I really liked the following quote from the beginning of chapter 31: "People who have no choice but to live their life in their black skins know racism when they see it. Racism is never subtle to the victim. Only White people say race doesn't matter."
This chapter tied in quite appropriately with something we're discussing in one of my other classes. We just finished reading Morrison's The Bluest Eye and are currently designing lesson plans around the book. Much of the content of the book focuses on race and self-image among African American adolescents. The class has found some difficulty in knowing where to begin a conversation about race. Teachers, especially White teachers with little urban understanding, struggle with knowing both how to relate to students whose experiences differ drastically from their own and promoting important discussion about issues related to race in the classroom.
One of my classmates recommended a video portraying African American youth talking about their race and concerns or views they have about their "blackness." I think the video could be used as a really powerful tool in getting the conversation going regarding racial issues. The content is thought-provoking, yet appropriate for students at both the middle and high school level. It seems as though the hardest place to start is getting the conversation going. For far too long teachers have chosen to be "color blind" (oh, yuck) and in doing so have ignored the importance of the individuals in their classrooms. With UWM's focus being urban education, I think it is especially important that we as future teachers really grasp just what urban means and feel comfortable relating to the urban youth population. Here's the link for the video...I definitely recommend checking it out! http://www.huffenglish.com/?p=525
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Interesting video, I thought the part explainging the anger and frustration at not knowing your history and culture was extremely important. I too hope that UWM will continue its great work at urban education so we can help rid our schools of covert racism and poor policies such as color blindness. I feel sorry for those that do not get taught at UWM and are planning to teach in an urban setting because there is so much they do not know. It should be a huge priority for all schools to educate their future and current teachers on situations that can arise in an urban setting.
ReplyDelete