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From: Dani Moore <dani@unc.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:296] Fwd: Learning in the Shadow of Race and Class
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While this new article by bell hooks is mostly on higher education, I
believe its insights are relevant to our work with learners. It is also
a powerful piece for reflecting on our own class experiences.
________
Also recommended:
Jane Vanderbosch, "Notes from the Working Class," in _Queerly Classed_
edited by Susan Raffo. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.
Best to all,
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Dani Moore dani@unc.edu 919.962.1542
Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator
Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE)
http://www.readwriteact.org/
__________________________________________________________
To: BRC-NEWS <brc-news@lists.tao.ca>
From: John Russo <f0036238@cc.ysu.edu>
Subject: [BRC-NEWS] Learning in the Shadow of Race and Class
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 06:37:22 -0800
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v47/i12/12b01401.htm
(subscription required)
Chronicle of Higher Education
November 17, 2000
Learning in the Shadow of Race and Class
By Dr. Gloria Watkins (bell hooks)
As a child, I often wanted things money could buy that my
parents could not afford and would not get. Rather than tell
us we did not get some material thing because money was
lacking, mama would frequently manipulate us in an effort
to make the desire go away. Sometimes she would belittle
and shame us about the object of our desire. That's what
I remember most. That lovely yellow dress I wanted would
become in her storytelling mouth a really ugly mammy-made
thing that no girl who cared about her looks would desire.
My desires were often made to seem worthless and stupid. I
learned to mistrust and silence them. I learned that the
more clearly I named my desires, the more unlikely those
desires would ever be fulfilled.
I learned that my inner life was more peaceful if I did not
think about money, or allow myself to indulge in any fantasy
of desire. I learned the art of sublimation and repression.
I learned it was better to make do with acceptable material
desires than to articulate the unacceptable. Before I knew
money mattered, I had often chosen objects to desire that
were costly, things a girl of my class would not ordinarily
desire. But then I was still a girl who was unaware of class,
who did not think my desires were stupid and wrong. And when
I found they were, I let them go. I concentrated on survival,
on making do.
When I was choosing a college to attend, the issue of money
surfaced and had to be talked about. While I would seek
loans and scholarships, even if everything related to school
was paid for, there would still be transportation to pay
for, books, and a host of other hidden costs. Letting me
know that there was no extra money to be had, mama urged me
to attend any college nearby that would offer financial aid.
My first year of college, I went to a school close to home.
A plain-looking white woman recruiter had sat in our living
room and explained to my parents that everything would be
taken care of, that I would be awarded a full academic
scholarship, that they would have to pay nothing. They
knew better. Still they found this school acceptable....
continued at
brc-news@lists.tao.ca/msg00158.html">http://www.mail-archive.com/brc-news@lists.tao.ca/msg00158.html
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