As white person, I thk role of white ppl in ed reform is a fair Q. But, I believe answer lies in allyship, not abdicating responsibility.So please don't get so upset, black parents, when Matt sends privileged, young, white, untrained, unqualified, uncommitted "teachers" into your children's schools, even as TFA racks up a billion dollars and shoves career teachers out on to the street.
After all, he's willing to admit it's "fair" to talk about race - just so long as you agree to engage in "allyship" with him. Golly, aren't you lucky?
Once again, I am reminded of a quote from a local resident regarding the state of the schools in Newark, NJ:
“The foundations are interfering with public education and dividing our community,” says Cassandra Dock, a local resident. “Leave us alone. We don’t want white people coming in here and doing what they do — taking over. Destroy and leave.” [emphasis mine]Ouch.
(h/t the great EduShyster)
5 comments:
Teach For America: the blond leading the blond...
allyship?
What does that mean in the context of white privilege?
Abdicating responsibility? That's pretty darn paternalistic, and very patronizing. Doing things to further undermine the social fabric of these communities is not well expressed as "responsibility", but more under the umbrella of rape and pillage.
Why are we attacking other teachers? This is a total waste of time. The odds are the TFA kids are much like the others,and are entering the profession on fire to 'make a difference' - just like the current crop of untenured teachers. The only difference is the self-perpetuating agency indoctrinating its membership.
In my bulding, neither arts educators or Special Ed. teachers were pink slipped. However, all of our untenured general ed. teachers were. The union's response??? To right this wrong, "we're going to attack the special area and special ed. teachers in your bulding who have even less time than you."
SO like the NJEA to pit one segment of it's membership against another, and declare "what a good girl am I!"
And another thing -why would you stand behind any comment beginning with "we don't want white people..." regardless of what comes next? I am not with you on this, and anyone who thinks that race determines the morality or work ethic of an educator is not in a position to make decisions affecting kids.
The real war in Newark, in Trenton and in Camden is between those who want to make a meaningful difference in education and those who want to maintain the status quo regardless of the impact on students.
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