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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!) You should suggest that she discuss the poem with her students which will add educational value to the poem. By not avoiding the poem, she is proving that she is open-minded and willing to listen to how it made each of them feel. She could share her thoughts on the poem and encourage the students to join the discussion by stating their feelings. I understand that she worries that such a poem could cause racial tension due to her being a white female in a predominately black school but most likely the students will respect her more for acknowledging that the poem was historically true. |
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