Teaching Intersections

TEACHING AT THE INTERSECTIONS & 5 Tips for Being an Ally

Honor and teach about your students’ multiple identities.

MONITA K. BELL

ISSUE 53, SUMMER 2016

At the beginning of this article, I felt empathy and understanding for Nicole, an African-American student who wasn’t doing well in her classes.  Its a bit mind blowing that out of all of her teachers, only one thought it would be important to look deeper into the situation and examine her identity and circumstances which were impacting her ability to perform in school.  Sadly, Nicole is an example of the deep racial disparities that exist within absenteeism and dropout rates nationwide.  Armstrong and Wildman also note this in their article Colorblindness Is the New Racism. They state that,”people of color know all too well that society racializes them within a race other than white–whites tend not to notice that their own race carries social meaning-white privilege will continue because a colorblind present does not erase the modern day effects of centuries of racism and white privilege.” (Armstrong & Wildman, 66)

This article used the term intersectional lens which means,” recognizing that race-, gender- and class-related circumstances are contributing to her achievement issues.”  Similar to this term, the term “color insight” (Armstrong & Wildman 69) also aims at at not “sweeping” race under the rug and recognizing that “a racial status quo exists in which society attributes race to each member- it serves to promote equality and to emphasize nondiscrimination among races.” (Armstrong & Wildman 68)  I  believe that both of these ideas are just the beginning of society naming the many social issues that exist within our education systems and contribute to the success of millions of students.  Johnson stated that, “you can’t deal with a problem if you don’t name it, once you name it, you can think, talk, and write about it-make sense of it by seeing how it's connected to other things that explain it and point toward solutions.”(Johnson, 11)   Many of Nicole's teachers were unaware of the privileges their other students had or the biases and cultural identities that were impacting her.  Delpit states that, “those with power are frequently least aware or least willing to acknowledge-its existence.” (Delpit, 24).  If it wasn’t for that one teacher, Nicole most likely would have not been able to graduate. Her teacher stated that, “ helping students like Nicole navigate the world—and the way the world responds to them—is fundamental to her responsibility as an educator.”(Bell, Learning For Justice) I think Torres is implying that it is her job to teach students like Nicole the rules and codes of the dominant culture so that they can navigate through life and I think Lisa Delpit would one hundred percent agree with me.  In closing, I think it is important for us to bear in mind that intersectionality is a framework which was developed to keep track of the barriers that people are subject to due to the impact of racism, sexism, and other types of discrimination. Frameworks are crucial when working to promote change within any system and/or organization.  

    Another topic mentioned in this article was that of social justice.  I was introduced to social justice standards, which I did not know existed.  The K-2 outcome for ID.3 is, “I know that all my group identities are part of me—but that I am always ALL me."(Bell, Learning for Justice)  I can anticipate using this standard at the beginning of the school  year when we are learning about one another's cultures and identities. 

To View Social Justice Standards: Click this link =)

    Best practice in doing this work with students includes giving students space to discuss their, “identities and lived experiences of bias and their own identities which includes instances in which they’ve experienced judgment and bias—and closes with the ways in which they’ve exhibited bias against others.”(Bell, Learning for Justice)  These conversations open the door to further conversations about,” power, internalized oppression and seeing value in one’s culture and community.”(Bell, Learning For Justice)  As stated earlier, Lisa Delpit believes in the power of teaching students the codes of the dominant culture all while embracing students cultural identity.  Similar to code-switching, students learn that yes, there are these biases that are connected to their identities but there is a way to overcome those barriers if they can learn the “codes” to cross into the culture of power. Teaching with intersectionality in mind means  “seeing your students as more than just the thing that stands out in the classroom, as far as race or their gender, and understanding that there’s a long background to all those things.” (Bell, Learning For Justice)  As educators it is important to acknowledge that students from different races and cultural backgrounds will have different experiences based on where they live, go to school, and economic backgrounds.  In the video Five Tips to Be an Ally, it is encouraged for anyone who is not a part of the marginalized groups to be an ally and help fight for their equality. In doing so, you must understand your privilege, support community members without speaking over them, accept that you will make mistakes, and to remember that it is more about your impact than your intent.  

                                                 “Ally is a verb.  You have to do the work.” - Francheska 

I think the bottom line is that every day we get a chance to interact with so many kids.  We can either choose to empower or oppress them.  If we don’t begin to consider having an intersectionality mindset, we risk the oppression of many more kids.  Bell states that, “ When we stop seeing our kids as whole people—as whole, nuanced people, with context to gender and race and class—we stop seeing them as real people.”(Bell, Learning For Justice)  We have to educate the WHOLE child.  This includes academic and social emotional needs as well as seeing THEM and the biases that they face in the education system and within society.  

Resources:

Armstrong, M. Wildman, S. (2013) Deconstructing Privilege: Teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom.  Routledge.

Bell, M. (Summer, 2016) Learning Through Justice: Teaching through at the Intersections. Issue 53 

Retrieved from: https://www.learningforjustice.org/print/84667?exclude_images=1

Delpit, L. (2006) Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in The Classroom.  The New Press, New York. 

Johnson, A. (2001) Privilege, Power, and Difference.  Mayfield Publishing Company, California. 

5 Tips For Being An Ally 

Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dg86g-QlM0

Learning For Justice: Standards.  

Retrieved from: https://www.learningforjustice.org/frameworks/social-justice-standards?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1rqkBhCTARIsAAHz7K3vKSmVQFeDSXVd_HixP--854yIyfFWRU4U7-NuozPaeuJ1YowGTqQaAo73EALw_wcB