Blog #4 on The Value of Ethnic Studies and The History of Public Schooling

 “The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies” by Christine E. Sleeter

“A Short History of Public Schooling” excerpt from the film “Class Dismissed”

Connections to film “Precious Knowledge”

 

The film “Precious Knowledge” begins with several Chicano students explaining how they feel like the school doesn’t want them there and that it feels like they should just drop out. These students do not want to go to school. One teacher from their school states that he feels the students are lazy, culturally damaged, and do not care about what they are studying historically. The film shows the statistic that at that time nationwide the dropout rate for Mexican American’s was over 50%. Another teacher explains his own experience, telling the viewers that when he was in school, many Chicano students were sent into vocational programs. Upon high school graduation, they were not able to go to college.

In Sleeter’s “The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies,” she begins by describing a student’s schooling journey. Similar to the students in the film, this student found school boring and did not want to go. Many of his friends dropped out, but he did graduate from high school and join the military. When he returned home he was able to get a minimum wage job.

In both the film and Sleeter’s research review, the students go on to express enthusiasm and interest in learning when it related more to their own lives and culture. Sleeter states, “for the first time in his [the student’s] life, the curriculum was centered on his reality […] for many years I have witnessed similar impacts on students, especially, but not exclusively, students of color” (1). In the film one student states “what they started teaching us was just so interesting, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

Sleeter explains the breakdown of the ethnicities of people mentioned in California’s History and Social Science Framework. At the elementary level 77% of the American’s mentioned are white and at the secondary level 79% of the American’s mentioned are white (3). Current education has a focus on “Euro-American studies.” Over time there has been content added to textbooks that includes African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans; however, this typically is from a narrative that reflects Euro-American Experiences and worldviews (p. 2). Immigration is often presented as a historical period and racial issues of today are omitted.

Sleeter lists one focus of ethnic studies is the examination of US colonialism historically and how reflections of colonialism continue to play out today. In “Precious Minds” one of the teachers they show is teaching this topic to his students. He also includes the histories of his student’s Chicano culture. “Beginning as early as elementary school, students have been found to respond to curricula based partly on what they learn and experience in their homes and communities” (Sleeter 3).

Sleeter states that middle school students express a desire to learn amore about Black people in school and believe that it would make it more interesting. High school students list the Euro-American bias in the curriculum as a major cause of their disengagement. She ends her review with the point that ethnic studies can reverse students’ disengagement, from elementary school to university level. In “Precious Minds,” the students, their parents, and their teachers have witnessed/felt an increase in interest, enthusiasm, and motivation for learning when ethnic studies are a part of their schooling.

In the video “A Short History of Public Schooling,” we learn about the history of compulsory attendance laws and school. In 1918 all states had laws that required children to attend elementary school. These schools taught the values of obedience to authority, promptness, and attendance. They made students into a “docile, factory, military workforce” and created “subordinate children… to grow up to be subordinate adults.” Sleeter states that Black students learn to distrust the history taught in schools and feel anger that African American history is often portrayed through victimization. Students begin to articulate this sense of racial oppression as early as elementary school. Through the history of public schooling, white people have had the power and this comes across in the curriculum.

 

Below: The percentage of books for children and teens published in 2022 received by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. https://education.wisc.edu/news/ccbcs-latest-diversity-statistics-show-increasing-number-of-diverse-books-for-children-and-teens/

Article: “Ed Trust Finds an Alarming Number of Negative Stereotypes and Underrepresentation of People of Color in the Curriculum Taught in U.S. Schools” from 2023. This article states that “of the books banned from July 2021 to June 202, 40% of the banned titles has protagonists or prominent secondary characters of color, and 21% had titles indicating issues of race or racism. Examples of banned books include I am Rosa Parks, I Am Martin Luther King Jr., and The Bluest Eye.”

https://edtrust.org/press-room/ed-trust-finds-an-alarming-number-of-negative-stereotypes-and-underrepresentation-of-people-of-color-in-the-curriculum-taught-in-u-s-schools/

Blog #3 on Intersectionality and the Four I’s of Oppression

 “The Four I’s of Oppression” from Training Resources for the Environmental Community (TREC)

“The Urgency of Intersectionality” TedTalk from Kimberle Crenshaw

“The Four I’s of Oppression” video of Luna Malbroux

QUOTES

1.       “If we can’t see a problem, we can’t fix a problem” (Crenshaw 8:10).

Crenshaw begins and ends her Ted Talk with this quote. I chose this as my first quote because it reminded me of the Johnson reading. There are many social justice topics that may not be talked about due to not wanting to cause discomfort for others or oneself. Johnson discussed the importance of getting past this uncomfortableness, as we cannot take action and be a part of the solution without being able to discuss the problem. Crenshaw is using this quote in the context of there being no media outcry when black women die by police violence. If we are not seeing or acknowledging this problem or talking about it, we will not be a part of the solution. I thought that beginning her talk by asking the audience to remain standing if they knew the names she was saying was moving and a very relevant introduction to the topic of her talk. Many people remained standing when she stated the names of black men that have been killed due to police violence, but very few remained standing when she started saying the names of black women who have been killed by the same acts of violence by police. A main idea of her Ted Talk was that black women are at a center of intersectionality, race and gender discrimination, and we need to be acknowledging and talking about this or else we will not fix this problem/be able to take and see action.

 

2.       “Institutional oppression can look like withholding FEMA funds” (TREC p. 3).

This example of institutional oppression stuck out to me while I was doing this reading as it was not something I have ever learned or read about in regard to institutional oppression. I decided to look this up elsewhere to learn more about it and found several examples/articles about the topic. One example I found was from after a 2021 hurricane where a white man received $17,000 while a black couple received $7,000 from FEMA after trees fell through the roof of each of their homes. This article stated that there is research that shows that FEMA helps white disaster victims more than people of color, even when the damage is the same. They pointed out that this is due to systemic factors, like real estate placing higher value on neighborhoods that are mostly white. Another researcher found that when a neighborhood has a higher percentage of black residents, the less likely FEMA is to give them a home inspection (which they need to get any assistance). Black neighborhoods were more likely to have requests denied with no reason given and received less money on average than white neighborhoods.

The following link is an article about how the federal government often gives less help to Black disaster survivors. (2021) You can access the article for free using your RIC email.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/climate/FEMA-race-climate.html

The next link is an article on some of the changes to FEMA in recent years and how they might help black communities. (2024)

https://capitalbnews.org/fema-rule-changes/\

 

3.       “I use the term intersectionality to deal with that fact that many of our social justice problems, like racism or sexism, are often overlapping, creating multiple levels of social injustice” (Crenshaw 4:50).

This quote made me think about our in-class S.C.W.A.A.M.P. activity and how some of the items were listed, or could have been listed, on several of the topics. The more that someone is “valued” because of SCWAAMP, the more power that they have.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tidalequality.com%2Fblog%2Fa-venn-diagram-of-belonging-where-identities-equity-and-inclusion-intersect&psig=AOvVaw2DruUVktyVAyQjsVqUrnRJ&ust=1739839093931000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBcQjhxqFwoTCMiOx_C7yYsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

 

Blog Post #2 on "The Culture of Power"

 Other People’s Children  (1995) By Lisa Delpit – “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children”

Dr. Lisa Delpit’s Keynote Address at PBL World 2022

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (Read-Aloud by Ki from Woke Kindergarten on YouTube)

QUOTES

1.       “Parents who don’t function within that culture often want something else. It’s not that they disagree with the [goal for children to become autonomous, to develop fully who they are in the classroom setting without having arbitrary, outside standards forced upon them], it’s just that they want something more. They want to ensure that the school provides their children with discourse patterns, interactional styles, and spoken and written language codes that will allow them success in the larger society” (Delpit 28-29).

I chose this as my first quote because I feel that it got across one of the main ideas of the reading. It also connects to Dr. Delpit’s keynote address and the read-aloud of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. The “culture of power” in the classroom and in schools has not been put in place by non-white, non-middle class teachers and communities and this makes it more difficult for students from these backgrounds to understand the rules (25).

2.       “School kids versus street kids. It depends on where you get your sense of affirmation and belonging and have relationships. If those are in school, then you become a school kid. If those are in the street, then you become a street kid. Highschool dropouts therefore begin in kindergarten. This means that we have to take time to know the students, to build a relationship, to let them know that we see them” (Delpit minute 9:00 to 9:30).

This portion of Dr. Delpit’s keynote address reminded me of the part in the reading about middle class and working-class speech. In the reading she discusses how in the middle-class speech often phrases directives in the form of a question while working class speech issues directives as a statement of command (p. 34-35). She then goes on to say that when these sorts of commands (as a question) are ignored in the classroom, the student is labeled to have a behavior problem. In reality, that child may just be expecting a more authoritative figure who gives direct, explicit instructions.

3.       “Respectability politics are a set of rules that people have created or made up that tell us that if we act these ways then people will respect us. And they’re not true. These rules have been created to control us in ways that don’t feel good for black and brown people. They’re made to control how we talk, how we dress, how we move in the world, the things that we do, what we say. [These rules tell us] if we do these things then people will respect us. But that’s not necessarily true” (Read-aloud minute 5:55-6:55).

I think that this quote from the read-aloud video of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild connects with Dr. Delpit’s reading. Ki is explaining that societal rules have been created by white people. People of color have been told that if they can just follow these rules, then they will have the respect of a white person. We know this isn’t necessarily true, as Ki states in the video, but the main idea is that these rules exist to have control and so that all people will feel pressure to follow them. Dr. Delpit explains the “culture of power” in the classroom to be the power had by the teacher over students, the publishers of textbooks, developers of curriculum, and the state’s presence in school mandates and rules (p. 24). Much of this power belongs to white people and these are the rules and power of classrooms held over students.

 

https://socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/ -This website has many book lists about a variety of social justice issues. There are books for children, young adults, and educators.

https://socialjusticebooks.org/guide-for-selecting-anti-bias-childrens-books/ -This link brings you to a “Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books.”

 

Reflection/Questions/Comments

The reading by Lisa Delpit mentions how acknowledging power is uncomfortable. This reminded me of Alan Johnson’s Privilege, Power, and Difference. It can be uncomfortable to discuss and acknowledge issues of race and privilege, but it is important to ensure that we are a part of the solution. By acknowledging that you have power, you can take the steps to give others a voice and make sure they are heard. I also found it interesting to read about how when a child is not familiar with the manner that a command/directive is given, this can result in them not following the indirect instruction and being labeled with behavior problems (34-35). On page 24, Dr. Delpit states that being told the rules makes acquiring power easier and these rules and codes are used for participating in power. Children should not be expected to know these cultural codes and rules, especially at such young ages; we need to give explicit instruction/direction in how to achieve a particular culture (what is expected in the classroom) so they can be successful moving forward and in life.

Blog Post #1 on "Privilege, Power, and Difference"

 

Privilege, Power and Difference by Alan Johnson (Chapters 1-3)

QUOTES

1.  “The purpose is to change how we think so that we can change how we act, and by changing how we participate in the world, become part of the complex dynamic through which the world itself will change” (p. viii).

This quote from the introduction of Privilege, Power, and Difference by Alan Johnson explains how a small and individual level of change can have a bigger impact on the world. Throughout these three chapters, Johnson repeatedly brings up that people avoid certain words and topics surrounding racism and privilege. In chapter 1, he states that “if we dispense with the words we make it impossible to talk about what’s really going on and what it has to do with us” (p. 2). This is one example of an individual change that can have a larger impact on the world around us.

2.      “Understanding how to bring dominant groups into the conversation and the solution is the biggest challenge we face… [My work in this book] is to identify tools for understanding what’s going on and what it’s got to do with us without being swallowed up in a sea of guilt and blame or rushing into denial and angry self-defense” (p. 11).

Throughout the text, Johnson challenges the reader to think about their own privilege. Blame, denial, and self-defense are things that I have seen a lot in conversations about privilege, power, and differences.  

3.      “Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning and found that your race was different… or imagine that your gender or sexual orientation had changed… How would that affect how people perceive and treat you? How would it affect how you see yourself? How would it change the material circumstances of your life, such as where you live or how much money you have? In what ways would the change make life better? Worse?” (p. 18-19).

This quote comes after Johnson asks the reader to consider The Diversity Wheel (Figure 3.1 from the text, below) and how they would be described according to it. There are several instances in this reading where the author asks the reader to look at their own life in terms of their privilege. Johnson gives the reader specific conditions and questions to consider, making it easy for someone to think about their privilege in a comfortable setting. This is connected to quote number one and the impact of small changes that an individual makes on their surroundings.

 

Below: Figure 3.1 from page 18 of Privilege, Power, and Difference by Alan Johnson

 

Below: A diversity wheel developed in 2017. Notice the few updated sections compared to the wheel used in the reading. (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Diversity-Wheel-as-used-at-Johns-Hopkins-University-12_fig1_320178286)

Reflection/Questions/Comments:

               I appreciated the lists of “What Privilege Looks Like in Everyday Life” for race, gender, and sexual orientation on pages 27-33. They reminded me of the S.C.W.A.A.M.P. activity we did in class. While reading pages 9-10, I couldn’t help but feel pessimistic. Johnson writes, “It will take all or at least most of us to get us out of [the trouble we’re in],” when discussing the trouble surrounding privilege, power, and difference. I think that Johnson breaks down the “problem of difference” in simple terms on page 10, but I think there will always be this vocal group of people that refuse to be a part of the solution.