“I WANTED TO PLAY FOUR SQUARE WITH THE BOYS BUT SOME OF THEM SAID I COULDN’T BECAUSE I’M A GIRL. A COUPLE OF THEM THEN SPOKE UP FOR ME. THEY REMINDED THE OTHER BOYS ABOUT PRIVILEGE AND SAID THAT THEY SHOULD LET ME PLAY.” – SAPNA
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH OUR STUDENTS?
When I first started planning to discuss privi- lege with my students, I was worried that it would be particularly difficult for the racial- ized students in my class. I was worried that the message they would hear was that they were somehow less valuable. I did not want to inadvertently reinforce the oppression they might experience in broader society. I was terrified that this would be their take- away. I was, therefore, very surprised when that was not the case. It was more as if I were telling them the name for something many already had a deep, personal understand- ing of. In fact, the conversations of privilege proved more challenging for my white stu- dents as most had no life experience that had even hinted at the existence of a system that afforded them privilege. It can be hard for privileged people to recognize their own privilege. This can be one of the most diffi- cult aspects of this discussion. It is very im- portant to be clear no one is being blamed, and everyone has problems and struggles, regardless of privilege.
28 ETFO VOICE | SUMMER 2016
HOW CAN WE TALK ABOUT IT WITH OUR STUDENTS?
As a part of introducing my students to how the system of privilege impacts us personally and socially, we do a full class activity called “Who is the Best Person in the World.” We begin by brainstorming all the qualities we think the best person in the world should have. Once we’ve got a list on the board, I ask students to independently write down the names of who they think are the three best people in the world. Then we write them on the board. Once we get going, students start suggesting all kinds of names, many beyond what they had initially written down. We keep going until there aren’t any more sug- gestions or there isn’t any more room on the board. Then, while they watch, I underline all the people on the board who are men/male/ male-identified, and I ask the students what they all have in common. They are usually
E
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52