Rethinking Sex and Gender

Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Guidance for Rhode Island Schools on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students 

 CREATING SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS 

- Support healthy communication between educators and parent(s)/guardian(s) to further the successful educational development and well-being of every student.

I struggle with this statement for a couple of reasons, but would love to hear anyone else's input on it.  

First, I have personally experienced bullying with my son in school and on the bus.  What is considered "healthy"?  I felt unheard, ignored, and pushed away.  My son would come home from school with wounds from being punched and even stabbed with a pencil.  He was sworn at and spit on while riding the bus home.  When I called the head of the school and bus company, I was demeaned for going to the "top" of their chain of command (which I never knew existed)!  I pulled my son out of public education because he was not being protected, and there was a significant communication gap between me and the school.  I drew the line when he was physically sick every morning before school.  

Second, how can we as teachers foster healthy communication when we are asked to ensure confidentiality for our students?  I have had students who use specific pronouns, names, etc.  However, their parents may not be aware of this.  I am asked to have a healthy relationship with parents, but it is sometimes based on the omission of valuable information that defines their student.  I had a student in the past very upset because the father found out they were gay.  The student felt at risk because of this.  How would I have known if I had a conversation with that parent, if that student had not disclosed that information?  Maybe part of a solution would be to hold workshops for parents to provide them with information that might help them to understand and support their youth?  

“No otherwise qualified person shall, solely by reason of race, gender or handicap be subject to discrimination by the state, its agents or any person or entity doing business with the state.”  (Article I, Section 2 of the Rhode Island Constitution)

"Commit To Do Better"

The phrase "Actions speak louder than words" stands out to me when I read this article.  It was informative, helping to understand terminology.  I agree mostly with saying you're sorry.  However, I have also been in situations where saying sorry was met with harsh words, angry, and hurtful comments shot back.  I think the best approach, from BOTH parties, is to recognize the mistake and commit to being more conscious in the future.  I do not feel that hostility and harsh language are beneficial at all.  Both parties need to extend grace and respect to move forward.    

         

Teach Out Article Summaries

 

Summaries

Teach Out Summaries

A reading titled Privilege, Power, and Difference talks about how certain individuals have power, even though they might not realize it.  A privilege is an advantage or special right that a particular group or person has.  Due to this privilege, these groups or individuals have power over others.  Groups of people or individuals have differences that cause them to have more or less power over others.  When we ignore or do not recognize that we have privilege and power, we become part of the problem that is injustice.  But, if we do recognize it we can change the way we act to disrupt the injustice.  Injustice is when a situation is morally wrong or lacks fairness.  Society has made it uncomfortable to talk about racism, white, and white racism.  We need to bring these words to the surface because if we cannot talk about them, we cannot fix them.  One step to changing the world we live in is by recognizing these things exist and acting out against them.  The author of the article shares many facts about privilege involving race, sex, sexual orientation, etc. that I will show you later.

The second reading introduces the term colorblindness.  The author is referring to “unacknowledged white privilege”.  This is when white people do not recognize the, oftentimes, unearned privilege that they have because it is not within their consciousness.  Being “white” is normalized and awards us opportunities that we otherwise might not have.  If we examine and acknowledge this privilege, we can cause discrimination discourse and begin to change the world.  You might be thinking “But, I did not mean to hurt anyone” or “I’m not being racist”.  This is why it is important to step back and look at ourselves and what privileges we have. 

"Troublemakers" or Future Leaders?

 

After reading "Troublemakers" and the analogy of students as the canaries in cages used in coalmines, I see the students labeled this way with a new outlook.  I am ashamed of certain practices that I have been using because they have been normalized and even taught in higher education.  We know that everyone has a right to education, but at what cost?  In a place that I thought my students were learning to be "free" and the tools to become an active member of society, they are actually being suppressed, outcast, and excluded.  

"Our schools are designed to prepare children to take their assumed place in the social order rather than to question and challenge that order." 

Schools tend to focus on students who are most compliant as those students that can be "trusted" and "leaders".  Rarely, do "other" students get the chance to showcase who they really are and what they can do.  The students that are seen as "disruptive" are often seen in detention, suspended, expelled, etc.  They are not given opportunities to learn if they are not in class. 

"These troublemakers- rejected and criminalized- are the children from whom we can learn the most about freedom."

School climate is also constructed in a way that takes freedom away from students.  We teach them very early that the teacher is the one with power.  Teachers are the ones who talk and question and the students are the ones who listen and answer.  When students ask questions and challenge, we perceive that as "acting up" or "causing trouble".  

"...Toxic social and cultural conditions of schools that threaten and imperil the hope of freedom."  

By recognizing this, maybe we can begin to think about how we view "troublemakers" and teach our students that it is OK to challenge (respectfully) and be curious.  

 

Teach-Out Proposal

CHOOSE A TEXT: Review your whole blog to remind yourself about what we have read so far in class. What texts have stayed with you so far? What articles inspire you?  What topic matters most to you in terms of your own work? Are there any of these texts that you would like to share with others in your life?  Throughout this course, I have completed many readings and online resources.  A few that resonated with me were Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan Johnson, Colorblindness is the New Racism by Armstrong and Wildman, and the article "Six Ways U.S. History Textbooks Mislead Students About the History Between Central America and the United States".  Topics that stood out to me were white privilege, taking those privileges for granted, and defensiveness when we are faced those issues.  I would like to share Privilege, Power, and Difference.  I really liked how the author, Allan Johnson, presented this as “All of us are part of the problem”.  He also goes in-depth on the injustices that exist even though we are not fully aware of them.  Those facts are something that I would like to share with others.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH? Are there people in your life with whom you would really like to talk about these texts? Colleagues? Students? Family members? Friends? Children? I would like to share this information with my two boys, ages 12 and 13.  I think that it could be impactful if they are made aware of the privilege that they have and how to handle that privilege.

WHAT FORMAT MIGHT WORK FOR YOU? Individual interview? Small group discussion? Art activity? Professional development workshop? Poster for your office? Pamphlet to share? Lesson plan? Etc? I would like to start with an activity where they use words to identify or describe themselves.  I am thinking that I would like to present them with statements that they will need to identify as true or false having to due with inequalities in a number of domains.  I would also like to present them with situations and ask them how they would react in said situations.   Agenda: Second Step Unit #1 - Lesson #2 Who am I?  My Identity - Activity True/False “quiz” Discuss “Quiz” Tedx video  https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_yates_recognizing_privilege_power_to_all_people  Scenarios

History Textbooks Mislead Students View of Central America and U.S.

I chose to read "Six Ways U.S. History Textbooks Mislead Students About the History Between Central America and the United States"

Throughout history, the United States has used Central America for many purposes.  However, when it comes to recounting that history, it is either misrepresented or not talked about at all.  There are six ways that the author found, while analyzing a multitude of school textbooks, that U.S. schools mislead students about Central America's role in our history.

The author noted that history books will decenter Central America from their own history.  Books will ask students to image themselves in the position of the dominant role, when in fact they relate better to minorities in the book.  The way the context is written, it draws a line between the United States ("us") and Central America ("them").  Central America's involvement, no matter how large, is often minimalized and pushed to the side while America is at the forefront.  Many of the history books omit talking about countries within Central America.  If they are mentioned it is limited to just a paragraph.  Textbooks leave out the involvement of the U.S. in the strain between Honduras and Nicaragua.  

Central American history is generally found in the footnotes of textbooks.  Central American conflicts did not "grab attention" and therefore were not written about.  Or they are represented in a map (shown above) that students are not likely to read.

"When a textbook uses a few sentences to represent decades-long conflicts — conflicts that the United States helped inflict  — the long-lasting trauma and resistance of Central American people is erased."    

Furthermore, textbooks are often biased and often represent Central America as "deficient and inferior".  Even the images in the textbooks lack representation of the people.  The United States is centered in textbooks as "maintaining stability" in Central America, when in fact this is "erasing Central American countries’ autonomy and desire for freedom from interference."  This gives the false impression that "U.S. policies and interventions were noble missions of self-defense."  This also covers up the true feelings that these countries had towards America.  The view of Central America is entirely surpassed.  

"Not only do textbooks center the views of U.S. imperial powers, they also minimize the extent to which the United States imposed its power and violence on Central American countries."  

The amount of forceful intervention that the United States gave to Central America created long-term resentment and hard feelings.  The United States strategically intervened and made known the power that they had over Central America.  Yet, we choose to hide this with the organization of our history textbooks.  The author argues that "Without truthful history education, students cannot develop the critical thinking skills necessary to contextualize our present migration crises, the “underdevelopment” of Central America, or to advocate for just and reparative policy."

Check this out!

Why History Textbooks are a Problem

This student talks about how textbooks reinforce bias and racism by the way that they are constructed.  

How Objective is your history textbook? 

A Korean student talks about how textbooks in her country minimize historical events.  She also mentions how it creates/supports biases and ideologies in Korea. 

Value of Ethnic Studies

Reading "The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies" opened my eyes to how education is supporting suppression.  "White adults generally do not recognize the extent to which traditional mainstream curricula marginalize perspectives of communities of color and teach students of color to distrust or not take school knowledge seriously."  We cannot change this just by "celebrating" cultures in solidarity.  We need to teach with purpose and include cultures and perspectives in any way that we can.  "We continue to disconnect racism in the past from racism today..."  Until we recognize that it is still a struggle today, things will remain constant.  Another idea that Sleeter uses from Hughes (2007), states that "American progress is not linear...rather (it is) a messy and continual struggle over power".  There are periods of progress as well as periods of regression/setbacks.  We also need to acknowledge that "mainstream curricula contribute to the academic disengagement of students of color".  We need to encourage them with curricula and make them enjoy school.  The author, Christine Sleeter, argues that ethnic students are important in many ways.  They are enriched using knowledge of all cultures.  They emphasize ongoing oppression and the things we can do to disrupt it.  Above all, “examination of the historical construction of race and institutional racism, how people navigate racism, and struggles for liberation” are being discussed.  Ethnic studies are more engaging for all students.    

 

DEI and The White House

 

Why are there diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and programs that help organizations comply with civil rights laws by ensuring that all people are on an equal footing in the workplace and in educational and medical settings??  Why are Civil Rights not already being applied!?

First, I’d like to say that it was very interesting to read the Executive Orders eliminating DEI programs within the United States.  I read them through about three times, while trying to synthesize and view them from different aspects.  States were asked to “terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law”.  Not necessarily eliminating them all together.  Some view DEI as putting certain populations on a pedestal, above others, regardless if they are best fit for a situation/job.  When in reality the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should give ALL people, having the same capacity, equal opportunity.  We should all be held to the same standards.  “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”  Trump also emphasizes that one “shall reward individual initiative, skills, performance, and hard work”.  No one shall be rewarded just because of their gender, sex, race, etc.   

I think that if these programs are eliminated then there should be accountability for individuals violating basic civil rights.  I understand that Trump is attempting to stabilize our economy by eliminating “wasteful” spending.  Ideally, if civil rights were enforced, DEI programs would not be needed.  Unfortunately, there are many individuals who are biased.  Sometimes these individuals might not even be aware that they are doing this.  If DEI programs “...are strategies to equalize opportunities for groups of people who are unfairly disadvantaged.” then why does this go so far above and beyond just that?  Proper training and programs could consist of exercises where people could become more aware and conscious of these biases.  Using the money that was used for DEI could be used for training individuals and will result in fair practices for everyone.       

Because I was still unsure of exactly how I felt, I went in search of more information.  I found a VIDEO that explains diversity and inclusion.  Sarah Hassaine, lead of a global inclusion and diversity team, talks about what her job is.  She helps businesses think about criteria for creating a truly diverse and inclusive workplace.  She also states that “DEI has a very limited definition, which is holding us back.”  This supports the need to have trainings and strategies available to workplaces and schools to ensure these criteria are considered.  These strategies should be a reflection of the diversity that is found in these communities.  The executive orders around DEI will affect our schools, there is no doubt.  However, whether those ways are good or bad is yet to be revealed.  What I do know is there are clearly misconceptions about DEI, what it is, and who it benefits.  Also from what I hear, funding for DEI and certain populations is not necessarily used for that purpose.  If grants/funds are allocated for, lets say, MLLs, then why isnt that money used for that?  This is where accountability comes into play.  This is why Trump has given these executive orders.  Although we do not live in a world that “natually defaults to inclusive and equitable behaviors”, it does not mean that cannot come with some accountability!