The class that I observed my mentor, Dr. Badiee, teach contained about 150 enrolled students. Dr. Badiee provided a special lecture on microaggressions for Dr. Campbell’s race and racism class. The classroom was located in the physical sciences building in the main lecture auditorium. The auditorium room architecture is slanted so that the students in the back are elevated in comparison to the front row of students. There were three columns of seating right, middle, and left. A large majority of the classroom was filled with students and as an observed I selected a seat in the back middle row.
Once the majority of the class was present, roughly ten minutes passed the 2’oclock hour, Dr. Badiee began her instruction with the question, “does
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Badiees’ instruction that I would like to integrate into my teaching would be primarily, the discussion questions. Not only have I noticed that it engages other students, as seen throughout her instruction, I have personally found it useful in my learning process. Providing discussion questions not only promotes individual student participation, it also fosters group participation and further understanding of the material. One quality that I admire regarding her instruction is her level of professionalism and ease of speech. She is approachable with humor and her speech is not rushed. I would like to become more comfortable with my speech when instructing and presenting. I also observed that, even for my own level of attention, it was useful that she walked around the classroom. She would sit on the table during a discussion, walk around while lecturing as well as walked up and down the isle at times keeping the lecture from becoming too monotonous. One quality that is particular useful for me is to learn to become comfortable with the beauty of silence, not only as an instructor but also as a therapist. Allowing the proper amount of silence typically induces someone to in the audience to give in and speak, fostering
Analysis of Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Finally what followed was a short question and answer section. Professor Ira Berlin was so excited about getting food at the following reception that he had to be reminded about the questioning section. How much compassion does that show I wondered? I observed that most of the questions Professor Berlin received were from African-American’s though their presence in the lecture was towards the bottom of the spectrum. The majority of questions that were being asked inferred the level of political correctness in the way in which Berlin addressed certain racial issues. It seemed as though the questions were rather insignificant and that the questioners knew the answers they’d receive before they asked them. After all, wasn’t everyone in that room that attended voluntarily there for the same general cause?
The idea of racism has evolved and has become less prevalent throughout the last century. Schools and public areas are unsegregated, voting rights, racial slurs being considered as unacceptable behavior etc. American sociologist and race theorist, Howard Winant states that’s “The ensuing approaches increased recognition of racial injustice and inequality, but did not overcome the discriminatory processes” (Winant,2000)Although the United states has come a long way to try to end racism, one cannot ignore the fact that it still exists. It is something that may seem invisible in society, but everybody knows that it still thrives and that it’s racial attitudes affect the way our society functions. One of these invisible forms of racism is called microagression. Microagression is the theory that certain interactions between different races can be interpreted as small acts of verbal aggression. Racial micro aggression has caused many behavior and identity problems between races in today’s society. In the article, "Microagressions in everyday life", Dr. Derald Wing Sue states that “Microaggressions are similar to carbon monoxide - “invisible, but potentially lethal” - continuous exposure to these type of interactions “can be a sort of death by a thousand cuts to the victim” It is a common experience that many people of different racial groups deal within their every day lives. They are harmful to society, creating a hostile environment, dividing people apart, creating inequalities, and decreasing productivity in the work and school environment.
Microaggressions are committed constantly, among numerous people without them realizing it. I must say I am completely guilty of also playing part in this act. These acts are done constantly and no one understands the affects it has on people. Miller and Garran (2008) states, “Racial microaggressions are similar to aversive racism. They are “subtle, stunning, often automatic,” verbal and nonverbal putdowns and social assaults that wound people of color unbeknownst to the perpetrator” (p.97). This is what produces pain and anger inside countless of people. Many individuals need professional help in order to surpass the neglect they have been summited to.
In public schools, students are subjected to acts of institutional racism that may change how they interact with other students. In the short story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by Packer, readers are allowed to view firsthand how institutionalized racism affects Dina, who is the main character in the story. Packer states “As a person of color, you shouldn’t have to fit in any white, patriarchal system” (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere 117). The article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” by Brodbelt states “first, the attitudes of teachers toward minority group pupils” (Brodbelt 699). Like the ideas in the article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” Dina encounters institutionalized oppression on orientation day at Yale.
In schools, teachers inadvertently advertise discrimination. A critical analysis conducted by Debra Ambrosetti confirms that “teacher[s]lack of awareness of their own deep-seated prejudices [is] harmful to the students they will teach”, for they project their prejudices on to their students (Ambrosetti 53). A teacher may dislike African American students in their personal life and may, either subconsciously or deliberately, discriminate against the minority student, affecting the overall quality of education for the pupil. The instructor will begin to call on the African-American student less, and “attractive students may outperform their peers because they are expected and encouraged to do so” (Toledano 684). Thus according to a study conducted by Enbar Toledano, a District Court law clerk, data shows that the teacher will pay more attention to the student she may favor- which will always be the more attractive student. In addition, a recent social experiment found that the “attractiveness of a student was directly related to the teacher’s expectations of the student’s intelligence, popularity and educational motivation” (Ambrosetti 51). However, all of the factors that determine attractiveness in contemporary society depend strictly on looks, as she will not be popular if she is not visually appealing. In schools, those who are unsightly are often bullied. If she is bullied, she will lack motivation, thus the instructor’s perception of her will be
Walking into the auditorium, conversations about the excitement of the Brown sisters giving a talk about the historical decision, politics, sports, and other everyday conversations could be heard. The auditorium filled with people of different ethnic groups, mainly Caucasians but several African-Americans came to hear the true story behind Brown v. Board of Education. I would have to say about 60 percent of the people were Caucasians, 25 percent African-Americans and the other 15 percent were either Asians or Hispanics. People of all ages came to hear what the Brown sisters had to say; some as young as the age of seven and some as old as in their late 60’s. Children, undergrad students, grad students, professors, as well as people with other professions filled the auditorium, with undergrad students making up most of the people who attended. However, the auditorium was not full or as filled as one would expect knowing that the Brown family was going to discuss the Brown v. Board of Education decision, a disappointing reality.
Dilemma 1: Clash of racial realities; where racial perceptions of people of color differ markedly from those of whites. White Americans believe that minorities are doing better, that discrimination is declining, and that racism is not a significant factor anymore however, minorities, on the other hand, perceive whites as racially insensitive, believing they are superior, and treat them poorly because of their race. Dilemma 2: the invisibility of unintentional expressions of bias; research continues to confirm the existence of unconscious racial biases in well-intentioned whites and that nearly everyone born in America inherits the racial biases of the society. According to this finding, microaggressions would occur when whites would pretend not to notice differences, thereby justifying that "color" was not involved at all, in any of the actions taken. Dilemma 3: perceived minimal harm of racial microaggressions; where/when people of color are told to stop overreacting and to just let it go and so they are encouraged to not waste any time or effort on them. Dilemma 4: the catch-22 of responding to microaggressions; the immediate reaction of the victim is potentially placed in a series of questions. These questions are more often than not, reactions/victims of color who experience "an
Over the course of this week our lessons began to transition from the explicit discrimination of the past to the current state of segregation and racial tensions, particularly in the St. Louis region. Two of the major issues discussed were hypersegregation and the role it played in the protest movement sparked by the shooting of Michael Brown.
The film A Class Divided was designed to show students why it is important not to judge people by how they look but rather who they are inside. This is a very important lesson to learn people spend too much time looking at people not for who they are but for what ETHNITICY they are. One VARIABLE that I liked about the film is that it should the children how it felt to be on both sides of the spectrum. The HYPOTHESIS of the workshop was that if you out a child and let them experience what it is like to be in the group that is not wanted because of how they look and then make the other group the better people group that the child will have a better understanding of not to judge a person because of how they look but instead who they are as people. I liked the workshop because it made everyone that participated in it even the adults that took it later on realize that you can REHABILITAE ones way of thinking. The exercise showed how a child that never had any RASIZM towards them in the exercise they turned against their friends because of the color of their eyes. The children for those two days got the chance to experience both sides of DISCRMINATION. The children once day felt SEGRIGATED and inferior to the children that were placed in the group with more privilege. Then the next day the children that were placed in the privileged group were in the SEGRIGATED group. The theory is if you can teach a child how to DISCRIMINATE against a person that you can just as easily teach them how not to. Sometimes a person needs to feel what another person feels to understand how they treat people.
This event was impacted by the Brown vs. Education case. The town of Little Rock Arkansas was one of the most clean, pretty, and quiet cities of the United States in the late fifties. All citizens that had lived there took an abundant amount of pride in their town for its aesthetic atmosphere and peaceful cleanliness. Previous to the events that changed the lives of nine students, as well as, the race relations in America; Little Rock was a town where there was very little tension. “Negroes and whites, for many years had lived si...
Prejudice, racism, discrimination have always been present in society. Combined together, they form one of the most terrible and dreadful ways of treating and thinking about another human being. The effects of these actions and views on individuals have impacted society in an irreparable and tragic way. Judging someone by the color of their skin creates permanent impacts in people’s lives. A consequence caused by that old-fashioned way of thinking and seeing society in general is the effects these views have on black children education: a considerable number of American black children suffer to get a good education since they are in preschool.
During most meetings this fairly homogeneous group of people eloquently and thoughtfully engage in passionate conversations about children of color and their inequitable schooling experiences. Dialogue in the room turns into subtle conversations about students’ academic traits, neighborhoods, language, parents, and poverty levels as they relate to the educational misfortunes of students of color. And then it happens, a white colleague or group of colleagues ...
“An array of knowledges, skills, abilities and contacts possessed and used by Communities of Color to survive and resist racism and other forms of oppression” encompasses the main idea of Community Cultural Wealth. It is vital to understand that students will step foot into the classroom with a variety of cultures zipped up in their backpacks, and it is our job as educators to make sure that equality is instilled/taught in our classrooms. The second a student feels a sense of discrimination, whether from ourselves or their fellow classmate(s), is when the safe and comforting environment of the classroom begins to diminish. Here I will discuss just how important it is to see the differences amongst students as an advantage
Instead of teaching us how to do projects and essays, how to use the quadratic formula, how to understand the concept of war, teach us instead the art of persuasion. Teach us the ways of entertaining an audience, the dilemmas that the world faces. Teach us that there are an enormous amount of issues in the world and they come with an abundant amount of solutions. To learn how to engage an audience is to learn how to teach one.