Saturday, September 1, 2012

Ch. 2: Question 8 ("Color-Blind")


 The statement “color-blind” refer to  accepting different people for who they are and not their race .  Many teachers say that they are color blind because they do not discriminate when teaching students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.  We all know that being fair and treating our student with respect is a major part of being a teacher, but sometimes, and without knowing it, teachers make distinctions on race or culture.  An example is putting students in groups according to their race.  Not all Black students work well in groups, not all Latino students are second language learners, and not all Asian American students are high achievers.  While there may be central tendencies within groups, teachers must avoid creating stereotypical profiles of students that may do more harm than good.  Instead, teachers should develop individual profiles of students. 

 Another example is the mistake that can be made by teachers of color is assuming that being a member of the same racial or ethnic group as one’s students automatically gives one a unique ability to connect to or effectively teach students of color.  They are different ways in which race, ethnicity, culture, language, and social class are manifested in young people’s lives are constantly in flux and constantly changing according to their socioeconomic status.  Therefore, it is important to for all teachers to understand that while there may be experiences that allow teachers of different races to relate to certain realities of their students, this is not necessarily a given.  It is something you have to work on daily.

3 comments:

  1. Teaching is definitely a daily practice. Thanks for your post! I love your idea of developing individual profiles and doing our best to aviod stereotypical profiles.

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  2. When teachers say that they are color blind, it means they treat all of their students equally and provide them with equal educational opportunities. However, the race and ethnicity of every student in a diverse classroom is very important to their own identity. Each student has their own learning process according to their own cultural way. I think if a student’s race and ethnicity are ignored, then the teacher would not be able to build good relationships with the students. Also as teachers, we should implement instructional strategies where learning is relevant to the students’ cultural contexts. Also, teachers should understand, value, and respect the cultures of all their students.
    Multicultural education in a diverse classroom enhances a student’s learning and makes it more interesting and exciting. Based on my experience in college, some of the class discussions were uninteresting because they were completely US-history based, whereas some teachers made the instructions more engaging by connecting them to different cultures. As a teacher, I observed that the students are more interested in multi-cultural education than the stereotyped lesson plans.

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  3. Comment on Color-blind
    This is a very good explanation of the term “color-blind”. With this kind of understanding it is incumbent on educators to make sure in their respective classes to remove every trace of stereotyping, prejudice or even racism. The role of an educator is to relate to every student in a manner that will never live in the mind of a student an under tone of the three evils; racism, stereotyping or prejudice.

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