Alanna
Pihl
Tina
Durand
HDP
260
6
May 2010
Anti-racist Praxis Paper
Personal Learn, Growth, and Development.
When I began this course I thought I
knew everything there was to know about race. Even though I was stubborn at
times, I began to understand I was mistaken. One thing I am proud of is that I
embraced this course with an open mind. Although I had taken other classes such
as RCI and Media and Race, HDP 260 gave me a different angle on racial
awareness. There are four authors from our assigned readings that stood out to
me the most. The articles written by Yamato, McIntosh, Bobo, and Lopez have
helped shape my understanding about race and other racial issues. Most
importantly, they all raised topics and issues that intrigued me. What I
enjoyed most about these authors was that they challenged my thinking, and
taught me that it is acceptable to be confused about race. These authors have
not only helped shape my opinions of race in the United States, but they have
also educated me in ways to reach out and find a way to advocate for oppressed
people.
The first article written by Gloria
Yamato was a great reading to start the course off with. Out of all the
readings, this is the one that captured my attention, and which I remember the
most. I liked many things about her article but what I enjoyed most was that
she challenged my thoughts and ideas about racism. Beginning the article with,
“Racism—simple enough in structure, yet difficult to eliminate,” was a powerful
topic sentence. Not only is it completely true, but it sets the tone for the
whole article. As a reader with that in mind, I instantly wanted to know ways
in which we as a country will be able to eradicate racism or if it will ever
cease to exist.
While reading Yamato’s work, I felt uneasy because of
the different points she was making. For example when she said, “With the best
of intentions, the best of educations, and the greatest generosity of heart,
whites, operating on misinformation fed to them from day one, will behave in
ways that are racist, will perpetuate racism by being “nice” the way we’re
taught to be nice” (Yamato, 1988). As I looked back at my journal for that
reading, I found that I was distraught about her reasoning about that quote. I
thought that since Yamato believes this is a type of racism
(unaware/unintentional racism), how am I supposed to help people of color
without being called a racist? After completing this course and looking back at
Yamato’s article, I now realize that I have to want to help for me, not just
for the other person. When individuals feel guilty about racism, they often
mask their guilt with being “nice” instead of being genuine. I now understand that
if you really want to help someone, get to know the person, listen to them, and
find ways to reach out your hand as a friend. From this reading I learned that
in order for racism to be destroyed, everyone will have to attack the subject
from many different angles. Also, minorities are not looking for sympathy; they
are fighting to stop the oppression and racism that they feel in everyday life.
In order to help people of color, I need to work to understand racism for
myself and not for them.
Throughout this course there were
times that I felt very angry about how the United States has discriminated
against and oppressed certain ethnic groups. While reading Haney Lopez’s
article I became disgusted with our country and how they classify being “white”
or “nonwhite.” In his article, Lopez wrote about the history of segregation and
how it affected different minority groups. What caught my attention the most
were the three different types of claiming white identity: fully white, passing
as white, and the newly formed honorary white. Being an honorary white means
that an individual has the social status and professional successes to make
them “honorary.” They may be in this category and not the “fully white”
category because they have darker skin, an accent that is “un-American,” or
because they do not have an Anglo Saxon surname. Lopez then said,
“Honorary-white status will be available only to the most exceptional—and the
most light skinned—African Americans, and on terms far more restrictive than
those on which whiteness will be extended to many Latinos and Asian-Americans
(Lopez, 2006). Before reading this article, I had never thought of people being
placed in categories within the white race.
I then began to think about if there are subcategories
in other racial groups. What I have come to find is that there probably are,
which would be based off certain stereotypes that may belong to that racial
group. Although race is a very real thing within our society, “some people
genuinely believe that the best way to get beyond racism is to get beyond race,
colorblindness continues to retard racial progress” (Lopez, 2006). What I
learned from this article was that colorblindness and categorizing people as
“white” and “non-white,” does not help stop discrimination, racism, or
oppression. The only way to get past race as Justice Harry Blackmun would say is:
“In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no
other way.” (Lopez,2006). The push to end racism has to start with an
individual and move out towards others in the country.
Another important aspect of overcoming race is
recognizing that you as an individual are both privileged and oppressed in many
ways. Before coming to college, I never really thought of race because I did
not live in a diverse community. I did not know what oppression was, and I also
think that I had some racist views. I’m not saying I was racist; it’s just that
I was not educated on the subject of race. Peggy McIntosh, a well known
feminist, made a list of ways whites unintentionally oppress other races. She listed
many privileges that whites often take for granted. For example, McIntosh
writes: “I can go to a music shop and count on finding the music of my race
represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural
traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair”
(McIntosh, 1990). Also, whites do not like to admit that they are more
privileged than others.
What I learned from this article was that people
oppress unintentionally, through taking certain daily privileges for granted. It
made me identify that I do have more privileges than other races. Also, I was
able to think of other ways in which I have privilege over another ethnic group
such as having better police protection in my neighborhood than in a low-income
neighborhood. Not needing to think about race is also another way in which I am
privileged compare to others. I am also not often confronted about my race, or
discriminated against because of my skin color. McIntosh’s article was a
helpful to read and apply to my life so that I could see in clear stated words
how I have white privilege.
Lawerence D. Bobo’s passage that I read compared the
differences between the Jim Crow racism, and the laissez-faire racism that we
have today. I learned that with the decline of the Jim Crow laws, segregation,
and with the Equal Rights Movement, social racism became taboo and unacceptable
in public. This created a different type of racism, one that is
institutionalized and that is harder to recognize, but is indeed present. While
reading this passage I became curious about the studies and research that Bobo
and his colleagues did. I had a hard time with some of the things their
research found such as: “The study showed that whites tend to perceive blacks
as more likely than whites to be unpatriotic, violence-prone, unintelligent,
lazy, and to prefer to live off of welfare rather than being self-supporting”
(Bobo, 2009). In their study they found that seventy-eight percent of whites
agreed with the above statement. At first this saddened me because it showed
how our country’s views are based off stereotypes. Now it just makes me angry
because I feel like that is so unrealistic. Not only are more whites on
welfare, but there are also plenty of whites that are lazy, unpatriotic, and
violent.
Now after I have learned much more about stereotypes
and where they originate from, I ask myself, why do we do so much judging over
others instead of looking at our own deficiencies? I came to the conclusion that
there are many reasons why people prejudge. First, throughout history people
have been told that whites are genetically and culturally superior to all other
races. This has yielded in recent years but, “…biological racist ideas, have
not fully disappeared…” (Bobo, 2009). Second, I believe that our country still
has prejudices against others because of how our country was built. It was
founded off whites having certain privileges others were stripped from when
they immigrated here.
The four sources that I used helped me form my new
identity as a white person. Before this class I had a fair amount of knowledge
about race from previous courses, but I feel that this class has helped me pan
out some of the many ideas that I have for the future. In RCI we learned about
racial identity and all the different steps you have to take before you can be
completely comfortable with your skin color and other races too. Through this
course I have learned to accept that it’s acceptable to be in a number of the
steps of racial identity because it is all a learning process.
One issue that I had in the beginning of this course
was the confusion on how to help or understand people of different races other
than mine. It was hard for me to let go of the guilt that I feel for being
white, and wanting to understand race for me… not for others. While Yamato
helped me recognize that it is not helpful to feel guilty, McIntosh helped me
recognize the privileges I have as a white woman. And as Lopez was making me
feel angry at the United States for classifying people, Bobo was helping me
understand that there is an institutionalized form of racism still present in
our country. Every different passage I read made me feel a different way, but
all together, it made me realize that change has to start with me. I can’t wait
for others to change racism within our country.
From Awareness to Action
As a white woman, it is up to me to
become not only not racist, but also antiracist. Jensen says, “Being not-racist
is not enough. To be a fully moral person, one must find some way to be
antiracist as well. Because white people benefit from living a
white-supremacist society, there is an added obligation for us to struggle
against the injustice of that system” (Jensen, 2005). After completing HDP 260,
I have become fully aware of the privileges that whites have compared to other
races. From the readings, journals that I have written, and class discussions,
I believe that the course has helped change my perceptions of race. There are
several ways in which I believe I can help myself become more antiracist. Of
course there will have to be actions taken on my part to become more educated
about the different elements of race.
Two things I find to be extremely important towards my
movement to be an antiracist is to be an advocate for others, and also a strong
ally. What does that mean exactly? Well I am sure it different for everyone,
but for me this means being able to listen and learn from others. After this
course I hope to continue to think critically about the institutional racism
that is still going strong throughout our country. As I have learned, the new
racism that encompasses the American people is harder to recognize because it
is not overt. To tackle this problem I hope to pass the information along to
people that are important in my life.
I think that starting with the people I directly
affect on a daily basis will make my transition of being antiracist most
successful. If I see an article about racial issues that I find interesting, I
can send it along to my family and my close friends. Before I send it to them,
I can write them a note telling them why I find the information important, and
tell them that I hope they enjoy reading it as much as I did. Some may decide
to read it, others may not, but I believe that is a good way to pass on my
knowledge and thought of race. A simple gesture such as sending along an
article to a number of people is a form of advocacy.
As a daughter and a sister in my family of four, I
know where I stand. Since I am a young adult now, I am able to speak my mind
around my parents and discuss things that are most important to me. I am lucky
because some parents may not accept their children’s beliefs and my parents are
very supportive of my learning and advocacy of others. My aunts and uncles on
the other hand are from an older generation. They have certain beliefs that may
not be so “new age.” It is harder to voice my opinion around them because they
are very set in their ways. I have found that it would be more productive to
speak to my parents, sister, or cousins, compared to my aunts and uncles.
Although I may not speak to them about my beliefs just because, I will change
the ways I voice my opinion. For example, if one of my aunts or uncles says
something that I find to be racist, I am going to advocate for the people that
they are attacking. This may not go over very well with the elders of my family,
but at least I am standing up for what I believe in. Not only does this go with
my family, but I will also confront strangers too.
Another thing I learned through this course was how to
be a successful ally. It does not help anyone when an individual makes
judgments about what a certain racial group may want. It is more important to listen to what they want or need and be
an advocate for them. In my search to become antiracist, I want to learn more
about Native American culture and beliefs. During my senior year of high school
I went to Arizona and worked for Habitat for Humanity during my April vacation.
The neighborhood we were building was right near an Indian reservation, so I
was able to see the physical oppression that the Native American people are
still subjected to.
A long term goal of mine to be antiracist is to work
on the Native American reservations. I want to listen to their stories of
oppression and brainstorm ways to make the future generations more successful
in beating depression and alcoholism. While still in college I can educate
myself by reading articles, books, and emerging myself into the culture. I
could join some sort of club in the Boston area to meet people of Native
American ancestry. I have already started to read books and articles because I
find a real interest in their cultures and the way they live on reservations.
In the long run, I would like to teach elementary school out west on
reservations so that I can be an effective ally for Native American people.
I understand becoming antiracist is quite a struggle,
but I believe that taking the steps to make society more equal will not only
benefit others but me too. Of course there is a lot more that I need to learn
about race and how to conquer it, but this course has helped me get my foot in
the door for change. I realize that change needs to start with me, and that I
need to educate myself through listening to others and being an ally. I think
that my goal of wanting to go to the Native American reservations to teach will
benefit the way I look at race because my views may be challenged by others. To
be a successful ally and advocate it will be important for me to listen and
learn from others races different than mine.
References
Bobo, L.D. (2009) The color line,
the dilemma, and the dream. In E. Higginbotham, & M.L. Andersen
(Eds.), Race and ethnicity in society, (pp. 81-89). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Jensen, R. (2005) The heart of whiteness: confronting
race, racism, and white privilege. San Francisco
CA: City Lights.
Lopez, H. I. (2006) Colorblind to
the reality if race in America. Chronicle
of Higher Education, 53 (11),
62. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier
database.
McIntosh, P. (1990).White privilege: Unpacking
the invisible knapsack. In White
privilege and
male privilege: A personal account of
coming to see correspondences through work in
women’s studies. Working paper 189.
Yamato, G. (1988). Something
about the subject makes it hard to name. In J. W. Cochran, D. Langston, &
C. Woodward (Eds.), Changing out power: An introduction to women’s studies, (pp. 3-6).
Dubuque,
IA: Kendall-Hunt.
Artifact 1B
CONVERSATIONS, IDEAS, AND
RESEARCH ABOUT THE LESSON PLAN
Miss. Scansaroli and I began
discussing my potential videotaping lesson in the beginning of the semester.
During this meeting I asked her if she had any preferences in what I would plan
to teach. Michelle said that she had no preference because I would be the one
planning the lesson, and left the decision solely up to me. She also let me
know whatever topic I chose to plan for she would help me find the resources
that I would need to create my lesson plan with. Another thing I talked to
Michelle about was my indecisiveness to choose between a math or literacy
activity.
As the semester continued, I changed
my mind about my lesson a few times. At first I wanted to do a math lesson
because the subject is difficult for me. I enjoy challenges so I thought that
would be a good decision. I then changed my mind because in Joeritta’s class my
group and I made a social studies unit for the third grade. I thought that one
of the lessons was a great one to do with my class because they do not have
social studies everyday so I decided that I would do my lesson on Pilgrims.
Once I had
my idea, I brought it to the attention of Miss. Scansaroli. She thought it was
a great idea to do a lesson on Pilgrims even though they had already done a
unit on them in the fall. She said that she believed that it would be a great
review because the next unit they would be working on was colonial history. I
took it upon myself to go through her library in search of books about Pilgrims.
I found two that I liked and decided that I would rewrite the parts that I
liked so that I wouldn’t need to read both books during my lesson. I wanted to
use the two books for different reasons, one of them being that I did not like
some of the information about Native Americans that were in the book.
Although I
did not stick with my original plan on doing a math lesson, it was the base of
my brainstorming. I believe that it is great to change ideas as long as there
is a lot of thinking involved. The fact that I was able to do something that I
enjoyed teaching such as history and literacy, really got the children involved
in the lesson because I was so enthusiastic about it. The children really
enjoyed making a class venn diagram because they were able to show what they
learned from the lesson. The support of my supervising practitioner was
fantastic and I do not believe I would have had such a successful lesson if it
wasn’t for her.
COMPARISONS OF
PILGRIMS AND AMERICAN CHILDREN
LESSON PLAN
GRADE LEVEL: Grade 3
DATE and TIME ALLOTMENT: April
11th 2011
1 Hour: 10-11 a.m.
SUBJECT AREA(S): Social
Studies—Comparison
GOALS
Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks:
3.3 Identify who the Pilgrims were and explain why they
left Europe to seek religious freedom; describe their journey and their early
years in the Plymouth Colony.
A. the purpose of the Mayflower Compact
and its principles of self-government
B. challenges in settling in America
C. events leading to the first
Thanksgiving
The goal of this lesson is for the
students to understand how Pilgrim children’s lives are similar and different
to their own. Framework 3.3 relates to the lesson because students will learn
who the Pilgrims were and explain why they came to America. Students will also
be able to describe the journey and what the lives of Pilgrim children were
like.
WHERETO
W- Introduce
the essential question and begin with an entry question.
O- Discuss
what the class will do during the lesson.
E- Present a
k-w-l chart and introduce how to use it.
W-The
students will complete a k-w-l chart in pairs. They will then share their ideas
with the class to create a class k-w-l.
T- The pairs
for the k-w-l chart will be premeditated based on social/emotional
disabilities, ELL, and academic disabilities.
W- Before
beginning the read aloud, explain to the students that they should highlight
phrases in the text where they see a similarity or difference of Pilgrim
children’s lives compared to their own.
H- During
the read aloud continue to ask the children questions dealing with
comprehension and what they are underlining in the text.
E- Review
what a venn diagram is and what purpose it holds while comparing. Give an
example from the text that would fit into the diagram.
R- Students
should be talking to their table partners about their ideas while filling out
their index card for the venn diagram.
R, E-2- Go
around to each table to see what students have come up with. Involve the group
in the discussion with the student and allow students to make revisions based
on feedback.
WHEELOCK COLLEGE TEACHING STANDARDS
|
Standard 3. Knowledge of Content and Integrated
Curriculum
|
|
Create meaningful learning
experiences for children
|
|
Use knowledge, skills, and
dispositions from the social studies to organize and provide integrated
instruction
|
|
Time, continuity, and
change
|
|
Individuals, groups, and
institutions
|
|
Demonstrate scholarly
habits of mind, including a desire to know.
|
|
Standard 4. Educational practices that foster
learning, development, and achievement in all of the nation’s children.
|
|
Provide multiple ways for
children to deepen their grasp of concepts, stretch their thinking, and
express their understanding
|
|
Understand that the lesson,
textbook, teaching strategy, assignment, or assessment tool that worked well
in one situation will not necessarily succeed in another
|
|
Take interest in students’
lives, ideas, feelings, and activities
|
|
Should model effective
communication strategies in conveying ideas and information, and in asking
questions.
|
|
Standard 5. Assessment in a multi-racial,
multicultural democracy.
|
|
Understand that assessment
is an integral part of teaching, and that children’s accomplishment and
challenges should drive their daily instructional decisions.
|
|
Should monitor their own
teaching strategies and behavior in relation to student successes and
difficulty, and modify their curricular plans and instructional approaches
accordingly.
|
|
Understand that appropriate
assessment is cognizant of the linguistic, cultural, familial, and community
influences on children.
|
UNDERSTANDING
Facets of
Understanding
Facet 2: Interpretation
·
Students
interpret the information from the story in a way that relates to their own
responsibilities in life.
Facet 3: Application
·
Using the
knowledge they gained from the read aloud, students will apply it to the venn
diagram activity.
Facet 4: Perspective
·
Students should
recognize perspectives from the story as well as their own to help them
brainstorm ideas for the venn diagram activity.
Facet 5: Empathy
·
During the read
aloud students will be able to imagine themselves as Pilgrim children with
various responsibilities.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
·
What are some common
responsibilities that kids have today (example: at home, at school, in your
community)?
ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
To find out what the students
already know about the Pilgrims I plan to do a K-W-L chart. From the chart I
will find out what the students know, want to know, what they learned. First, I
will break the students into pairs to do a group K-W-L then I will bring the
class together to make a class K-W-L that will be recorded by me.
OBJECTIVES
1. Students will be able to
compare their lives and responsibilities to the lives and responsibilities of
Pilgrim children using a venn diagram.
2. Students will know the
different aspects of (routines, structure, responsibilities, etc) of Pilgrim
children’s lives.
3. I can explain how a
pilgrim child’s life is different and similar to the lives of children today.
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
The pairings for the K-W-L
groups will be premeditated based on social/emotional disabilities, ELL, and
academic disabilities. Children will have varying adult support and advanced
learners will be provided with challenge work that is an extension of the
lesson. Visual learners will benefit from seeing the K-W-L chart up on the
board while the read aloud will support auditory learners.
ASSESSMENT
The K-W-L in the lesson will
show that level of knowledge the students had before doing the read aloud.
After the read aloud students will compare their lives to Pilgrim children’s
lives and will write down a similarity or difference for the class venn
diagram. This will show whether the students were able to make text to self
connections. I will be able to evaluate whether my objectives were met by
looking at the comparisons to see if the students were creative, thoughtful,
and whether they used the text as evidence.
IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES
Materials:
·
Book
·
Pencils
·
Crayons
·
Index Cards
·
Writers
notebooks/Lined Paper
·
Easel Paper for the
class K-W-L
Time Chart:
10:00-10:10—paired k-w-l
10:10-10:20—group k-w-l
10:20-10:40—class read aloud
10:40-11:00—venn diagram
activity
Procedure:
·
Introduce the
lesson
·
Students will be
asked whether anyone remembers what a K-W-L chart is and what it looks like (draw
it on the overhead projector).
·
Spilt children
into pairs (premeditated).
·
Children will
come back together as a class and will be asked to give examples from their
categories of the K-W-L chart.
·
Children will go
to the rug for the read aloud—introduce the book.
·
While reading, students
will be asked questions based on comprehension and will be asked to compare
their lives as children to the lives and responsibilities of Pilgrim children.
·
After the book is
finished introduce the venn diagram activity (remind students that there will
be a Pilgrim section, similarities section, and the modern children section).
·
Explain to the
students that they may use their index card to write their idea on. Their idea
must only fall into one category.
·
Have them write
their idea and draw a picture.
·
When students
have completed their work, the index cards will be collected.
·
Students will be
asked to name one thing that they learned from the read aloud, the
K-W-L, or the
venn diagram activity.
Management
·
Use chime
·
Sit quietly
waiting for children
·
Engage students
that are talking to share something interesting about what they are learning at
that moment.
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