bell hooks’ Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope was a powerful read and I’ve
always admired her fearlessness as a black woman, and in this text she
continues to be honest, forthright, and tenacious in her critique of our educational system. Although the text
focuses on her experience as a professor in universities, a lot of her insights
apply to any educational context, especially to us as “urban teachers”.
What
I liked about this book is hooks’ ability to tell me a black woman, not just
white males, that I don’t have it all together. In many ways I too have
internalized racist ideals and notions that can be detrimental to my students.
Although, I was already well aware of this, I don’t think I reflected on it
enough. I think I take for granted that even though I see myself as an
“enlightened” black woman there is still more work to be done. For example, she
points out that “a black female who has internalized racism may straighten her
hair to appear more like white females may remain in complete denial about her
allegiance to white supremacist thinking bout the nature of beauty (28”. I do
not agree with this for various reasons: as I choose to wear my hair in various
ways and when it is straightened I am definitely not attempting to look like a
white woman, I am well aware of the effects white standards of beauty has had
on blacks especially myself, and this is problematic because it implies that
black women who wear their hair naturally are the liberated and enlightened
ones and I have to disagree with that. However,
it is important for me to continuously be conscious of the messages I want my
students to receive and other messages I may be sending. Are they
contradictory? Overall, hooks’ insights inspire me to be constantly reflective
of myself not just as a teacher but also as a person.
I
also learned a lot from her insights on whites who also consider themselves to
be “liberated and enlightened”. She states, “a well meaning liberal white
female professor might write a useful book on the intersections of race and
gender yet continue to allow racist biases to shape the manner in which she
responds personally to women of color…She may have a “grandiose” sense of
herself, that is, a confidence that she is anti-racist and not at all vigilant
about making the connections that would transform her behavior, and not just
her thinking (29)”. I think this is an important point for all of us to
consider. How much of all of our “talk” is represented in our lives?
hooks
also explores the issue of self-esteem in minorities, especially young black
children. Self-esteem in the few years I’ve been able to work in school
settings has proven to be very critical. A lot of black and Latino/a students
lack the self-esteem needed to perform in school. A lot of these confidence
issues are a direct result of how our society positions certain people, and how
teachers reinforce those beliefs. This semester at my placement I’ve witnessed
black teachers belittle black students, reinforcing stereotypes that they are
inferior. I’ve witnessed Mexican teachers demean Mexican culture and
disassociate themselves with the Latino/a students and their families. Asians
students have been scolded because “there aren’t any smart Asians this
year”. I’ve heard teachers refer to
these struggling students as “po little tink tink”, a comedic reference
suggesting that the person is mentally or physically disabled.
Overall,
I think there is a lot to be learned from this book and I could continue to
discuss everything that struck me but that would make for a very long
post.
