Dalton Conley goes out of his way to make an argument that skin color gives one such an advatage that it is the factor that matters the most when calculating your chance for success in life.
How much of a role do you think race plays in a person's chance for success? Does race play a role in how a student should be educated?
You've asked a couple of very important questions. They're both very complex, so I don't think I'll get to the heart of it in this post, but let me take a stab at it, and maybe begin the discussion.
In my mind, the issue isn't really race - it's society's rules (written and unwritten) that tilt the field one way or the other as a person seeks success. Unfortunately, in today's world, everybody gets a chance to complain - including, for the first time in awhile, white people (just look at today's Supreme Court ruling on the firefighter case).
Race, in and of itself, is a neutral quality; it neither helps nor hinders one in the quest for success. How society stacks the deck for or against certain groups, on the other hand, often makes or breaks the man.
As to your second question, I suppose my answer above tilts my hand on that one. If I believe race is a neutral quality, it wouldn't be consistent to say that different races need to be educated differently...
How much of a role do you think race plays in a person's chance for success? This question can be approached many different ways. If you take all other variables out, then race should not matter. If you add in cultural values, prejudice, etc then there may be barriers to success. I would like to think that everyone has a chance, some just may have to work harder than others for many reasons (sex, age, disability).
Does race play a role in how a student should be educated? I do not think so.
You don't think we need to know the culture, often a component of race, of the students we educate and tailor our teaching to the cultural needs of our students?
It depends on the context. Is it one racially different person in a class or is the entire group of another similar race/culture?
It would be hard to tailor an entire class to meet the needs of one person in the class vs gearing a program to an entire audience of similar individuals. These statements may not have come out correctly.
I am thinking of some of my classes as a student at PSU with 1,000 students of many different races/cultures. I am sure the information was not changed to meet cultural/racial needs. This is in contrast to someone teaching a class of Mexican immigrants in an ESL class. The audience would be homogenous and the instruction could be based on their cultural beliefs.
As with the ethics discussions on ly blog, there can be some relativism based on context with this topic.
Yes. I agree that we cannot try to accommodate every cultural nuance when designing curriculum or lesson plans.
I should have been more specific. I was thinking about how I interact with some of the female students from the Middle Eastern countries in the software course I teach. It is the only circumstance that I can think of when I consciously adjust my behavior with students. Usually if I need to speak to students privately about their course work, I will make an appointment with them to stay after class and talk to them one-on-one in the classroom, or in my office. I noticed that this scenario makes the female students from Saudi Arabia really uncomfortable. I asked the ESL program director about this and she said that the female Saudi students are rarely alone with males in their culture, and the intimacy of the interaction of a male instructor alone in a classroom with a closed door can be overwhelming. I now only send emails to these students.
This was the example I was thinking of when I asked if educators need/should/must take a person's culture into consideration.
How much of a role do you think race plays in a person's chance for success?
Unfortunately, race plays a huge role in a persons chance for success. Race often depicts how a person is perceived, treated, and valued in this country. Thankfully America has come a long way, but there are still obstacles that many minorities face. In many cities, those who attend schools within the minority communities often do not receive the same education or the opportunities as those who are in the majority.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteYou've asked a couple of very important questions. They're both very complex, so I don't think I'll get to the heart of it in this post, but let me take a stab at it, and maybe begin the discussion.
In my mind, the issue isn't really race - it's society's rules (written and unwritten) that tilt the field one way or the other as a person seeks success. Unfortunately, in today's world, everybody gets a chance to complain - including, for the first time in awhile, white people (just look at today's Supreme Court ruling on the firefighter case).
Race, in and of itself, is a neutral quality; it neither helps nor hinders one in the quest for success. How society stacks the deck for or against certain groups, on the other hand, often makes or breaks the man.
As to your second question, I suppose my answer above tilts my hand on that one. If I believe race is a neutral quality, it wouldn't be consistent to say that different races need to be educated differently...
How much of a role do you think race plays in a person's chance for success? This question can be approached many different ways. If you take all other variables out, then race should not matter. If you add in cultural values, prejudice, etc then there may be barriers to success. I would like to think that everyone has a chance, some just may have to work harder than others for many reasons (sex, age, disability).
ReplyDeleteDoes race play a role in how a student should be educated? I do not think so.
You don't think we need to know the culture, often a component of race, of the students we educate and tailor our teaching to the cultural needs of our students?
ReplyDeleteGreg
It depends on the context. Is it one racially different person in a class or is the entire group of another similar race/culture?
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard to tailor an entire class to meet the needs of one person in the class vs gearing a program to an entire audience of similar individuals.
These statements may not have come out correctly.
I am thinking of some of my classes as a student at PSU with 1,000 students of many different races/cultures. I am sure the information was not changed to meet cultural/racial needs. This is in contrast to someone teaching a class of Mexican immigrants in an ESL class. The audience would be homogenous and the instruction could be based on their cultural beliefs.
As with the ethics discussions on ly blog, there can be some relativism based on context with this topic.
Amy
Sorry...typo should state "on my blog"
ReplyDeleteAmy
Yes. I agree that we cannot try to accommodate every cultural nuance when designing curriculum or lesson plans.
ReplyDeleteI should have been more specific. I was thinking about how I interact with some of the female students from the Middle Eastern countries in the software course I teach. It is the only circumstance that I can think of when I consciously adjust my behavior with students. Usually if I need to speak to students privately about their course work, I will make an appointment with them to stay after class and talk to them one-on-one in the classroom, or in my office. I noticed that this scenario makes the female students from Saudi Arabia really uncomfortable. I asked the ESL program director about this and she said that the female Saudi students are rarely alone with males in their culture, and the intimacy of the interaction of a male instructor alone in a classroom with a closed door can be overwhelming. I now only send emails to these students.
This was the example I was thinking of when I asked if educators need/should/must take a person's culture into consideration.
Greg
That adjustment for culture does make sense. I would never want a student to feel uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteSorry I misunderstood and thought you meant from a curriculum standpoint.
Amy
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteHow much of a role do you think race plays in a person's chance for success?
Unfortunately, race plays a huge role in a persons chance for success. Race often depicts how a person is perceived, treated, and valued in this country. Thankfully America has come a long way, but there are still obstacles that many minorities face. In many cities, those who attend schools within the minority communities often do not receive the same education or the opportunities as those who are in the majority.
Wynter