Let’s Start the Conversation

A Critical Reflection on Pollock and Ladson-Billings.

What?

Recently movies and television shows now star more Asian actors and actresses. This is a huge milestone for the Asian-American community due to Asians not being casted at all or only playing minor roles. On television, there are now shows that depict an Asian family and Asian actors as main characters. This is the media attempting to show more racial diversity. But if you watch these shows, Asian stereotypes are made as jokes and Asian culture becomes summarized for viewers to make racial biases. Is it truly better to have Asian-Americans play roles that make fun of their own culture?

Racism is still a structural issue today. It is concealed in economic, political, and social dilemmas the United States faces. But racism should not be blamed on individual mindsets. It has stemmed from a history of inequity and mistreatment due to an individual’s skin color. According to Mica Pollock’s writing,

“In a cruel cycle, the notion that intellectual ability was distributed differently, am so-called races was developed by white scientists through the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries to explain and justify a system of economic, social, and political inequality organized along racial lines” (9).

With this structural issue imbedded in U.S. history, it is not a surprise that remnants of it remain in individuals consciously or unknowingly. An example presented in Pollock’s writing describes the situation that involves how teachers may choose to be “colorblind” or observe students’ races as excuses or indicators of something due to bias and internalized racism. Pollock describes the negative effect of being colorblind as,

“In daily life, sometimes educators’ being colorblind is quite harmful to young people, since they live in a world that often treats them racially; sometimes a particular celebration of diversity can be reductive and stereotypic; sometimes seeing a person primarily as a member of a “race” detracts from recognizing our common humanity” (xviii).

This is an important facet to be aware of due to how being colorblind disregards a student’s individualized race and culture. It is also not ideal to have prior thoughts about students and make biased judgments against them. Pollock suggests,

“Antiracist educators must constantly negotiate between two antiracist impulses in deciding their everyday behaviors toward students: they must choose between the antiracist impulse to treat all people as human beings rather than racial group members, and the antiracist impulse to recognize people’s real experiences as racial group members in order to assist them, understand their situation better, and treat them equitably” (xviii).

This dilemma is not only targeted at educators, but it explains the importance for individuals to be aware of this structural issue. This is not only caused by the mindsets of people since it has been a problem embedded in our society due to our history. Antiracism acts must replace the disregard of race and bias.

So What?

Another factor contributing to inequity in teacher education is judging culture as an excuse for students’ behaviors. Gloria Ladson-Billings explains,

“What I mean by this is that culture is randomly and regularly used to explain everything. So at the same moment teacher education students learn nothing about culture, they use it with authority as one of the primary explanations for everything from school failure to problems with behavior management and discipline” (104).

This is harmful to students based on several aspects, such as incorrect assumptions and disregard of cultures. This statement does not only apply to teachers, but individuals that have biases about other cultures are not well informed to truly understand what other individuals are thinking and experiencing. Ladson-Billings states, “It is much easier to explain students’ failure by looking at something internal to the students than endemic in this thing we call school culture” (107). Blaming an individual student is harmful due to how this is a structural issue rooted from a history of racial superiority and inferiority. Teachers that simply excuse students that do not do well in school for their “culture” and let them fall behind affect those students’ potentials. Teachers must be sensitive to their students’ needs and show active awareness to the racial inequality in school. Ladson-Billings suggests,

“The first thing we need to do is give prospective teachers an opportunity to interact with children and adolescents in nonschool settings; preservice teachers need the chance to see students in places where they are likely to be experiencing success — community and neighborhood centers, clubs, teams, and after-school activities” (108).

With proximity, teachers are able to truly learn about what their students may be experiencing rather than relying on bias and assumptions. On the other hand, introducing the term “culture” to students can be beneficial for their development and knowledge of their morals, values, and traditions. Talking about culture can help an individual appreciate the special qualities in their beliefs and practices as compared with their peers. Schools usually speak about different cultures when teaching about history regarding different traditions and practices. When educators ask their students about special holidays, beliefs, and traditions the students are able to enlighten their fellow classmates and their teachers about their individual culture. This helps racial groups be able to talk about their beliefs and teach others about themselves to combat preconceived judgment and bias. Awareness of racial inequity, education about cultures, and proximity can all aid educators to understanding their students better to assess their needs.

Now What?

At my community partner, Kids Club, the majority of the students that attend the program are Latino. I have noticed that homework completion and reading comprehension are major goals for the students to stay on track with their learning, yet I have not seen anything that addresses their race or culture. I have heard the students speak Spanish to one another but the teachers disregard it. I have heard of programs that help Spanish speakers with English and are taught by Spanish speakers too. I believe that my community partner has addressed the achievement gap in the Latino community at the Canal area by creating this program to help these students, yet I would like to see the students be able to hold on to their culture and language while learning English and math. Since this is an after school program, I would like to think that the students are being taught about culture and race during school. Glenn E. Singleton and Cyndie Hays explain four ways to start introducing race in conversations. Singleton and Hays suggest to: stay engaged, expect discomfort, be truthful, and to not expect the end of the conversation. It is a challenge to address race and culture due to how many see both as sensitive topics, but it is essential to learn and acknowledge that there is inequity. Stating preconceived notions about certain races and cultures can help others correct what is wrong. It is essential to address this topic to fight racial inequity.