A week ago, I read Jose Vilson’s Educon 2.3 reflection, “#Educon, Edu-Nerds, Chris Lehmann, and A Slice of Race in the 21st Century”. Jose’s post was a powerful reflection on race, told through an anecdote of a conference session he attended. In that session, a participant commented that inquiry-based learning may be great for some kids, but others might need direct instruction.
Chris Lehman, principal of Science Leadership Academy, responded immediately:
“Well, I’d be careful with that, because when people hear that, then we start getting into whose kids should get inquiry-based school, and it means that we inevitably run into issues of race, class, and gender.”
Jose said he wandered the halls, the library, doing a small tally of the demographics of the conference attendees. I hope you’ll go and read the exchange that Jose and Chris have in the comments section of the blog.
I, too, had done a color assessment of the conference, at the Franklin Institute auditorium, where we had gathered for the opening panel. I mentioned the mostly monochromatic nature of the audience to a friend that night, and to other friends the following night. It’s not something I’m comfortable doing, which is why I push myself to speak up when I can. This is why I appreciated reading about Chris’ direct and open response.
The first time I spoke up about race was right after the 2007 Teachers College community meeting, a week after an African American professor had found a noose hung on her office door. I was teaching a seminar on the teaching of writing, and a couple of students came late to class from the meeting. They were mad, , about the incident itself, but even more so, about the farcical nature of meeting. One of the women, Black, brilliant, and comfortable saying exactly what she thinks, commented that the institution had sure sent a message when they sat a bunch of White men on that stage. What a conversation opened from there!
I found myself talking about the peculiar kind of blindness that White privilege is, and how I’d been stunned to discover my own– blindness and privilege. And how, once I’d seen it, I could never again not see. We talked about what that meant for me in my own teaching, and what I hoped they’d explore in theirs.
Since then, I’ve learned that it’s much harder to speak up when I’m not in a position of power, i.e., Teacher, when I’m just one among a group of peers. I think I will always need to push myself.
A couple of years after the noose, I had to make a social issues video for a media class I was taking. Mine is called When I Learned I Was White.
I’m sharing it now, for practice.
#1 by Jose Vilson on February 13th, 2011
Thanks for your comment to my post. One thought: until we see each other as part of the same genetic pool and appreciate the differences simultaneously, we’ll never get it right. Color consciousness trumps color blindness. Always.
#2 by Karen on February 14th, 2011
I agree, Jose. Thanks for your response. I wish this weren’t such a difficult issue. Life work, as a friend of mine says. Your students are lucky to have you, as is the teaching community.
#3 by Sabrynna on October 31st, 2012
I think this is a great idea. Every student in my grade level has the inetenrt and a computer at home. Most actually have the inetenrt on their cell phones! I find this idea to be unique and actually a very good solution to our current situation from all of the snow days. Our state assessments are almost a week away. In the last month we lost seven school days due to snowstorms. The teachers in my school are feeling the pressure of the students lack of preparation and the students are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of content we are throwing at them to make up for the days lost. I feel strongly that having school from home using technology is a win-win situation. Teachers can Skype lessons to their students and post discussion boards on their class website, along with required assignments for the day. Have the students responsible for school work, will keep the students busy and out of trouble. Another problem this would alleviate is extending the school year. Students and faculty may have jobs in the summer. Teachers may have continuing education classes starting at the end of the school year. And most importantly, most families have vacations planned. I know that making up school days at the end of the year can put a damper on a lot of people. This idea is one I hope districts will try in the future.