There was a moment while reading the first chapter of Affirming Diversity that confirmed why I have changed my career path: "public education remains the noble ideal because it is one of the few institutions that at least articulates the common good, even if it does not always deliver it. Public education remains the last and best hope for many young people for a better life" (7). It just made me think, "I want to be part of this!". Whenever I have told people that I am going to school to teach I get mixed reactions. Those who respond negatively towards it express just how difficult and frustrating it can be. I have yet to experience any of these frustrations, but I hope that years from now when I am finally teaching I do not lose sight of this idea -- this can be a child's only chance.
Another thing that caught my attention in these readings is the idea of what the identity of an "American" is. In Affirming Diversity it is pointed out that the "American story" is not strictly the "European American" story (31) and in Racial Formation they state that the "American" identity is white (129). What was particularly interesting to me was the prediction in Affirming Diversity that "people of color ... are expected to become the majority [of the U.S. population] in 2042" (21). Sometimes I feel like society is readying itself for this, and sometimes I sense the intensity of our society's urge to fight it (or at best ignore and deny it). This means a lot for us who will be teaching the future generation. It sometimes seems to go against the grain of human nature to accept and be comfortable with differences. I hope as a teacher to be able to lead by example. I have never before put much thought into just what this will mean for my behavior when I step in front of a classroom, so I am glad to now be taking such a class to prepare me for it.
There was an episode of Oprah once where she went to Norway and (of maybe it was Finland?) and discussed the differences between our society/government and theirs. What got me most was that college was free. That of course is not the only difference, but what reminded me of it was the section of the Affirming Diversity chapter that spoke about other countries focus on a "wide range of subjects" (35) in comparison to the US's focus on "teaching to the test" and how this "has resulted in little support for the arts and even for subjects such as social studies and science, much less for innovation and creativity in curriculum and instruction" (33). It wasn't until this past week when I began my Graduate courses that I came to understand that it is recognized now how "teaching to the test" is not working. I'm only in two classes, but I am pretty sure it was mentioned in both. However, from what I've picked up on thus far it, moving away from this will be a slow and steady process.
Lastly, I found Peggy Mcintosh's article pretty interesting. The idea of white privilege isn't new to me, but the article definitely made me realize how much I simply take it for granted. In our state/federal policies, and in our daily lives the color of our skin affects us in so many ways. My opinion is that people will recognize that it is not right for one skintone to hold greater value in a society than another, but to change this will take away the security of those with privilege, and it is this discomfort that people will try to avoid. Mcintosh describes how white privilege will make a white person feel "confident, comfortable and oblivious", and I appreciate that she points out that this will make a person of a different skin color feel "inconfident, uncomfortable and alienated". This is what we need to keep in mind! What if the tables were turned? We certainly have no control over what skin-tone or ethnicity we are born into, so people of privilege need to consider that they could be the alienated ones. This reminds me of our assignment to put ourselves in the situation where we are the minority - if only everyone would take the time to do this and perhaps open their eyes/minds a bit more.
