"We can't talk about it if we can't use the words" (Johnson, 2001) (for 9/20/17)

This statement by Allan Johnson is one that really resonated with me this week, and it is something that I plan to take with me and share with my future students. No matter what backgrounds and lives my students come from, Johnson recognizes the multitude of difficulties that come with taking about privilege, power, and difference. Regardless, this is a conversation that educators need to continually have with students in order be active participants in shaping the world into a better place. What I plan to reflect on here are more questions that I have for Johnson about this piece, and what all of this means for me as an up-and-coming educator.

First off, it seems like forever ago that I've seen that Diversity Wheel, so I'm glad that I can now point my brain to the author who is responsible. Anyways, a lot of my questions revolve around receiving resistance from students (and parents even) while trying to facilitate conversations about power, privilege, and difference. I appreciate that Johnson did have some "comebacks" so to speak for counter arguments that people use as a way of denouncing privilege and its existence. However, I still don't feel equipped enough for people who are going to get defensive with what I'm trying to teach. In other words, I'm bringing books to a fire-fight, and all of this awesome sociological research that has been/and is being done about inequality is getting consumed by the fire and fury of the oblivious (and often privileged). I'm sure that I'm not the only one feeling this nervousness, and maybe even less so than others because I'm gay and a woman, and to some degree, have personally experienced lack of privileges. But when I think about privilege, being white feels like the "top dog" of all of the other privileged things in our society. And as someone who is also white, it's pretty scary to try and challenge very people you're categorized with. Other than wanting to know more "comebacks" that i can use to keep the conversation going with my students, what else would you (Allan Johnson) recommend or suggest for teachers? Do we treat this conversation like slowly dipping our toes in a pool, or do we push everyone in at once? A mixture of both? I have no idea! I'm getting the sense that you think everyone should be pushed into the pool, but I'm not entirely sure.

Thoughts?

Comments

  1. Bethany Rose BarsoianSeptember 19, 2017 at 6:42 PM


    Hi Janine,
    I agree that finding the best way to approach the subject of privilege with students is definitely a challenge. I'm wondering if the background of the students would make a difference here? If you were teaching in a well off mostly white school would you address it the same way you would in a low income school with a large percentage of minority students? I think you are right about getting backlash- especially from parents. There will likely be some parents who will always have an issue with what you are teaching and the way you are teaching it. They will not begin to consider questioning their own beliefs and their ignorance will go on forever. But if you can reach even some of your students and convince those students to think about their own privilege in a new way, I think you have still succeeded.

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  2. Alyssa SmithSeptember 20, 2017 at 7:48 AM

    Hi Janine,

    Like Dustin, you've pointed out a valid point in that Johnson's work doesn't really provide specific examples for us to begin to stamp out and denounce privilege. I'm wondering though if that's intentional on his part. Maybe he could provide certain strategies, but I wonder if he has decided not to because of how complex privilege and racism is. I think that's highlighted in the YouTube video. I mean, look at the title and word that's used: "Mcroaggressions." When you hear "micro" you think small. I think that's the whole crux of the argument- privilege is at times so covert and at other times, so blatant. There's so much to tackle! While it wasn't directly named as a strategy, one method I think you could use in his work to argue that privilege exists (and thus begin to fight it) is in his listing of how stats directly affect different subordinate groups. So, I'm thinking that if there was a student/parent who tried to argue that privilege did not exist, you would be armored with one (or multiple) stat. that would show why their argument is invalid or not completely based in fact.

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  3. Dustin SnyderSeptember 20, 2017 at 10:16 AM

    Janine, I think your response to Johnson was similar to my own. I am eager to facilitate meaningful conversations about race in my classroom. But beyond having the conversations, I'm not sure that I see practical ways to respond to people who students who might dispute what you're trying to teach, and on the other side of the spectrum, I don't think the text gives you many options about where to go next once you have students on the hook and eager to get involved.
    I'm also very curious to hear about how you received the MTV video, as well as how you think it might be received by it's intended audience.

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