Nov. 2009: Our Class discussion about Race

When Rita Bender visited our Ed. Research class, I wasn't expecting such lively participation by MTCers. She tapped into very important topics for Mississippians. These topics are important to me too -- this discussion revealed my naiveté about race gaffes. I can't help but wonder if I have committed some myself in my classroom or in talking with students or faculty. On a related note, today in class, I had my honors students read a poem, "My Release." My student R.B. inferred that the poet was Black. I was shocked how she could gather that --  there was absolutely nothing in the poem that made it glaringly (or even subtly) obvious, I thought. But she pointed out the connection to music and "ivory keys" that Blacks often have (according to her)...these two incidents together, the discussion with Rita Bender and R.B.'s insights, show me how race is a much more substantial subject here in MS than I ever was cognizant of it being before I can here. 

However, I don't think it's anything about MS or the South that makes this racial awareness so, other than that here there is far more frequent contact with the opposite race (whichever color you are) than there is typically in the North and West. The dynamics are different here, too; in other regions where racial interaction is frequent, there is almost a raceless society, in that race is not discussed. And when it is, I have not heard it verbalized as it is here. I actually think that race consciousness and the ability to talk about race is moreso here than it is in the North. My coworker VM is Black, and she has always openly talked with me about race and the difference it makes as a teacher. 

As for the sub-par, discriminatory and degrading texts students at Bailey HS were given "back in the day:" I contend that not much has changed. We did not address this much in the discussion, but truly, the dialogue about why race is still correlated to economics as it is is never spoken, because it is not properly written about in the texts issued to students. And even a conscientious teacher who relies on the text is bound to fail to empower students with a bold understanding of how teachers are (by fault of the institutional decisions and structures that uphold [or to be quite blunt, use] them) prone to letting easy answers roll for the hard questions, and not challenge a topic that has not been untangled or managed in a long, long time. In education, it feels like social problems are seen and identified, but never do we put it on our students to challenge the status structure of society or to themselves negate the institutionalized barriers and setbacks they're faced with. What if a conversation like this were feasible with our own students? How can teachers facilitate discussion about race---and is it appropriate for a white teacher who is too naive to do this? This is where Rita Bender's discussion has left me thinking.