White Privilege"I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group." Below is a list of Daily Effects of White Privilege "I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks." McIntosh, P. (1989). White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. In Peace and Freedom Magazine. (July/August, 1989), pp. 10-12. A Class DividedA Class Divided is such a fascinating film to watch and reflect upon. To think that third graders who were recently so close to one another, would immediately grow drastically apart within minutes is terrifying. I started thinking about my own family history and our complicated roots in Nazi Germany. Half of my family directly opposed the Nazi party and were Jewish sympathizers (they were caught and were sent off to camps). The other half of my family was forced into the war and became brainwashed. After the war, they were ashamed of what they had done. Places of power can shift at any point of time, and that is what scares me. It repeats throughout history, and this film made me more conscientious of the consequences of privilege and power and how I need to be aware of any changes. I need to be aware not only for myself, but for my students too. Probably the most interesting and most shocking part of this 'experiment' was the radical drop of scores in less-privileged students and the elevated scores in more-privileged students. This is a scary consequence and reaction to how our environment greatly affects whether we succeed in life. Is this where #masculinitysofragile stems from? The idea of losing your privilege and thus, losing your confidence to do well in life? Frontline. (n.d.). A Class Divided. Retrieved May 11, 2017, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ Starting SmallStarting Small (1997) is a film that visits several schools across the United States that have implemented creative solutions to battle racism and segregation. These schools are examples of multicultural advocacy in school curriculum. I particularly enjoyed a lesson from Happy Medium School in Seattle, Washington, where students found what color of skin they were through the application of paint. Students were not "white" or "black," rather, students were a wide variety of colors like "mahogany" or "peach." McGovern, M. (Director). (1997). Starting Small: Teaching Children Tolerance [Motion picture on VHS]. USA. Art Educators as Covert Liberators Art education has taken a multitude of forms throughout history via numerous mediums; whether supported by the public or not, art education has been of inestimable worth. Art education has struggled throughout history, and continues to do so. Regardless of numerous hurdles, art education has persevered. Art educators have mostly been unnoticed shadows of progressive achievement throughout history, yet have continued their work regardless of society’s views of them. This paper will explore Paulo Freire, Kerry Freedman, and Mary Belenky as guides for the truths that we must understand that we live in an oppressive society, we must be critical of visual culture, and we must understand the importance of being a connected educator. We must first admit the oppressive society that we exist in and how we contribute to the oppression. Paulo Freire’s (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed describes how the banking method is not an effective form of teaching, while problem-posing is more ideal. The problem-posing method can serve to combat oppressive forms within education, yet we must understand that the “oppressed” are not absent from those who oppress them. Freire discloses that the oppressed “are not people living ‘outside’ society….They have always been ‘inside’-inside the structure that made them ‘beings for others’” (p. 74). With the problem-posing method, oppressed students can become liberated. Through simply teaching in a problem-posing manner as Freire suggests, art educators are equipped with the first tool for enacting progressive change within society. Society has also oppressed children, and their inclusion in studying visual arts has frequently been challenged. As Kerry Freedman (2003) points out, visual culture has vastly changed throughout history. Many children enjoy similar forms of visual culture as adults do, so much to the extent their lives are overwhelmed with visual culture. Freedman declares that “with the increasing and broadening influence of visual culture in society, the job of art educators has become vital to students’ lives” (p. 22). There is a need for visual literacy for youth while their views of the world largely consist of visual culture in areas of advertisements, television, videogames, comics, and so forth. With the rapid expanse of the internet, children are bombarded with far more imagery than ever before. Art educators are vital for children to decode the world that surrounds them. Oppression and visual culture are essential topics to study as an art educator, but art educators must connect with their students via connected teaching in order to prompt progression. Mary Belenky (1997) teaches us that “connected teachers welcome diversity of opinion in class discussion” (p. 223). This is important to implement in teaching to create a classroom of cooperated knowledge. With the opportunity to exchange knowledge in the classroom, students can learn the process of solving an equation completely instead of simply learning the answer from their mentor. If an educator simply retorts answers as statements of fact, students become scared to attempt risks because they are not “all knowing” as their mentor is. This is why connected teaching is the third valuable tool; connected teaching allows students the freedom to attempt problems without the fear of failure. Art educators have much to learn from Paulo Freire, Kerry Freedman, and Mary Belenky and through their works, art educators are equipped with tools to understand the oppressive society they exist in, the power of visual culture literacy, and the importance of connected teaching. While much of society may find art education of little importance, art educators have not forsaken their craft. Although our capabilities may be invisible to the world we exist in, that does not stop us from being covert liberators for our students. References Belenky, M. (1997). Women’s ways of knowing. New York: Basic Books. Freedman, K. J. (2003). Teaching visual culture: curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life of art. New York: Teachers College Press. Freire. P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum Books. Place-Specific Material Culture StudiesJames W. Bequette (2014) wrote in his article, Culture-Based Arts Education That Teaches Against the Grain: A Model for Place-Specific Material Culture Studies, focusing on making schools "more engaging places for Indigenous youth and spaces for further anti-oppressive education to achieve social change" (p. 215). Teachers need to be culturally competent. The first step is to recognize and unpack Indigenous perspectives. Many historical documents and "facts" were written in a white, western male perspective. There is another side that must be addressed. Reference: Color Lines"Color symbolism permeates contemporary and historical artwork. It also can reinforce centuries of racism. But teaching students about the hidden meaning in color symbolism can enhance multicultural efforts and students' understanding of art." (p.29) Art and symbolism are critical avenues for art educators to be aware of. The racial implications from traditional fairy tales, cartoons, and classical literature can associate "light with goodness and knowledge and darkness with evil and ignorance" (Gude, p. 29). Art teachers must be aware of the implications of symbols and to recognize what might be harmful in the classroom. Gude, O. (2001). Color lies. In Principal leadership. 2(3). pp. 29-35.
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