Comments | racism_101: White teacher, minority school

cathubodva in racism_101

White teacher, minority school

Feb 18, 2011 22:29

I've just been accepted to the DC Teaching Fellows and will start teaching English in a high needs DC middle or high school this fall ( Read more... )

schools

Comments 17

also_warriors February 19 2011, 06:42:07 UTC

Just a note: "minority" is generally not the preferred term in the US any longer. It means "less than," and anyway, the population of DC is 55% black, 8% Hispanic, 5% other, and only 36% white-- so non-white people are decidedly the majority. (The percentage differs greatly based on where in the city you are; if you're teaching in a "high needs" area, it's more likely to have an even higher percentage of people of color.)

"Other People's Children" is a great book about "cultural conflict in the classroom" and may be a good starting place if your book list seems overwhelming.

cathubodva February 19 2011, 07:39:52 UTC

Thank you. I wasn't aware that minority wasn't the appropriate term to use - I knew in a strictly mathematical sense it wasn't correct, but last I knew it was still being used to describe a minority of power. Thanks for the heads up, and thanks for the book rec.

skizzylizard February 19 2011, 13:38:31 UTC

I haven't heard this. What is the preferred term?

I belong to several minority groups, and I personally use the term "minority" because it speaks to the distribution of power.

also_warriors February 19 2011, 15:41:42 UTC

I usually hear "people of color." This may also be a regional thing?

Thread 13

atalanta0jess February 19 2011, 17:53:33 UTC

My community recently had a seminar about teaching black boys specifically, and gave out this book: Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys. It's not specific to white teachers of minority students, but it might still be useful.

cathubodva February 21 2011, 06:01:07 UTC

Thank you; that looks like it will be very helpful.

(The comment has been removed)

cathubodva February 21 2011, 22:34:51 UTC

Thank you. I've read a lot of conflicting opinions about programs like these that put often young, often white teachers in classrooms full of students of color, and feel conflicted about it myself. I want to go where the need is high but don't want to fall into a white woman's tears or great white savior trope, you know? I am very lucky in that some of my closest friends are people of color who don't hesitate to call me out on privileged behavior, who are really supportive of my taking this step, and who have offered (without my asking) to be resources and sounding boards for me, which I really appreciate. One of them is also going to be a teaching fellow with me ( ... )

cathubodva February 21 2011, 22:35:10 UTC

Oh, and I haven't read that book, but will add it to my reading list. Thank you!