Blog Post #2

Why is it important to openly discuss issues that are seen as having racial dimensions?

     It is important to openly discuss issues that are seen as having racial dimensions because the only way to improve is to discuss things and change. There is no benefit to keeping everything in and staying stuck in your ways. Even though you may not admit it, there is a little bit of racism in most people who have grown up as the majority. For me personally, I have not ever lived as the minority anywhere. While most people are not overtly racist, there are still racist tendencies in a lot of people. This reminds me of the quote that talks about before you can remove the speck in someone else’s eye, you have to first remove the plank from your own. Before you can talk about someone else’s issues, you have to first address your own issues. In order for our society to change, we have to first discuss and change ourselves and then we can discuss the issues of others and help them to become a better part of society.

     A quote that stood out to me under this idea is that, “This is both the power of our filters and the dilemma of our denial that they exist; if we can’t see (or admit) that this is happening, we can’t stop doing it or put protections in place to help minimize it” (Sensoy and DiAngelo, 2012, p. 20). We need to discuss these issues, because without discussing it, we a pretending it does not exist, when in reality it is a big problem and the only way to fix it is to discuss it and promote change.

What do educators need to do to foster productive examination of issues that are seen by some—or all—as being influenced by the race or ethnicity?

     Educators need to foster productive examination of these issues because students need to grow up knowing and understanding these issues in order to have the most diverse and accepting society possible. The classroom is not just for learning textbook information, but also about interacting with others and learning about others and their cultures. Our children are going to come from many different backgrounds, upbringings, and family environments. As the teacher, it will be our job to foster an environment where these differences will not be seen as barriers but rather as places to grow new friendships. As an educator, there are many different ways that we can facilitate this type of action in our classroom, such as picking groups, so that students work with different students and not just whom they feel comfortable with. We are raising the next generation and it is our job to make sure our students are the best members of society that they can be, including being as open minded as they can be in terms of racial views.  

What are some examples of effective strategies for initiating and facilitating conversations about race?

      There are many different ways that we can effectively facilitate conversations about race in our classrooms. One way that I immediately thought of is inviting my students to share about their own culture; have them tell the class about what it is like in their family, what they do for fun, what special traditions they do. Having students work in groups of students that they do not typically work in can also facilitate conversations that can lead to deeper conversations about race. Also, reading stories that are age appropriate that are about children of different races can also help facilitate these conversations. Understanding other cultures is very important. Facilitating these conversations will help all of our students grow and become more welcoming of others, becoming better citizens in society.