Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: White Intern in a Black inner-city school My sister, Gina, who is a young White girl, started her student teaching in a predominantly Black school in inner-city America. She initially approached her job with optimism and purpose. However, she began to experience her first doubts with the presentation of an emotionally charged poetry reading at an all-school assembly. The poem painted a picture of the oppression of the African Americans by the European American majority. My sister was moved by the poem and accepted the historical truth of its message. At the same, she said she wondered what educational effects of the poem were and whether it would affect her legitimacy as a White teacher in a Black school. She talked to me about her experience. I am an experienced teacher, but I could not answer whether poems like that have any educational value, and whether or not my sister should worry about her legitimacy as a White teacher. I don't what she should do in this specific situation. Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) Poetry is and always will be an education experience. We start off teaching nursery rhymes to 4 year old children and it's an educational experience for them. I think that Gina should focus on the educational parts of the poem when she is teaching to the students. If the students become rowdy and start making her feel uncomfortable then she should consult with the teacher that she is working under. More than likely, the students will just address the parts of the poem that she addresses for educational purposes; however, it is important for her to stay strong and not give in. Students can sense a teacher that is not comfortable working and that in the end will result in chaos.