Since I started the youth development program I have learned so much about my identity and the racial identity of others. In my social work class we would talk about privilege, and it was interesting to see everyones prospective. I sort of understood what privilege meant when I entered the classroom but it was hard for me. I had gone through a tough childhood that had many obstacles and was a little offended that people would assume I had privilege. I soon realized that I confused the word privilege with experience. Even though my childhood was intense i still got certain privileges just because my skin was white. It was hard for certain people in my class to understand this and many reacted out of emotion, feeling as if there struggles weren't real or accounted for but, eventually the class had a great discussion and listened to everything everyone had to say. We treated everyone with respect and listened to their words and responded with facts and compassion. A quote from the reading that made me remember this conversation is as stated " when students are given the opportunity to explore race related material in a classroom where both their affective and intellectual responses are acknowledged and addressed, their level of understanding is greatly enhanced" (Page 2 Tatum). The conversation in my class didn't just last that day but for a couple of weeks. It was important to have every individual speak if they wanted to. It was a brave space that let students speak their mind and really learn about privileged. I think that that it should be mandatory to have these conversations in a classroom setting so everyone can understand and grasp the topic of privilege.
stereotypes
Three stereotypes of youth. 1. Black girls are often looked at as older and have more serious punishments. 2. Youth are already a problem needing to be fixed, adults often fear the youth 3. Media portraying the "good girl" and the "responsible boy" 1. Race is a huge factor for this stereotype and is called adultification bias. The video explained that people think black girls need less nurturing, protection, and support. 2. I think that class and gender play a huge part in why adults are scared of the youth. Many times i think adults think of themselves and what they did as a kid. You should think of every child as an individual. 3. Media plays a huge role in our society and makes people think and act a certain way. It can have many pressures on an individual and make them think that they are not welcome. In my experience, many teachers would often assume that I would want to play sports so they would offer these options to me. I like to play s...
Thanks for your post Mark. I appreciate your reflection on this SWRK class and the deep discussion of privilege that you explored. I think you're right that privilege can sometimes be a tricky term--and that this label for white folks can feel like a negation of very real life struggles. I wonder, what were the ingredients in that class that supported the brave space and allowed folks to stay with a challenging discussion?
ReplyDeleteI like how you were able to differentiate the words privilege and experience for yourself. I think the social work as well as the YDEV courses have very open and understanding spaces for conversations like these which are so important. It is also very important to listen to understand vs listening and responding and I think these spaces allow this for us all.
ReplyDeleteI like how you talked about how it can be an ongoing conversation in this setting and needs to be something that doesn't last one day in order for everyone to be able to speak what is on their mind and truly learn about the topic.
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