More analytical this time

This second essay is analyzing this quote: "It is virtually impossible to be raised in the culture of the United States without being taught racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic class biases, yet teachers today must be prepared to work with children from many backgrounds. They must also be prepared to demonstrate a commitment to the highest ideals of U.S. society and of public education."

Public education forms the foundation of our society in the United States by providing equal opportunities to students of every race, religion, gender and class, and by teaching common values and democratic principles. Having a space in our communities dedicated to bringing young minds together to pursue higher knowledge and understanding is a blessing in a million ways. It provides a forum for discussion among people of all backgrounds and perspectives where tolerance, acceptance and ultimately, harmonious inclusion must be taught and practiced. The responsibility of facilitating this democratic space lies at the feet of those dedicated citizens who choose to spend their time working as educators.

Teachers walk into their classrooms with backgrounds just as different from their students as the students' are from each other. Since all individuals are unavoidably taught certain biases and prejudices as they grow up, an important step in learning and teaching tolerance is the recognition of these learned opinions. Therefore, if a teacher is to impart the principles of acceptance by demonstration, not just empty rhetoric, he or she must have successfully waged a thorough self-examination to uncover her own personal biases and be acutely aware of them. A sincere desire to neutralize the ignorance that fuels prejudices naturally follows this awareness and can be expressed through a campaign of compassionate discovery. Put simply, the way to overcome one's innate biases is to reach out to individuals who come from different cultural, religious or social backgrounds, engage them in conversation, and sincerely listen to what they have to say.

Opening a discussion enables the sharing of ideas and stories, hopes and fears, all the elements of humanity that we each carry within us. It can highlight the ways we are different and how we disagree, but it will always be able to uncover the deeper foundations of love, family, and joy that we all hold in common with each other. This ability to see another human being and recognize parts of ourselves in them is the key to dissolving the animosity that develops from biases. In the classroom, it is the teacher's duty to overcome all of her own prejudices and see each student as being at once relevant and meaningful. As she demonstrates the empathy required to include every individual in a classroom community, she effectively teaches tolerance and acceptance, the highest ideals of our democratic society.

Personally, my background as a white, Christian, middle-class, American woman prepares me to understand the majority of children coming from white, middle-class homes. However, it is my behavior as a student and my experiences that have begun to shape me into an effective teacher for students from minority backgrounds, whether those be religious, ethnic, cultural or socioeconomic. My most significant work began in the spring of 2007 in the program, People's Geography of American Empire. I wrote an extensive research paper that explored the history of Kaho'olawe, Hawaii, an island of great religious and historical significance to the Hawaiian people that the Navy commandeered and abused for 50 years. I felt a strong interest in the political situation of the Native Hawaiians and so I traveled there in the fall of 2008 to spend two and a half months studying their history. I volunteered in a kindergarten class at a public school in Ele'ele, Hawaii to explore the dynamics of the diverse Pacific Island cultures within the context of an American institution. The class had students of Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Caucasian and Chinese descent. My most valuable experience with those children was listening to them describe their home lives and having honest conversations with them about the differences and similarities they discovered among themselves.

The complex issues surrounding Native American students in education today are also intriguing to me. Since my return to Olympia, I have been visiting the elementary culture and language teacher at Chief Leschi School in Puyallup. By watching the students' reactions to learning the complicated language of Lushootseed, I am beginning to understand that Native American students are usually surrounded by mainstream American culture, and therefore, often find their heritage and the traditions that they inherit to be confusing and intimidating. However, even as I make a generalized statement like this, I am equally aware that every student meets his or her tribal culture on her own terms and it is up to me as a teacher to simply be sensitive to the personal characters of my future students and get to know them on an individual basis. The most meaningful question I've held in my mind as I research this subject is, “How can I hold a safe space for students of Native and other minority backgrounds in my classroom that respects their culture and recognizes the way their social values may differ from the values of US society?”

I certainly can't say that I've found an answer to that question. In fact, the only right answer is a process of constantly maintaining an alertness to the state of my own biases and to the presence of the unique and valuable minds that are entrusted to me. I will find a specific answer for each individual student that I meet and engage in a teacher-student relationship by paying close attention to his or her particular situation. With patience and discernment, I will continue to spend my time listening to the wisdom that past experts and innocent children have to impart and I will cultivate the practices of inclusion and integrity so that I can hold a safe and loving atmosphere in a classroom someday. The true measurement of my strength as an educator will be seen in how I learn and cultivate in my students the values we all hold in common, including patience, kindness, self-discipline, integrity, responsibility and respect.