In the Picower article, she states early on, "As evidenced by the ways
in which the pre-service teachers explained their life experiences, it is clear that racism
is ‘endemic and deeply ingrained in American life’ to the extent that it should be seen
as the major condition that must be analyzed, in conjunction with other forms of
oppression, to understand inequality (Ladson-Billings and Tate 1995)" (Picower 2009). In her article Picower discusses the overwhelming 90% of teachers that are white, and how their style of teaching has the potential to be condescending.
Nikki's "just be nice" classroom, which seemed to be fair, was presented poorly: "It maintained
White innocence while keeping the focus of urban educational failure on students
rather than on their own willful lack of preparation to teach in communities
unfamiliar to them" (Picower 2009).
In your own high school experience (attending or teaching) have you experienced or witnessed this type of mentality or situation in your classroom?
Do you you see 90% white teachers in the United States as a potential problem?
Does this statistic startle you? Why or why not?
McDonough:
What does it mean to be a critical teacher?
How do you as a teacher achieve a critical understanding of your classroom?
How would you go about "criticizing" the classroom?
GROUP ONE
ReplyDeletePicower:
On page 207, does Diane's reclassification of whom she would cross the street to avoid have any significance? "I mean, I talked about the idea of a group of like Black - I mean African-American kids - walking down the stress, like..."
What function might that self correction have meant to serve?
Picower asserts that "people of color are equally capable of using the tools of Whiteness.." While reading the article, did you become aware that you had/have utilized a tool or two of Whiteness? What deeper purpose did it serve (emotional, ideological, performative)?
McDonough:
I think we are all pretty good on the first two of the three themes of critical consciousness (racial identity reflection and awareness of inequity). How do you tackle the challenges to engagement? How do you continue the process of recognizing dominate myths of racism and Whiteness?
Samuel is the only white student in the class Jaclyn's class. So when Jaclyn ignores Brandon's "It [segregation in schools] still happens today" comment, does she essentially invalidate a student of colors acknowledgement of present-day institutional racism? If so, what damage/repercussions might this cause?
White Savor Films:
How does Patricia Hill Collins term 'voyeurism' relate to these films?