Teachable Moments, the Importance of Authentic Discussion

All 3 readings were insightful and thought provoking. Below is my list of 5.

• The reading by Heidi Tolentino instantly made me think of the movie Freedom Writers staring Hilary Swank. This thought jumped into my mind because of the similarities in the way the educator handled the topic of race. In the movie and the reading, the teacher had the students write in a way to vent and express their feelings and opinions on particular topics. Doing so both educators were able to communicate effectively and create a bond with their students. 

• I really admire Heidi's ability to invite open discussion whenever necessary no matter how sensitive the topic. Many educators would have shut both the conversations she was presented with down with a quick, "let's focus and get back to the reading". Students need to have these conversations and the way that she allows the students to discuss with each other and invites others to listen and provide input is amazing and what more teachers need to be doing. Sometimes I liked to think, I am totally like her, I would do the same, but I have never been in that situation so I truly don't know to be honest. My students are young, only 5-7, but we have open discussions and will stop a lesson to discuss. The topics presented in my classroom differ in that we have stopped to talk about bullying, self-empowerment, and dis/abilities. Reading this article, I had goosebumps from just how amazing and authentic the whole thing was. I love that she didn't let Carlen just leave class and understood that this student needs to reflect and express herself, therefore asking her to write it all down. Lastly, I love that Carlen let Heidi share what she had wrote because it is important for all to hear. She was not speaking for Carlen but instead acting as a microphone.
• While reading Unmasking the Myth, I found myself thinking of my time at URI studying the assimilation and immigration of many Italians, Irish and Japanese. Growing up and having friends who are Chinese, I have heard comments made like "you're Asian of course you got an A in Chem," or  "Can I see your math homework, I know you got it all right since you Asians are math geniuses". My friend would always laugh it off, but you could tell the comments bothered her. I had never really heard of the term 'model minority' until this text. Once I actually read this term and what it entails, it clicked in me. This is a major issue and it is one that I have seen as a child and now as a teacher and adult. The author states on page 2, " A critical unmasking of this racist myth is needed because it both negatively affects the classroom lives of Asian American students and contributes to the justification of race and class inequality in schools and society". As I was reading this quote all I could think is' Yes! Yes! Yes!' We need to start at the beginning and unmask as the author would say, this widely accepted (so to speak) myth! How can we expect the inequality to cease in our schools and communities it we do not address this myth?
• This quote resonated with me after reading Unmasking the Myth of Model Minority. " What many miss is that there are no "positive" stereotypes, because by believing in a  "positive" stereotype, as admittedly, even many Asian Americans do, we ultimately give credence to an entire way of thinking about race and culture, one that upholds the stereotypic racism and cultural inferiority of African Americans and Latina/os and maintains white supremacy".  This quote is long, but I think it is important to point out and examine. There is a reason it is on the last page. It is thought provoking and leaves you questioning and examining the world around you. If it goes ignored we as a society are allowing this way of thinking. Allowing this is just perpetuating the stereotypes that already exist. This is another important conversation that needs to happen. This article would be a great piece to get students thinking. I could see a great discussion coming out of this reading.
• The author of Against the Dark Antiblackness in Education Policy and Discourse, began his writing with an explanation of why he capitalizes the word black throughout his work and why at times it may not be. His reasoning behind it is that when he uses the word Black, he is referring to a self determined name for a socialized group of people who share a specific set of  histories, cultural processes and imagined and performed kinships. He uses the terms antiblackness and blackness with lowercase letters because they do not refer to people per se, but to a social construction of racial meaning. I found this to be such an important aspect of his work that shouldn't be overlooked. It is giving power to the term Black in such a way. He even goes on to say he feels no need to capitalize white. I agree with what he is saying with this statement.  This text, especially the piece on policies was really interesting, at some points I was having trouble wrapping my head around some of his statements and I would go back and re read a few times. on page 8, " They (referring to educators) might all explore together what it means to educate a group of people who were never meant to be educated, and in fact were never meant to be, to exist as humans". This quote is an example of when I had to go back and reread thinking to myself "wait what did he just say"?