Degrees of Difference

If I was teaching a course on social justice, I would consider using Degrees of Difference: Women of Color on Graduate School, edited by Kimberly D. McKee and Denise A. Delgado. The text is a series of essays by women of color in graduate school programs , mostly in the liberal arts. The book was to highlight different voices and give advice to women of color as they proceed through graduate school. While some essays are useful productive statements, others seem to wallow in victimization.

One area that most authors commented on was the limited number of women of color in graduate school and working as professors. Aeriel Ashlee says, "none of the eleven scholars representing my new academic community- five doctoral students and six faculty members- look like me" (p. 135). She goes on to state that, "Not seeing myself represented in the scholars of my academic program at new student orientation was just one of many racial microaggressions I have endured in my graduate education" (p. 135). The theme of microaggressions carries out throughout the volume. The problem as I see it is that if there is no affront intended to view it all as an aggression and oppression is a heavy mantle. Amongst the 11 people in her program were there any blind people? Is that a microaggression against the visually impaired? In a group that small, people would be hard pressed to include a representation from all. The US census includes six groups- white, black or African American, Native American or Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or other.  Even getting representation from all of these broad and limited groups would be challenging in a group of eleven.

The concept of microaggressions includes the idea that unintended or perceived slights are act of aggression.  I think this takes things too far. There are enough outright aggressive acts to worry about. Putting unequal racial representation in a graduate program on the same level as mocking a person's accent (as one author does) is ridiculous. Saying that someone asking where you are from, in a graduate program is the same as adding work load because of the color of someone's skin makes the argument less strong. My daughter- a white girl- attends school in Georgia. She is frequently asked where she is from. This is not an affront or attempt to show that she does not belong. If we see ourselves as victims, we perceive the actions of others as hurtful independent of the intent.

It cannot be denied that women and people of color are discriminated against. While affirmative action has made some changes into the landscape of the professional world, it has also sparked backlash that representatives are not as good as others and only included because of quotas. This minimizes their contributions and continues the wall of prejudice. We need to hold a high bar for all people. Diversity is important and strengthens an organization, but we need to work toward diverse workplaces and learning places that foster respect for all.

The authors do offer excellent advice about finding mentors and support people who can help navigate the waters of a challenging academic program. They highlight the fallacy that a woman can do it all- raise a family, go to school, take care of the home- equally well; at times each task will take precedence and others need to be brought in to help. In the Epilogue the editors offer the following seven suggestions that apply to everyone:

1. "Be comfortable with sharing your writing early and often.
2.  Writing groups are critical.
3. External funding is not you against the world.
4. The job market is not for the faint of heart.
5. Collegiality is key.
6. Building networks with one another is critical.
7. Don't be afraid to discuss rejection." (p. 170)

This advice is pertinent to any graduate student and in the professional world, any employee.

A book that made me think about how I interact with others. Not an easy read- it was written as components of many graduate level publishing requirements. It does shine a light on white privilege that is worth considering.

Fun-Tastic Activities round 2

Going through my shelves I picked up Fun-Tastic Activities for Differentiating Comprehension Instruction Grades 2-6 by Sandra K. Athans and Denise Ashe Devine. I picked up the book in 2014 and blogged about it here where I pulled the ideas to secondary topics. Since then I have spent more time with elementary students and would like to comment on the application of their ideas there.

They present Literacy Bins as a component of a guided activities. Using the bins to reinforce content area information and strategy use, the students get to use choice to help develop their skills. They use a tic-tack-toe framework to present ideas. More modern approaches might call it a choice board and computerize it. Certainly adding additional technology based activities would be possible.

One idea they have is fact or fiction where they ask students to sort cards as presenting facts or fiction and using available resources to check their responses. Having students manipulate cards can be motivating. Self-check responses could be established. This concept would be useful to reinforce both the ELA goal and the social studies goal around identifying facts and providing evidence to support a claim. They present many drama, music and art ideas to inspire students. Using this sort of activity would require regular presentation time so that students could share what they learn.

The text presents many bin ideas, but then it also presents rubrics on how to assess success. These rubrics are both for teachers to assess student work and for students to assess their own progress. Since many personalized learning approaches stress both choice and self-reflection, this book can inform both areas.

An easy read that remains relevant. Enjoy.

Empire Builders

Years ago a friend gave me a pile of books that I am now working my way through. Burton W. Folsom, Jr.'s book Empire Builders: How Michigan Entrepreneurs Helped Make America Great is a text that could easily be used in high schools. The overarching message is an economic one- private ownership trumps government run business. A great set of case studies that could be placed side by side by others to look at that concept in an economics course.

The chapter that I really enjoyed, however, was on John Jacob Astor, a man I had never heard of, who was the richest man in the country at one point in his life. He created a fur trading empire that successfully competed with the federal government. John C. Calhoun worked against him. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was involved. It is an interesting snapshot of what was going on in the "wilderness" of the territory of Michigan. Both a cautionary tale and a rags to riches tale, it might inspire some students to pursue entrepreneurialship.

I would not be surprised to hear that people running Trump's 2016 campaign are referring to the text with their slogan- Make America Great Again. It definitely positively paints the ultra-wealthy businessmen as the path to greatness for a region. This would be an interesting enrichment project for a student looking to go into greater depth.

The book is an easy read. Each chapter stands well on its own. It offers a very positive glimpse of wealth in America. Sections would be an interesting contrast to the writings of Henry James or political cartoons from the Gilded Age.

If you can find the book, an interesting read.

Understanding Autism

I picked up the recent New York Times magazine Understanding Autism while waiting in line at the store. It has four major sections: child and family, autism and science, aiding the autistic and autism in our culture. While a couple of the articles are bout science, the majority of the text is a series of essays about living with autism. Some are from parents' point of views, others from siblings. Each captures a glimpse of the world of a person with autism.

Susan Dominus wrote about Ben Hirasuma in "An Office with Room for Understanding." Ben works for Auticon, a business in California that specialized in hiring people on the spectrum. The author comments on being the "norm in an office, rather than an exception, is an unqualified relief" (p. 48). Often I have heard expressed the relief and joy people with disabilities feel when then interact with others like them. While we push for integration into regular education programs and mainstreaming, we often fail to appreciate the importance in connecting with others like ourselves. Ben clearly finds peace in being the norm not the outlier. As parents we want our children with disabilities to be fully included into society and accepted as they are. When they are challenged, however, it is a relief for them to know that there are others out there like themselves. Finding support groups and social groups that connect us to others is normal for adults- there are cancer and other illness related support groups for individuals and their families, substance abuse support groups, and parents of children with disability groups. Rarely, however, do we see such groups at schools. Perhaps we should see more of them- and not push the members to make more connects with "normal" people.

Marie Myung-Ok Lee pens an essay, "The Trouble with Autism in Novels." She is a parent of a child on the spectrum, author and professor. She laments the way people on the spectrum are at as symbolic elements in literature. I lament the need of all literature professors to see symbolism where none exists. (In high school I penned an essay about the relationship between Zeena and her cat in Ethan Frome. No, I do not believe such a relationship exists, but I do believe we see what we ae looking for in our reading when we are closely looking to analyze text.) I am afraid that she is putting thoughts and generalizations into literature that were not intended by the author.

This text offers interesting glimpses into the world of people with autism. Such reading is important for others interacting with those on the spectrum- I mean everyone.