Abstract: After attending training sessions designed to raise educators' awareness of racism, Ms. Marriott was inspired to tackle the issue head-on with her young students. She didn't know how she would it or what the effects would be, but she knew that she could not remain silent. RACISM IS the problem; doing about it is our responsibility. learned this from my mentor and friend Glenn Singleton -- an antiracist leader. Glenn works with educators across the country to raise awareness of the pervasiveness and destructiveness of racism in our schools, homes, and communities. His choice of audience is purposeful and potent, for classroom teachers are the only real agents of school reform. It is teachers who translate policy into action; who integrate the complex components of standards, curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment into comprehensible and pragmatic instruction; and who balance an ever-changing array of political, economic, social, and educational factors while trying to meet the individual needs of children. Skillful teachers with the will to hear Glenn's message of inclusiveness are strategically positioned to act on their learning. At the end of one of his training sessions, Glenn posed a difficult question: Now that you know, what are you going to do? And, indeed, those who choose to do something about racism follow a difficult path with few guideposts and even fewer guides. Where to begin? My first step was to listen carefully to the students in my classroom -- to hear what was said and what was not said. A little girl who wrote, I don't like being black, provoked me to consider the ways in which might have contributed to her feelings of devaluation. A little boy who described a mean-spirited playground incident forced me to realize that racism was a reality -- for my students at my school. Most fearsome, however, was the silence. My teaching was silent on issues of race, and it was a silence that must have spoken loudly to my students. Doing something became clearer to me. would work to end the silence -- mine and theirs. Presuming a link between the low school performance of children of color and the absence of a societal will to talk honestly and comfortably about race and racism, embarked on a course of action research in which classroom conversations about race could be practiced, reflected upon, and valued. At the beginning, had many more questions than answers. Could I, a white woman in the process of discovering my own complicity in a racist world, this work? Did know enough? Could talk about racism with my African American students? Would have any credibility? Where would parents come down on the issue? What material could use? Who would support me? How would recover from the mistakes was bound to make? How would justify this work in an educational and political environment focused intensely on test results? In spite of the number and complexity of the questions that confronted me, Glenn's question was always present to remind me of my responsibility. Perhaps didn't know exactly what to do, but doing nothing was not an option. could tell many stories about the year of learning that followed my resolution to something. could tell about my own heightened awareness of race and the impact of this process of discovery on my family, my friends, and my colleagues. could tell about the curriculum stumbled on -- what worked, what didn't, why, and why not. could tell about the support that sought and about who chose to share in my learning and who chose to turn away. But the most important stories are those about the children who engaged in this work with me -- thoughtful stories, heartwarming stories, inspiring stories, frightening stories, and sad stories. The story have chosen to share was shaped through the words and actions of two boys -- Cory and Damon (both pseudonyms). Their story documents the growth of racial awareness in the hearts, minds, spirits, and language of these young children. …
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 13
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