The conversation had between James Baldwin and Paul Weiss on Cavvet's show fills me with guilt. I know this conversation far too well, for I have attempted it with older members of my family, who have similar views to Weiss, without avail. Baldwin articulates his thoughts in a comprehensive and powerful way. Baldwin speaks of the dangers black men and women face in everyday society due to systemic and institutional racism to which Weiss becomes defensive. He says that not all white people, not all cops, and not all bosses are against black people. He also argues that one's ability and work ethic play into how they are treated and "Why must we concentrate on color?" Baldwin comes back and asks him how he expects him to trust american society on the basis of the theory of meritocracy when he has never seen it in practice.
Weiss and many others are uncomfortable with these conversations of race because it is hard to swallow the fact that we, as white people, have benefited from structural racism while black men and women have suffered in ways hard for us to understand.
James Baldwin writes poetically, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." In order to be an anti-racist ELA teacher, I must admit to my privilege, use that privilege, and face these issues head on.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you that us as educators need to acknowledge our own privilege. On top of that acknowledgement, I think we should also face that white people have played a part in this systematic and institutional racism in history. Our students have been exposed and seen in media that the enemy is white people, so when we as white teachers come into a school of mainly students of color, we have a lot of work to gain trust. I think community builders at the beginning of class are one way to build trust and connect with our students, and to show them that we are different. I think another way is social-emotional learning lessons to let students have that safe place to open and trust us with their vulnerability; furthermore, SEL allows us teachers a chance to show our vulnerability to students too. What other activities do you think we could do to help build this trust that has been broken from this systematic racism in our society?
Megan, You share some great insights. I will definitely be using community builders in my classroom in order to build trust and relationships with my students as well as a save place for sharing vulnerable pieces of ourselves.
ReplyDeleteStudents show their most authentic work when they have a strong relationship with their teachers and peers. In order to gain trust in my classroom, I will need to start with myself: I need to recognize my own biases and assess my own ways of thinking. I will then be able to see my students in light of their strengths and abilities. If I show my students that I see them as knowledgeable assets who can bring something new to classroom discussion, they will take ownership in their learning.
I think that Dr. Benson displayed a very helpful activity for making a discussion about race more comfortable. Involving students in classroom discussion guidelines will result in a more comfortable setting which will encourage students to share more freely.