Chapter 8 - Our Unfinished Work: White Educators and La Tierra Transformativa
How do we prepare a predominantly White teacher population to work effectively with radically and culturally diverse students?This is the question that Howard poses and answers in the last two chapters of this text.
Howard presents this idea of teachers as being transformationists, people who intend to change their lives so that they can better work to change the lives of others. Howard gives three beliefs of transformationist White teachers: race matters, change begins with us, and beliefs determine outcomes.
Race Matters: When a White teacher first walks into a culturally diverse classroom, the students are going to notice one thing: the teacher is White. Students enter our classrooms with preconceived notions about who we are based upon the color of our skin. One of Howard's teacher friends explains how she teaches her class: "I teach a color-blind curriculum, so race is not a factor in my classroom" (122). Howard himself writes that "to be worthy of our students, we as transformationist White teachers know that we must be intelligent and real about issues of race" (123).
Change Begins With Us: School transformation begins with the teachers' willingness to change their classroom structures, school structures, and themselves. It is crucial that White teachers make the commitment to look deep inside themselves to see how they can better their attitudes, practices, and beliefs related to race and cultural differences.
Beliefs Determine Outcomes: Student failure "lies not in the students themselves, but in our capacity to believe in them" (124). If we think about it, how many of our students, despite the color of their skin, receive little to no support in their home environments? Oftentimes, many students find consolation and comfort only in their classrooms. Teachers have many roles to fill, such as educators, parents, counselors, doctors, advisers, etc. If we make the commitment to be there unconditionally for our students, we must offer endless support and care in our classrooms.Teaching is a Calling, Not Just a Job
"Transformationist White teachers know that our work is a life-long journey in the service of a larger vision, a relentless and passionate quest to undo the tragic impact of White dominance, and thereby free our children to enjoy the full fruits of their own intelligence and success" (125). Parker Palmer reminds us that true vocation joins self and service. Teaching is more than a job; it is a vocation in which we must dedicate our entire self.
Nationally-recognized teacher Timothy Bunch says this about teaching: "I believe I am called to teach, from a spiritual standpoint as well as a professional standpoint. I think like a teacher; everything is a lesson. I want kids to love learning as much as I do" (124).
Another teacher, John Morefield, explains why he chooses to teach mainly in diverse schools: "Deciding to go into teaching must be a decision from the heart. It must come from a moral imperative to ensure the success of all children, and from a deeply held commitment to social justice...Our children cannot afford anything but the best from us" (124).
In my placement at Reavis, I always keep in mind that school may be the only safe and supportive place in my students' lives. Over the course of the semester, I have spoken with a number of students about troubles that were taking place outside of school. This is an instance when I remember why I teach, when I take off my teacher face and put on my listener, my adviser, or my friendly face so that I can best be there for my students. I love all aspects of teaching, especially the ones that surface when I am not even standing in front of the class.
Worldview: Throughout the entirety of this text, worldview has surfaced time and time again, especially in these last two chapters. One viewpoint that we can view diversity through is that of Christianity. Just as Howard's friend explained that she teaches a color-blind curriculum, so too does God run a sort of color-blind world. Since all human beings were made in His image, then all human beings have the potential to do good and to be good because they are good. Sometimes, the events we experience change our lives, both in beneficial and harmful ways. But because we are humans constantly seeking to do the right thing, God forgives us again and again because he truly loves us. This is how I plan to work with my students: I plan to love them unconditionally no matter what color their skin is because we are all created to live good and successful lives.
Sarah Pearce, author of You Wouldn't Understand: White Teachers in Multiethnic Classrooms would completely agree with Howard in that race in the classroom does matter and the change that needs to take place when dealing with race and ethnicity, begins within ourselves. She writes about how being a white teacher in a multiethnic classroom is going to effect the way students connect with you as the teacher. For example, she speaks about how she felt she had a good relationship with the students, but that the students would rarely open up about to her about their ethnic cultures, even when she gave them the opportunity to (p. 21). Furthermore, Pearce would absolutely agree with Howard in that as white educators, the change begins within ourselves to make the classroom and the overall school environment a place that celebrates diversity. Pearce's book is filled with several diary entries that she recorded about conversations and observations that took place in regards to racial and ethnic diversity. At first, she believed that it was the students who had the problem of not being open to talking about diversity, but as her study went on, she found that her attitudes and the way she presented instructional materials in her classroom was where the problem was. Throughout her book, she writes about her growth in being able to see that it is her attitude towards race and ethnicity that needed to change, not the students.
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