I work in an extremely diverse part of my city. Where I live, Hispanics are the majority, where I work, African Americans are the majority. No matter where I go, I am the minority as a white female. While I am in no way bothered by this as I celebrate other cultures and enjoy each of the places and people I interact with, I believe that I have come into contact with my own experiences of racism. While the area I live in provides issues with language barriers, it is mainly my experiences in the area I work at that challenge my professional practice. Many of the families and children I serve are African American and almost each and every one of them are below the poverty line. I chose to work in a school system where I would serve low-income students as I believe my biggest impact as a professional comes from my experience as a low-income student growing up. I can relate with these students and empathize with them as I have been in their tattered, too small shoes at one time. A few weeks back at Meet the Teacher Night, I told my own story so that parents know that I am here for all the right reasons and to show them how important education is, especially for those who grew up with little to nothing. After this night, I have had a select few parents who scoff anytime I speak with them or ask to meet with them for their student. I had to make a phone call home as one of the students was not in uniform, when I told the parent that our school policy was to have an all black belt on, the parent told me she could not afford it. I offered to write down her information and send it to my principal to see if we could work with her. She lamented that the uniform policy was stupid and her child should wear what they want, including the twenty dollar Michael Jordan belt that he was wearing that day. I explained the school's policy of uniforms and told her most of the schools in this area require a uniform and she began saying how I did not know anything since I was not from the area saying no white person has ever lived on the Eastside. I had to explain that while no, I did not grow up here, I was born in the same hospital as her son was, but moved around with my two teenage parents. While I know that her comment was more than likely in the heat of the moment and understand the current state of our society in regards to racism, it still impacted my professional practice as I felt like I could no longer communicate with that parent.
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice
I work in an extremely diverse part of my city. Where I live, Hispanics are the majority, where I work, African Americans are the majority. No matter where I go, I am the minority as a white female. While I am in no way bothered by this as I celebrate other cultures and enjoy each of the places and people I interact with, I believe that I have come into contact with my own experiences of racism. While the area I live in provides issues with language barriers, it is mainly my experiences in the area I work at that challenge my professional practice. Many of the families and children I serve are African American and almost each and every one of them are below the poverty line. I chose to work in a school system where I would serve low-income students as I believe my biggest impact as a professional comes from my experience as a low-income student growing up. I can relate with these students and empathize with them as I have been in their tattered, too small shoes at one time. A few weeks back at Meet the Teacher Night, I told my own story so that parents know that I am here for all the right reasons and to show them how important education is, especially for those who grew up with little to nothing. After this night, I have had a select few parents who scoff anytime I speak with them or ask to meet with them for their student. I had to make a phone call home as one of the students was not in uniform, when I told the parent that our school policy was to have an all black belt on, the parent told me she could not afford it. I offered to write down her information and send it to my principal to see if we could work with her. She lamented that the uniform policy was stupid and her child should wear what they want, including the twenty dollar Michael Jordan belt that he was wearing that day. I explained the school's policy of uniforms and told her most of the schools in this area require a uniform and she began saying how I did not know anything since I was not from the area saying no white person has ever lived on the Eastside. I had to explain that while no, I did not grow up here, I was born in the same hospital as her son was, but moved around with my two teenage parents. While I know that her comment was more than likely in the heat of the moment and understand the current state of our society in regards to racism, it still impacted my professional practice as I felt like I could no longer communicate with that parent.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I can tell you really care about your students and have a true desire to help children who are less fortunate (regardless of race). It just so happens those less fortunate in the area in which you work are African-American. Not many appear to be aware that African-Americans are not the only race who live in low-income neighborhoods or struggle financially. Sometimes enough those who live a big homes with fancy cars are struggling financially they just don't let it show, we usually don't find out until they go bankrupted. I am sure it is not easy having families believe that because you are a different race you don't understand or care about the issues they face, I hope utilizing some of the suggestions in our coursework can help you build a partnership with these families, you all may not have race in common, and they may not want to accept that you also have growing up in a low income home in common, however you do have the desire for the children to thrive.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. You are so right that you are looked at the same when your the same race . I really like how you talked about advocating for what is right.
Hello Emily
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. It must be hard to work in a place where people don't trust that you are there for them after telling your story. Sometimes it takes time for families to trust us as educators. I would say to apply the things that you've learned in this program about partnering with families to build that trust. Families are the best to partner with and they want what is best for their children.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. Although I have worked with different ethnic groups in the past, this year as a paraprofessional has been the first I have felt discomfort. It is rare to see someone of African American descent in administration in the current school system I work in. So, during parent-teacher conference, I was uneasy about meeting the white parents. As I watched my teacher find common ground as she spoke with each family, and there receptiveness to her. I learned the importance, no matter the race finding common ground, demonstrating genuine concern and mutual respect made a great difference in the communication process. Don't give up on this parent. Keep thinking of ways of building trust and mutual ground. Remember to use a co-worker if necessary.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that when meeting with the families of your students, you were upfront and honest, telling your story, which many could relate to. When putting yourself out there in this way, parents can get to know and trust you, contributing to positive partnerships. I think it may be easy for students and parents to hold some bias towards you, as the only white teachers, however helping them understand who you are will hopefully break down those barriers and allow for trust and respect to develop.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI found your post to be very informative and I enjoyed reading your personal story. I thought that it was great that you took the time to share with parents your own personal story. I feel that this would have helped many parent feel more comfortable with you and more willing to openly communicate. It is sad to me that some families act somewhat different towards you after that. I thought that what you did was very courageous and something to be proud of. I am sure those other parents will come around, don't stop trying! Thanks for the great post!
-Mariah