Silence is Not an Option
“There
is no such thing as an apolitical position in teaching. Choosing not to disrupt
the status quo is itself a political choice” (Garcia & O’Donnell-Allen, p.
30).
When I decided to become a teacher, one of the main reasons was
so I could make a difference in kids’ lives.
I don’t want to meet the needs of just one student, or a handful of
students, but every student. As we’ve
discussed in many of our classes, the current educational system is not set up
to benefit all students. Those that
benefit most in the school system are white, middle-class students. THIS IS NOT OK! If we go
into our classroom and do nothing to change how things are, we are giving tacit
approval to the current system.
“If you stay silent, you are endorsing/reinforcing these
conditions…in the lives of others who may not share your privilege” (Garcia
& O’Donnell-Allen, p. 20).
When
we enter the school, we are entering a political arena where we can be agents
of change in a system that has long endorsed systematic racism in covert ways—hello
academic tracking and standardized tests.
Racism doesn’t have to be hate crime or neo-Nazism.
Racism is “contributing to or looking the other way in the
face of acts or systems that marginalize people of color…if you are complicit
in policies and systems that are oppressive to people of color, you are
contributing to racism” (Watson).
As teachers we participate in a system
that oppresses people of color. If we stick to the status quo, we are
contributing to the problem.
SILENCE. IS. NOT. AN. OPTION.
Just because we don’t see or experience racism every day doesn’t
mean it’s not happening. “White people have
the privilege of ‘not seeing’ race…because it doesn’t affect us personally”
(Watson). This is the basis of white
privilege. White people can go through
their daily lives woefully ignorant of their own race. How
many times a day do you think about race? When you read a headline or watch the news,
do they identify individuals of your race by race? If you’re white, race probably isn't an issue. “By only pointing out
race for people of color, a subtle message is sent that white is the norm”
(Watson). The white narrative is the
norm in the United States and needs to be decentralized. (Just look at this cringe-worthy anti-racism poster 😬). How can you begin to decentralize the white narrative in your daily life?
Let's talk more about white privilege. A Google image search for 'white privilege' has more memes denying it's existence than explanation for it. I think that proves it's existence even more. What does white privilege look like in your life?
Peggy McIntosh (1989) wrote a reflective essay on white privilege,
relying on personal examples to show the unearned advantages she benefits from
in her everyday life. White privilege,
she says, “is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions,
maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.” She lists
the daily ways she sees evidence of white privilege (check out the full list here):
·
I can arrange to be in the company of people of
my race most of the time.
·
I can be pretty sure that my neighbors will be
neutral or pleasant to me.
·
I can go shopping alone, assured that I will not
be followed or harassed.
·
I can turn on the TV or open the front page of
the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
·
I do not have to educate my children to be aware
of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
·
I am never asked to speak for all the people of
my racial group.
·
I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture
books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people
of my race.
· I
can choose blemish cover or bandages in ‘flesh’ color and have them more or
less match my skin.
·
I feel welcomed and ‘normal’ in the usual walks
of public life, institutional and social.
What tools do you
carry in your cultural knapsack? Despite
the fact that this was written 30 (THIRTY!) years ago, it doesn’t seem like
much has changed. I carry many of the same
privileges as McIntosh did and have benefitted unknowingly from the color of my
skin.
Despite the negative stigma of white privilege, it is not inherently bad. What matters is how you use your privilege. What will you do with
the privilege you have? How will you use
it to leverage change? How can you be an agent of change in your classroom, school, and community?
Rachel Schloneger
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Garcia, A. & O'Donnell-Allen, C. (2015). Pose, wobble, flow: A culturally proactive approach to literacy instruction. New York: Teachers College Press.
McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Independent School. Retrieved from https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf
Watson, A. (n.d.). 10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race. Podcast retrieved from https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/10-things-every-white-teacher-know-talking-race/
McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Independent School. Retrieved from https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf
Watson, A. (n.d.). 10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race. Podcast retrieved from https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/10-things-every-white-teacher-know-talking-race/
Great post Rachel! I really like what you said about systematic, covert racism. Racism isn't always a hate crime or neo-nazism. People generally think that is what racism is, but do not understand what institutional racism is. When more people understand what it is, we will have a better chance to change how institutions are ran. Like you said, they are covert. Being complicit to the system is contributing to racism. Even if you aren't racist, if you are complicit to the system you are contributing to the institutional racism that is happening every day.
ReplyDeleteI also really like your meme/quote about white privilege. "White privilege doesn't mean your life hasn't been hard; it means that your skin color isn't one of the things making it harder." This meme/quote needs to be shared around the country. In undergrad, I took a sociology class called "Race, Gender, and Ethnicity." One unit in this class discussed white privilege and we spent about 4 or 5 classes on the topic. We read different articles and papers and we watched videos and had class discussions. One being the Peggy McIntosh essay you brought up. As a white middle class male, it took me a few classes to completely understand this concept and come to terms with my white privilege. I now understand what it means and that I shouldn't feel guilty, but I should use my privilege for good. Just because you're white and middle class, doesn't mean you don't have your own struggles. Some people have hard lives. But like the Watson article says "No one is claiming that white people can't be poor or have a hard life. But, your life won't be hard because you're white."
Self-denial about racism is also much easier if someone thinks it’s only hate crimes, neo-nazism, or rude statements. Many people, myself included, could easily say, “I’m not racist” under that definition. But expanding the definition to include institutional racism makes it harder, if not impossible, to deny it. Your undergrad class sounds really interesting and helpful. I wonder if everyone benefitted as much as you did from that class. Sometimes I wonder if a class like that should be mandatory.
DeleteRachel, You go, put it right out there. I really like this quote “White people have the privilege of ‘not seeing’ race…because it doesn’t affect us personally” (Watson), that you posted. Six months ago I thought I was a pretty natural person. I keep my hidden biases deep down because I knew it was wrong and strived for change in my life and my family’s beliefs. Well, that has been throughout like the baby in the bath water. There is no reverse discrimination, I have lived by different unspoken rules, and I am not colorblind. I am racist! I have lived under the umbrella of being born WHITE and with that comes so many privileges, too many to list. You have asked, “What can I do with all these privileges?” Angela Watson states: “You are not responsible for what other white people have done, but you ARE responsible for whether you are currently upholding the systems that elevate white people over people of color.” This means to me that I need to address situations appropriately when they happen around me. This could be a conversation, curriculum or uneducated racist people. Like we spoke about in our other class, I change my bandages for my sons to cartoon styles instead of tan colored. So, their friends do not have to wear non-skin toned bandages. In a classroom setting, it would be mindful of the culturally relevant curriculum and when that is not available to seek out resources to fill the gap in education. Seeking out colleagues to help identify my weakness in this area so, I have a better understanding.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. I always thought I wasn’t racist because I didn’t say rude things about people of color or hate others based on skin color. But Watson’s podcast and other articles we’ve been reading have expanded my definition of racism. Luckily, we’ve been educated and can work to change our mindsets and our behavior, personally and professionally. I was thinking of this when you shared yesterday in class about the incident with your sons’ friend and the bandages. In some situations the solution is very easy. It’s not much harder for you to buy cartoon bandages than tan ones. In other situations, the solution will be more difficult or take more effort.
DeleteRachel, HOLY MOLY GIRL! I loved your post and felt like I was listening to a Ted talk with how strong and powerful your wording and points were! I decided to be a teacher for the exact same reason, wanting to change lives and make a difference in the next generation. However, before this program I didn’t think about how I would be responsible for addressing systematic racism and educating my students and myself on the oppression and marginalization that is happening to people of color in America. These classes have changed my mindset and really opened up my eyes to the change that I want to make and how I am going to do that. I was really taken back by the anti-racism poster as I couldn’t believe that was actually published! I couldn’t help but relate that picture to the idea Watson describes as “white is normal and anything else is different and needs to be specified”. It made me reflect on my own experiences and advocacy. Its not enough to just think “Thats terrible and racist” but we need to be advocates as well as “work in uncovering and rooting out biases and internalized anti-blackness”. Furthermore, I think a key part of being critically conscious and culturally sustaining teachers is about recognizing our white privilege. I loved the list of white privilege evidence McIntosh wrote and related to many of these points. Its my job as an educator to be aware of these and understand that since I don’t experience systematic oppression I cannot relate and thus must develop a listen-first ethic when speaking to POC about racism.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam! I’m in the exact same boat. I had no idea what I was ‘getting myself into’ before starting this program. Even when we first started learning about systematic racism and how the education system isn’t serving all students equally, I thought, “this is interesting, but I’ll probably never teach in an urban school so it doesn’t really matter.” Wow, have my eyes been opened! As we’ve gone through last semester and this one, I realize that teaching for social justice is important even in non-diverse classrooms—maybe even more important. As white people, we are privileged in ways some students have never experienced. We have never experienced systematic oppression and should definitely go into conversations about racism with a listen-first mindset. If we’re always the ones talking, we leave no space for others to share their experiences and we are unable to grow.
DeleteYikes, that poster is cringeworthy on so many levels. The fact that we still compare everything to the perceived norm (white people/white culture) is something I’ve thought about a lot lately as we go into teaching. It’s so easy to say that you’re not going to have problems with this on a day-to-day basis in the classroom, but easy to fall short on this promise. Part of it is has to do with being honest with yourself and how much you prioritize culturally relevant pedagogies. Your curriculum will reflect this disinterest if it isn’t truly a passion/priority of yours.
ReplyDeleteThe podcast talked at length about why white people get so defensive about issues of race. We somehow make the fact that we’re being racist and discriminatory about ourselves. Hence, we completely miss the point. Additionally, in the podcast she mentioned that people of color are not required to be the spokesperson for their race. This is a mistake that I think many teachers make. If they’re talking about race relations or slavery, they automatically turn to the African-American child in the class. While it’s important to give all of your students a space to express their opinions and voice their concerns, this shouldn’t be forced. No student should be singled out to share their personal experience if they’re not comfortable.
I completely agree that it's easy to fall short of culturally relevant teaching goals. It is so easy right now to say "of course I use culturally relevant teaching strategies," but once we get into the classroom it will take a lot more effort and we'll definitely have to do our 'teacher homework.' You're definitely right that teachers need to be careful in their classrooms when talking about race-related topics. I remember talking to a friend in high school about being the only African American in a history class. She hated it whenever slavery came up because every other kid in the class would turn around and look at her. She was always saying, "don't look at me. Just because I'm black doesn't mean I was a slave."
DeleteYour meme: "If you don't think white privilege exists...congratulations, you are enjoying the benefit of it" - absolutely describes my encounter with my own privilege through our critically focused discussions last semester. Honestly, I did recognize my own privilege. I didn't think about my race, or rather, I didn't have to. I'm not racist. But then I read this in our reading (which described the realization I had last semester): "[I]f you are complicit in policies and systems that are oppressive to people of color, you are contributing to racism in this country" (Watson). Crap. I'm contributing. And I don't want to silently teach my students to contribute, as well.
ReplyDeleteOur Bomer & Bomer reading (ch. 3) gave us a lot of tools to use in the classroom in creating critical conversations and pushing back on the status quo. Being able to create a space in the classroom to ask questions and truly discuss the difficult issues is necessary. We can't be afraid of it. I don't want to be like Patrice in the Hollingworth study - I believe that our students, no matter the age, are capable of being critical thinkers and questioning society's norms.
I had the exact same realization when I listened to the podcast. That, combined with all the discussions we've been having in class, really opened my eyes to the importance of fostering critical conversations and pushing back against the status quo. I really appreciated all the ways Bomer & Bomer gave to start and foster these conversations as they were concrete, real-life examples.
DeleteRachel, I often half joke that studying sociology was studying just how terrible everything is. It is crazy to me that facts have such a polarizing effect on people. The hierarchical construction of our society privileges whiteness at the expense of "others". The labor of enslaved Africans created the wealth that America was built on. Our history is very problematic to say the least. As we discussed in our science class on Monday, we must interrogate our position of privilege as white educators. The insidious nature of white privilege makes it hard for us to see if we are not examining the construction of reality and how our whiteness is privileged at the expense of others. While I have had these discussions with friends and loved ones, it is difficult for me to remain emotionally neutral. I need to remember to check my tone. The controversial nature of these topics makes a lot of people avoid them entirely. Many people have been taught that these topics are impolite to discuss, but if we can’t even discuss them then we have no chance to change. Being able to present your position in a way that is interpreted as respectful by your audience makes it much more likely they will hear you out. If people perceive that you are scolding them they will not take the time to consider what you are saying. White fragility is real. Bomer states that, “Critical conversations do not take shape naturally...Keeping them productive, inclusive of all voices, and somewhat sane involves a lot of hard work (Bomer, 2001, p.44).” Practicing these conversations will help us help students develop a critical consciousness. The example provided in the text in which the class discussed a male student’s comment that a female student could not be president provided a practical way to address the topic that was appropriate for the students and challenged their thinking.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you say about the reality white fragility. Many people become very defensive whenever issues of privilege are brought up as they feel like their ways of life are being threatened or the hardships they've faced are being downplayed. It is definitely important to practice conversing respectfully so that we are ready when the opportunity presents itself to say or do something. I also appreciated the real-life examples given by Bomer & Bomer.
DeleteRachel, this was an awesome post, Sam is right about the Ted Talk! You pose a lot of introspective questions and I started thinking hard about some of my answers. Honestly, I would say that I've rarely had to think about my race on a daily basis, or think about what would happen to me as I walked down the street or drove a car in my neighborhood. It was until later in college, after reading about or watching on the news how the killings of unarmed Black people were affecting my friends and people I knew. Reading their posts on social media about the daily struggles they deal with or how they feel about having to constantly be aware of their race, made me think about how little I understand what that really feels like. I can check off all of those points Peggy McIntosh makes and seeing things like this really make me stop and consider things I wouldn't consider thinking about, like going shopping alone and not being harassed. You asked about how we can begin to decentralize the white narrative in our lives. I think this begins by becoming informed, and taking it many steps further to let the information seep into the conversations you have with people around you. Angela Watson's podcast was incredibly powerful and enlightening to think how we can being to recognize our privilege and make changes in ourselves for the students we'll have in class. "The rules for survival and success in this country are not the same for all groups of people," Watson says in her podcast, Truth for Teachers (Watson, 2017). This statement was just so powerful and really stuck with me. I think the first step to any change is recognition and seriously internalizing all 10 things she mentions about racism and white privilege can hopefully help us to move in a direction towards critical conversations in our lives and in our classrooms. Bomer and Bomer expand on what this can look like in the classroom, and ways in which we can bridge the gap between children as people who should absorb information, but not be involved in the conversation or development of such information. "It is all the more important that children be asked to think and inquire and discuss in school, that they be asked the simple, open-ended question, "what do you think? (Bomer & Bomer, 2001, pg.44). Opportunities to have conversations about important events or ideas will come up every day in our classrooms, and I really like the idea of having collaborative areas in the classroom that can evolve and change throughout the year and allow for students to become "critical observers." The timeline of texts displayed or the "reminders for how to talk" practices the students posted in class (Bomer & Bomer, 2001), or a community discussion board like the one IUPUI has on campus are great examples ways to open up discussions in class, and allow we as teachers to practice our "listening-first" ethics when conversations tackle tough conversations like racism.
ReplyDeleteAlso, WOOF! Marketing posters that cringe-worthy always make me think, MULTIPLE people viewed/edited/approved such a thing!
Rachel, I really enjoyed your post! Your post reminded me of several things I wrote last semester -- so bear with me as I ...show off my work … ha.
ReplyDeleteBut, The quote you use from Garcia and O’Donnell, “If you stay silent, you are endorsing/reinforcing these conditions… in the lives of others who may not share you privilege,” (p. 20) reminded me of something I had written from last semester:
Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) explain, we must recognize and accept that we (every individual) all have been continually subjected to stereotypes and misinformation throughout our lives, in one way or another, and as a result we have developed biases and prejudices. We must actively engage in detecting our stereotypes and misinformation we have retained and the biases and prejudices we have and work to rid ourselves of these. Unchecked stereotypes and misinformation can instill biases and prejudices. If we cannot recognize our own biases and prejudices and if we cannot face them, we are not being honest with ourselves and we are being unfair to our students. It is essential that we uncover, examine, and eliminate “our own personal prejudices and discriminatory behaviors” in order to become an anti-bias teacher (Derman-Sparks & Edwards 2010, p. 34). Furthermore, if we do not push ourselves towards acknowledging, facing, and eliminating our own personal biases and prejudices, we cannot be effective anti-bias teachers, and ultimately we will contribute to and thus reinforce the perpetual discriminatory and oppressive practices in place in the education system in our country. In many ways, it is what is not done – the inactions and the disinclination to raise a voice – that contributes to, preserves, and further entrenches the institutional racism plaguing our society. It may not be a direct action, however, the consequences of inaction is very real – such as, operating within the established oppressive and unjust system and thus allowing for and validating the marginalization and oppressive treatment of ethnic minority students.
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DeleteYour quote from the Watson podcast reminded me of this that I wrote:
DeleteThe continued disproportionate (overrepresentation of African American students) dropout rates, suspension rates, dismissal rates, the lower ‘rates of achievement’ based on standardized testing, and so on, not to mention the socioeconomic challenges, injustices, and oppression that have remained and/or manifested in years that have followed what is widely considered the successful turning point for racial equality in the US, is shocking and very alarming.
……
DeMarrais and LeCompte explain that the problem resides largely in the fundamental approach of the policy makers. The policies and programs have been directed towards the educational system, rather than economic system. According to DeMarrais and LeCompte, the focus on social reform within the educational system is a deliberate ploy by these policy makers in order to take attention away from the overarching societal issues, i.e., economic inequities. As we have seen in past chapters in this text book the policy makers have historically been a part of the dominant group, European-Americans, and the policies in which they have legislated and programs in which they have implemented have been generated and geared towards establishing, maintaining, and/or reinforcing the status quo, in order to ensure their [group’s] authority and status, across and atop the social, political, and economic ambits of society. This is still true today.
……
Additionally, the policies and programs were derived largely from ethnocentric beliefs and attitudes. “Underlying these programs was the assumption that if minority students could acquire the same “cultural capital” that mainstream European Americans had, they would have the same opportunities for economic success as whites” (p 237).
……
Unequal or compensatory education programs were generated to bridge the gap. These programs were based on notions that minority ethnic groups and their cultures were victims of their own insufficiencies. The legislators viewed minority cultures as incapable and inferior to the ‘standard’. They perceived that the issues rested within the communities and the culture and thus called for compensation to combat the inadequacies, for programs that enabled intervention (as early as possible) to mitigate or eliminate as much damage to the children as possible. This notion is absolutely preposterous and epitomizes the “structural inequalities” in the society (p. 237). Such notions, perpetuate the systemic oppression and racism found throughout our society, and marginalizes and oppresses minority students within the education system, as well as hinders individual advancement in the workforce once out of school due to the inequities, oppression, and racism littered throughout the society.
“As teachers we participate in a system that oppresses people of color. If we stick to the status quo, we are contributing to the problem” – you are spot on! We must make a point of continuously working towards identifying these oppressive policies, systems, institutions, etc. and challenging them. “You become a culturally proactive teacher in this sense when you advocate for educational transformation and when you push back against existing inequitable systems that define teaching and learning in narrow ways,” (p. 27). And we must work on identifying our own personal biases and prejudices and relentlessly work on eliminating them. In order to do so, we must understand our own positionality. “In addition to learning about experiences of your students, interrogating your own positionality is imperative,” (p. 20).
ReplyDelete