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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!) The subject of race is always a difficult topic in the classroom. There will be emotionally charged discussions and there is just no way around it. It's important to have those discussions and help students understand our countries past and present troubles with race. The poem should evoke emotions because it's an emotional subject. I don't think that it should take away from her ability to be effective in the classroom. Race doesn't make you a good or bad teacher. If she goes into the classroom not ignoring the topic of race instead respecting it and dealing with the conversation head on, she should be fine. |
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