#UMCOEd Archive
Want to talk about diversity and inclusion concepts and what they mean to you. Join the University of Montevallo College of Education (#UMCOEd)!
Monday October 17, 2016
9:00 PM EDT
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Welcome to diversity chat 2! We will be discussing discriminatory behaviors. Welcome All!
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& are our other moderators tonight.
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I agree, it should be the offended, but I think the offender often has the power of voice in the situation
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Please take a minute to introduce yourself, tell us where you are tweeting from and your job/title
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Anna--forever questioning and doubting and lrng. at UM!
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Hi! I'm Amy Samuels, faculty member in Leadership in the COE at UM. Tweeting from Bham, AL
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Jennifer Alexiou-Ray College of Education at the University of Montevallo
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Latofia, assistant professor in counseling..tweeting from my home office.
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We got started early, Amy!
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Y'all did...you were so excited for the discussion :)
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With a cute little guy running around the room, I bet! https://t.co/PeQJTp08FE
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Latofia, assistant professor in counseling..tweeting from my home office.
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We’ll use Q1...Q2...A1...A2... format for our chat. Don’t forget 2 use for your tweets & A# to indicate the question ur answering
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Question Schedule
Q1--8:09
Q2--8:16
Q3--8:23
Q4--8:30
Q5--8:37
Q6--8:44
FQ (final question)--8:51
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******Q1 coming up (1 min. warning)*******
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It's an important topic, so yes--I guess I am excited to discuss!
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Q1: What are some examples of subtle discrimination in the classroom/workplace/clinical setting?
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A1: Lowered expectations 4 marginalized groups, assuming parents don’t care. Language like “these kids” or “she’s so articulate.”
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A1: Subtle discrimination = stereotypical media portrayals of southern people or rich people; actually,media maybe not so subtle!
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A1: Assuming a girl will cry. Thinking all Hispanic children are immigrants or speak Spanish. Assumptions based on group membership.
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I agree, the media isn't very subtle. Ha!
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"Lowered expectations" ouch! I visited rural, poor district today. https://t.co/7ZfMbYsHnJ
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A1: Lowered expectations 4 marginalized groups, assuming parents don’t care. Language like “these kids” or “she’s so articulate.”
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Overt discrimination = deplorable; subtle discrimination = passive remarks; played off as, “I’m just kidding!”
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I once read lower expectations are the worst form of discrimination for oppressed students.
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Yes b/c sts live up or down to whatever they think we expect!
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I think it's just like saying someone isn't as smart or they "can't" perform
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Or even better--"but I'm not a racist"
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And actually believing they can't
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Absolutely---might as well just say it outright.
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I agree lowered expectations of students/clients.
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Sometimes not even knowing it is offensive and inappropriate
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******Q2 coming up (1 min. warning)*******
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Do counselors have pre-conceived ideas when a client walks in?!
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Q2: What is the impact of branding individuals for certain tasks or functions in the classroom/work/clinical setting/home?
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A1: Minimizes opportunities, growth for many.Perpetuates inequity for some, power and privilege for others. Reinforces stereotypes
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Funny you ask, I did an experiment in class and based on the responses their were several pre-conceived notions
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A2: Choosing tall, physically mature st to handle physical classrm chores; short or skinny st doesn’t feel as able
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Oh, you HAVE to share! Curiosity!
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Choosing quiet, neat st w/good handwriting to take notes; loud, messy, doodler doesn’t feel as capable
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From someone whose literally spent a lifetime in rural, poor districts; lowered expectations is an educators greatest hurdle
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A2: I bet you have quite a few stories
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Branding assumes that a person even wants to do the thing you are asking him/her to complete
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For tchrs who entered profession to make a difference---we must overcome this tendency!
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A2: In elem. school I was told girls don't play the trumpet. So I played the clarinet instead and dropped out of music in a year
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LOL---I don't even WANT to take notes, or dust the eraser, or move the bks, or whatever! Ask me!
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Branding also assumes that others are not capable without giving them an opportunity.
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A1: after literally spending a lifetime in poor, rural districts; low expectations is one of the educators greatest challenges
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And there you go. I was told that girls don't usually take the higher level math courses in HS! So, I didn't.
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******Q3 coming up (1 min. warning)*******
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We limit potential---usually unintentionally, but the harm is done..
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I still wonder if I could have played beautiful jazz on the trumpet. We can't let our kids wonder what if!
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Q3: What is the impact of telling “gay/blonde/fat” and other jokes in any setting?
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A3: Pet peeve rant coming on!
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Mom always said, “Humor at another’s expense is never funny.” Tough but true!
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A3: Besides being indecent? There is usually a person that has been impacted by the jokes.
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A3: When I hear “ginger” jokes, I feel uncomfortable. Such jokes dehumanize and make “isms” acceptable in dominant discourse.
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These jokes demoralize and demean groups of people. Funny until it’s about you.
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A3: Stereotypical joking might be funny to some but it usually is not funny to the person it is geared towards.
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A1: don't forget stereotypical portrayals of poor people as well (dirty, lazy, etc..,)
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A3: I always hated blonde jokes in HS. I was usually lumped under blonde & red-head jokes about temper
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Same with blond jokes and I'm not a real blond!
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And the sad thing is...I'm guilty! Innocent fun is not innocent!
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Such jokes help NORMALIZE racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression.
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Unfortunately, I think we are all guilty
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******Q4--coming up (1 min. warning)*******
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St who never takes notes in class= perceived as “lazy” or just good auditory memory?
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Q4: What makes the phrases, “Black Lives Matter” and “All Lives Matter,” so contentious?
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A3: My granny use to say, you can tell alot about how a person thinks about you in the jokes they tell.
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Wisdom and a sobering thought for all of us!
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A4: All Lives Matter is not wrong b/c they do, but it misses the pt. BLM tries to highlight racism in criminal justice system
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A3: So if a person jokinkgly says something demeaning about another person, these are things he/she believe in thier heart
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I hope not but if we get real---the heart must be examined! Takes courage to face our our discriminatory behaviors!
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A4: BLM highlights inequities & violence against the black community, opponents think it values black lives over other lives.
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I get it, but ALM (even tho they DO) can pull attention away critical conversation.
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A4: Many think ALM continues to imply and perpetuate the belief that race doesn’t matter
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And they demonstrated some preconceived ideas about those individuals based on...?
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Absolutely! Many say it's the black/brown lives subjected to violence each day, so that needs to be the focus
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******Q5--coming up (1 min. warning)*******
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Q5: How do background/identity/experience affect a person’s perception that certain words/actions/displays/events are “offensive?”
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Now that's a fascinating article waiting to be written!
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Q5: We all have lenses by which we see things based on past experiences
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A5: I'm a middle-aged white lady who has the privilege of lots of education--what's offensive to me is diff than to others!
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Right---even the era in which we're born, the family, the state...all of it provides the lens by which we interpret offense!
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A5: We all have lenses by which we see things based on past experiences
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unfortunately, some educators want to see their students "learn" the way they learned when they were students. smh
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A5: Might not know a word is offensive if never heard —especially young kids! I’ve had to shuuusshh mine in public!
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A5: Exposure is critical, shapes what we consider acceptable/offensive. While words are just words, power & implications come with
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Yes, we tend to pine for the old days, reverting to what's familiar or comfortable. Takes courage to change!
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Of course they were. Wow.
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this is why there are whole jobs devoted to making sure heads of state don't embarrass themselves in other countries
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******Q6--coming up (1 min. warning)*******
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Such an important concept--hard to teach!
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I find it interesting that people in the same family can see things so differently
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Q6: How do people become more knowledgeable about subtle forms of discrimination?
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The power of the media is difficult to combat.
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Amazing. Really, you have a study started!
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A6: 1 way is by brave people being willing to speak up when they see/hear something discriminatory
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A6: Exposure, engaging in conversation, willing to listen, interacting with people unlike ourselves, going outside comfort zones
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I think it speaks to socially constructed, but also individually constructed bias.
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A5Research indicates that stereotypical opinions are rooted in children by the age of 3 by the adults that they spend the most time
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A4: I had a convesation with a friend about this yesterday. Saying All Lives Matter while talking about BLM is disingenious.
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A6: being willing to acknowledge cognitive dissonance and make changes in oneself
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A6: Bold conversations; listening w/open heart & mind; don't get defensive
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Great point! And what our individual "reality" allows us to see
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A4: Proponents of BLM are not saying All lives don't matter they are saying we are at this moment focusing on Black lives.
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I'm not as bold as I shld be...many times I leave or remain silent---makes me complicit in the offense!
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I remember a 4 yr old who wouldn't play w/Hannah's black/brown babydolls when she came over to our house!
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A4: It's like going to a breast cancer walk and saying, "all cancer matter." That is true but we walking for breast cancer now.
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Not getting defensive is challenging when we are socially normed to get defensive about such conversations
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******Q7(FQ)--coming up (1 min. warning)*******
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It fails to recognize the purpose of BLM!
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Have done that before too.
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Q7(FQ): Give a practical example of how a person might combat subtle discriminatory behaviors in the classroom or clinical setting.
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Exactly. My job as a white American is to be quiet and listen in order to better understand.
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Reminds me of F. Douglass & his comments, while women are important, we need to focus on Af-Am voting rights right now
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Excellent example. I will remember this.
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A7: Engage in discourse. Ask, “I’m curious, what do you mean what you say ___?” We must be willing to have courageous conversations.
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Love my social studies teacher colleagues!
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Q7: I think the most practical thing we can do is ask our students/clients. "What discriminatory behaviors do you find offensive?"
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Q7: They are the experts on what is discriminatory/offensive to them and we can't be too afraid to broach the subject with them.
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A7: It occurs to me that we can't have courageous conversations about diversity if we aren't diverse!
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Q7: Assuming we know what is personally discriminatory for them takes away the opportunity for them to tell their lived experiences.
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I feel affirmed to read these words, Latofia, b/c I think this too.
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We would like to thank everyone for joining us tonight. Come back on Nov. 28, 8PM for more of the diversity chat
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Absolutely! Cross cultural conversations are critical
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Amy & I have reflected on the social and individual construction of bias & how it impacts us...
