“Is White Better Than Black?”
While reading “What Color Is Beautiful?” by Alejandro Segura-Mora, it breaks my heart to hear a student telling another student that he doesn’t want to be black (dark skin) and his mother is giving him a pill to make him white. “WOW!” Why is this student thinking this way? Who do we blame? Do we blame the parents? Do we blame the media companies? We need to remember at a certain age, a child that hears a negative comments of themselves or of their ethnicity can have a BIG impact to that child and change the way he or she think about themselves.
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As teachers, we need to challenge our students to think differently from what the media shows are telling them. American culture needs to change its ways of thinking, were white is better than black.
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Also, in “Raising Issues of Race with young Children” by Rita Tenorio. It talks about Racism issues, is it possible for children in kindergarten and 1st grade to understand Racism issues? Rita Tenorio said: “Centuries-old legacies of bias and racism in our country have made an impact on our lives.” It is sad to say that it still has an impact in our lives today. Even living in Hawaii there’s an issue of racism, but it’s the other way around, were dark is good and white is bad!
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Here’s my question: “How can we teach our students, that it doesn’t matter what color you are outside, it’s the inner beauty that really count?” and “ How can we as teacher’s change this way of thinking, when media corporation says it’s the other way around?”
Hi Mr. Gary,
ReplyDeleteI overheard two of my students' conversation in the Home center one day. One child was admiring the other child's beautiful curly hair and she thinks that her own straight hair is not pretty. She wishes that she has curly hair just like her friend. Sometimes I wonder why we never happy of what we have and always wish that we were something else? I think being contend with who we are and what we have are the key to finding the inner happiness.
Ivy
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteYour identification of the impact of media on ideas like race positions teachers to think about ways of disrupting accepted beliefs. Yet, how do teachers engage in these actions?
I wonder if it begins with how teachers imagine children. Do teachers imagine children capable of having deep conversations about race? Also, are teachers comfortable enough to speak about race? What might these conversation between children and teachers look like? How might these conversations disrupt stereotypes?
Jeanne
When a child thinks that his or her skin color is not acceptable, it’s much harder for educators to change his or her mind if his or her parent, or other family member, supports that way of thinking. Whether it is from their family, from the media, from toy manufacturers, or somewhere else, children have to learn about attitudes regarding their skin color, shape, size or abilities, both positive and negative attitudes, because they are not born with those attitudes. Therefore, it is important for adults to be aware of the impact that we have on the way that children see themselves and others. The questions that you posed were challenging. I think that there are many ways that we can teach our students that it doesn’t matter what color they are on the outside but it is difficult when what we are teaching is opposed by the attitudes of families, the community, and the media. In order to be the most effective in our quest for non-biased attitudes, we must open the minds of the people in our communities, local, national and global, while at the same time, opening the minds of young children so the cycle of biased attitudes is not perpetuated. It’s a huge task but it’s an important one.
ReplyDeleteTeachers are faced with a lot of different situations within a classroom, I have had my share. I believe one of the most important thing that we can instill in our children is to love themselves, not in a vain way, but to show them that they are special and that there is no one else like them in the whole world, they are unique!!! We need to be example for them!. We need also to teach children to accept others as they are. Often I would think of ways to convey this to the children, just spending 1on1 time with them and simply talking to them usually works the best, and also being an example of showing acceptance of others helps.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher it would be very difficult to see a young child not like himself and worse yet to see the parent give him things to change his looks. But being a person of color she may have had really bad experiences because of it. What do you think drove her to do that? How can we help the mother see the error of her ways?
i don't think if we can change what the media is putting out there. I feel that media is a reflection of society. In order to change society I think that we must build a strong stable foundation for children to love who they are and entrust them with great self-confidence that when they grow up they can change society and in turn change the media. At times, it seems as a teacher, that we are so powerless and don't make a heavy impact and especially in early childhood because a lot of time we don't see the end product.
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