Equality 101

As a teacher of social studies and social justice, I am constantly on the prowl for engaging, relevant resources and professional development that help me to bring controversial and difficult content into my classroom.  Facing History and Ourselves has proven to be an invaluable resource for me.  It’s a non-profit that offers rich and wonderful courses for teachers, texts, videos, speakers all around the importance of bearing witness and using voice to make a difference.

The lesson I’m sharing here is one from my unit on the Armenian Genocide and post WWI Europe.  The book I used was Facing History’s text titled The Genocide of the Armenians.  I find it fascinating that the Turkish government continues to deny that this happened which is one reason I bring it into my classroom.  You can facilitate a lesson like the one below using any content with the jigsaw technique.  I like it as a strategy because it empowers the students to become experts in their reading and to then teach each other.
Read the rest of this entry →

During my vacation with my boyfriend and a couple of our friends (to Maui! So fun!), we had a discussion about whether the US should name English as its official language (ironic considering that Hawaii names both English and Hawaiian as official languages). This is a debate fraught with political, emotional, and cultural turmoil, primarily because laws that proclaim English as the official language of a state or nation have far-reaching consequences, especially when it comes to education. Indeed, my conversation with my friends bordered on dramatic simply because we all have had vastly different experiences with people who speak other languages in our work and personal lives (it should be noted that we are all white native speakers).

Before this conversation, I hadn’t really questioned what I learned about the English-only/official English movement as an undergraduate, which is summed up rather nicely by this position statement by CCCC/NCTE:

The National Language Policy is a response to efforts to make English the “official” language of the United States. This policy recognizes the historical reality that, even though English has become the language of wider communication, we are a multilingual society. All people in a democratic society have the right to education, to employment, to social services, and to equal protection under the law. No one should be denied these or any civil rights because of linguistic differences. This policy would enable everyone to participate in the life of this multicultural nation by ensuring continued respect both for English, our common language, and for the many other languages that contribute to our rich cultural heritage. Read the rest of this entry →

I had a post written about a mural in Prescott, Arizona. It was in response to an uproar surrounding Miller Valley Elementary School: “an Arizona elementary school mural featuring the faces of kids who attend the school has been the subject of constant daytime drive-by racist screaming, from adults, as well as a radio talk-show campaign (by an actual city councilman, who has an AM talk-radio show) to remove the black student’s face from the mural, and now the school principal has ordered the faces of the Latino and Black students pictured on the school wall to be repainted as light-skinned children.”

The post blasted the elementary school. It blasted City Councilman Steve Blair (who has since been removed from his radio show) for objecting to the “big ol’ black guy in the middle” of the mural that is “defacing a public building.” It blasted the citizens of Prescott for shouting epithets at the artists and the students who were painting the mural. It was a post connecting the attitudes of Arizona as a whole in light of the immigration law to the attitudes of Prescott specifically. It expressed my sadness and anger and hopelessness about some aspects of our culture. But mostly, it was premature.

Read the rest of this entry →

I do not live in Arizona.  In fact, I’ve never even been to Arizona.  When I was in undergrad, though, it seemed like Arizona would be an oasis for teachers.  There were superintendents and principals at job fairs that were offering contracts to teachers right then and there, without the strenuous interview process that teachers applying in the Chicago suburbs faced.  How easy it seemed to be to get a job teaching in the Phoenix area, and how wonderful the weather would be without the stifling humidity in the summer and the snow in the winter.  Now, however, I wonder if Arizona is the same sort of haven it used to be for budding graduates from teacher education programs.  So much is going on in that state that it’s hard to believe anyone would move there now, in this climate.

I am the eternal optimist, or, at least, I really do try to see the best in situations.  I have been told that Arizona legislators had reasons for passing SB1070.  I have been told that the state of Arizona is in such a bad economic situation that they had to do something.  I have been told all of these things, and more, but I can’t see any positive side to a law that creates such a culture of hatred and racism that people are comparing Arizona police to the Nazis.  And now, this law and the culture surrounding it has opened up avenues to effect the education of students in the state and, by extension, the country and the world.

Read the rest of this entry →

I am testing out a new novel with my English II classes: Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya. The traditional English II syllabus called for To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic modern American piece and a standard in traditional high school curriculum. There are several reasons behind my decision: (1) Several of my students were in Pre-AP English last year and they already read Mockingbird (and most had nothing positive to say about it). (2) To Kill a Mockingbird takes awhile to get into, and I am afraid that at this point in the year, if I don’t get my students’ attention right away, I will lose them now rather than sometime in May. (3) I am wondering if this novel will appeal to my students more? (I have a strong Hispanic population and influence.) Bless Me Ultima focuses on weaving the complex cultural tapestry between Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultures in the Southwest. Seems a perfect fit for grabbing my students’ attention! It is, like Mockingbird, a bildungsroman story, but it is a coming-of-age of a young boy that may have more in common with some of my students. Quite frankly, my students don’t seem to be that interested in the racial inequalities of the ‘past’ (and yes, many consider the U.S. to be a post-racial environment). I am also at a loss of how (and a bit apprehensive) to touch the racial issues in a small town where I still have a student or two who sees no problem using the n-word on practice TAKS essays… Read the rest of this entry →

I had a student come into my acting class today and declare, “I was just the victim of racism.” This student is black, has an outstanding disposition towards race and a strong vision of his identity. He was not angry about it – more amused. I’ll recount his story as best I can.

During the passing period, he was walking through the hall with a comb in his hair – the handle of the comb was molded in the Black Power fist. Just outside his classroom, a dean asked him to remove the pick, which he did after telling the dean it wasn’t a pick, it was a comb. His teacher asked “what was that about?” The student told her the story, to which she responded “Maybe you should stop whining.” The student responded, “I’m not whining, I’m simply explaining what happened. We obviously grew up in different situations if you classify that as whining.” The teacher said, “You don’t know me,” to which the student responded, “You don’t know me.” The teacher then sent the student to the office.

Read the rest of this entry →

Yesterday I had a talk with a former student who is currently a first year student at an Ivy League university.  Since her freshman year in high school, we have connected on our common Latina background, mine Puerto Rican, hers Dominican.  Now that she is in college, I continue to feel connected to her as she forges her way as the first in her family to attend college.

During the course of our conversation, she interviewed me for a women’s studies class project on which she is currently working.  As we talked, we shared common experiences of facing racism and classism during pivotal moments in our lives.  When my family moved from the Bronx to Long Island, I faced racist epithets such as “spic,” “nigger,” and “afro” from children on the playground. The teasing and the bullying didn’t end there though. After our move to Long Island, my Bronx relatives started calling me “white girl.”  I was suddenly living in two worlds that didn’t accept me.
Read the rest of this entry →