"Certainly, many would argue that culturally relevant pedagogy requires that you invite the powerful voices of those who are generally overlooked in the texts and curriculum of American education; and that is undoubtedly an important aspect. However, culturally relevant pedagogy is also about the students who show up in our classrooms daily. It welcomes students' voices, demands their reflection, and pushes them toward discovery of self [...] validates students' existence regardless of class, race, ethnicity, economic status, or academic level." (Winn & Johnson, 14).
This, and many other, passages stood out to me during this week's reading and video. I was reminded of the previous semester and questions I had then about curriculum decisions and the potential danger of reading a book with a class because of an assumption that they would enjoy it or relate because of the issues characters faced, dialogue, setting, and even race. This led me to a blog post by a favorite author of mine, N.K. Jemisin, who received a note from a fan who found her book in the African American section at the local library. Jemisin's response is anger at the idea that just because she is a black author her book belongs in the African-American section despite its content and genre.
The two may not seem connected, but I think they are. Whenever we try putting writers or, for that matter, students in boxes based on what we think we know about them and what they would like or how they would want to be represented, we alienate and engage in erasure. Culturally relevant pedagogy is the opposite of that. Key words from the reading illustrating that are "show," "share," recognize," "validate," "reflect," "empower," "question," and "welcome," among others.
Kimberle Crenshaw's TED Talk on intersectionality emphasizes this. If we focus on only certain discourses and ignore the intersections of our students' lives, erasure occurs. The #SAYHERNAME (capitalized because dang it say it) movement and activity Crenshaw had the audience -- as well as us, the viewers on the other side of the screen -- participate in engages us, making us question what we have been told, what we choose to know, and encourages us to reflect on our positions as people and by extension, teachers.
I'm just going to take a moment and say that I was blown away by Crenshaw's talk. It really shocked me, and I was ashamed for not knowing about those women, and the women that are undoubtedly still being attacked and murdered, and then wondering if it was because I wasn't told, or because I chose not to know. Whether we are not told or choose not to know, I reflected that there is a small difference, because those at the intersections are still unseen. That culturally relevant pedagogy, at least in the classroom, is so active, reminds me that it is important to be active in all aspects of life -- not just 6-7 hours of the day.
I agree with everything you've said! My immediate thought after reading and watching that we are alienating culturally diverse backgrounds from curriculum and open discourse. Intersectionality is so important in schools and boxing them up serves no one. Also, boxing writers and categorizing their writing by "race" is demoralizing, further solidifying the idea that students and the general public are ignorant about movements like #SAYHERNAME.
ReplyDelete