World Cultures is…

After an activity where students practiced teaching each other key concepts for the first time, I had them debrief. Just for fun, I threw in a wild card. Here are a few of their responses to “World Cultures is…”

World Cultures is fun, confusing, and awesome!

World Cultures is one of my favorite classes, My world cultures teacher is my favorite, is a hard subject that I don’t fully understand.

World cultures is something that I look forward to in a day and I learn a a lot of new material.

World Cultures is tons of fun and I really like how she teaches and that she only gives homework if necessary.

A place were you further expand your knowledge of the word and use it in everyday problems. Plus you learn more about real things like the world. It is different from math I love math , but it is so different you use it everyday.

World cultures is a good way for me to learn about what our world is like, not just where things are, but that too.

World Cultures is challenging but I get AH HA moments sometimes when I actually get it.

World cultures is interesting because you get to discuss things instead of listening to the teacher all day.

World cultures is BALLER

World Cultures is fun and exciting. I learn something new everyday and Mrs. [Moxie] will help me understand things that are complicated for me.

World Cultures is really interesting and fun. It is very hard, and easy at the same time, I can rely on this subject for very little, or no homework at all. It is awesome, and very interactive, and you do not know what is going to happen next.

World Cultures is open-minding and brain-bending. It makes me think about things I wouldn’t think about.

Privilege Activity

Privilege Activity: I’m in Philly for a People of Color Conference, and yesterday we learned about this activity in a seminar. Reading through these statements helps me to see how much privilege I have, and how all of the “hard work” I’ve done has only been a small factor in getting me where I am today. 

Purpose:  To provide participants with an opportunity to understand the intricacies of privilege.

Time:  1 ½ hours

Materials:  none needed

Facilitator Notes: 
This is a powerful exercise and should be thoroughly processed.

1. Participants should be led to the exercise site silently, hand in 
    hand, in a line.

 
2. At the site, participants, can release their hands, but should be 
    instructed to stand shoulder to shoulder in a straight line without 
    speaking.

 
3. Participants should be instructed to listen carefully to each sentence, and take the step required if the sentence applies to them.  They should be told there is a prize at the front of the site that everyone is 
    competing for.

Sentences:

If your ancestors were forced to come to the USA not by choice, take one step back.

If your primary ethnic identity is American, take one step forward.

If you were ever called names because of your race, class, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If there were people of color who worked in your household as servants, gardeners, etc., take one step forward.

If you were ever ashamed or embarrassed of your clothes, house, car, etc. take one step back.

If your parents were professionals:  doctors, lawyers, etc. take one step forward.

If you were raised in an area where there was prostitution, drug activity, etc., take one stop back.

If you ever tried to change your appearance, mannerisms, or behavior to avoid being judged or ridiculed, take one step back.

If you studied the culture of your ancestors in elementary school, take one step forward.

If you went to school speaking a language other than English, take one step back.

If there were more than 50 books in your house when you grew up, take one step forward.

If you ever had to skip a meal or were hungry because there was not enough money to buy food when you were growing up, take one step back.

If you were taken to art galleries or plays by your parents, take one step forward.

If one of your parents was unemployed or laid off, not by choice, take one step back.

If you attended private school or summer camp, take one step forward.

If your family ever had to move because they could not afford the rent, take one step back.

If you were told that you were beautiful, smart and capable by your parents, take one step forward.

If you were ever discouraged from academics or jobs because of race, class, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you were encouraged to attend college by your parents, take one step forward.

If you were raised in a single parent household, take one step back.

If your family owned the house where you grew up, take one step forward.

If you saw members of your race, ethnic group, gender or sexual orientation portrayed on television in degrading roles, take one step back.

If you were ever offered a good job because of your association with a friend or family member, take one step forward.

If you were ever denied employment because of your race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you were paid less, treated fairly because of race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you were ever accused of cheating or lying because of your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you ever inherited money or property, take one step forward.

If you had to rely primarily on public transportation, take one step back.

If you were ever stopped or questioned by the police because of your race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you were ever afraid of violence because of your race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you were generally able to avoid places that were dangerous, take one step forward.

If you were ever uncomfortable about a joke related to your race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation but felt unsafe to confront the situation, take one step back.

If you were ever the victim of violence related to your race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If your parents did not grow up in the United States, take one step back.

If your parents told you you could be anything you wanted to be, take one step forward.

Processing:

Ask participants to remain in their positions and to look at their position at the site and the positions of the other participants.

Ask participants to consider who among them would probably win the prize.

Suggested questions for processing are:

1)  What happened? 
2)  How did this exercise make you feel? 
3)  What were your thoughts as you did this exercise? 
4)  What have you learned from this experience?
5)  What can you do with this information in the future?

The Problem with Stereotypes

“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are WRONG, it’s that they are incomplete.”

Chimamanda Adichie

 

Watch her amazing insight into the “Danger of a Single Story.” This is quite possibly the best Ted Talk I’ve seen. Got twenty minutes? You won’t be disappointed. She talks about how we limit a group of people by portraying them in only one way, with only one story. It’s the easiest way to dispossess a people. It’s the easiest way to gain power over them. Check it out.

The Civil Wars

Although this is NOT my favorite American History topic, “The Civil Wars” is quickly becoming one of my favorite groups.

Check out this song that’s been on Grey’s Anatomy. I discovered them on PASTE. I also like how the lead singer kinda looks like Johnny Depp…

@WendellPierce

Check out Wendell Pierce on Twitter. He’s “Bunk” from The Wire.

He’s got provocative things to say about The Help from an African-American perspective.

@WendellPierceWendell Pierce

The movie The Help was painful to watch. This passive segregation lite was hurtful. I kept thinking of my grandmother who was The Help

@WendellPierceWendell Pierce

I never knew my mother had raised white children until we saw this movie.I was shocked.She was hurt by the film.She thought it was an insult

@WendellPierceWendell Pierce

The story was a sentimental primer of a palatable segregation history that is Jim Crow light.

@WendellPierceWendell Pierce

We never tell their stories alone. In Hollywood a black woman’s story has to be coupled with a white person’s story to validate it.

I can almost hear him saying, “Ya happy now, bitch?” 

The last comment is the most compelling to me. Are movies into “black” and “white”? Do white people go see Tyler Perry movies? Are white people only interested in The Help because it is from the voice of a white woman?

I can’t wait to see this movie. Is it better to read up on it beforehand, or allow myself to go into the movie untainted and try to form my own opinion. It’s a little late for that now…

An Open Statement to the Fans of The Help

I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was unsettling about The Help. I read the the book about a year ago, and it was a good read. There’s just something about a white woman telling the story of black women that doesn’t sit right. It felt trite or simplistic or something. Similar to The Blind Side, it seemed white people were the ones doing the saving, and black people had no part, no agency in their own story. Is that overstated? I’d love to hear thoughts from others…

ABC sent me this article tonight with a thoughtful perspective from The Association of Black Women Historians. You can find the entire article HERE. But here’s a snapshot…

On behalf of the Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH), this statement provides historical context to address widespread stereotyping presented in both the film and novel versionofTheHelp. The book has sold over three million copies,and heavy promotion of the movie will ensure its success at the box office. Despite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, The Help distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers. We are specifically concerned about the representations of black life and the lack of attention given to sexual harassment and civil rights activism…

We respect the stellar performances of the African American actresses in this film. Indeed, this statement is in no way a criticism of their talent. It is, however, an attempt to provide context for this popular rendition of black life in the Jim Crow South. In the end, The Help is not a story about the millions of hardworking and dignified black women who labored in white homes to support their families and communities. Rather, it is the coming-of-age story of a white protagonist, who uses myths about the lives of black women to make sense of her own. The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment.

We’re going to see the movie this week, and we’ll let you know what we think…

The “Do’s” and “Don’t’s” when talking about race

I spent the last week learning at a diversity seminar for independent school teachers. As someone who talks/thinks/learns about race often, this type of thing is my jam. I’m not really sure how to process all that I learned in the space I have this week, but I think writing will help. I began creating a list of how to talk and think about race. As the faculty reinforced this week, the language is essential.

It seems the hours closest to waking are often the most fitful. Today, I woke thinking about race. Thankfully, I awoke in my own bed after a week sleeping in a boarding school dorm with no AC (It was in Northern Massachusetts, but still).

Our daily awakening is an easy metaphor for what happens when we see something we have never seen before. We go from unconscious to conscious. Sometimes it is abrupt and sometimes it happens as a long progression. Learning about race and privilege has been both immediate and gradual for me. This week was like a splash of cold water during a REM cycle. 

So here are some do’s and don’t’s!

DO

• Use the terms “white” or “European-American”; “black” or “African American”; Latino; people of color to describe people’s race

• Be specific about what you mean when you say “Asian.” ex: Chinese American, Indian America, Korean American since the term “Asian” can refer to over sixty different ethnic groups

• Seek to gain understanding about your unconscious biases–everyone has them

• consider your unearned advantages if you are a member of a majority group

• seek information and invite conversation

DON’T

• Use the term Caucasian, Oriental, Negro, or Mulatto

• Describe a single person as diverse. ex: “we have four diverse people in our class.” Use instead, students of color

• Perpetuate stereotypes. Since race is socially constructed, it is inaccurate to make generalizations based on race. ex: Black women can’t drive. Even if you whisper it, it’s harmful, even if it’s a compliment it’s harmful. ex: Asians are good at math

• Glorify colorblindness (When has the inability to see ever been positive?)

• Remain silent “As a society we pay a price for our silence.” –Beverly Tatum

Coffee House and the Enlightenment

What role did the coffee-house play in the Enlightenment? How does space create new ideas? Where do good ideas come from? Find out here.

https://ted.com/talks/view/id/961

PoMo

I’ll admit it. I’m a postmodernist. I’m not ashamed. But it’s so hard to really put your finger on a definition. I guess that’s kind of the point…

Here’s a definition I came across today by an ex-colleague of mine who I will dearly miss. I can get behind this.

PoMo: Post Modern  

An adjective that describes something as being endowed with qualities from the school of philosophy, art, music, or literature that follows modernism and is committed to challenging grand narratives, critiquing essentialism, playing with form, celebrating the subjective, and acknowledging the power and primacy of media as a defining human reality.