Chapter 16 and 17

Chapter 16: The Great White North

Question 2: How does the framework of interlocking oppressions reframe issue of girls violence? How does this theoretical lens also challenge the saliency of class to explain the scenario between the groups of young women?

The framework of interlocking oppression reframes issues of girl violence because it acknowledges that race is not the only facet in initiating violence. Specifically, in this situation, the problem arose from class and gender issues. The assumption of race was made due to the fact that middle and upper class students tended to be white (a product of a white power structure) and the working class students tended to be black. Unfortunately, the black girls at this school felt unwelcome, as their position is at the bottom of the social hierarchy of white male power… they are women faced with the issue of male domination, they are of lower class backgrounds facing the issue of class discrimination, and they are black facing a white power structure. Unfortunately, all these facets are closely linked to one another. Class tends to reflect race in our society because of the racist nature of white privilege. It is important, however, not to allow ourselves to become single minded when dealing with situations like the one addressed in the chapter.

Question 5: What kinds of anti racist pedagogical interventions might emerge from a more critical reading of the incidents between these groups of young women?

Teachers need to make an effort to be more aware of the underlying issues behind violence and confrontations going on among the student body. Students need to be educated and placed in situations that promote mutual understanding and teach students to relate to one another. I feel that the best way to achieve that is to separate existing cliques and create close, smaller blended groups of students in the classroom rather than separating groups based on race, gender or class. In addition, teachers need to be educated in order to educate and students need to be made aware of the issues earlier rather than waiting until they are older and social racism has had a chance to engrain itself in their perceptions.

Chapter 17: The Great White North?

Question 1: How should Whiteness be broached within an institutional context by those who may not be in positions of power?

There are many more people who are not in official positions of power than those who are. As such, we a great deal more power than we believe. Most importantly, we need to be sure people are educated, and we need to focus on our own perception of whiteness and challenging ourselves to overcome racism by being culturally sensitive. In addition, by educating people at a young age about whiteness and racism, they will be more apt to share their knowledge and to challenge the status quo and change it when they enter into the workforce. I think it's important that people who are not in "power" do not let themselves be silenced or disempowered by those who are. The biggest cultural revolutions have taken place, historically, when the populace has risen up against the status quo and realized it's own power as a collective.

Question 2: How should Whites be made more aware of, and become engaged in the conceptualization and application for race and anti racism?

First and foremost, it is essential that people be educated about the existence of race and racism and it's prevailing nature in our society. It is all too easy for people (especially whites) to turn a blind eye to the reality of racism, which simply perpetuates the problem. Children need to be taught to think critically, not only about society but also about their own beliefs, preconceptions and cultural identity. Rather than talking about race as an issue faced by "other" groups in our society, we need to begin addressing the topic of whiteness as something other than the "norm" and we need to do that outside of academia. One of the issues, I believe, is that we have these courses in University to expand our understanding and challenge the status quo, which ignores a large part of the population that either cannot or chooses not to attend university. In addition, it is important to start educating people at a younger age and do it in a more universal way than flyers and multi-cultural day. There needs to be a complete shift in mindset, which will most likely start with us, as teachers. One of the beauties of this profession is the impact we can have on society for the better, we touch the lives of so many children, we need to take the initiative when it comes to issues of racism, sexism, classism, etc.

Question for Dr. Carr:
Considering the lofty and theoretical nature of whiteness and identity, and the academic language used to discuss it in books like The Great White North, how might we, as elementary teachers, address the issue of whiteness with our students in such a way as to make the knowledge accessible to them and age appropriate?

The Great White North - Ch. 10 Question 4

How is the Holocaust taken up in the curriculum? How does teaching about the Holocaust compare to teaching about Israel? About Palestinians and the Middle East? About other genocides? The Great White North Paul R. Carr, Darren E. Lund (Eds) p.44

My experience has been that the holocaust is a subject that is deeply engrained in education, especially when dealing with issues of human rights. While it is essential to teach about the holocaust, I feel that, in some ways, the intense focus we have on that moment in history blinds us in some ways to what is going on in the present. The subject is always approached with a “we must remember so we don’t repeat” mindset, which ignores the fact that we ARE repeating, that genocide is not simply an issue of the past. I remember in school we would have entire lesson plans dedicated to teaching about the holocaust – films, reports, lectures, speakers, and yet, I only remember once in junior high, hearing about the Rwandan Genocide. Virtually everything I know about Israel, Palestinians, the Rwandan Genocide, and other such issues I learned through sources outside the classroom until I reached university.

It is unnerving to me that we focus on one event to such an extent that we greatly overlook many issues facing us today. Yes, it is important to learn from the past, but in order to do that we need to remember to address the present. Our children need to be reminded that these issues are relevant to what is going on in their lifetime and are not only found in textbooks and films. I believe that our focus on the Holocaust has a lot to do with the fact that it took place in a white European nation. It is easy for us to look at the Middle East or Africa and feel distanced from the violence because we think of them as different from ourselves. We assume that certain places are predisposed to those sorts of problems, so it doesn’t jolt our sense of security quite as much. It is, however, easy for us to relate to Germany and, thus, to feel more personally effected by and threatened by what happened; it seems “unnatural” to us that such an event would take place there. It is unfortunate, but it really does represent the blanket of racism and how it affects our thinking as a nation, often subtlety and subconsciously.