This week’s articles were very informative and gave an in-depth knowledge of race, racism and racial projects and racial formation. The article Racial Formation by Omi and Winant was very informative and rich in language. There were many words that I didn’t understand right away. I had to open the dictionary to get the exact meaning. It was a great exercise and I would like to do another one. I truly enjoyed reading the article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack by Peggy McIntosh. It had a list of I CANS. This reminded me of the I CAN extra credit project, I had for my students. The project was worth 5 points of extra credit. The students had to put together a can. They had to decorate it and then add three small pieces of paper in it, with their I CANs in it. I had asked them to write anything that they found challenging but they CAN do it if they put their mind to it. This was an exercise for them to make some resolutions in the New Year. Some of the students did the project and some didn’t. But that is beside the point. The point I am making is that WE REALLY CAN do so many things. Some things, like the article said, we are oblivious of. Some things we take for granted. I am a racial minority in this country. However, my race doesn’t fall under the minority group so I do not even qualify for the privileges, if any, the minority enjoy (?). But I can understand what the true minority goes through based on all the reading that I did this weekend.
I also personally felt discriminated against especially in the field of education. I felt that I am in the midst of a white community and perhaps don’t stand a chance to find job. However, I was wrong. I must admit that I did get a temporary assignment after all. The assignment is for a short period of time but it is my first experience teaching in a public school. In future will I find a permanent job? I don’t know. Will I feel dejected or disappointed? May be I will. But I am so resilient and content that I don’t blame the system. I look at positive things in life. I have a beautiful family, a caring partner and a loving child. But can I remain passive about the whole situation, just because I am content in life? No, I must voice my opinion when needed. I do agree that radical transformations are needed for the system to change. Just the EEO laws and the EEO statement on the job application are not sufficient for this purpose. We do need more affirmative actions in reality, not just on paper. At the same time, I do want to remind us all that America has had the first African American president ever in this century. So a radical change is possible; it may be slow. And we are all responsible for it. If we all contribute proactively to this cause we can change the system rather expeditiously.
As a woman, I also fall under the class of “less advantaged” so to speak. I liked the comparison between Male Advantages and White Advantages by Peggy McIntosh in her article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack. The issue of Male Advantages is world wide. American Society can not ignore the fact that some progressive societies in Eastern Countries have had women presidents or prime ministers. E.g. India had elected a female prime minister in 1966. Countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have had female presidents in the last century as well. In the history of America, there hasn’t been a female President so far. Having said that I am not implying that the women of the East and Far East are liberated and don’t need to do anything about their situation. Women do need to be empowered in order to overcome a lot of injustice done to them regardless of their geographic location.
HI Neeti,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I agree that the article 'Racial Formation' had words which needed to be looked up, indeed a learning experience.
And I also agree with you that Indians are a minority in the field of school education. But, do not be discouraged, I know of many Indian women(suprising, no Indian men) who are teaching in public schools and are satisfied with their job.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading your article. I like that activity you did with your students a lot. I will probably adopt it to my classroom. I think we need more positive in our classrooms because if students have self confidence and feel they are in a positive, safe environment, they are more likely to learn and excel. I bet you that was an activity that many will remember for the rest of their lives. I would not worry about finding a job. Many schools want diverse faculty to represent their diverse students. If anything, it is a positive to come from a different background. Having few Indian women in the field should be looked at as a positive! Maybe you will make an impact in the field! As for affirmative action, I fear with that it creates more division because those left out will be angry and the problem will be worsened. Tensions between different people will rise. We need to change attitudes in society. Laws never change anything, people do. We need to educate the people in this nation to be accepting in a modern era.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the positive remarks. I feel I CAN make a difference and perhaps that's why I am here in this course. I almost gave up though, :-). It would be unfair if I get a job and someone more qualified will not, just because I belong to a different race and that I am a woman. But again one must trust the judgement of the interviewer/authority and let it go. The judgement may or may not be in one's favour. Indian people don't come under minority. As far as race is concerned Indians, along with a bunch of people of South Asian countries (like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet) come under Asian category as far as race goes. This category also includes people of China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan etc. and other far eastern countries.
I have heard this in our church group that " If We Don't Then Who Will?" and "If It Is Not Now Then When?" What that means is that we all need to take responsibility without any delay (for whatever it may be)