Now What?

Reading through Howard’s book has been quite an adventure. I feel as though I learned a lot about myself, my culture and my identity, but at the same time still feel as though many questions remain unanswered. First, let’s go over some ways that I have grown through reading this book. When first choosing a book to read, I chose this one because of its interesting title. I agree entirely that it is almost impossible to teach what one doesn’t know. I want to be a great teacher, and the title of this book screamed “Now you WILL be great!” to me. When I opened up its pages, I found myself immersed in true stories of how White privilege has affected many people. I hurt for those who were discriminated against, solely based on their skin color and rejoiced for those who decided to fight against it. I have always been aware that White privilege existed, but hearing these stories made it more real. My perspective has changed in that I am more conscious of its extent of existence.

 

This knowledge will definitely impact my future teaching. Knowing that White privilege is still extremely present in today’s world, I need to actively fight against that. One of the first places where I can start is within my own classroom. I need to make it known to my students that they will all be treated equally—no one will be placed above or below any other students; they are all equal in my eyes. I also will need to work on helping my students see each other as equals also. In many classrooms today, students base their social groups on race, and that is not how it should be. I plan on actively working to help my students integrate with one anotherThis book has helped me gain much knowledge on how to be an effective White teacher in multiracial schools, but it has also given me more questions on the topic. Something I struggle with is, how much is enough? How much do I, as a White educator, need to do in order to fully be aware of my students’ diversity? It seems to be a never-ending process, one that can continue throughout a career. This makes sense I suppose because teaching in general is a continual process; each year I will be learning from my students just as much, if not more than, my students will learn from me. Another question is, could his book be applicable in the reverse situation? Wouldn’t it be just as important for a book to be written called: “We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: Black Teachers, Multiracial Schools”? Or Mexican Teachers, etc.? I wonder whether a book like this would ever be written, but it seems to me that all teachers need to be educated on all races so we can better teach all students. These questions are ones I think I will be wrestling with for awhile; there seems to be no simple solution.

Opening up Howard’s book was just one of many steps towards professional growth. As mentioned above, I believe that this type of learning is a life-long process; one can never truly be done educating themselves. To further this process, I am very interested in reading some of the other books my peers read for this project. Why are all the Black Kids sitting together in the Cafeteria? sounds like a very interesting book. From reading my peers’ experiences with it, I definitely think my competence would increase through this story. I also am very interested in attending some conferences on teaching in a diverse classroom. I found on Google an online weekend seminar entitled I hear you; Do you hear me? Teaching in a Radically Diverse Classroom. Reading through the table of contents, it sounds like an excellent seminar that would definitely benefit my competence on teaching in multiracial classrooms. These are just a couple of steps to help further my education, but I am excited to continue this endeavor. The journey of developing professionally may be a long one, but it also will be one of the most rewarding ones I will go on.

 

 

Why do I help others?

As I continue reading Howard’s book, I consistently am educated on various subjects. In chapter five, he refers to Helms, Helms and Piper’s six stages in the development of White racial identity. These are the six stages: contact, disintegration, reintegration, pseudo-independence, immersion-emersion, and autonomy. This section stuck out to me because I think it is something that many White people experience. I’d like to explain some details from each stage.

The first is contact; in this stage White people make their first contact with a non-White person. People are usually ignorant of their White privileges here, but are also hesitant to form relationships with non-Whites. In the disintegration phase, White people acknowledge that they are in fact White, and begin to question how much they have been socialized about race. Sometimes people will feel shame or guilt over their Whiteness during this phase.

After the integration phase, people go through either the reintegration phase or the pseudo-independence phase. In the reintegration phase, those feelings amplify to having anger/fear towards non-Whites; racism is more direct during this phase. The alternative phase, pseudo-independence, is when the negative feelings of being White fade, and they work at “helping” non-Whites. The next phase, immersion/emersion, occurs when people no longer have that desire to help non-Whites, but to change themselves and fellow Whites in a positive way; they want to be proud of their race, without being a racist. The final phase is autonomy; here race is no longer a threat and people just want to eliminate oppression in all its forms.

These six phases are extremely intriguing to me. I think Howard was smart to include the next section in his book after explaining these phases—the next section, he entitled “Cautionary Notes”. He goes on to list some things that White people should be cautionary of when hearing about these phases. We need to recognize when we develop, but should not feel set within these particular phases. Some people are born in the autonomy stage; others never make it past the integration stage.

Reflecting on this passage has made me wonder what stage am I in. Contact? No, I’ve had plenty of experiences with non-White people, and I have no hesitations forming relationships with them. One of my best friends from high school is African-American, and I am so thankful God gave us such a great friendship. Disintegration? I don’t think so. I’m confident that I have been socialized about my race, and I do not feel guilty or ashamed about being White. My next options would be reintegration or pseudo-independence. I don’t believe I am in reintegration because I am not racist; I have no hard feelings towards non-Whites. Pseudo-independence? Maybe. Throughout my aiding placements, I have found myself leaning more towards helping non-White students more so than the Whites. Usually it is because they are the ones needing the additional help, but nonetheless, I tend to have a desire to help them. That would be my guess at where I’m at according to those six stages. One reason why I think I may be in the pseudo-independence stage is because of my worldview.

Within my worldview I believe strongly in God’s commandment of helping others. Matthew 5:16 says this, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” I think it is so important to help others; doing so helps spread the light of Jesus Christ. I don’t think believing this causes me to help non-Whites more than Whites, but I do have a very natural helpful personality—I just like helping others. Hearing about those six stages though gave me more to think about why I am helping them. I’ll definitely have something to ponder as I continue reading through Howard’s book.

Colors of the Wind

Continuing his thoughts on the Dynamics of Dominance, Howard states that whites have the "luxury of ignorance". Within this section, he says that white people know very little about non-whites. Rather than trying to learn from those different from ourselves, he believes that whites all too often just ignore the differences. He uses the stories of the Australian Aboriginals to prove his point-- in Australia, the aboriginals have learned how to live with the white people, rather than the two cultures merging together. He refers to Appleby (1992) who said that the luxury of ignorance is actually a "deep forgetting" that has clouded White awareness of the realities of history (p. 425).

Howard continues his thought by saying that white people are actually "colorblind" and see only white. They have inherited the skill of selected forgotten memory, forgetting certain parts of history. This statement made me think of the story of Pocahontas for some reason; I think the white people coming and taking over the Indian's land is a perfect example depicting Howard's statements. As he has said, white people who only see white actually inhibits our view of the past; it takes away our awareness of others and their historical background. In Pocahontas' story, she is able to get John Smith to "see the colors of the wind" and not just his whiteness, and his entire worldview changed. He recognized his wrong mindset, and saw the beautiful history of the Indians, and all that they had to offer to their present world. I think this story is a great example of Howard's statement.



Howard tells the tragic story of his son's best friends death at the Rio Grande River. To deal with the death, his son decided to go there and hoped that doing that would help him come to terms with the loss. He ended up getting a job at a white-water rafting company and eventually became a certified river guide. Going down the river is now his favorite thing to do, and his journey has been full of healing and discovery. His son now has gone down the river using many tools of flotation-- small paddle boats, rowboats, dories, kayaks, power rafts, etc. Howard says that his son loves each of those methods because you get to experience the river a little differently through each of the ways. Howard then makes a great point that really stuck out to me-- similarly, we need to recognize that each person has a different perspective on life.

Because everyone has gone through various experiences, we can never truly understand one another's perspectives. We can however get glimpses into each other's eyes when we go "down the river" and through similar journeys together. When we put aside our differences, we can more easily understand where we each come from. These differing perspectives though are what help us better discover the important things in life.

I love this fact. Part of my worldview is that I believe we are all created special, and are all children of God. He has made us all unique but uses each of our different skills and abilities to further his plan. Believing this, I fully agree with Howard's idea that the various differences between us better enable us to understand and live life. I agree heavily with Howard's statements, and continue to gain more insight as I keep reading. The river of life is an exciting adventure, and hearing other people's perspectives help us enjoy it more thoroughly.

Tug-of-War

As I continue reading Howard's book, my thoughts seem to be going in circles. I agree with Howard at some points, and other times, just cannot see his point. In this post, I will go through some of the main points he made and explain my reactions to them.

One section Howard entitles The Dynamics of Dominance. Here he explains the dominance that White people have and explains characteristics of them. The first point he makes is The Assumption of Righteousness. Howard states that White people view their own beliefs as the "right beliefs". I see this statement as part-truth; I have met many people (of all different colors, backgrounds, ethnicities) that believe their lives are right. I completely agree with Howard that some White people have an egocentric mindset, but I think it is important to note that egocentricity is not limited to Caucasians.

The next statement Howard made struck me: "As Whites, we usually don't even think of ourselves as having culture; we're simply right...This assumption of rightness has been a powerful force in the establishment of White dominance" (p. 50). I found myself relating to the first sentence. I had to take a "cultural relativity" test for another class at my school, and I found many of the questions to be slightly ridiculous. When I look in the mirror, I see "white" skin, but many of the questions that stereotyped White people, I found unrelated to myself. Many of the cultural questions I had no answer for; they didn't apply to me. After the test, I truly felt like I didn't have a culture, so I agree with the first part of Howard's first sentence. The second part of it though, and the seoncd sentence changes the entire meaning of the paragraph. When I say I do not think of myself as having a culture, I am not saying that I am more righteous than others or that I am just right and others are just wrong; I just simply do not feel a connection to my "whiteness". Howard's statement implies that White people believe themselves to be more righteous than others, but I would argue that this "Assumption of Righteousness" is not limited to people with "white" skin.

Within this section, Howard goes on to tell a story about a colleague who said, "God is colorblind." Another colleague commented in this conversation and argued that she then felt like God wouldn't see her if he didn't see color. I see both sides in this conversation. i have heard many times the statement that "God is colorblind". I have always interpreted this as meaning that God doesn't care about the color of your skin; he created you the way you are and loves you just as you are. On the other side of the coin, I can see where the second colleague is coming from. I understand that saying "God doesn't see color" can mean that God doesn't truly see you. I would note to the colleague then that all people could feel like God doesn't see them; white or black, if God doesn't see color, then I could say I feel like God doesn't see me. I believe that God doesn't see color in the sense that God loves us all the way we are; we are his children, and he created us to mirror that love to one another. I believe God does see color in the sense that God created us all differently, and loves those differences; we ought to acknowledge, accept and appreciate those differences and continue showing the love to one another.

As you can tell, my mind has been pulled in many different directions throughout this reading. I feel a tug-of-war game going on in my head, but I am confident that this struggle is beneficial for my professional development. Wrestling with these ideas will cause me to question my personal beliefs and refine my worldview. This has been a crazy adventure and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Differences and Similarities

I am really enjoying Howard's We Can't Teach What We Don't Know. With each turning of a page comes new insights and thoughts. Though there are many things I could explain that I like about the book so far, I would like to pinpoint some of Howard's statements that stuck out to me.

One of the first stories Howard tells is about a double date that he went on. His friend's girlfriend had a friend who wanted to go, so Howard went on the date-- with a black girl. Before the date, Howard explains that he felt awkward, nervous, and actually fearful. He goes on to say that the date was fun, and he had a great time. His realization after the date was what struck me though: we need to be aware of both our differences and our similarities to people from other cultures. This thought may seem simple and straightforward, but it goes beyond the easy; the meaning behind it is profound. 



Key words from 1 Corinthians 12

Reading this made me think of something else-- 1 Corinthians 12. I am a professing Christian, and believe strongly in God's word, the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul explains that the body of Christ is made up of many believers, all with various, beauitful, unique gifts and talents. Each member of the body must do their part in order for the body of Christ to work as God intended it too. These verses go along great with Howard's statement. We are called to recognize the differences between various cultures, and view those variances as benefits, not as misfortunes. We need to see how those dissimilarities can help us learn from each other and be better servants to not just each other, but ultimately God.

I feel challenged by this statement. Sure, it's easy to notice the differences, but to actually view the diversity among us as a benefit? That's a completely different story.

Another story that Howard tells is when he volunteered at "the Hill", an impoverished neighborhood six blocks away from his Harvard education. Initially Howard believed he could be a missionary there, someone who points the African-American teenagers in the right direction. What Howard did not expect was how much he himself would learn from the kids he visited. He began to realize that the Hill youth represented a huge American reality, and he understood that he could "no longer be the self-righteous missionary with the answers for others. [He] could only hope to be one small part of a seemingly overwhelming struggle for healing and social justice" (Howard, 1999, p. 14).

I believe strongly that those who God has called to be teachers have that same responsibility-- to somehow find a way to fix the intense social problems of our world. I am not naive enough to think it will be a simple solution, but I do believe that it is something we as Christians are called to do. There are many verses in the Bible where God commands us to take care of those who cannot fend for themselves. As followers of Christ, we are supposed to show His love to all those we come in contact with in the best ways possible. Letting this social problem continue will not exhibit love to anyone. As Deuteronomy 15:11 states: "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward those of your people who are poor and needy in your land."  God has commanded us to care for those who cannot take care of themselves.

Howard goes on to say that his most influential teachers were his young Black students at the Hill; they taught him more about his race and White privilege than his Yale professors ever did. He describes himself as rejecting his racial identity, causing him to believe that the racial problem's core was in the White America. This thought made him choose to go back to home and work this new angle. It is an intriguing thought to me, and I am cusious to see how Howard goes about doing so. Stay tuned to find out! :) 

Is diversity a choice?

Numerous books have been written about combating racism in a school setting. One example is We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools by Gary R. Howard. After teaching for five years in the same district, Howard began to see the changes in his students’ ethnic backgrounds. As the diversity of his classroom increased, so did his desire to help other teachers learn how to use more inclusive teaching strategies. His study led him to writing this book.

In the introduction, a section’s heading is “Diversity is not a Choice.” I believe this simple statement has a lot of truth backed up behind it. As people around the globe become more connected together, diversity becomes a more prominent part of our everyday lives. Howard’s book challenges the “White teacher” to become more culturally competent in order to best educate the students. I am interested to see what points Howard makes. My hope is that Howard brings valid discussion to the table, and does not merely accuse white educators of being racist, or forgetting about their multi-cultural students. I look forward to reading this book and am eager to hear Howard’s perspective.

Howard, G. R. (1999). We Can't Teach What We Don't Know (First ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.