The Teacher Dudie
Sunday, September 25, 2005
The Past Week, pt. II
On Monday and Wednesday we watched Bowling for Columbine, which is often a very powerful film and occasionally hilarious. If you haven't seen it I do recommend checking it out, despite whatever apprehension you have about Michael Moore. In fact, if you've never seen a Michael Moore film but have heard all about how evil he is, I strongly recommend checking it out. Don't let the media - whether conservative or liberal - tell you how to think about his movies. See them for yourself.
On Friday we read an article about how race issues might shape up by the middle of this century and had an interesting conversation afterwards.
That's really about it. ¶ 10:04 AM 0 Comments
On Friday we read an article about how race issues might shape up by the middle of this century and had an interesting conversation afterwards.
That's really about it. ¶ 10:04 AM 0 Comments
The Past Week
Well, technically I was supposed to journal about the following questions over a week ago, but then I had a big weekend trip out of town and then I got distracted by schoolwork during the week, so I'm only getting around to these now.
How do "white people" balance issues of ethnic pride with historical perspectives of social justice?
Well, some don't. But most do, and I think they do it through domestic traditions such as family recipes and traditions. In my case, my German and Scottish ancestry directly links me to some fairly nasty episodes in European and North American history. My great-great grandparents were German immigrants who settled on land once inhabited by Native people. Is that my personal fault? No, of course not. But I am a direct beneficiary of the farm and the prosperity that followed.
The thing is, I don't particularly feel German or Scottish. I feel white, yes, but my ethnicity is really less and less important to me as the years go by. I used to really enjoy reading about Scottish history (and my mom even made me a kilt once), but these days I just don't really care anymore - mostly because the more I thought about this infatuation I had with my Scottishness, the more I realized the claim was in name only. I have a Scottish surname. Big whoop. That doesn't make me Scottish any more than painting the word "turbo" on the side of a '78 Gremlin makes it go faster.
What does it mean to be "white?"
It means being not categorized as something else. Just like being rich means not having to worry about money, being white means not having to worry about race. I'm growing more and more convinced of this.
What is the role of social class?
To separate and categorize. I have yet to figure out why people need to classify other people, but I think it has something to do with how easy it is to deal with someone when you can categorize them first, especially if that categorization is "Other."
Does "whiteness" justify/explain cultural exclusion - i.e., "I'm American, everyone else should be!"
Nope. The whole discourse around Otherness is not, in fact, about "liking" differences in culture; it's about recognizing that the differences exist and are not a basis for making value judgments. ¶ 9:46 AM 0 Comments
How do "white people" balance issues of ethnic pride with historical perspectives of social justice?
Well, some don't. But most do, and I think they do it through domestic traditions such as family recipes and traditions. In my case, my German and Scottish ancestry directly links me to some fairly nasty episodes in European and North American history. My great-great grandparents were German immigrants who settled on land once inhabited by Native people. Is that my personal fault? No, of course not. But I am a direct beneficiary of the farm and the prosperity that followed.
The thing is, I don't particularly feel German or Scottish. I feel white, yes, but my ethnicity is really less and less important to me as the years go by. I used to really enjoy reading about Scottish history (and my mom even made me a kilt once), but these days I just don't really care anymore - mostly because the more I thought about this infatuation I had with my Scottishness, the more I realized the claim was in name only. I have a Scottish surname. Big whoop. That doesn't make me Scottish any more than painting the word "turbo" on the side of a '78 Gremlin makes it go faster.
What does it mean to be "white?"
It means being not categorized as something else. Just like being rich means not having to worry about money, being white means not having to worry about race. I'm growing more and more convinced of this.
What is the role of social class?
To separate and categorize. I have yet to figure out why people need to classify other people, but I think it has something to do with how easy it is to deal with someone when you can categorize them first, especially if that categorization is "Other."
Does "whiteness" justify/explain cultural exclusion - i.e., "I'm American, everyone else should be!"
Nope. The whole discourse around Otherness is not, in fact, about "liking" differences in culture; it's about recognizing that the differences exist and are not a basis for making value judgments. ¶ 9:46 AM 0 Comments
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Monday, 9/12 and Wednesday, 9/14
On Monday we had a guest speaker from the College of Education. Mostly he talked about the university's phase program and how it affects students at different levels of their academic careers. This reminded me of a pretty funny story about a typo on my Phase III application, and after class I asked our instructor if I could share the story today. The Phase III application is the ream of paperwork that goes from the College of Education to various school districts in the state as seniors apply for student teaching positions in the state.
Our instructor very graciously allowed me to offer some quick advice at the beginning of class today. It was mostly common sense, but the most important thing to impart to students filling out this application in my mind is to spell-check. When I filled out my application, I had included a sentence that went something like, "A few of my residents attended Local High and enjoyed their English classes because. . . " Or at least, that's what I meant to write. What I actually wrote was ". . . attended Local high and enjoyed. . . "
See the subtle difference? In the first sentence, the students attended Local High School. In the second sentence, the sentence in my official application, those students attended school while high. This, you might guess, could be construed as slightly problematic.
I got it fixed before too many people saw it, but it's a funny enough story that I thought I should share it with the class. I think a few of them got it, but mostly this class is a year away from filling out their application anyway so I think some of them were uninterested and definitely unimpressed.
Which is fine. They didn't enroll in this class to hear a grad student tell funny stories about an application they don't care about. But I think the few people who are about to fill out their Phase III application appreciated the effort; at least one student in the class scribbled furious notes as I taught.
An interesting day, all in all. ¶ 4:23 PM 1 Comments
Our instructor very graciously allowed me to offer some quick advice at the beginning of class today. It was mostly common sense, but the most important thing to impart to students filling out this application in my mind is to spell-check. When I filled out my application, I had included a sentence that went something like, "A few of my residents attended Local High and enjoyed their English classes because. . . " Or at least, that's what I meant to write. What I actually wrote was ". . . attended Local high and enjoyed. . . "
See the subtle difference? In the first sentence, the students attended Local High School. In the second sentence, the sentence in my official application, those students attended school while high. This, you might guess, could be construed as slightly problematic.
I got it fixed before too many people saw it, but it's a funny enough story that I thought I should share it with the class. I think a few of them got it, but mostly this class is a year away from filling out their application anyway so I think some of them were uninterested and definitely unimpressed.
Which is fine. They didn't enroll in this class to hear a grad student tell funny stories about an application they don't care about. But I think the few people who are about to fill out their Phase III application appreciated the effort; at least one student in the class scribbled furious notes as I taught.
An interesting day, all in all. ¶ 4:23 PM 1 Comments
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Friday, 9/9
In class on Friday we mostly talked about our papers. The conversation mostly focused on how each of us had at one point experienced Otherness and how we might use that experience as teachers. A pretty laid-back day.
¶ 7:34 PM 0 Comments
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Dichotomizing and "Racism in the English Language"
In Wednesday's class we talked about the ways in which society aggregates and disaggregates people. This is fairly straightforward stuff; think of how we single people out or better yet how you have been singled out, and then try to understand why and how that happened. This is essentially a discourse about Otherness, a theory that dates back to Lacan for sure but was probably around long before that.
It occurred to me during this discussion that one of the main reasons we habitually create Otherness is that it's simply easier to deal with someone when they are categorized. Assigning Other qualities to someone lessens the emotional workload required to actually engage and accept someone whose backgrounds are vastly different from our own.
Meanwhile, the reading was also interesting. It dealt mostly with the seemingly innocuous but very problematic nature of connotations, especially when it comes to color, in English. I've actually given this stuff a lot of thought before, and I've come to think there are three kinds of problematic speech: the obvious use of offensive language (think of the high school teacher correcting a kid who says a homework assignment "is so totally gay"); the hidden but important connotations of color as discussed in the reading; and finally, the power structures embedded in language as identified and explained by Foucoult, Derrida, and all those other French dudes (my life will never be the same after that Senior Seminar class). I won't get into that last one other than to say that those in power protect themselves via language in many different ways, most of which are very hard to detect.
Good stuff! ¶ 3:53 PM 1 Comments
It occurred to me during this discussion that one of the main reasons we habitually create Otherness is that it's simply easier to deal with someone when they are categorized. Assigning Other qualities to someone lessens the emotional workload required to actually engage and accept someone whose backgrounds are vastly different from our own.
Meanwhile, the reading was also interesting. It dealt mostly with the seemingly innocuous but very problematic nature of connotations, especially when it comes to color, in English. I've actually given this stuff a lot of thought before, and I've come to think there are three kinds of problematic speech: the obvious use of offensive language (think of the high school teacher correcting a kid who says a homework assignment "is so totally gay"); the hidden but important connotations of color as discussed in the reading; and finally, the power structures embedded in language as identified and explained by Foucoult, Derrida, and all those other French dudes (my life will never be the same after that Senior Seminar class). I won't get into that last one other than to say that those in power protect themselves via language in many different ways, most of which are very hard to detect.
Good stuff! ¶ 3:53 PM 1 Comments
A Raison D'etre
As it turns out, we're supposed to journal in one of my Ed. classes. As it also turns out, my instructor actually said the words, "If you blog you can just post to that and call it good."
Well, alrighty!
Thus, The Teacher Dudie will be posting mostly about that class from now until December. Sure, sure, he may post other relevant things as well, but be prepared for reflection and rambling pertaining to obscure reading assignments with which you, gentle reader, will probably be unfamiliar.
Ready? ¶ 3:34 PM 1 Comments
Well, alrighty!
Thus, The Teacher Dudie will be posting mostly about that class from now until December. Sure, sure, he may post other relevant things as well, but be prepared for reflection and rambling pertaining to obscure reading assignments with which you, gentle reader, will probably be unfamiliar.
Ready? ¶ 3:34 PM 1 Comments
