In our Teaching Linguistically Diverse Students course, I introduce the concept of White Privilege with the understanding that as educators, we must learn to be flexible in our thinking, teaching and learning to address, respect, celebrate, and support the richness and complexity of the children we teach. Traditional concepts of good teaching are not enough to reach and teach all of our children. Because much of our nation’s educational policies and discourse have been shaped by race and social class inequalities, as teachers we must first recognize and then begin to become comfortable addressing the deeply embedded practices that constitute what is references as the dominant society. White Privilege is very much embedded in our educational system, which requires a commitment to social awareness and recognition within our professional perspective and pedagogy. White Privilege refers to institutional set of beliefs, including greater access to resources and power, bestowed upon people classified as white (White Privilege Conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 13-16, 2011).
I realized that my experience growing up in a biracial family and having lived in another culture, sensitized me to recognizing multiple perspectives. I understood the concept of dominant culture and other perspectives. With a course designed to focus on linguistic and cultural differences, we had to explore the deeper connective tissue of white privilege.
Yet, as I wanted to engage in discussions about race and white privilege with my UNM students, they were not comfortable with talking freely. I questioned how do I invite students to delve into these uncomfortable issues. How can I better guide them better in conversation and discussion? One UNM student writes in her midterm course reflection:
UNM Student Critical Reflection Excerpt (Spring 2011 LLSS 15):
The one area that I feel I have not made as much progress is that of my personal biases and prejudices. I am a lover of all cultures and ways of life. I try to be open and honest and understanding. However, after exploring the Teaching Tolerance website and some of its articles, I still feel as though I am being held back by bias. I find that I have a difficult time figuring out how I am supposed to feel and to think. I try to treat all those who I come in contact with with respect and dignity, no matter their background. I don't consider myself to be "colorblind" yet I don't let the skin of others determine how I treat them. I am especially worried that my "whiteness" will get in the way of my being a successful teacher. I worry that I won't be able to connect with my students on a deeper level and understand where they are coming from. I feel as though I will never fully understand or comprehend the complexities of teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students.
As I become more aware of this paradigmatic shift of awareness, I look for opportunities to build upon this body of knowledge to help synthesize, build metaphors of understanding and storied experiences. Attending the White Privilege Conference in April 2012 through the support of the NWP’s Recruiting for Diversity initiative and BWP provided another opportunity for learning. This Teacher Inquiry Workshop is a way of sharing what I have learned from attending the WP in Minneapolis and my own teaching and learning.
Burning Questions
How did these activities work for you in understanding the concept of white privilege?
Now that you have a grasp of WP, what else would you need to be able to discuss it and understand it?
How do we create spaces to begin talking more about this? Why is this so important to talk about?
So my teacher inquiry workshop is an exploratory one as I invite you into conversations and engagement from a storied perspective. Delving into your own personal storied space in recognizing whiteness to talk about this concept of white privilege will be a learning experience for us all. Thank you for trusting me to guide you in our collective learning experience.
Vocabulary
Comfort zone & Learning edge (Bell, 2010, p. 96)
Four Types of stories according to the Storytelling Project Model (Bell, 2010):
Stock Stories
Concealed stories
Resistance stories
Emerging/Transformation
Group Dynamics Stages:
Forming - Storming Norming Performing Transforming (Bell, 2010, p. 29).