Journal – Week 1
After reading the articles assigned, I realized that
what the authors had stated about race and “privilege” is absolutely true and
apparent in all society. In McIntosh’s “White Privilege”, she states that white
people grow up learning about racism and how it is supposedly geared primarily
towards people of color. That is what a
lot of people believe about racism: it only affects non-whites. However, white is also a race. Just like the author states that men have a
“natural” privilege over women, so do whites over non-whites, especially in a
place such as the United States.
As a white girl growing up in the South, it does not
seem very apparent that this is so.
Around me there were other people of color in the same classroom as me,
sitting with me at the lunch table and playing with me during recess. Nothing seemed strange. But after reading about Type 1 teachers and
how they sometimes are “colorblind” and want to accept all children because
underneath their skin they are all the same, they don’t realize that they still
single out students. Reflecting back on
my primary school education and what went on in the classroom, this is very
evident. When I lived in the South, I
remember some of my teachers paying particular attention to colored students in
my class. To the classmates, we knew that the colored students were different,
but so were we different from them. We
did not yet understand “white privilege” and therefore did not know that it was
happening. The teachers, all of them
white, would take particular care to always use a colored student in a positive
example during a lesson. They had to
make sure that they felt included.
An example of those happenings in the classroom
become more evident in other events in life.
Just how the author gives examples of race not effecting being pulled
over by a cop, being granted a job/promotion, etc. it is evident that we all
are judgmental in some way whether we realize it or not. Stereotypes exist for every culture and
unfortunately, that follows people around in situations. White people have stereotypes as do blacks,
Asians, etc. When it comes to conversing
or being interactive with a person of another race, it is hard to be completely
neutral. This is not necessarily
negative or one person’s fault but rather an example of how different cultures
are viewed in general.
As a teacher, it is easier to be best steeped in
your own culture and be comfortable with it when teaching students. A teacher that is comfortable with their own
ethnicity is better equipped to handle a classroom full of students from
different backgrounds. In a way, it
enables them to be more open to other cultures and to be able to communicate
better. During class, it should not be
evident that the teacher is uncomfortable with students of varying backgrounds
because it then gets in the way of the students’ learning and understanding and
should not be the main focus. We live in a culturally rich world and it is
important that individuals at least be acquainted with their culture in order
to appreciate the culture of others.
I like your point about being comfortable in your own skin being important. I think stereotypes go beyond race and affect every physical aspect that we depict to the world. A combination of white skin, thick glasses, a thin and gangly demeanor, and dark hair makes a very different impression than a blonde girl, lots of makeup and confidence. Nothing can be assumed about either person. I think the default of most people is to think of these people in terms of "types". If we are able to stop thinking about ourselves as types, we can break the idea of thinking about others in those terms.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to get the perspective of someone raised in the south as it is often assumed that racial tension is a litlle higher (not saying that I agree but it tends to be the assumption). I was reflecting on the way my teachers covered diversity after reading that paper and I wondered how it seemed to a minority. I often wonder if it can be off putting for a minority student if he or she feels material is being covered just because he or she is in the classroom. Obviously diversity plkays a huge roll in most topics and can be pertinent to most discussions but I also thin kthat it is occasionally shoehorned into discussions for the sake of being all inclusive. Do you think your teachers would bring up minorities in class as examples in order to appease minority students or was it an integral part of the lesson?
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