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!) I have had several incidences where my authority and value as a teacher was challenged because I am white. My first experience was when I was a substitute teacher at the high school where I graduated from. An African-American student came into the class late and I asked him to go get a tardy pass as is protocol. He said "You think just because you're white you can tell me what to do?" I was flabbergasted. I didn't know how to react. Several other incidences occurred during my substitute teaching years where I had students verbally lash out against me because I was white. My first year of teaching US History was to a class made up entirely of African-American students. Like the case above, I had a lot of questions about my validity and credibility as a white teacher teaching African-American students history of United States. I wanted to make sure that I satisfied them about their history. Also, how will I approach sensitive topics such as slavery and Jim Crow laws and tell those stories with fairness and balance to this population of students. Often times when I would discuss controversial topics I would make comments like "This is how I understand it to be, what do you guys thing?" or "This is just one side of the story, how would it be different if Chinese-Americans or African-Americans told it?" I would throw the ball back in their court and allow discourse to take place. I came to understand that they did value me as an educator despite my skin color. I think being fair to them and answering their questions honestly about African-Americans being oppressed and underprivileged throughout most of United States history brought them to an understanding of the topic and respect for me. Therefore, as Dr. King wanted it to be, I was judged by the content of my character not the color of my skin.