Expanding on the Conversation of Racism...

In our conversation this week in class the conversations became a bit candid and even comedic at times, when discussing the issues of race and racism. You could sense some uncomfortable-ness by the lack of talking by some, the confusion by some and then offense by others. A very important question came up in the conversation when someone asked "why can't black people be racist?" This is something I feel very strongly about and just want to expand my thoughts as to why I don't think black people can be racist.
The basis of my argument is that prejudice and racism are two completely distinct terms. Racism, as we have discussed can not be deduced to interpersonal relationships, but is a system of advantage. The determining factor of who is advantaged and who isn't is based on race. Racism in the US is built on a historic system of oppression. This system includes cultural devaluation of the other, while exalting the culture of the majority. This is coupled with beliefs that are supported by institutional policies and practices. Based on these premises it is clear that the US operates as a racist system in which whites inherit a status of advantage while people of color are subjected to a position of disadvantage. A status of advantage grants power which lead to the institutionalizing of racist beliefs and practices.This system of advantage is referred as white privilege, which we began to discuss. As I stated Peggy McIntosh is responsible for writing a piece on the societal privileges available to whites that aren't available to people of color. I am reposting it again. http://www.antiracistalliance.com/Unpacking.html. I think this brings to reality for many whites who are unaware of the benefits of being white.
Based on the definition of racism being grounded by power, I contend that blacks can not be racist. I can not place myself in my classmates shoe and think of a racially "hatefully charged word" like Nigger to call a white person who has wronged me in some way. I can't use such a word against a white person and at once assault them with a history of oppression and degradation. I can not benefit systemically by being racist. A black person can exhibit prejudice attitudes or behaviors. So in all I do not believe a black person can be racist.



Here is Dave Chapelle addressing issues of racism through comedy. We discussed this on Monday for a bit. He touches on issues of white privilege and the use of the word Nigger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU28Pv26nNQ&NR=1

How do we do this- for real?

This week we spent time getting a taste of what students labeled different feel when immersed into a class in which their first language isn't spoken. Although the class activity was very humorous it was was also insightful. Even for myself, I am of West Indian descent, when Prof. Smith began instructing in Patwa, I thought to myself, she has officially lost her mind. I mean I could clearly understand what she was instructing us to do, but I wondered how everyone else would make out, I even tried to "translate" at some points. And even though I understood her fine I was reluctant to raise my hand and respond because after all, my imitation Patwa stinks and I was intimidated to make an ass of myself. Although I took the message away of what a student labeled different goes through in the US school system, I also saw what not to do when trying to bring multiculturalism into the classroom. Linguistically different students have a very hard time learning when transitioning into a system that expects them to learn a new language while concurrently learning a new language. Logically this makes no sense, as a result students tend to fall behind, not because they aren't capable of the work, but because they are unable to communicate what they know.

We began to speak on what are some ways to practically introduce and maintain multiculturalism in the classroom. It think it is first essential to understand that as Tenorio said children aren't too young to have "real conversations" about race and bias. The truth of the matter is that they are learning these things at very early ages, this was evident in their responses. I think that the earlier you begin to address these issues, the easier we can begin to irradiate racist ideas and bias. I think my favorite activity from the Wu reading this week was the Me Pockets, in which the students were asked to take home plastic sleeves and fill it with anything that says me! This activity not only brought knowledge to the other students in the class, it also aided in reaffirming the students identity. Even the "Let's Talk About Skin" candidly revealed the way children are affected by issues of race, and how they were being impressed upon at such an early age.

We began to discuss the ways in which we would deal with multiculturalism in the classroom if we were teachers. This is something I struggled with but with some more time to think, I came up with a few things that support multiculturalism in the classroom setting:


HELLO- this i would use for grade school children. Each day the students would be required to great the classroom by saying "Hello my name is...." in a different language. If there is a native speaker in the class, they would develop a "lesson" for the class and teach some words in their language. This again promotes and reaffirms the students home culture by bringing it into the classroom and showing the student that their culture is indeed important.

URBAN IQ TEST- tests don't usually test students on relevant things. IQ tests are rarely if ever made with culturally diversity in mind. I found a test called the Redden-Simmons Rap Test. Although the language is a bit outdated I would incorporate this into a lesson with either JHS or HS students.
http://wilderdom.com/personality/intelligenceReddon-SimonsRapTest.html 

PROVERBS- this one I found online. It's goal is to show students that people from different cultures and backgrounds share a lot of the same morals and beliefs. It's explained in the pdf on the link below on page 7&8. pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/ui335.pdf

How Do We Do This?

Theory lacking applicability is empty. Multicultural education sounds great. As described in Making Choices it is  based on a commitment to pluralism; its guiding purpose is to prepare students to be active participants in a a diverse, democratic society." The breakdown of the theories and ideologies provide a great foundation for multicultural education. But after all is said and done, how do we put all these great theories and ideologies into play? Sleeter and Grant describe an array of areas to implement reccomended practices. I want to bring focus to the importance of Home/Community-School relationships.

We have discussed the importance of a change in curriculum as well as teaching styles and diversity acceptance. Although change is required inside our schools, so is a change in the structures outside of schools that impact a students' life. More importantly to effectively transition to education that is multicultural all spheres of student's life must be on one accord. Epstein refers to this as overlapping spheres of influence. As Sleeter and Grant state it, "parents and community members must be more than mere spectators", when it comes to education of children. Once a school system has made the change to accepting and valuing diversity, it is then made easy for community and parental involvement. Parents and the community are able to see their culture values through the school and this gives them a place to now become active in a child's education. It is important to not just speak on this matter but actively create plans and practices for this partnership to take place. Ideally parents as well as the community have a place in making major decisions concerning schooling. It is important to have more than just your typical parent-teacher conference or teachers who contact parent when a child has misbehaved. Parents deserve involvement every step of the way. In this patnership, cultural empowerment is evident in and outside of the classroom.




This powerpoint gives a definition of what a SFC partnership is as well as breakdown the 6 types of parent involvement identified by Epstein as presented in Sleeter and Grant.
http://j.b5z.net/i/u/2135872/i/School-Family-Community_Partnerships_Powerpoint_1_-1.ppt



This video shows a school that has effectively transitioned to School-Family-Community Partnerships. They give a great example of have this transition can actually be done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=hwNEDXHEUmU&v=8vOjdJAdBCA

Accountability...

Statistics: Within the US social class is an indication of affluence and is a source of stratification within our society. Social class is intricately intertwined with the process of schooling within the US. Sleeter and Grant present statistics based on social class structure. Although I was aware of the social class system, the exact numbers were alarming. "One fifth of Americans now own not quite 50 percent of the national wealth", this leave 95 percent for the other half of the nation to share. The fact is that the gap between the wealthy and poor is widening and this affects access to basic needs. Sleeter and Grant report that the 2003 official poverty rate was 35.9 million people and in the midst of an economic crisis, I can't begin to fathom what this number is now. Who should be held accountable for this? How can we relate this education?
How Students Learning Is Assessed: In class we discussed the relation of money and government funding and public school standardized testing. Unsurprisingly, affluent schools (where the one fifth of wealthy Americans send their children) are not subjected to the rigorous tests and are not competing for government funds. Too bad we all don't have this luxury. The passage of No Child Left Behind has caused a shift in public school teaching where teachers, schools and states are now held "accountable" for their students' level of achievement. Sadly attention is moved from authentic testing to "high stakes testing" in which standardized tests are used as the deciding factor of whether a student can move on to the next grade or graduate. It is no surprise of who is greatly affected by this. Students of color or those with disabilities are put at a disadvantage. It is not ironic that the implementation of a high school exit exam would cause many students to drop out. When we exam who these students are, they are once again those of color, those from low-income backgrounds and those are linguistically disadvantage. And here is where the creation of a stratified society is perpetuated. Those students who passed these exams are given a chance to go to college and advance economically. The unlucky majority of students who fail and must drop out become a part of the 95 percent left to share 50 percent of the nations wealth. This is a sad reality and when implementing standardized tests we must take a step back and look at the bigger picture, what will be the consequences of setting such strict testing policies in the public school system.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35P7FCMOePs

http://www.fairtest.org/facts/howharm.htm

Multicultural Education- Power Struggles Beyond Appreciating Diversity

In class we spent a lot of discussion time delving through the different definitions of what multicultural education means to us. Although the conversation was very insightful, I feel we may have neglected a main part of the story on multicultural education. We spoke much on the curricula aspect, which is important, but I wonder if there is something bigger than changes in a few textbooks or having teachers adopt new teaching techniques which intend to "appreciate diversity". In fact I am saying that the issue is so much bigger than the methods stated. The Name article provides a more accurate description for where I stand on Multicultural Education. It states "Multicultural education is a process that permeates all aspects of school practices, policies and organization as a means to ensure the highest levels of academic achievement for all students... It prepares all students to work actively toward structural equality in organizations and institutions by providing the knowledge, dispositions, and skills for the redistribution of power and income among diverse groups." 

In all I feel the most powerful piece of that statement addresses a history of oppression and disenfranchisement faced by people of color in the US when it says that multicultural education should supply students with the skills for the REDISTRIBUTION OF POWER AND INCOME among diverse groups. Schooling and education now make it very clear who is in power. With the creation of multicultural education and the deconstruction of our current education system comes the responsibility of granting "all men" the rights granted by the ideals of freedom and equality that the US stands on. Understanding that multicultural education is about the redistribution of power allows us to begin to tackle issues of racism which are at the basis of current inequalities. 

In the interview done with Sleeter in the Anderson reading, she addresses the issue of racism and why multuculturalism,  at it's core, is a struggle against racism, and must go beyond an appreciation of diversity. She speaks on the issue of white privelege which is also a topic we didnt didn't address. So it is the fact that from the conception of this nation that power was created and meant for one set of people. Aurdre Lorde calls this set of people the mythical norm and describes it like this- “In America, this norm is usually defined as white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure. It is with this mythical norm that the trappings of power reside within society". With time, this population has grown to include white women to an extent and people of color remain disenfranchised. When we are thinking about the creation of a multicultural education it is important for those of power within our school systems, such as white teachers and administrators, to begin to question and deconstruct this system of inequality. One of the first steps is a self-evaluation that questions ones place in society and the privileges granted based on ones color. This is the only way to get to the heart of the issue. Sleeter stated it, saying "The primary issue was one of access to a quality education. If we're not dealing with questions of why access is continually important, and if we're not dealing with issues like why we have so much poverty amid so much wealth, we're not dealing with the core issues of multiculturalism."  I'm challenging White folks to begin to unpack their knapsack like Peggy McIntosh. I posted her writing so you know what I'm talking about




www.case.edu/president/aaction/UnpackingTheKnapsack.pdf- A quick read by Peggy McIntosh as she "unpacks" the issue of white privilege as a white educator. She literally lists things she experiences daily that are related to her privilege as a white woman in America.  

Reaction to Class Discussion and Lee Mun Wah's film "The Color of Fear"

I think this week was a great start for the semester. The video allowed a visual for a discussion on Multiculturalism, bias and racism. The model itself was innovative because discussion is the first step to eradicating racism and implementing such practices as multiculturalism in schools. The message was clear of the men of color in the film; all men may be equal but they are not the same. This was the basis of Victor's outburst as we witnessed him at his wit's end and his decision to take a stand against tolerating David (the white male's) colorblind views. Although a disagreement with Victor's reaction was stated in class, I saw his blow-up as essential and inevitable. I do not know what it means to be a Black male in America but Victor's anger against a racist society was evident and I think that it is his right to release all this pent up anger. This point was necessary in the beginning of his own healing as well as opening the eyes of others around him. Victor made a very powerful statement addressing the oppressive actions of whites. He replies to a comment made by David which implied that people of color may be their own barrier and that they should all stand on their own. Victor replied,"we don't always stand on our own ground, some men stand on other men and other women." This was in my opinion, the most powerful statement made throughout the video. I believe that in saying this Victor wasn't attacking David but attacking a people with a history of oppression, a people with a history of exploiting others and their land for their own personal gain.I think this is relevant to schooling because after such oppressive actions, the culture of dominance is perpetuated through schools where fallacies  and complete omission of peoples histories are taught. So after such men stand on those around them, they dictate what is said about their history and in turn minimize their history, culture and very being.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vAbpJW_xEc
a snippet of "The Color of Fear"