
the story and have always had a great deal of respect for Maya Angelou for what
she has done and the name she has made for herself. She just seems like an amazing lady who has
given so much of herself to helping others, despite not reading much of her
work. However, I digress.
I
found that while I am more than happy to provide students with as much context
as I can for a work such as this, I realized (and this surprised me) that I am in
fact slightly uncomfortable with discussing segregation and “colored”
schools. I have no issues with reading a
text from a time period and using the vocabulary that is necessary because I
feel like texts are products of their times, but I realize I wonder if I focus
too much (or not enough) on making sure that what I am saying may not be taken
as offensive by one student or another.
I
guess when it comes down to it, I just feel a bit uncomfortable as the “privileged
majority” attempting to pose questions about other ethnicities to students who
are actually affected by this, and I wonder if this is something I merely need
to get over or if there is a better way to handle this subject. I legitimately would appreciate input on the
best way to handle discussing cultural issues involving ethnicity, religion,
gender, etc. where I am “on the other side”.
This
also had me thinking about ways to avoid potential bias in classrooms, because
even though I feel like I am respectful of diversity, I am the privileged majority,
whether I feel like that or not.
Unconscious biases might be causing me to treat certain students
differently. I try not to take my
students’ differences for granted, but it is impossible to do with how much
diversity there is, especially in our school district. One thing I looked at for tips is: http://www.stemequitypipeline.org/_documents/TrainingModules/_R1a_%20Classroom%20Tips%20for%20Non.pdf . I
feel like I unconsciously attempt to do most of this anyway, based on my own experiences,
but I will attempt to make a conscious effort to continue considering actions
like this for sake of respecting my students’ diversity.
I don’t know if you remember our cultural issues class a couple of years ago, but we discussed this exact problem. I remember thinking when is discussing our prejudices and discomforts really ever going to matter in the classroom? I guess, we are both discovering this semester that they are going to matter on a daily basis. What we focused on as the most important issue is understanding where you stand and how you feel about race. It sounds like you already know that (you are uncomfortable with it). I don’t think it is something you can “get over”. You can probably find ways that make you feel more comfortable when talking about these issues, but the fact that society views you as part of the “privileged majority” isn’t going to change. Honestly, it sounds like you are doing the best thing you can do by providing students with as much contexts as possible. I don’t know how much student discussion you are using, but that might be a good thing to include in these types of lessons. Ask students questions like, “Why do you think segregation happened?” and focus on the society and attitude that existed during that specific time period.
ReplyDeleteI think the way you feel is valid. It is not an easy topic to address. The fact you worry, shows that you care. Another aspect of the situation is how others perceive your actions and words. Personally, I know that you're going to give everybody a fair shake. I think Kelly's question is a good one. You might also address defacto segregation and perhaps even think about the potential ways that all people can be biased, and it's not just about race. There are plenty of topics to address from religious differences to socioeconomic status and sexual orientation.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting discussion, Mr. Thompson, one that I hope you'll consider returning to in your remaining posts. As you engage in inquiry related to race, privilege, and how to address these issues in your classroom, share what you find, what questions remain, and how your students are responding. I could envision this as a regular column in the KATE Update. Let me know if you're interested ... we could contact the editor to see what she thinks.
ReplyDelete