Keep the Conversation Going… Even When You’re Uncomfortable


Teacher “Rules”


 Being uncomfortable about a topic is no longer an excuse to avoid talking about that topic, especially when it comes to race. We are the future of change, and we can’t create positive change if we avoid talking about crucial topics, such as race. Teachers, specifically white teachers, often try to avoid the race topic as they feel uncomfortable or uneducated. Watson states that, “People of color have no choice but to think about and understand race on a daily basis. It’s really up to us as white people to educate ourselves to the same level.” She’s right. Again, there is no excuse, it is time to educate ourselves so we can educate our students and become agents of change. To do this, we can use the guidelines that Watson provides…

 What 10 things white teachers need to know when talking about race

  • Racism is not just hating others or believing you are above others just because you are white
  • There is no such thing as reverse racism
  • There are different rules for white people and people of color when talking about race
  • It’s not racist when people of color talk about their different experiences. Stop being colorblind.
  • You can be racist if you call out color when it is irrelevant
  • Use descriptors of race that are inclusive and empowering
  • Develop a listen first ethic
  • Don’t deflect or get defensive, just listen
  • Avoid rationalizing when you make a mistake, address it and move on
  • Anti-racism, not anti-talking-about-race

These “rules” that Watson offers for teachers are not to be taken lightly. Being culturally responsive, culturally sustaining, or culturally proactive all require us to have complicated conversations with our students. Rather than avoiding uncomfortable conversations we need address our own biases, listen and educate ourselves, and then be an active fighter of racism.

Pose, Wobble, and Flow to Culturally Proactive Teaching
 

Culturally proactive teaching requires that we as teachers pose, wobble and flow, or name the pedagogies that guide our teaching, understand that we are not all knowing, and challenge ourselves to achieve a goal.
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Garcia & O’Donnell-Allen state that we need to pose because, “poses can function as touchstones to remind yourself of your values, pinpoint what you need to modify or refine, and identify where you need to challenge yourself in order to deepen your practice” (p.27). Poses keep you centered on what your goals are and how you want to reach those goals. Without poses, you wouldn’t know how to reach your flow. It is important to have a goal and to understand how to work through challenges to achieve that goal.






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As teachers, we must also be able to challenge the idea that teachers know everything. We must wobble through education ourselves and know that sometimes we must switch roles with our students. We need to be able to admit when we have a lack of knowledge and we need to create a classroom environment that is productive for all learners. To be culturally proactive we must also understand our positionality and privilege. We must know that our positionality affects our teaching and should be used to help, not hurt, others. 


Don’t be a Patrice

Wanting to be a culturally relevant teacher and being a culturally relevant teacher are two different things. Culturally relevant or sustaining teaching requires us to know and understand our students and their lives. It requires us to converse with students in a way that may be uncomfortable or may challenge our role as a teacher. When we look at what we have learned so far, we can analyze Patrice in the article Complicated Conversations to see how not to be culturally proactive and how not to approach the topic of race as a white teacher. Patrice, “believes the race of the students is irrelevant to her every day teaching” (Hollingworth, p.44), aka she is colorblind to her students race because she treats everyone the same. Not being colorblind is the fourth concept from Watsons list. When analyzing "Complicated Conversations," you can find many more instances where Patrice “breaks the rules.”
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  • She normalizes whiteness by changing pronouns when talking about dialect to reflect that her class dialect is normal, and that “other” dialects are different.
  • She was afraid to step out of her teacher shoes and wobble as a learner.
  • She was defensive when she was called a racist, saying that the student just didn’t know her yet.
  • She shared personal experiences to content, but never allowed the students to share their connection.
  • She avoids discussions on race or class even when they are right in front of her.


Future teachers need to keep Patrice in mind when thinking about culturally relevant pedagogy. Patrice had the right mindset, she wanted a better classroom environment for her students, and she was able to create a better atmosphere in some respects, but when it came to her being culturally relevant, she dropped the ball. Future educators need not be afraid of the complicated conversations and the wobbling that comes with teaching. We need to take these challenges and use them to further educate ourselves.

Image result for critical questionQuestions: 

  1. What is one specific culturally proactive pose that you want to have for your future classroom? Is it original to you, borrowed, or a bit of both?
  2. We must be prepared for the unprepared conversations that can take place in our classrooms. If a discussion were to come about over a topic you were uneducated on, how would you go about facilitating that discussion?
  3. We need to be aware of our student’s race/nationality to be culturally proactive and relevant, but how should we go about asking our students what their race/nationality is? Is this a question we ask our students, or do we ask their parents?

Citations:

  1. Garcia, A., & O'Donnell-Allen, C. (2015). Pose, wobble, flow: A culturally proactive approach to literacy instruction.
  2. Hollingworth, L. (2009). Complicated Conversations: Exploring Race and Ideology in an Elementary Classroom. Urban Education, 44(1), 30–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085907312496
  3. Watson, A. (n.d.). 10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race. Retrieved from https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/10-things-every-white-teacher-know-talking-race/



Comments

  1. Default2019September 18, 2019 at 8:28 AM

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2019 at 10:42 AM

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2019 at 11:12 AM

    I found your third question intriguing and can comprehend how this could become difficult in determining where educators might perceive themselves as overstepping boundaries. Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen (2015) determine culturally responsive teaching, "uses the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance style of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them" (p. 18). Rather than putting students' culture on the spot, where students may feel they have to become the spokesman of a specific race, I would assist the students in building cultural competence and perceiving themselves as being welcomed in the classroom community through incorporating assignments, where students can view their culture and home as valuable, and questioning the societal norms in literature or in society at large. Although the educator could directly ask students’ in a respectful way, instead of asking, “what are you?” as I perpetually received, I believe through designing assignments and activities where students can generate cultural competence and feel they are a part of the classroom community, the students will become empowered enough to discuss their cultural identity themselves. Furthermore, the activities and assignments which promote bridging the school and home environment and building upon the students' funds of knowledge could become a way of learning about the students’ culture when students are not initially comfortable in discussing their racial and cultural identity. My reasoning stems from my personal experience, where I often avoided discussing my race until people asked me about my ambiguous appearance daily. Moreover, my avoidance of discussing race consists of a personal lack of cultural competence because instead of seeing my uniqueness as an asset, following being called a Hispanic racial slur for the first time, I attempted hiding any suspicion of deviating from the norm to circumvent social and cultural isolation. Since the educators in most of my schooling promoted a colorblind ideology, it wasn't until I got to IUPUI where I believed that I had a unique voice and my biracial experiences were deemed as a strength for academic success. Additionally, I believe once the students start building cultural competence and feel connected to the classroom community, the students can change the perception and narrative of what it means to deviate from the norm. For example, corresponding to the connectedness of the classroom community, through taking speech therapy lessons until seventh grade, I recognized my peers in the middle school speech group would often appear ashamed to talk in the classroom. However, through never perceiving my speech as a deficient, and acknowledging the benefits of people needing to focus in on my words more, not only did I feel safe, but also confident in voicing my opinion. This is analogous to when students from the non-dominant group perceive their cultural background as an asset and are not isolated from the classroom community; the students can experience simultaneous safeness and empowerment to discuss their cultural identity. Hollingworth (2009) confirms this ideology by stating that a critical pro-justice curriculum, "Provide the kind of safety that lets teachers and students figure out how to have tough, honest conversations about race, gender, and class…but yet strengthen, rather than weaken intergroup ties" (p. 33).

    Citations
    Garcia, A., & O'Donnell-Allen, C. (2015). Pose, wobble, flow: A culturally proactive approach to literacy instruction.
    Hollingworth, L. (2008). Complicated Conversations. Urban Education, 44(1), 30–58. doi: 10.1177/0042085907312496

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    1. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2019 at 3:31 PM

      Brandon, I appreciate your ability to share a personal connection to help answer this question. I have not personally had the experience of being asked, "what are you?" however, I know other students who have, and I also feel that is a disrespectful way of addressing one’s cultural difference. I like your idea though of not being upfront and necessarily asking students their culture but finding ways to help them build and understand their culture first. I feel that it is easy to get stuck on feeling that we need to wait to incorporate culturally relevant pedagogy until after we know all our students cultures, but I think your suggestion of allowing students to first find their culture in the classroom and feel like they are part of the classroom community is what we need to do. By doing this, I feel that we also shine light on many different cultures that students may not be aware of, or cultures that may not be present in the classroom at that time which in turn can help foster acceptance on the student’s part.

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    2. Sophie MansurSeptember 21, 2019 at 7:25 AM

      Brandon, I can relate to your response on a personal level. I definitely have had people ask "what are you?" before, which is actually what I wrote my narrative on for this class! I feel like there should've been a more appropriate way for this question to be asked though. The way I was asked made me feel small and offended in a way, which made me want to hide my culture. However, I love what you stated about allowing the students to develop their own cultural competence and share about themselves freely. This will allow us as educators to learn more about our students without having to pry.

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2019 at 4:32 AM

    Wonderful blog, Olivia! I'd like to talk briefly about your second question. I think that if you are uneducated about a topic that comes up in your classroom, you can tell the students that you don't know but you will research it. However, instead of simply leaving it at that, you can set up a discussion (possibly at that moment if time allows, or plan it for the next day after you've done a little research). Act as a facilitator of the discussion to prevent any problematic behaviors, but allow the students to discuss their feelings with each other and attempt to work through the problem together.

    On another note, Angela Watson writes in her article, "10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race", "I’m also not going to make excuses about how it’s just a joke and everyone says it so people should stop being offended by everything. Remember, the offense is rooted in systemic oppression and marginalization over hundreds of years." This quote was very powerful to me because I often hear "it's just a joke" or "it's just a costume" (in the case of wearing blackface). What's more, I will often hear members of a minority group being targeted in the joke say that they personally are not offended by it, so it "shouldn't matter". But it's always important to remember that just because a few people are not offended by something doesn't make it OK. Members of minority groups have faced years and years of oppression and every comment, joke, slight, or costume holds all the pain of all those years.

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    1. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2019 at 7:17 AM

      Brandt, I think you bring up a good idea on discussing the topic at that moment, if possible, and just being there to keep the discussion appropriate. I think that this would be a powerful step for the teacher as it would allow them to challenge the teacher/student hierarchy norms and put them in the position of the student. If your students are knowledgeable on a topic that you are not, it might be a great place to let them step in a be the educator. I also think it is important that you tell your students that you are not as educated as you could be. With this solution though, I feel that it would be the teachers responsibility to then research the topic after the fact so that if things were brought up that were incorrect or based on opinions, the teacher could address the class the next day to share the newly found information.

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    2. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2019 at 8:06 AM

      One of the intriguing points you mentioned Brandt if educators are not well informed in complicated matters the educator can both facilitate a discussion around the topic, which gives the students a voice and potentially exhibits the students' expertise on the issue, and admitting to the students that you don't know the answer but will research the topic. I believe the first option is essential because if educators can allow students to lead some of the classroom discussions, students will more than likely feel a sense of empowerment then when students are expected to become passive absorbers of information. Additionally, the first option is vital because even if educators research a topic, this does not mean the educator will have a better understanding of the topic than a student who has firsthand experience. Furthermore, even if the educator does have solid foundational knowledge on the subject, a student with firsthand experience can provide another side of the story solely presented in their research. For instance, although I have extended my understanding of brain injuries by connecting the research with my firsthand experience if an educator merely researched this information, I believe they would still not comprehend the migraines, emotional and mental pain, obstacles, and recovery experience to the extent that I have through living this experience. A powerful component of the second option, which can become implemented on any academic topic, consists of demonstrating to the students that knowledge is not fixed and educators are perpetually constructing and reconstructing their conceptual framework. Additionally, I agree with you when individuals of the dominant group make jokes; these individuals should not determine what is and isn't offensive to the marginalized group. I'll admit even though I have received plenty of Hispanic and Asian jokes for being the minority, I've made mistakes when my heterosexuality has placed me in the dominant position. When I started having friends of the LGBTQ community, initially I didn't consider how much my homophobic jokes contributed to the problem of perpetuating systemic oppression because my friends either laughed and never said anything was wrong about these jokes. However, now I realize one of the reasons my friends might not have said anything about my jokes is analogous to when minorities do not speak up against microaggressions because they do not want to become isolated for going against the norm or because they do not believe they have a voice worth being considered in the mainstream society. Furthermore, even if my friends do not personally take offense to the jokes, this does not mean the jokes do not contribute to perpetuating an ideology contributed to systemic oppression. Moreover, my marginalized friends of the LGBTQ community, who handle my previous inappropriate jokes could have a similar philosophy to me because the reason I had thick skin for racial jokes was that I built a tolerance for racial remarks to avoid presenting weakness to give satisfaction to the oppressors. In either situation, merely because one can tolerate microaggressions and racial jokes or find humor in it as a coping or survival mechanism, does not make it acceptable for those of the dominant group to deem what is and isn't offensive for individuals in the marginalize groups.

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    3. Taylor BarkleySeptember 22, 2019 at 9:21 AM

      I really appreciate Brandt's point about coming back to a topic once you've done your research. It is important that our students know that we a) care about the topics they wish to discuss and b) will follow through with our promise to do the research. This could even turn into a fun discussion activity where you have a chart of topics you need to research and as you later discuss them in class you can cross them off. This way students are able to track all of the new concepts they are discussing and come back to one if they need more information.

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    4. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2019 at 11:06 AM

      Taylor, I really like your idea of having a chart in the classroom of topics you need to discuss after educating yourself on! While I think it is important to have conversations on the spot about important topics or questions to show that students can also lead discussions and that their ideas are important, sometimes you just don't have enough time for those conversations. Often we see teachers saying we don't have time today, but another day we can talk about it, and then that conversation never happens. With your idea of a conversation chart, students can still feel that their ideas are important and that they will get to discuss them at some point, and it also gives you time as an educator to become more educated so you can help facilitate a conversation more effectively.

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    5. Creisha PittsSeptember 23, 2019 at 9:55 PM

      You made a great point when you talked about letting the people who are targeted speak about how they feel. People have no idea how much comes up from a small trigger like someone saying a little comment or have a certain look or even a bad joke. You're right, years of oppression, hurt, and pain comes up in that one instance. You couldn't even imagine the anger! Some teachers wonder why their student my not be having a good day or why every little thing is bothering them or it seems like they are "acting out". It is important to be educated on the social issues to know what your students could be going through on a daily basis.

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    6. AnonymousOctober 24, 2019 at 11:35 AM

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    7. AnonymousOctober 24, 2019 at 11:36 AM

      Brandt, I really enjoyed how you mentioned being honest with our students and letting them know when we don't know something. I feel like teachers are always expected to know the answer to everything and we need to learn that it's okay to not always have an answer to a student's question. A huge aspect of teaching is that you're not only teaching your students, but yourself. Education is constantly evolving and there is always room to grow and learn new things. I also think that classroom discussions are a great way to introduce critical topics in your classroom as it allows students to have guided discussions while you are still able to monitor behavior and make sure everyone is being respectful.

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2019 at 12:25 PM

    Olivia, I really liked how you made this blog post, as you included the rules broke by Pratice, and I think that aligned really well with the rules from the Truth for Teachers Podcast. This includes the teacher using colorblind methods, being defensive when one of her students calls her racist, and her feeling uncomfortable to discuss race in her classroom. As for your second question, I believe if a discussion would come up that I was uneducated on, I think I would share that with my students. I would express with them that I, even as their teacher, don't know everything, and would ask students how we could learn about it together. I would have students suggest ideas on how we could learn more about whatever topic they bring up, whether it be online research, community exploration, or some other type of project, I think I would want to facilitate a place where we can learn together and then form our own educated opinions on a topic. As described on page 25 of Pose Wobble Flow, it states "We still haven't reached satisfactory, once and for all resolutions to our wobbles around culturally proactive teaching, and we undoubtedly never will. Yet we have experience enough flow moments to deepen our curiosity and commitment" (Garcia & O'Donnell Allen 2015). I think this supports the idea of us as teachers not being experts on everything. And as Olivia states, we must wobble through education, and that might mean becoming a learner along side our students. I think its important that we as teachers recognize we won't know everything, and it's okay if our students know that too. We can use it as an experience to deepen the curiosity among ourselves and our students and create unique opportunities for learning.

    Garcia, A., & O'Donnell-Allen, C. (2015) Pose, wobble, flow: A culturally proactive approach to literacy instruction. Teachers Colleg Press. (Chapter 1)

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    1. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2019 at 2:19 PM

      Ilyssa, I agree with your opinion on how we should approach topics we may feel uneducated on. As teachers, it is our duty to be life-long learners, so admitting that we don't know everything, or that we don't have all the answers, is key. The other part to being life-long learners though is understanding that we can learn from everyone. As Brandon and Brandt have discussed previously, as well as you have in your post, its important to let our students know that they can teach us. If they have more experience and have a better understanding of a topic, we shouldn't be afraid to let them educate teachers and their peers.

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  6. Sophie MansurSeptember 21, 2019 at 7:41 AM

    Great job on your blog! You included a lot of useful information and asked some interesting questions that definitely provoked thought for me. One question that stood out for me is your third question. "We need to be aware of our student’s race/nationality to be culturally proactive and relevant, but how should we go about asking our students what their race/nationality is? Is this a question we ask our students, or do we ask their parents?". I can relate to this question on a personal level as well as an intellectual one. I remember being in middle school and constantly being asked "what are you?" by my educators and peers. To me, the question threw me off. It almost made me feel ashamed of my culture because of the context in which it was asked. I felt the need to hide who I was because I felt like people would judge me because of what I represent. I do not believe that as educators we should allow our students to feel this way whether we intentionally cause it or not. Instead, as educators it is our duty to allow our students to share more about themselves in a safe and inclusive environment. Even though there are other ways to ask the question that are more appropriate, by encouraging our students to gain cultural competence, we can indirectly learn more about where they come from and what they represent without having to ask "what are you?".

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    1. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2019 at 12:22 PM

      Sophie, I appreciate that you are sharing a personal connection to help answer this question. Brandon and you had a similar approach to the "what are you question," and while I have not personally been asked what I am, I know people who have and I too believe it is disrespectful. Your solution ties in with Brandon's solution, which is to make the classroom more inclusive and to allow students to see their culture as accepted in the classroom from the start.

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    2. NgodinezSeptember 23, 2019 at 7:09 PM

      Sophie, I am sorry that you had to go through that also. Over the years, I found that sometimes people aren't culturally educated and they are curious so when they ask questions sometimes they come out a little harsh. As a teacher we need to educate ours students on the right ways to ask questions and allow students to ask lots of questions. Teach them that ask questions like "what are you?" may not be the right way but then give them a better questions to ask.

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    3. Creisha PittsSeptember 23, 2019 at 9:02 PM

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    4. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2019 at 6:57 PM

      Sophie, I think it's awesome that you add your own personal connection. We as future educator definitely have to check our own bias and educate ourselves. How can we educate our students on uncomfortable topics when a lot of the time we are as clueless as them. I agree with Nancy we have to teach our students better ways to ask questions instead of saying "what are you?" that is not the educated way to ask. We as future educators have to be the change that we need to see in the future.

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    5. AnonymousOctober 24, 2019 at 11:46 AM

      I am so sorry that you were asked such a rude and insensitive question like that Sophie! I've thought a lot about how I can learn about my students' culture without degrading and isolating them, and I think one really easy and fun way to do this is an "All About Me" project. My junior year of highschool, my peers and I had to create a ten minute movie about our lives, culture, background, and personal interests. This was a great way for us to identify our cultural background without students feeling embarrassed for being "different".

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2019 at 3:34 PM

    If a discussion came up in my classroom that I wasn't comfortable with I would either direct the student in the correct direction for it or read more into it. I want students to be able to discuss anything in my classroom and by deflecting it I would censoring my students. You could also bring in a guest speaker who may have more information on that topic. Another way would be to read books that might help the student better understand what you are having a discussion about.

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    1. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2019 at 6:33 PM

      I'd have much the same approach for any subject of which I didn't consider myself educated. First and foremost, I'd admit I didn't have much understanding of the situation, but would look into it. As a teacher, I can facilitate a starter discussion where we find out what we want to learn, then I can stick a pin in it, have students to their research, and come back to the conversation later that day or in the week. I'd never want to purposefully dismiss or deflect a genuine prompt/question from students. Direct them to resources within the classroom, and let them know that they have resources in their own communities, family or otherwise.

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    2. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2019 at 8:11 PM

      Erin and Heath, I can relate to your ideas about what to do in a situation you are either uncomfortable or just don't have all the information for. Since kids are naturally curious, I think it would be a disservice to them to not at least try to help them find answers to their question. I really like what you guys said about directing kids to the right resources in order to learn more about the subject. I think something that we could also do is have students share their knowledge of the topic if they know a lot about it. Sometimes the resource you're looking for is in your classroom, and by allowing kids to share what they know or think they know, you are showing them that kids can have answers to questions that adults don't have.

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    3. AnonymousOctober 24, 2019 at 12:23 PM

      I love the idea of bringing in a guest speaker to discuss ideas that you aren't fully educated on! Having an "expert" in something allows the students to ask questions that you won't have the answer to and brings a different perspective to your classroom. I also think that reading books is a good way to introduce critical ideas and help your students better understand material, but I would make sure to accompany the reading with discussions alongside it.

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  8. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2019 at 3:39 PM

    I found your second question intriguing, "We must be prepared for the unprepared conversations that can take place in our classrooms. If a discussion were to come about over a topic you were uneducated on, how would you go about facilitating that discussion?" I think that if this were to happen in my future classroom I would handle it by telling the students that I don't feel like I am educated enough to answer/discuss the topic as thorough as they need, so we can all either search for answers together online or if that wasn't possible I would tell the class that we would break from discussing that topic and come back to it when I found the proper resources to discuss it. If we had to break from the discussion during lunch, when the students are in specials, or if it had to be postponed as long as the next day I would wait till after school to find time that does not take away from other lessons that we had to get done to talk to other teachers in my school about how they would handle the discussion. I would also look online and educate myself more. I would not stop trying to find as many reliable resources to bring to the table to discuss.

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  9. NgodinezSeptember 23, 2019 at 7:03 PM

    Great Blog Post Olivia! I like your question 3. 3. We need to be aware of our student’s race/nationality to be culturally proactive and relevant, but how should we go about asking our students what their race/nationality is? Is this a question we ask our students, or do we ask their parents? We can do this one the first day of school or even on back to school night. We can create a fun way of getting to know our students and their families, like a, "All About Me" page where they can fill out things about their cultures. Also, sharing our culture is a great way to start the conversations. From being in Blocks and getting to know all of you once we shared things about our cultures I found at least one thing in common with all of you. This is a perfect way for students to make friends and find things in common with one another. "Patrice was not as willing to have the conversations about race and lan- guage that she had claimed in our initial interview, and students were not as invited to apply their own life experiences onto texts about slavery and Native Americans as the reader-response tradition encourages them to do." (Page 44, Hollingworth) This quote from the Complicated Conversations shares what Patrice did by not allowing students to find connections with the books she was reading because of her beliefs of race and the way she ignores it. This is of course a way to not do it but this quote speaks truth to what we still deal with today. As future educators we need to provide multiple ways for out students to express themselves and their views.

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  10. Creisha PittsSeptember 23, 2019 at 9:04 PM

    I loved how you started off pointing out that being uncomfortable about the topic of race is no longer an excuse. It is really important we as teachers take the time out to be culturally relevant and sustaining for the benefit of all of our students. I have recognized it is also really important for me to pose wobble and flow for students who aren't minority in my classroom because their education is important too. They should be educated about the world around them and what's wrong and right in the world, how to go about different discussions and conversations. If a discussion came about and I didn't know much about it, I would definitely let the students start that conversation and pause it, go educate myself on it, from an unbiased standpoint, and then resume. I would make sure I make time for it they next day or that afternoon to show that I care about their curiosity and that I am also willing to pose, wobble, and flow on a certain topic. The race of students is not irrelevant to teaching, what is taught should be centered around the culture of your students and that does start with addressing the race and not being scared to do so.

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  11. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2019 at 6:53 PM

    Great blog post Olivia! I felt that you worked really hard on this post and truly put in a lot of deep thinking while making this post. I like how from the start you just started in with a deep statement. A lot of white teachers and people are afraid to talk about the crucial topics. I believe most of us white folk are afraid to say something in fear that we will be politically incorrect, but we are the change and we have to be willing to disgust the tough questions or statements with our future students. I love how you included the, What 10 things white teachers need to know when talking about race. I found these so important to the discussion post and I loved listening to the podcast that she had posted. It is so very important that we discuss the topics we are uncomfortable with and check our own bias. I like your question 2. I like this question because as a white teacher I think that there will be tough and uncomfortable conversations in a classroom and I have to be willing to discuss them. I think it's important to do research and if you don't have an answer that is ok because you can learn more about it by doing research, reading articles about the topic or asking people who may know more about the topic that has come up in the classroom. Even though you may not have an answer, it doesn't mean you can just move on from the topic and act like it never came up in your classroom. A big take away is to just be willing to have those uncomfortable conversations.

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  12. AnonymousOctober 11, 2019 at 5:10 PM

    You made a statement that every educator and future educator needs to hear. As future teachers, we shouldn’t ignore the color, colorblindness does not help anyone, in reality people, especially teachers need to check their biases. Ignoring race is asking for a difficult conversation to come up that you won’t feel ready for because you’ve been too busy ignoring race to feel comfortable with the conversation. The story of Patrice is a great example, she only talked about her culture, but never really let her students talk about theirs. Teachers should let their students talk about their race and culture. Shutting off conversation that might be important to one of your students can affect the way they learn because they might not feel recognized or appreciated if all they learn about is dominate culture.

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The Struggle Is Real

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Struggling and Difficulty in Reading:  Managing Vulnerability Most of a teacher's planning and thinking can be linked to ensuring that their most vulnerable students are being supported (i.e. "struggling" readers). But who qualifies as a "struggling" reader? Struggling readers are often defined as students who are lacking skills in one of the five essential areas of literacy. This "deficit" can be viewed as something that negatively affects their academic performance. Leading to the belief that they would benefit from remediated instruction or extra practice in those areas.  "Anyone can struggle, and no one struggles all the time. No two readers struggle in the same way" (Bomer, 89).  Students that struggle in any aspect of their academics often feel embarrassed and singled out. Students that struggle with reading feel as though the words they are reading on a page are in a different language that they do not comp
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Don't take my identity

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Very often in schools, we are told to follow a certain way and to do things this one way or it is incorrect. However, after taking a deeper dive into readings by Bomer, Paris, and Ladson-Billings I am finding out this should not be the case for us as students and future educators. Student's should not have to follow a status quo but rather find their own unique ways of living and learning. Ladson-Billings speaks about cultural competence in the article  But That's Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy . Cultural competence is something that teachers should be using every day to not only connect with their students but people within their communities. All of these terms can be brought back to the topic of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy which is something that Ladson-Billings expands on. The term "relevant" is a loose term that can sometimes be transparent and hard for teachers to latch onto. The term "sustaining" makes it seem more
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