Actively Antiracist

One of the conversations that I believe is at the core of fulfilling the intentions of this class is the one from the Defining Racism article about moving the opposite way on the moving walkway and how this can be done. This article calls many of the alarming acts and consequences of racism to our attention, and it is a good reminder to be conscious of these situations. It goes a step further to suggest that the only way for white people in this society to avoid racism and promote change is to be "actively antiracist". It goes on to explain that racism is bigger than individual prejudice acts and that it is also due to the fact that all of us are born into and inherit an entire political and social system that is racist. How can we change that? What are some steps that we can take to be "actively antiracist"? What are some steps that we can take to go a step further and actually promote CHANGE? If all white people are benefiting from the White Privilege, how can we change that? Although we have mentioned some suggestions before, I think that this makes for a great discussion and it is a really great thing to focus on, especially among future teachers that are working towards change in communities in which many of the inhabitants are getting the brunt of the racist system.

"Mexican" Jobs

Since I have been taking this class, I have been trying to keep my eyes open more to the subtle prejudices, misconceptions, or discrimination that occurs in day-to-day life. I had some interesting feedback due to my new jobs this semester, and it kind of reminds me of the discussion my group was having last week about the "faceless" people that do the jobs that are often considered to be the "menial" jobs. It also seemed relevant to some of the issues brought up in "So Mexicans Are Taking Our Jobs" and "And What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez".

It is clear that certain jobs carry a stigma with them. I experienced an example of this through my own experience in minimum wage campus dining jobs. For the last two years, I have been working a few shifts a week for minimum wage campus dining service jobs. In previous semesters I worked at a deli and a bakery. This semester I was placed at both Burger King and Pizza Hut. Since I accepted jobs this semester at both venues, I have been getting very different reactions from others than I ever got when I worked at the deli or the bakery. Reactions I got included:
"Wow, your parents are going to be proud!" (sarcastically)
"Why would you want to work there? These are mostly Mexican jobs."
"Why don't you just work at Subway with your sister? Those jobs are much trashier."

In continuing the conversation with the ISU student who made the comment about a minimum wage Burger King job being trashier than a minimum wage Subway job. He had no rationale to support his comparison between Subways and Burger King. When we continued to talk he said that "as 'the big house with a white fence and a dog' is the stereotypical image of success, working at a low-paying fast food establishment is the stereotypical image of failure." He also went into a "what about the adults who consider this their career" speech.

The second statement that I encountered which labeled minimum wage fast food jobs as "Mexican jobs" reminded me of the article "And What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez" by Pedro A. Noguera. The article addresses the idea that "Latinos are trapped in the lowest paying jobs" and that they "specialize in doing the dirty work, the work that U.S.-born Americans reject".

These comments really struck a nerve with me and they brought to life how real some of these issues are. I wonder how other people would react to such statements and how people reacted to the article and the poem.

Taking account of class in the classroom

We talked in class last week about the impact of poverty on people's lives and some of the stereotypical assumptions educators make about poor children and families. As Sue Books explained in the chapter we read from her book, people in the U.S. aren't poor due to character flaws or an absolute scarcity of money--instead, poverty results from the structure of our capitalist economic system and wrongheaded policy choices.

Here's a good (and fairly short) article from the latest issue of Teaching Tolerance that echoes that critique and takes it one step further with suggestions on what teachers can do to transform their practice in ways that will take account of poverty without making assumptions or sweeping generalizations about students.

(Note: The link above will take you to the home page of Teaching Tolerance. Click "The lastest issue of Teaching Tolerance" (under the artwork of the girl's face), then you'll see a link to the article on the right--it's called "The Question of Class" by Paul Gorski.)

A Column I Read

For one of my other classes, we were talking about how much money the big company CEO's get, and how unfair it is compared to other people.

Somebody mentioned that the President of State Farm a few years back ended up earning something like an 80% raise.

At the same time State Farm also tried to weasel its way out of paying off claims for Hurricane Katrina victims (until a class action lawsuit demaned they do so).

Out teacher told us the read the following column to discuss in class, and I found it to be somewhat infuriating. I was just wondering what other people thought, since it has some times to idea of poverty and education.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/navarrette/20070221-9999-lz1e21navar.html

The city that works?

Jenn asked me in class last week what I thought about Mayor Daley getting re-elected for a sixth--yes, sixth--term. Many casual observers believe Chicago has flourished under Daley, but their observations are usually about cosmetic improvements ("It's so much cleaner!" and "Millenium Park is so pretty!"). It's worth asking, though, who has really benefitted and who has suffered during Daley's time in office? Does "the city that works" work equally well for all?

For those who are interested, here's a clear-eyed assessment of Daley's record and where Chicago is as a city (including its schools): "He's Going to Win (and Here's Why You Should Vote Against Him Anyway)." It was written by Ben Joravsky and published a few days before the election in the Chicago Reader.

Job Offerings

This past Tuesday I went to the Educators' Job Fair, and I was just being nosey and looking around seeing if my elementary or high school was there. But I ended up leaving prematurely because I was constantly annoyed by recruiters. They would as me questions about what I want to teach and what grade level, and there were dozens that would come up to me at once. Okay I understand that there is a great need for male teachers in the elementary grades and even more need for colored males in education in general. This is a question or more of a testimony for my other males and colored folks, do you ever feel that you are being hired or getting a lot of attention due to the need to fill a quota? I may be tripping but I am really nervous that I might not be qualified for the accolades that I receive but I receive them because the color of my skin not the content of character. I know this was brought up in class once, but I just figured out how to start my own topic!!!

Working to Stay Poor

So, I was thinking about the budget worksheet we did in class. The title on the worksheet was something like working to stay poor...but we didn't really talk about what I think of when I consider that statement. Then, I attended a sociology class and they were talking about economic status and the poor as well...which was weird. Someone in the class posed the question that some people are trying to stay poor so they can get a check each month. He even went to high school with people who said they couldn't wait to turn 18 and receive their check in the mail. Now, although the kid had a negative spin on that towards poor people...he brings up a good point. The professor said that there has been no evidence or studies that proved people try to stay poor. I beg to differ. And this is why:
Now, I don't know if I'm just thinking of a different issue..but from experience, I think that the financial aid and federal aid is set up so that people have to try to stay poor. For example, in my family, my mom is a full time mom and my dad has been unemployed for 6 years. We are surviving because my parents are the world's best savers when the money was good. For last year, when we were applying for financial aid, we put 0 as our income. Add to that the fact that I'm a RA, and I was basically getting paid to come to school. Not only did my parents not have to pay anything, but I got checks in the mail for a lot of money. For this year, my dad is still unemployed, but he got some freelance work to get a few grand. So we didn't get to put 0 as our income...and as a result we got 0 financial aid. But we are still unemployed and are beginning to struggle. But since we could put a few grand for our annual income AND being a RA hurts me this time, because then room and board is paid for...so we get nothing from aid. The same thing occurs for any kind of aid people get. The moment they cross over into another category..so from drowning to gasping for air basically...their aid decreases tremedously. So why try and get a slightly better job? Why even look? Why try? I just don't understand how that system can possible help anyone. Am I not understanding it properly? What do you all think? cause just letting you know...I'm PISSED. Sorry for the language Greg.

Racism and Class

I keep finding that what we are talking about in this class relates to what I am reading about in my EAF 228 class. Today, I was reading about "Capitalism, Class, and the Matrix of Domination" in Allan G. Johnson's book Privilege, Power and Difference (2nd ed.). One of the opening sentences really caught my attention.

"White racism hasn't been around very long -- hardly more than several centuries and certainly not as long as peoples now considered 'white' have been aware of other 'races.' Its appearance in Europe and the Americas occurred right along with the expansion of capitalism as an economic system" (Johnson 41).

After reading this, I suddenly realized why it is so hard to separate class and race; racial discrimination was created to preserve a class system as a part of the larger capitalist economy. The author goes on to explain why this is true by citing historical facts like the use of slave labor, low working wages, and creating divisions among the "masses." All of these things help the dominant, privileged (white) class to turn money into more money.

Have any of you ever realized this connection before? Do you agree with what this author thinks about the connection between racism and class? Why or why not? I'm really interested in what everyone thinks.

Zero Tolerance

I wanted to write my thoughts about this earlier and now that the topic keeps coming up in other classes I really wanted to touch on this. So in the article Zero Tolerance as Mandatory Sentencing, I really agreed with one section that stated, " These recent zero tolerance policies do not take into account whether a student knew he or she had the object that is deemed to be a weapon, or intended to do any harm." Also, that "zero tolerance" really doesn't have anything to do with tolerance but everything to do with one-size-fits-all mandatory punishment. That jumped out at me the most because its true. I feel that the Zero Tolerance policy needs to be re-defined. A punishment needs to be handled on a trial by trial basis. A weapon doesn't have to be anything sharp or with some kind of point and a lot of people don't understand that. If a 6'4, 300 lb student who is heavy handed decides to attack somebody smaller then him with a hard cover textbook and bludgeons that person to death, then that book has just been used as a weapon. Has it not? How can you apply the same expulsion rules to a six year old as to a seventeen -year old? I think thats absolutely absurd.

So, what do you think about the Zero Tolerance policy?

Diversity Conference

I went to see Bill Ayers speak at the Diversity Conference on Friday, February 23rd. One thing Bill said that has really stuck with me is "Teaching at its best allows humans to become more powerful." For me, that sums up exactly why I want to become a teacher. I want children to be able to feel like they have the ability to do something with their lives, to be something great. My ideal job would be a literacy teacher in first or second grade. Literacy is perhaps the most powerful tool in becoming what is considered "successful" in today's world.


At this point in our schooling, I think we all kind of take reading for granted. But if we really stop to think about it, would any of us be here right now if we were not literate? Not only do I want to give students the gift of reading, but I also want to help them to LOVE reading. Kids these days are so fixated on movies, TV shows, playstations, and ipods. To me, nothing is better then being so absorbed in a book that I have to finish reading it before I go to sleep. If I could instill even a bit of my passion for books into my students, I will consider myself a successful teacher.

Did any of you attend the conference? What are your thoughts?

How far have we come since 1963?

There was a lot we didn't get to last week with regard to the articles we read about race and racism. We had a pretty good discussion about the Tatum article--especially the metaphor of the moving walkway, and how we all get pulled toward the racism that permeates society unless we take steps to actively move against it (by being anti-racist). Still, we didn't even touch on the Baldwin or Cashin pieces, and while we'll try to give them some time next week, I thought I'd post a couple questions here to see if they generate any discussion.

Baldwin wrote "A Talk to Teachers" in 1963. He writes of the miseducation of Black children in schools, and of a society that professes equality for all but that in reality is hostile to African Americans. "A black child," he writes, "looking at the world around him, though he cannot know quite what to make of it, is aware that there is a reason why his mother works so hard, why his father is always on edge....And it isn't long--in fact it begins when he is in school--before he discovers the shape of his oppression."

How relevant or outdated is Baldwin's commentary on America's racial landscape? Do you think his critique and his advice to teachers still resonate today, and if so, how? If not, why not?

Sheryll Cashin, writing over 40 years after Baldwin and a year after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, says that while much has changed for African Americans since the Civil Rights movement, vast inequities persist--particularly in racially isolated inner cities. Cashin says that while many White people have no problem relating to African Americans on an individual level, they fear Black people in large numbers--especially "the Black ghetto." Do you agree with this assessment, and if so, what are the implications for urban schools?

If neither of these questons interests you, see recent posts (below) by Dakota, Trish, and Dave, and Katie's response to my "More on whites and racism" post.

"People of Color"

I’ve been thinking a lot about last class lately- mostly about the labels we use to identify people according to their race and/or ethnicity. I have a lot running through my mind, and I was hoping that some of you would respond with comments or clarifications. Sometimes I feel very lost…here is what I mean by that:

When we talked about filling in circles about race on tests/applications/etc I usually don’t fill in anything, not only because I don’t believe that I should be categorized in such circumstances, but because I don’t really know where I belong.

I love it when people ask about me…they usually have no idea what I am, and I am happy to clarify that to those people curious enough to actually ask. I love my cultural background and I love the fact that I feel so connected to it. But, many people do not know. Many do not ask; many are ignorant to the fact that people like me exist-people who are considered “Other” without anymore explanation.

When 9/11 occurred, my mother had to put a large American Flag sticker on her car so that it would be avoided when people were egging “terrorist” cars. In school, I was considered an “A-rab” [sic]. The people who knew my mother was from Iraq automatically connected me to being a follower of Saddam. I was asked where my towel was, whether Saddam was a relative, whether I celebrated Christmas or Easter. In the airport, my family is the first to be pulled out of line and searched. These are the most recent treatments I have gone through, but I’ve had similar experiences since the time I moved out of Chicago into the suburbs. No one knew what “kind of people we were.” I used to hate looking the way I do; I still struggle with the same issues I did when I was seven. The amount of harassment that Middle Easterners have to go through is an issue that oftentimes gets overlooked- yes, it’s in the news, but it’s often negative and they usually show “my people” running around without any shoes, burning American Flags-basically animals who walk upright. The War in Iraq is not only in Iraq…9/11 has not gone away…I am still the girl that is different from everyone else- even in our C&I class. I know there is a fairly large group of Middle Easterners in Urban schools- all my cousins (first second, third cousins) went to school in inner city Chicago. When do those issues get brought up in a way that people can openly discuss what is going on? Am I missing or wrong about the issues I am having?

When we talk about “people of color in class” I am usually hopeful that I am considered somewhere in there, but even then many of us continue with, “Hispanic, Black, Latino.” I can’t help but to wonder, “What about everyone else?” I know that the above mentioned make up what would be (I guess) the “majority of the minority” (ironic, I know) and I know we can not possibly touch on every culture, race, ethnic group, but I think that a lot of issues are being ignored when we don’t take into account that “people of color” is also a label that needs to be defined as well.

So in closing: When you hear “people of color” who do you think about? Is it a safe way to label such a variety of individuals? When our students have come to us, just as I have today, and ask you, “Where do I belong?” how will you react?