Don't See Color?

I'm sure you've heard this before. A teacher proudly proclaims that he or she sees no color when looking at his or her students. All the kids are the same. And then maybe you've heard some applause from the audience.

There was a time when I saw nothing wrong with this. It seems like a great idea to treat all students exactly the same, right?

Well, we are actually taught the opposite in teacher education programs. We are taught to adapt assignments for particular learning styles and abilities. We are taught to treat each student as an individual, special person. And race is part of what makes a person who he is.

Even if you don't see race, your students do. My first day of teaching, I saw many heads peeking in the window of my trailer door. And I heard a lot of whispering and shouting to each other, details about the new teacher. And what did I hear? "She's white!"

If you don't notice your student's race, you are denying a part of who she is. You are not really seeing her completely, and you aren't accepting her completely.

Once I observed a teacher's classroom while the book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was being taught. There were three African American students in a predominantly white class. The discussions seemed so strained, like there was an elephant in the room that was being ignored: race. Conversations surrounded the unfair events of the past, as if racism completely ceased to exist after the 1960s. Mildred Taylor's book is a wonderful jumping off point for discussing racism throughout history, for discussing individual experiences of racism and inequality.

You have to be fearless and honest. You need to have a classroom where students feel "seen," accepted, and safe. In my most diverse class, we had the very best discussions, because we were honest with each other. They knew I was white, and I acknowledged it. One kid even teased me about my being prejudiced against him when I disciplined him and not another student. He said, "I'm in trouble, because I'm black, right? Oh wait, he's black too." And we laughed.

I'm not saying that it's easy. It can be very hard. (You have to be an expert moderator, because you never know what your students might say.) But, I can tell you, the rewards are well worth the effort. :-)