07/20/2020
Today is the first day of the challenge. The first week of this challenge asks us to think about ourselves, our values, and our institutions. Here’s a little more information about this week’s challenges:
• Day 1: Today, we’ve asked you to write about your values, how you bring those values into the classroom and why you are participating in this challenge. As an example, one of the things I value is family. Because the bonds of family are so important to me, I try to build a strong community in my classrooms. I spend a lot of time trying to get to know my students and to understand who they are. In the context of this challenge, I know that in my majority-white classrooms, students of color are more likely to feel like they don’t belong. I’m trying to think carefully in this challenge about how to make the community in my classroom more inclusive.
• Day 2: Take one or more of Project Implicit’s Bias Tests These tests help to reveal unconscious or implicit bias. The way I usually describe this bias is, “your brain making decisions without your knowledge.” We all have some implicit bias in part because we live and work in social structures and institutions that have a long history of bias. Learning more about our own implicit bias brings awareness to our unintended thoughts and actions that could influence how we interact with our students.
• Day 3: Here’s where things really start to get hard. On day three you are asked to read one of two articles about meritocracy – the belief that talent and effort are rewarded with power, authority status, and/or wealth (Liu). Meritocracy is often at the center of our university’s values. We look to student achievement to determine who gains admission, who earns a scholarship, who attains academic honors. Meritocracy is central to our lives and yet we often think of merit without regard for differential opportunities.
• Day 4: Watch Jean Cheng’s What’s Race Got to Do with It, a film chronicling student experiences at UC Berkeley and their discussions about race. While the film is somewhat dated, released in 2006, I think you will find the students’ voices still relevant in today’s racial landscape on college/university campuses.
• Day 5: Read Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person. The article references Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack but the link is broken (that’s what I get for sending you to a HuffPo article). But I think the article is helpful when thinking about the categories of privilege to which we may or may not belong. The McIntosh article is worth the read as well.
Finally, this week’s weekend bonus asks you to spend some time on websites that link to racial justice in East Tennessee. If you are able to visit some of these websites, you’ll find a rich history of social justice in the region. When the student 21 Day Antiracist challenge is released in September, they will be asked to engage with some of these websites as well.
Happy Learning. Please feel free to share the challenge with colleagues and friends. And you can post about your experiences on this journey using hashtag.
