Joanmarie's Blog

  “ Students posited that teachers avoided in-depth discussions of race and racism out of fear that the Black students would react violently.” This quote at the root of it is saying that teachers are avoiding difficult conversations because they don’t believe their students of color can handle it. Not only that, this statement is the reason why we need to have conversations about racism. By fearing that Black students will react violently, it shows that teachers still believe the stereotype that African Americans are angry people with uncontrollable tempers. How teachers view students matters, and if you are scared of your students, you can’t teach them what they need. In addition, teachers who are saying this need to have conversations about race to address their bias so they can have these conversations with students through a neutral lens.  “ For example, although White fifth graders believed that the Bill of Rights gives rights to everyone, about half of the Black childr...

       Both the text and the video were impactful for me because they provided me with the words to describe oppression beyond institutional. The type of oppression that stood out to me the most was internalized oppression. Especially the fact that something doesn’t have to be said or done to you directly for you to internalize something. For me, something I noticed was that there is this unsaid notion that dark-skinned women were worth less than other women. Growing up, I didn’t see a lot of dark-skinned women in the media, even on shows like BET, where there were typically all-black casts. However, something I noticed was that when they were there, the female lead/love interest was never dark-skinned. They were typically the best friend or another side character.  Another part of my identity that I internalized was my hair. Up until very recently, I struggled with loving my hair. The video speaks to the dominant narrative, and for me, that was straight hair. A...

     When reading this text, I initially reacted by saying, "This is common sense." However, I was reminded of what Delpit noted at the beginning of the text. She wrote about how, within a culture, there are certain things that members of that culture implicitly understand. However, those outside that culture don't since it's not something present in their culture. She also talks about how those with power aren't as aware of the power they have, while those who don't have power are aware that they don't. After remembering those points, I shifted how I viewed those who would see the concepts mentioned in the text as "new."  Another point that stood out to me was the section about authority. For me, it brought clarity as to why I value certain teachers over others. For instance, in high school, I had a very passive teacher. He would present his lesson while students were talking in the background, and he would never address them directly. During ...

       We value what we perceive as the standard, and in the U.S., the standard is an American straight Christian male who is not disabled and owns a home. The book Privilege Power and Difference expounds on this standard in many ways. One way it expounds on this topic is by showing how the U.S. has shaped how we assess different races. For example, the author writes about how immigrants from other countries adjust to being put in a racial category. Both the Norwegian man and the African woman mentioned in the text didn't view themselves as part of a particular race, but when they came to the U.S., due to being put into those boxes, they had different experiences. The African woman, now labeled black, had to face the challenges that came with being black in the U.S. Her melanin became a setback. However, for the Norweigan, he learned that his skin gave him privileges, and he embraced them. In the U.S., being white is presented as a positive trait, while being black ...