Beverly Tatum Interview Analysis

Authors Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton in Chapter Five of Courageous Conversations About Race broach the topic of race, by asking the reader to evaluate his or her own consciousness of race. According to the authors, in order to address the achievement gaps between African American students and White students, educators should shift their energy towards focusing on the factors that they have direct control of inside the classroom rather than on the factors that influence this achievement disparity between races outside the classroom.

Were they really concerned about Jerry’s success? Lindsey, Robins, and Terell (2009) denounces, “this system of oppression existed because those who benefited from existing practices felt no need to address disparities” (p.75). Standard 5 of the Florida Leadership Standards mandates, “promotes school and classroom practices that validate and value similarities and differences among students”. An inclusive learning environment could have resulted in empathy. If the students could understand that everyone reacts differently, some problems could be avoided. Moreover, a differentiated classroom could have guided Jerry’s effort to use a positive approach to attain his academic goals. Teachers could have used a differentiation approach to keep Jerry’s attention in the task and away from distractors. Tomlinson and Allan (2000) describe the differentiated classroom as flexible. They continue explaining the principle, “all students consistently work with “respectful” activities and learning arrangements” (p. 7). However, differentiation takes time and effort. It was easier to have an associate to look for Jerry’s negative behavior to evidence that he did not belong in the regular setting. This way, the faculty continues the teaching and learning process as if the students were homogenous. Since most of the students benefited, there was no need in the educator’s mindset for change to address disparities or achievement gaps.

First and foremost, Shelby Steele starts off with an appeal to logic. Steele offers specific evidence of the harmful effects regarding affirmative action for example “ But it is the music of innocence and power that we hear in affirmative action that causes us to cling to it and to its distracting emphasis on representation.” This quote uses an appeal to logic to express why people are still persisting on using it. When people think of affirmative action they tend to believe that colleges need more representation, but really when Colleges are asking to recruit people of color and insert diversity into their college, they only want the “cosmetic diversity that covers the blemish of disparity.” These quotas are not actually effective in helping blacks be progressive for their future and education “Only 26 to 28 percent of blacks graduate from college.” Shelby Steele wants young blacks to take action for their education, rather than being a diversity trophy at college. Steele is motivated to help start a change in how blacks are educated, because the amount of black students that are graduating in a six year term is too low. Shelby then connects this to race because this results in “ an artificial diversity that gives the appearance of an educational parity between black and white students that has not been achieved in reality.” An artificial diversity is what is making this situation a crisis. When a school ask for

How to minimize the hurts of non-white children once their belief on the theory of a society is fair and equality is completely collapsed when the reality is happening in the opposite. In the reading “Why the Myth of Meritocracy Hurts Kids of Color” Mildred Boveda, an assistant education professor at Arizona State University, said: “I will admit that it sometimes felt risky to tackle these difficult conversations, but this [research] underscores why we cannot equivocate when it comes to preparing our children to face injustices.” I agree with her opinion. Because finding the proper solutions to fully empower and equipping the best knowledge that can help children cope better is not easy, but it is the responsibility of the family, the school, and society. The three elements need to act and work together in an effort to dare to speak about the truths mentioned above.

Her statement would undermine the confidence of her predominantly African American students. She is now unable to effectively function as an educator due to a loss of trust between herself and her students. This constitutes a disruption that warrants a limitation on her freedom of speech (Essex, 2012). In addition, it has damaged her credibility and ability to effectively interact with her fellow teachers. This adds another layer of “material disruption to the school district” (Essex. P. 204, 2012) and renders her unfit for her

Beverly Tatum incorporates the concept of White privilege into her writing to address the fundamental issues surrounding racism. In "Defining Racism," a chapter in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, Tatum defines racism as “a system of advantage based on race” (P.6) In an accurate and inoffensive way she illustrates racism and extends it beyond the individual, placing blame on the greater American social structure. Throughout the development of her definition she places great emphasis on the fact that racism, like sexism, is something exhibited by the dominant group (whites/men) upon the subordinate group (people of color/women). She does this to demonstrate the structured aspect of racism as an institutional norm and not necessarily something that is actively practiced by individuals. This approach is less offensive to whites and creates a context for self awareness

Also, this article really puzzled me for the idea of how Crosley was so able to push aside her anger and see her privilege, that kind of person is hard to find and she was able to go to university and become educated and push past the stigma. But Crosley also goes on to talk about class and how when Mcintosh talks about race, she could often substitute it for the word class. “The idea that any ol' white person can find a publisher for a piece is most certainly a symptom of class privilege.” I felt this statement was true and resonated with me because no matter how hard you work some may never succeed. You need opportunity and many don't even get the chance. As an future educator, I feel that it is my job to try to help the students along and recognized the extra attention that is needed for some children. A Question I want to ask to ask myself is do I see my White

This article was one of the most if not the most shocking of all. I have never even considered the differences that African Americans must experience every day in an environment designed to grow and feed their self-image but this article proves that this may be destructing what was intended to flourish a child. It changed the way I think of fairness in discipline, as it does make perfect sense to consider the person’s race, culture, socioeconomic status, gender and ethnicity when applying any type of intervention with them, in any type of service. This would include educating yourself on their history as well. You must seek out understanding when engaging with someone whose background will be quite a different shade than what yours is painted. It has really made me curious about school policies and if they were constructed out of a historical root of racism and applied to transform the unaccepted into either a more acceptable, white American behavior or facilitate their path to their thought of place in society overall, such as prison or a homeless shelter. There is obviously a crisis in modern times and the impact it has may be one of the most of influential as the power of the educational institution on a child must be largely one holding the most

This perspective, at first glance, can be seen as appropriate but a closer examination reveals several weaknesses to this perspective. Principal Foster is a white female elementary principal at a suburban school district. Foster describes her school as being a “fairly homogenous group of students, but I would say we do have some racial diversity. I’d say maybe our African-American population for a suburban area might be a little larger than some other schools around this area.” Here, principal Foster reveals that compared to other suburban school district’s her school has a great proportion of black

These problems are very real and very important. Too many people have suffered, and even died because they differed from the majority. It’s not okay. We need to eradicate discrimination, and equity needs to become common practice. As Sojourner said in her speech, “If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?”

In 2014, MSNBC reporter Trymaine Lee wrote a post on the racial achievement gap. In the post, he briefly discusses how African American students are less likely to be placed in an academically rigorous course. This claim was reiterated in a study conducted by Allen (2015) some teachers use preconceived notions of Black male students and reduce academic expectations. Black boys regularly find themselves placed in remedial, or special education programs instead of higher ability and gifted programs (Ford, Harris III, Tyson & Trotman, 2002; Harry & Klingner, 2006; Oakes, 2005). Because a majority of African American students are taught my White middle class teacher, some can come with preconceived beliefs about the academic capability of African Americans thereby not expecting and pushing for anything greater. However, an African American teacher can bring a cultural understanding that may inspire or motivate African American students to strive for greater

In this intermediate/advanced workshop held on Sunday, April 7th during the 19th Annual White Privilege Conference, hosted in Grand Rapids Michigan, facilitator Peggy McIntosh defined and described her new term “white control”. As the founder of the National SEED (Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity) Project on Inclusive Curriculum, McIntosh is perhaps most recognised for her 1989 analysis White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.

On This American life podcast website, the podcast, “Is This Working”, had Ira Glass, the interviewer, use many different stories and interviews from different walks of life to talk about minority discipline in the school versus white discipline in schools. This interview was a compelling story because it uses research and statistics from different states and races. This podcast informs people about how discrimination is still real in the schools but handled differently. Also the interviewers talk to, teachers, students and parents to show evidence.

I found the readings this week very difficult to read because of the injustices many students face in schools. I have been interested in studying education since I was in high school. I am currently not on the track to become a teacher, but I still see the value of a teacher and the value of a student feeling safe in schools. In Herbert’s article, he discusses the vast difference in punishments a white student and a black student received. In my life I grew up in predominately white neighborhoods and went to schools with predominately white students, and did not have a first hand account of the injustices students of color face each day. After learning about education and volunteering in local schools, I have found that these injustices are

Since I started this class, I have a learned a great deal about cultural diversity in the classroom and abroad. My perspective has changed slightly but my knowledge of this subject has improved. In my family, my father taught me about the civil rights movement and the evils of segregation in the U.S. My parents taught me to be tolerant of all humans, no matter what they look like, how they dress, or their sexual orientation. My family has always been liberal thinkers who taught me the dark history of racism and bigotry in this country. As an educator I would be accepting to all race, creeds, and religious peoples.