Talk about strategies! I loved how these two chapters provided a ton of different classroom ideas for making multicultural literature engaging and eye-opening for students. Parks uses a lot of different strategies and lesson plans that are designed to help students understand institutional racism, diverse perspectives, and the ways that students see and understand the culture around them—both visible and invisible. This is important because many students may find it hard to relate to multicultural literature, especially white students that might not have ever discussed white privilege.
Many of these activities are used to create the sense of “disequilibrium” or “dissensus” in the way that students think and discuss various issues. In doing this, students are pushed into an uncomfortable position that challenges their assumptions. While we can’t assume that we will be able to transform the minds of students across the country, we can provide them with information to think about. As Parks says, “I must prepare my students to be elastic enough to appreciate the various discourse communities they will need to enter to find success and competence in life” (118). Part of this includes “recognizing students’ allegiances to different worlds. It is important that we help students navigate the academic realm while still understanding the power within their own lives as well.
Today in class we discussed the use of stereotypes and I really liked the activity that Parks used in order to help students see that stereotypes exist everywhere in our society. It is important that we unpack these stereotypes by examining where they came from. Just as the students in Parks class became aware of their own stereotypes associated with rural and suburban life based on media images rather than any solid facts and/ or evidence. This was important in helping them understand the ways in which others might likewise have ungrounded or media-based stereotypes about urban lifestyles—including metal detectors in the schools.
Part of Parks’ ideas on how to help students take on different perspectives is through the exploration of dialogic tensions within a text. By examining the different ways in which dialogic tension forms between texts, texts and the world, and between peers, students can look at the tensions between, differences that are, as Parks puts it, brought along and those that are brought about in perspective taking and discussion.
In helping prepare his students for college life, Parks also sought to teach students how to use critical analysis and critical lenses as a tool to define relationships found within texts. Practice in critical analysis is a great way for students to learn how to approach texts from different angles. I think this is a valuable tool because while it is great to take on the perspective of a character it is also important that students learn how to think about different perspectives on their own. If students are to learn how to become critical consumers of literature and media, they need to be able to apply a multitude of different lenses and critical thinking skills beyond the realm of the English classroom.
I totally agree with you on the usefulness of today's readings...the specific examples and discussion of ways to teach the concept of institutionalized racism can be taught was hugely helpful. I liked Parks use of the racetrack metaphor as a way to help illustrate the idea to students. And I agree that it's helpful to for students to see that you're not trying to teach them to "act white," but as the Parks' quote you cited explains, these students need to be able to navigate these different worlds if they want to find success in the culture of power.
ReplyDelete