“As educators who should be committed to helping young people realize their intellectual potential as they make their way toward adulthood, we have a responsibility to help them find ways to expand their notions of identity related to race and, in so doing, help them discover all that they may become.” (Sadowski 33)
It wasn’t so much the meaning of this quote that resonated with me, rather the memory it triggered. Earlier today while student teaching, one of the classes I observed, Spanish Culture (taught in the target language), carried out a debate about whether or not ethnic-based school organizations were a good idea. With several African-American students present in the class, it did not take long for the conversation to transform itself into a debate on white privilege and systemic racism. One African-American student, though she had much to contribute, in particular to the teacher’s probing (playing devil’s advocate), struggled to get her views across due to the linguistic barrier. Determined to be heard, the student remained an hour after class to continue a one-on-on discussion with the teacher. The teacher feigned ignorance, defending white privilege and denying systemic racism. The conversation ended with the teacher thanking the student for expressing herself, each recommended literature for the other to read, and the teacher confessed her true intentions: to get her students to open up about certain topics.
What stood out to me most was the grace and patience with which the student carried herself. Not for a moment did she falter or show aggression. She defended her claim that race is a social construct and that racism has been engrained in society’s mind; that when an African-American male is seen walking on the street, he is not seen for his personality, study habits, and hobbies, rather he is seen for his height and the color of his skin.
What I took away from that class was the importance, as teachers, of creating a safe space to talk about such important issues, and that adolescents are highly intelligent beings, capable of such conversations, who are at an age when such debates need to occur.
I love how this experience/memory directly contradicts the Fine article we read about “silencing”. Even the way that she allowed for the conversation to take form — by starting with a question about ethnic-based school organizations as opposed to an example of a a white police officer shooting an african american male. The fact that the student stayed after class to continue discussing is a true testament to the level of trust and comfortability your mentor teacher creates with her students as a result of being ready to open up the usually taboo conversations that most educators try to silence.
Thank you for sharing this! Could you get the book recommendations they exchanged and share them with the rest of us? Gracias!
The book is called “Why are the black kids sitting together in the Cafeteria?”