Social Issues Blog FNED

It is interesting how life works and the timing of events. Just this weekend the concept of detouring was brought to my attention. Then 24 hours later I read the articles: "The unexamined Whiteness of teaching: how White teachers maintain and enact dominant racial ideologies" and "why talk about whiteness", and these articles discuss detouring without explicating naming it as detouring.  Detouring is a new idea that I am still working through and understanding but from what I understand in this current moment, it is when a White person uses tactic to detour from discussing race and racism and therefore maintain their dominance and privilege. Detouring can take many forms and are actively used daily.  When reading "The unexamined Whiteness of teaching: how White teachers maintain and enact dominant racial ideologies" especially, I couldn’t help but think "that’s a detour, that’s a detour, that’s a detour".  The first instanc...

After reading the articles this week and watching the video this week, there were several things on my mine that I wanted to reflect on. These thoughts do not necessarily flow from one idea to the next seamlessly. Here they are: I had no idea the Black Lives Matter movement was created or founded by 3 women!  Using a school environment to help students and facility understand the inequities base on race  Larger system that is not broken  white-on-white crime   To be honest, before reading about Black Likes Matter and it's development, I wasn't aware of its true purpose or foundation. When I read that 3 women started the movement, I became very excited! I think it is refreshing and foreshadowing that 3 women started such a powerful statement. I am very glad I was given the opportunity to read more about Black Lives Matter movement and its true purpose, "Our goal is to support the development of new Black Leaders, as well as create a network where B...

Below are a few thoughts I had about the readings:  Against the Dark: Antiblackness in Education Policy and Discourse , You’re Asian. How Could You Fail Math? Unmasking the myth of the model minority , and Race: Some Teachable—and Uncomfortable—Moments Thought 1-  This thought is general to all the readings. After reading After reading  You're Asian, How Could You Fail Math? ,   Against the Dark: Antiblackness in Education Policy and Discourse and  Race: Some Teachable-- and Uncomfortable-- Moments    my mind was swirling with thoughts. I ended up spending some time silently reflecting and also spent some time discussing what I read with some close friends. I needed to talk these ideas out to try and gain some ground of understanding and comprehension. Being able to understand how my daily actions affect these topics is crucial. Thought 2- Teacher vs. Learner. At the end of the Race: Some Teachable-- and Uncomfortable-- Moments the au...

After reading the article, "Locating Yourself for Your Students",  I checked it off my to do list and honestly thought it would stop there. I figured I would only think about it again when it was time to write this blog. However, Friday evening at dinner I found myself turning to a fellow teacher and saying, "so I just read an article that suggested teachers who discuss their identity tend to have more successes teaching". My fellow teacher, said they weren't surprised, I followed up with saying, "well in the article the authors also suggested that whiteness is invisible". Our conversation continued forward and we went on to discuss how our students similar to, the students written about, probably appreciate it when teachers, like us, white and privileged, discuss the elephant in the room.  This one sentence, "whiteness is often treated as invisible" (285) has struck a cord with me. I haven't necessarily thought about whiteness this...

Hi All,  Just wanted to take a moment and quickly introduce myself.  My name is Eleanor deMuth. I teach chemistry to 10th graders at Evolutions High School, which is a new public school in Rhode Island. I am in the I.Med Program at Rhode Island College and am excited to almost have my masters! In my spare time I like to workout, hike and explore with friends, and take my dog on walks (see photo below). Sometimes though, a relaxing day watching movies or reading a good book can go a long way! Looking forward to getting to know everyone!  Best,  Eleanor