thanks very much for this Karen.
I think a lot about 'school' privilege as well.  For some of us,
learning/complying with the expectations of the classroom came far more
easily than for others.

When we're teaching (and learning) it's really important to be mindful of
that particular form of privilege (being good at doing school).

Many have written about the multiple layers of privilege and oppression ­
and as Karen and others have said here, the more we understand about how
those forces act on ourselves, our colleagues and our students, the better
able we are to be responsive and proactive in our teaching strategies and
practices.

Janet



From: Karen Wyman <Karenw at nmcadv.org>
Reply-To: The Diversity and Literacy Discussion List <diversity at nifl.gov>
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:08:40 -0700
To: The Diversity and Literacy Discussion List <diversity at nifl.gov>
Conversation: [Diversity 301] Re: abusers in our classrooms
Subject: [Diversity 302] Re: abusers in our classrooms

Dear Kearney, 
I have to disagree that Kate¹s comment is sexist. While most men are not
abusers and are not violent, most abusers are men, and most acts of
violence, particularly those acts against women, are committed by men. It is
not unreasonable, inaccurate, or sexist to conclude that ³in any ordinary
group of men that some will be violent to a greater or lesser extent.² I
think Kate was being very careful not to be sexist with her language and
word choice. 
 
Also, I¹d like to suggest that students are not in classes to ³handle² their
classmates; they are there to learn. It is the instructor¹s responsibility
to create an environment in which that can occur, and that often includes
being aware of potential problems before they happen and intervening on
behalf of the safety and wellbeing of all students. I think it is an
interesting assumption to think that these hypothetical students are
necessarily ³non-feminist.²
 
I think that privilege is an important piece of this conversation that is
being left out. I believe that, in addition to confronting racism and
sexism, we also have a responsibility to interrupt male and white (and other
kinds, too) privilege when it rears its head. I wonder if that might be an
interesting discussion: what can we do to confront the use of unwarranted
privilege in our classrooms? How can we interrupt those conditioned
behaviors that come with that privilege? Male privilege is one of the many
tools that abusers employ to exercise power and control over their victims,
and there are a number of ways in which we, as educators, have the
opportunity to either challenge or reinforce that privilege.
 
Respectfully, 
Karen
 
 

 

 


 


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