2 part blog question OCT 22nd

QUESTIONS

1. Choose one quote from pp. 43-45 of The Great White North? State the quote in your blog posting, then compare and contrast this quote with your own definition of whiteness by answering these three questions: How do you interpret the meaning of the quote? How does its meaning expose a certain truth about the concept of whiteness? Does your definition of the concept prove or disprove (agree or disagree with) the perception of the chapter’s author, James Frideres?

2. Reread the first full paragraph on p. 51. Considering yourself a future teacher, create two open-ended questions that if given the chance you would ask the author, James Frideres, about his ideas in this paragraph as they relate to your (future) teaching practices. Then, for each question, propose your own response to the question. If you believe the question is unanswerable, provide a detailed response explaining why its unanswerable.

ANSWERS

1.“However, what they do is not seen as ‘Whiteness’ but rather ‘Normal.’”
This above quote, found on page 44 of The Great White North, is one that struck me while reading this text, because, to me, this is quite true. Whiteness is not so much a racial identity to most people, but rather the normal way that people see the world. Living in a country that was dominated by White Europeans, it is quite usually the “White” way that is the normal way of living. White privileges, white opportunities and white decisions are usually the standards of the society in which we live in. This is the norm, the ‘obvious’ identity and the ‘natural’ state of most people. This entire chapter was discussing the idea of the normal race, the race with privileges and the race with power. It is quite true. This quote, given by the author, is how many white people; if not most of the white people view themselves and the world in the concept of race.

2. A) "Colour-blindness is neither blindness, nor an inablitly to see colour."

How could teachers open their eyes more in order to be able to "see" the different cultures that are within their classroom and their school?

Due to the "white resistance to seeing" many people, including teachers, are unable to, or refuse to, see the variety of people that surround them in everyday life. True, we live in a community that is mostly dominated by the White race, but there are so many other races that live within it. Many people find themselves unable to open their eyes and accept the different people around them. One way that a teacher could open their eyes could be to learn about the different cultures that he or she has in their class, adjust rules according to the differences, or talk to others who have had experiences with different races or cultures. On a higher level, the school community could do the same with the school as its intirety.

B) "By neither questioning nor challenging the neutrality of the White perspective, most post-secondary educational institutions and colleges of education silently condone it."

Why is it that many do not question or challenge the neutrality of the White perspective?

I find that many people do not seem to question the norm of the White community because so many people are used to the ways that the White people have dominated the world around them. It is normal for them, and so, thinking that this is the way that the world is, very few try to change it. Very few find that there is anything wrong of the dominance of the White race and so, despite the fact that there are other races around them, it is rare that people collaborate the ideas or the principles of the different communities. Why change it, if it is the norm of the community/society around us? Why change it if we accept the way that things are?