-Lisa Delpit
I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.
I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.
-Peggy McIntosh
When was the last time you read something life changing? It is rare, even if you are a vivacious reader.
I remember one time very clearly. In January 2007 I read Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack". I was speechless. It put into words what my friends of color had said to me, and my own experiences in trying to discern uncomfortable feelings. I knew at times that what I was viewing and participating in was wrong, but I could not verbalize it. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was ignorance, but it was definitely privilege.
Two years later I read Lisa Delpit's "The Silenced Dialogue". This was another game changer. It absolutely floored me. I realized that I had unintentionally participated in similar behaviors in not only working with my students of color, but teachers of color as well.
I had always thought of myself as "progressive". But labels can be meaningless. While our words carry linguistic power, our actions are much more definitive of our character. Despite my intentions, I had failed at implementing culturally relevant pedagogy into my classroom.
Recently, there has been a reactionary movement against the notion of white privilege. Many, conservatives and liberals alike, have reacted harshly to the notion that white people benefit from a system that is set up to disproportionately target people of color. Consider the following letter from a Princeton student which was picked up by Time:
Perhaps it’s the privilege my grandfather and his brother had to flee their home as teenagers when the Nazis invaded Poland, leaving their mother and five younger siblings behind, running and running until they reached a Displaced Persons camp in Siberia, where they would do years of hard labor in the bitter cold until World War II ended. Maybe it was the privilege my grandfather had of taking on the local Rabbi’s work in that DP camp, telling him that the spiritual leader shouldn’t do hard work, but should save his energy to pass Jewish tradition along to those who might survive. Perhaps it was the privilege my great-grandmother and those five great-aunts and uncles I never knew had of being shot into an open grave outside their hometown. Maybe that’s my privilege.
The author, Tal Fortgang, while meaning well, has completely missed the point. After all, desires to do good are simply not enough. Many argued that the police officers who are responsible for Mike Brown and Eric Garner's deaths had "good intentions". Obviously intent is insufficient.
As a descendant of Holocaust Survivors, I get it. My grandmother escaped Hitler's invasion of Prague by three days. Her cousin was on a kindertransport. Many of her extended family was killed in concentration camps. Those who did escape were ridiculed in America.
While all of these facts are horrible, my grandmother will be the first to tell you that black people have had it infinitely worse than Jews. She will assert that while the Holocaust was horrendous, it is insulting and ridiculous to try to compare it to slavery or Jim Crow. What she will not tell you is how she is routinely pulled over by police, how her ancestors were lynched, or how her coworkers and peers have asked her for the Jewish "experience" as if she represents all Jews.
She also will not tell you about how she walked in on coworkers who were about to utter the n-word but then paused when she entered the room. She will not tell you about her family members who have been groped by police officers.
She will not tell you these things because she is not black, and they have not happened to her.
To assert that Jews do not somehow benefit from being white is negating centuries of genocide and terrorism to African Americans. It is not only insulting, but it is blatantly false. Ironically, Fortgang is upholding his privilege by denying it; by ignoring what people of color experience regularly, he is not only absolving his possible guilt, but also ignoring the systematic racism that plagues the United States, and has for centuries.
Briana Payton, another Princeton student, responded with simple facts:
Exactly. Is education an exception? Not at all. In fact, as Delpit asserts, we often see scenarios of privilege played out extensively when we have white teachers working in classrooms of color.
Before I can begin to implement any elements of culturally relevant pedagogy into my own classroom, I need to accept these objective truths. If I refuse to acknowledge these realities, I will not only be ineffective in an urban classroom, but as an educator, regardless of my environment.
While ignorance is bliss, as teachers, we cannot afford to be ignorant, and our students cannot afford it either.
Having said that, let's begin to build our culturally relevant classroom. Here are a few things that we can do to help our students succeed:
1) Use codeswitching and contrastive analysis strategies in writing, reading, and listening. As I mentioned in my previous post. In addition to Gloria Ladson-Billings and Lisa Delpit, I strongly recommend Code-Switching: Teaching Standard English in Urban Classrooms by Rebecca Wheeler and Rachel Swords. In short, pedagogy based in these methods not only helps validate students' culture(s), but is also proven to help students learn and use Standard English, even though they do not belong to the culture of power, in the words of Delpit.
2) Base your classroom management with cultural backgrounds in mind. One of the most inspiring lectures I have ever heard was from a former boss at a local community center. She was white and grew up in Apartheid era South Africa. She was not only raised to believe in Apartheid, but she wrote an article defending it as a teenager in a local newspaper. As she grew to see her confusions, privilege, and misconceptions, she began to repudiate her previous philosophy. She closed her speech to our staff with the following statement: "We are told to believe in the golden rule, but I believe in the platinum rule; treat others as they want to be treated." I will never forget that.
This was a good model for someone not only acknowledging their privilege, but reflecting on it and how we deal with our students. One common mistake that I have executed previously in my classroom language involved language usage. I spoke to students the way I had been spoken to by my white mother- not acknowledging that my students had difficulty understanding my words because there was a language barrier of sorts. It was as if I had been speaking to them in a language that they were not fluent in and yet expecting them to understand. Again, this is essentially what Delpit refers to as the culture of power. I have access to the culture of power, but my students do not. It is important to accept this if I want my classroom to function successfully.
In short, many parents of students of color speak with a clarity that is different from those heard in the homes of white teachers. It is paramount that we speak to students with this lucidity so that they can "hear" our words in the way we intend. The misconception that lies amongst many white "progressive" teachers is that this means we have to yell at students. This is false. We can still use positive framing and simultaneously make clear our distinct directions. In addition to making my rules understandable, I also use CHAMP in my classroom to guide student expectations. (I strongly recommend CHAMP to all teachers.)
3) Use bilingual instruction when appropriate. I add this caveat because there are times when it is appropriate and others when it is not, especially based on your student audience. I have often translated my Do Nows and Exit Slips into Spanish. It's important to do this without drawing unwanted attention to these students. If you have a Promethean Board, you can project your translated Do Nows, or you can print out the translations (this could be for the entire week) and have them ready at the students' desks.
You can also do some small group "pull out" instruction. My students who are new to English often feel more comfortable in this environment. Even a simple check for understanding in their native language ("Tu entiende o no?") can help validate their culture and heritage.
Lastly, it is fairly obvious that cold calling an English Language Learner or a Special Education students to read a difficult passage would be inappropriate, but I strongly recommend doing so for text with lower lexicality or a a passage with less complex text. Doing this can really help create "buy in", build classroom texture, and also help students' know that they are successful and capable.
4) Codeswitch when speaking to help build comprehension. This is where many teachers stumble. As I noted in my previous post, we do not want to codeswitch in an effort to lower rigor. Tenth graders should not be reading The Bluford Series simply because they are black teenagers. It is not only too innapropriate, but simultaneously patronizing to those students, because the implied message is that they cannot meet high expectations.
My eighth graders are currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird. They were having some difficulty understanding Aunt Alexandra as a character. During our read aloud we paused to talk about her. I codeswitched and said, "Yeah, she all hashtag sorry/not sorry, I'm the queen, wassup?" My students laughed, but after viewing their comprehension questions, it was clear that it helped them to understand Lee's complex matriarch.
Our students still must be able to understand words from the text such as edification, acquiescence, and tactful. Discussing formal and informal language is important, and students need to realize that there are appropriate and inappropriate times for using both.
5) Post signs in your classroom representing your students' cultures(s). Let me first emphasize that actions speak louder than words. Your behavior carries more weight than a poster or sign. Simultaneously, words and images still have power. Using bilingual anchor charts or posters celebrating achievements by people of color (or powerful timeless quotes emphasizing social justice) sends a clear message to our students; you matter, your culture matters, your language matters, and I value these things, and as your teacher, I want you and your families to feel welcome in my classroom.
These images probably all fit the discussion of culturally-relevant pedagogy obviously- with the exception of the Scout character web. I decided to add this one because of the complexities of racial dynamics, in addition to it helping students understand Maycomb, as well as Scout as a character. We made this chart as a class, and we spent a lot of time discussing how someone who could use the n-word could also not be racist. I will leave this debate up to you, but I think most teachers would agree that Scout is a product of Maycomb. She is not inherently racist, especially given her relationship with Calpurnia. This is where culturally relevant pedagogy can lead to fascinating discussion and incredibly deep comprehension and inferential thinking.
A point of caution: putting up a poster of Frederick Douglas while not changing our behaviors and practices is tantamount to trying to lose weight and eating french fries everyday. Yes, you did one thing correctly, but you are still not making progress.
This is by no means a complete checklist. In order to be culturally relevant educators, we must be continually reflective on best practices, pedagogy, and the world in which our students live. The days of social studies class where teachers and students simply talk about ethnic cuisine are no more. If we cant to successfully educate our students, we have got to do better. Our students deserve it.
When was the last time you read something life changing? It is rare, even if you are a vivacious reader.
I remember one time very clearly. In January 2007 I read Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack". I was speechless. It put into words what my friends of color had said to me, and my own experiences in trying to discern uncomfortable feelings. I knew at times that what I was viewing and participating in was wrong, but I could not verbalize it. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was ignorance, but it was definitely privilege.
Two years later I read Lisa Delpit's "The Silenced Dialogue". This was another game changer. It absolutely floored me. I realized that I had unintentionally participated in similar behaviors in not only working with my students of color, but teachers of color as well.
I had always thought of myself as "progressive". But labels can be meaningless. While our words carry linguistic power, our actions are much more definitive of our character. Despite my intentions, I had failed at implementing culturally relevant pedagogy into my classroom.
Recently, there has been a reactionary movement against the notion of white privilege. Many, conservatives and liberals alike, have reacted harshly to the notion that white people benefit from a system that is set up to disproportionately target people of color. Consider the following letter from a Princeton student which was picked up by Time:
Perhaps it’s the privilege my grandfather and his brother had to flee their home as teenagers when the Nazis invaded Poland, leaving their mother and five younger siblings behind, running and running until they reached a Displaced Persons camp in Siberia, where they would do years of hard labor in the bitter cold until World War II ended. Maybe it was the privilege my grandfather had of taking on the local Rabbi’s work in that DP camp, telling him that the spiritual leader shouldn’t do hard work, but should save his energy to pass Jewish tradition along to those who might survive. Perhaps it was the privilege my great-grandmother and those five great-aunts and uncles I never knew had of being shot into an open grave outside their hometown. Maybe that’s my privilege.
The author, Tal Fortgang, while meaning well, has completely missed the point. After all, desires to do good are simply not enough. Many argued that the police officers who are responsible for Mike Brown and Eric Garner's deaths had "good intentions". Obviously intent is insufficient.
As a descendant of Holocaust Survivors, I get it. My grandmother escaped Hitler's invasion of Prague by three days. Her cousin was on a kindertransport. Many of her extended family was killed in concentration camps. Those who did escape were ridiculed in America.
While all of these facts are horrible, my grandmother will be the first to tell you that black people have had it infinitely worse than Jews. She will assert that while the Holocaust was horrendous, it is insulting and ridiculous to try to compare it to slavery or Jim Crow. What she will not tell you is how she is routinely pulled over by police, how her ancestors were lynched, or how her coworkers and peers have asked her for the Jewish "experience" as if she represents all Jews.
She also will not tell you about how she walked in on coworkers who were about to utter the n-word but then paused when she entered the room. She will not tell you about her family members who have been groped by police officers.
She will not tell you these things because she is not black, and they have not happened to her.
To assert that Jews do not somehow benefit from being white is negating centuries of genocide and terrorism to African Americans. It is not only insulting, but it is blatantly false. Ironically, Fortgang is upholding his privilege by denying it; by ignoring what people of color experience regularly, he is not only absolving his possible guilt, but also ignoring the systematic racism that plagues the United States, and has for centuries.
Briana Payton, another Princeton student, responded with simple facts:
While Fortgang is not responsible for white male dominance in society, he should at least recognize that this social hierarchy is not a mere coincidence, nor is it a testament to the power of hard work. Such a micro-level explanation, when applied to our country’s current state, would imply that white males have by and large outworked most women and minorities in the many fields in which they dominate.
Exactly. Is education an exception? Not at all. In fact, as Delpit asserts, we often see scenarios of privilege played out extensively when we have white teachers working in classrooms of color.
Before I can begin to implement any elements of culturally relevant pedagogy into my own classroom, I need to accept these objective truths. If I refuse to acknowledge these realities, I will not only be ineffective in an urban classroom, but as an educator, regardless of my environment.
While ignorance is bliss, as teachers, we cannot afford to be ignorant, and our students cannot afford it either.
Having said that, let's begin to build our culturally relevant classroom. Here are a few things that we can do to help our students succeed:
1) Use codeswitching and contrastive analysis strategies in writing, reading, and listening. As I mentioned in my previous post. In addition to Gloria Ladson-Billings and Lisa Delpit, I strongly recommend Code-Switching: Teaching Standard English in Urban Classrooms by Rebecca Wheeler and Rachel Swords. In short, pedagogy based in these methods not only helps validate students' culture(s), but is also proven to help students learn and use Standard English, even though they do not belong to the culture of power, in the words of Delpit.
2) Base your classroom management with cultural backgrounds in mind. One of the most inspiring lectures I have ever heard was from a former boss at a local community center. She was white and grew up in Apartheid era South Africa. She was not only raised to believe in Apartheid, but she wrote an article defending it as a teenager in a local newspaper. As she grew to see her confusions, privilege, and misconceptions, she began to repudiate her previous philosophy. She closed her speech to our staff with the following statement: "We are told to believe in the golden rule, but I believe in the platinum rule; treat others as they want to be treated." I will never forget that.
This was a good model for someone not only acknowledging their privilege, but reflecting on it and how we deal with our students. One common mistake that I have executed previously in my classroom language involved language usage. I spoke to students the way I had been spoken to by my white mother- not acknowledging that my students had difficulty understanding my words because there was a language barrier of sorts. It was as if I had been speaking to them in a language that they were not fluent in and yet expecting them to understand. Again, this is essentially what Delpit refers to as the culture of power. I have access to the culture of power, but my students do not. It is important to accept this if I want my classroom to function successfully.
In short, many parents of students of color speak with a clarity that is different from those heard in the homes of white teachers. It is paramount that we speak to students with this lucidity so that they can "hear" our words in the way we intend. The misconception that lies amongst many white "progressive" teachers is that this means we have to yell at students. This is false. We can still use positive framing and simultaneously make clear our distinct directions. In addition to making my rules understandable, I also use CHAMP in my classroom to guide student expectations. (I strongly recommend CHAMP to all teachers.)
3) Use bilingual instruction when appropriate. I add this caveat because there are times when it is appropriate and others when it is not, especially based on your student audience. I have often translated my Do Nows and Exit Slips into Spanish. It's important to do this without drawing unwanted attention to these students. If you have a Promethean Board, you can project your translated Do Nows, or you can print out the translations (this could be for the entire week) and have them ready at the students' desks.
You can also do some small group "pull out" instruction. My students who are new to English often feel more comfortable in this environment. Even a simple check for understanding in their native language ("Tu entiende o no?") can help validate their culture and heritage.
Lastly, it is fairly obvious that cold calling an English Language Learner or a Special Education students to read a difficult passage would be inappropriate, but I strongly recommend doing so for text with lower lexicality or a a passage with less complex text. Doing this can really help create "buy in", build classroom texture, and also help students' know that they are successful and capable.
4) Codeswitch when speaking to help build comprehension. This is where many teachers stumble. As I noted in my previous post, we do not want to codeswitch in an effort to lower rigor. Tenth graders should not be reading The Bluford Series simply because they are black teenagers. It is not only too innapropriate, but simultaneously patronizing to those students, because the implied message is that they cannot meet high expectations.
My eighth graders are currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird. They were having some difficulty understanding Aunt Alexandra as a character. During our read aloud we paused to talk about her. I codeswitched and said, "Yeah, she all hashtag sorry/not sorry, I'm the queen, wassup?" My students laughed, but after viewing their comprehension questions, it was clear that it helped them to understand Lee's complex matriarch.
Our students still must be able to understand words from the text such as edification, acquiescence, and tactful. Discussing formal and informal language is important, and students need to realize that there are appropriate and inappropriate times for using both.
5) Post signs in your classroom representing your students' cultures(s). Let me first emphasize that actions speak louder than words. Your behavior carries more weight than a poster or sign. Simultaneously, words and images still have power. Using bilingual anchor charts or posters celebrating achievements by people of color (or powerful timeless quotes emphasizing social justice) sends a clear message to our students; you matter, your culture matters, your language matters, and I value these things, and as your teacher, I want you and your families to feel welcome in my classroom.
These images probably all fit the discussion of culturally-relevant pedagogy obviously- with the exception of the Scout character web. I decided to add this one because of the complexities of racial dynamics, in addition to it helping students understand Maycomb, as well as Scout as a character. We made this chart as a class, and we spent a lot of time discussing how someone who could use the n-word could also not be racist. I will leave this debate up to you, but I think most teachers would agree that Scout is a product of Maycomb. She is not inherently racist, especially given her relationship with Calpurnia. This is where culturally relevant pedagogy can lead to fascinating discussion and incredibly deep comprehension and inferential thinking.
A point of caution: putting up a poster of Frederick Douglas while not changing our behaviors and practices is tantamount to trying to lose weight and eating french fries everyday. Yes, you did one thing correctly, but you are still not making progress.
This is by no means a complete checklist. In order to be culturally relevant educators, we must be continually reflective on best practices, pedagogy, and the world in which our students live. The days of social studies class where teachers and students simply talk about ethnic cuisine are no more. If we cant to successfully educate our students, we have got to do better. Our students deserve it.
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