Nakkula Chapter 8

Reading this chapter allowed me to think back to the first class in this cohort program.  It was so heavily focused on race and ethnicity and there were some interesting discussions that took place throughout each class.  It was interesting to see how we all understood these issues that happen not only in schools but in general society each day.  SED 551 was the first time that I had the ability to truly recognize how favored "Whites" are and how this may have impacted me as  young child all the way into adulthood.  I suppose when you have advantages of looking White it is harder to recognize what you have than when you do not have advantages.  I see that reading this chapter has allowed me to think about all these issues again on a person level and how I can use my understanding of race and ethnicity in the classroom.  My teaching experience varies from classrooms that were all "White" to classrooms with more than 50% non-White.  I never wanted to be that teacher that called my Korean and Chinese kids Asian because I remember going to school and telling my friends I was half Syrian and getting the reply of oh that is sort of like Iraq right?  I remember being disgusted that two very different cultures were put into the same category.  It was always interesting thinking about how I looked White, my brother looked White but my other family members had much darker skin than I did.  I considered what this made me.  Was I part White? Was Syrian considered White? It was a bit of an identity crisis at times. 

I went through most of the chapter before I came across a term that I do not like.  The term "melting pot" seems to be thrown around as a catch phrase all too often without the true meaning considered.  Melting pot, to me at least, insinuates that things are being blending together.  I believe this could not be any further from the truth.  When one drives through any city, either large or small, ethnic groups are often times seen living in close quarters of one another.  There are the neighborhoods labeled "Little Italy" and "Little China".  Often times these are regarded in a negative way, my issue is with this negativity.  It is difficult to understand that why in 2013 are we still in a place in U.S. society where race and ethnicity are automatically correlated with social class.  In a perfect world, there would be no melting pot but rather a place where there are distinct ethnicities living in society who all receive a fair shot at success and access to cultural capital that Whites are automatically given.  I wonder if a place like this will exist. 

It is possible for all students' to become successful in the system we have now with help from teachers and other school educators.  Clearly, some will have to work much, much harder and somehow gain access to things that are automatically provided for other students.  As an educator, I cannot be so naïve to think that my non-White students are at an equal advantage as my White students.  After reading Delpit last year, I told myself that I would be the teacher that informs my students of these disadvantages and inequalities so that they are prepared for an unfair world.  When the situation presents itself I hope to make a positive impact.  In Nakkula it is written, "creating school spaces where students do not have to abandon parts of their identity in order to belong..."(pg.175)  I do not believe students should have to lose who they are in order to gain access to knowledge and a means to the possibility of success.  When teachers provide a safe place where they can co-author with their students on these difficult situations they are bringing their students to place where knowledge can be accessed but the identity of each student will not be lost.  It becomes apparent to me more and more that some of the most important topics that I will discuss with my students are not found in any textbook.