Racism in peanut butter & jelly (Page 2)

Why do you hate America??

The funny thing is it is likely that every single person who has read this thread knows what a PB&J is regardless or your background or country of origin.  I don't have to explain it to you while I am trying to teach you math.  I don't have to explain it to you while I am trying to teach you the word.  Seems to me that that is pretty universal across subcultures within American culture.  Kind of like tacos and burgers and a number of other things that have worked their way into our SHARED popular culture.

just feelin' guilty about my white privelege, that's all.

Racist

jmk-brooklyn - 2012-09-12 3:43 PM

trinnas - 2012-09-12 2:25 PM

jmk-brooklyn - 2012-09-12 3:17 PM

trinnas - 2012-09-12 12:03 PM

If you are trying to teach a problem about acceleration are you fundamentally racist or culturally insensitive if you use a Dodge Viper in your question insead of a Datsun Roadster or a Triumph Spitfire?

 

I don’t think that’s what the argument is. I think the principal’s point is that it’s culturally insensitive, as well as ineffective, if you only use examples/symbols/analogies that are likely to be understood by only one segment of your student population and not by others. Her point was that we think of the PBJ sandwich as being a universal symbol of “lunch” or “food”, but perhaps it only seems that way because of the culture we were raised under. It’s not that we shouldn’t try to integrate students with other cultural backgrounds into our American culture, but you’re not going to be effective as a teacher if you don’t acknowledge that certain things that resonate as examples with “typical” American kids might not mean anything to kids who were brought up differently. There’s nothing wrong with using a Dodge Viper as an example in a physics problem, but if the kids in your class have never seen a Dodge Viper and don’t know that it’s a fast sports car, they aren’t going to understand the example unless you take the time to explain it to them. A teacher who uses a Viper, or anything, really, as a symbol in an example should be conscious of what, if anything, that symbol means to everyone in the class rather than assume that every kid is going to get that Dodge Viper=Fast Car.

The funny thing is it is likely that every single person who has read this thread knows what a PB&J is regardless or your background or country of origin.  I don't have to explain it to you while I am trying to teach you math.  I don't have to explain it to you while I am trying to teach you the word.  Seems to me that that is pretty universal across subcultures within American culture.  Kind of like tacos and burgers and a number of other things that have worked their way into our SHARED popular culture.

True, although I would make the argument that most of the people reading this thread are adults (chronologically, at least ) and the principal was referring to kids. I think she chose a bad example in that, to your point, a PB&J sandwich is pretty universal, but I think her general point is a good one. Not all symbols that we generally see as universal will be viewed as such by a child who wasn't brought up in our culture, and it's worth considering that as you try to teach them. If a teacher is trying to compare the struggle between two characters in a book, and he describes their conflict as being “like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader”, that reference isn’t going to mean anything to a kid from a different country who may not know what Star Wars is. Her point is that it’s insensitive for a teacher to assume that symbols are universal for all kids regardless of their background.

I don't think using common American cultural references in an American public school is in any way insensitive. It may not be effective, but it's not insensitive. Then again, maybe it is effective in helping those students better adapt to the culture in which they live thereby possibly improving their chances at a successful life within that culture. Was it insensitive for my HS German teacher to speak only in German? I had no idea what she was talking about at first, but I learned because I had to learn. And now, 30+ years later, I know how to say various rude things in German.

jmk-brooklyn - 2012-09-12 1:43 PM  True, although I would make the argument that most of the people reading this thread are adults (chronologically, at least ) and the principal was referring to kids. I think she chose a bad example in that, to your point, a PB&J sandwich is pretty universal, but I think her general point is a good one. Not all symbols that we generally see as universal will be viewed as such by a child who wasn't brought up in our culture, and it's worth considering that as you try to teach them. If a teacher is trying to compare the struggle between two characters in a book, and he describes their conflict as being “like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader”, that reference isn’t going to mean anything to a kid from a different country who may not know what Star Wars is. Her point is that it’s insensitive for a teacher to assume that symbols are universal for all kids regardless of their background.

When I moved to Australia at 5-10... I had my first Vegimite sandwich. The most God aweful spead ever created... but it was their peanut butter and they ate it as such... in fact, peanut butter was hard to come by there. Nobody catered to my cultural sensitivities when they made fun of my American accent and beat me up for being a Yankee... some how I managed to live through that. Incredibly, I managed to come through with my self identity intact and not scared for life.

To this day, PBJs are favorite food group. Sometimes I get fancy and use Honey. I eat a loaf a week of them. God Bless America.

You are not really going to use Star Wars as the example here are you????  With it's world wide sales and distribution figures?!?!? 

Nah, it's about white privilege and racism.

I've read that article a couple of times and you are making a way better point than the Principal, and the author, though I don't fully agree with any of you.

There is no reference anywhere that will encompass everyone so you have to go with what is relevant to the vast majority.  American popculture references in an American school has the greatest chance of being meaningful to the greatest # of people.  If you refuse to explain to or ridicule the child who does not get the reference when he/she asks then we have a problem.

I thought it was about white cake with strawberry icing.

I'll go with ineffective, but not insensitive. Too much sensitivity is not a good thing.

TOUCHDOWN!

I agree that teachers need to be aware of racial/cultural differences in their students and use the most effective references for a particular class. However:

The newspaper provided information about a drum corps that was set up for black and Latino boys. One parent complained that the class discriminated against women, Asians, whites and Native Americans.

Guitierrez defended the class and denied it was discriminatory.

“When white people do it, it is not a problem,” she told the Tribune. “But if it’s for kids of color, then it’s a problem? Break it down for me. That’s your white privilege, and your whiteness.”

 Near the end:

He said they don’t want to make any student feel unwelcomed – intentionally or unintentionally that might disconnect a child or a family from the educational system.

They don't want to make any student feel unwelcome, but they have no problem setting up a group that excludes a portion of the student body for no reason other than their gender and/or race. I just don't understand.