With the NWSL Championship trophy in Orlando over the weekend! The Portland Thorns FC won 1-0, for our second championship!
Dear class,
We really enjoyed listening to our affinity groups in DSJ! Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets Addressed:
I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Soundtrack: "Nobody's Listening" by Linkin Park. Selected for today because we wanted everyone to focus on listening during the affinity group share time. Lyrics here.
AGENDA 10/17/17:
Check In/Review Agreements
Current Events
Affinity Groups - Discussion on Issues
Homework: Read the blog! Make sure you have everything turned in, especially your Where I'm From poem and Racial Autobiography!
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Check In/Review Agreements: At the beginning of class, we went over the Courageous Conversations Agreements, as always, to begin our work together for the day.
Current Events: After checking in, we talked for a bit about what is happening in the world outside of class. Specifically, we wanted to talk about the "Me, too" posts on social media regarding experiences with sexual harassment and/or sexual assault. For those of you that did not know what we were talking about, here is a news article about it:
Thank you for engaging in the conversation here! We will soon turn over control of the current event section to small groups.
We also checked in about the weekend and what people were up to. I shared about my trip to Orlando and back - it was quite the weekend, for sure!
Affinity Groups: After checking in, we turned the room into a fishbowl style discussion, starting with affinity groups of color in the inner circle, and students that identified as white in the outer circle. After each group shared, we then switched the fishbowl so that students who identified as white were in the middle.
Here are my (Mr. Fritz's) notes on each group, with no student names attached:
1) Latinx
How to identify as Latinx? --> not accepted --> mixed race comes with wide variety of stereotypes
Don't want to identify with, because of stereotypes. Cultures are intertwined.
Hostility between other groups. History = not always the case. Alliance between Black Panthers and Brown Berets. Why did this change?
Pronouns are embedded in words in culture, so to be non-binary, term is Latinx
Latinas = vision as either Italian/white washed or stereotyped. So many different types of people
Hispanic = from countries that speak Spanish. Latinx = from Latin America (including places that don't speak Spanish)
Don't dress up as another race/ethnicity for Halloween
We mourn differently than other people - Dia de los Muertos
2) Asian-American
Group self identifies as East Asian. Microaggressions = embedded in how people talk - so often!
"Model Minority" = higher standards --> pressure to live up to that stereotype
Why is it more appropriate to make jokes? Because we internalize and do not react - does not make it okay.
History of highly educated Asians immigrating to the US, but all others barred. Stereotypes are not true, and not a compliment to be assumed smart/whatever, especially for refugees.
Couldn't integrate = forced to make their own areas of town, like Koreatown, Chinatown, etc.
"All Asians look the same" --> media portrays as exotic/fetish/doctors/nerds
Student is 5th generation = put down for not speaking language
Really frustrating to not see Asians represented on TV (nobody to identify with)
K-Pop = Asians can sing!
Stereotypes in society. Specifically looking to date Asian women.
3) Mixed
"What are you?" --> don't know what to say in response, hurtful question.
Belong to both, but don't belong to any. Don't know where to go/identify with
Raised by one parent --> take on one culture, but expected to know the other culture.
Conflict with elders, not used to mixed race.
"Why don't you know your culture?" = seen as disrespectful
Annoying questions: "is that your mom?" - having to defend color of skin
Stigma of race mixing, leading to name calling
Interracial dating = don't say "jungle fever"
Fetishizing mixed/exotic people is seen as trendy
History of preference over people who were black, then laws passed that "one drop" of black blood = black person
"if you are darker than a paperback, you are no longer worthy"
Hard to relate = alienation from both cultures
Hair = people want to touch/comment/play with it without permission
4) African/African-American
We choose to identify as separately African.
Stereotypes = identify as American, but both parents are immigrants
"You don't have a father" (all students present in group have fathers active in their lives)
"You live in a house?"
Stereotyped as "low" = poor, uneducated --> don't know how to react
"I am an excellent swimmer"
hair = "it's like we are animals to touch"
"I was doing better in Africa than I do here"
People think we are whitewashed. Constant separation in Beaverton. Splitting = "where do I belong?"
"I actually like school" = "not black enough"
"spokesperson for black people" in classes. Little to no representation in classes. Seen as the "go to person" and asked to know everything about their race.
Tokenism = "all races are represented here" (not really)
"Use of the 'n' word irks my soul" - white people believe they can use it when black people do
--> "I use it as a term of affection with my sisters."
Black privilege as a concept is wrong. "Affirmative action." Basic human rights being deprived does not equal one scholarship for a college.
"I am never going to be privileged." "I am going to be black for the rest of my life." "I love being black and would not change it for anything."
Still so much beauty --> more positive aspects need to be highlighted
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The point here was just to listen to each group share about their issues that they felt like came up during the racial autobiography and poster brainstorm, without questions or commentary from the rest of the class. We wanted observers to take notes on what they were hearing and be able to reflect on what was coming up for each group. We will debrief this activity more next class. Thank you for all of your participation and preparation with this activity!
Hey this Emily T and this is my hw
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