"White Privilege" Lesson Draws Nat'l Attention
http://thegrio.com/2013/01/17/white-privilege-lesson-in-wisconsin-high-school-draws-national-attention/
As most of you know, I am greatly interested in how we are handling discussions regarding race and class within our schools.
What do you think of the parent's concerns in this story? And how do you feel about the material and how it is presented?
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National attention has been drawn to a Wisconsin high school’s “American Diversity” course after one parent alleged that students are being taught white people are oppressors of minorities, reports Fox News.
One parent of a Delavan-Darien High School student spoke to Fox News.
“They’re teaching white guilt. They’re dividing the students,” this parent told said. ”They’re saying to non-whites, ‘You have been oppressed and you’re still being oppressed.’”
The parent, who requested to remain anonymous, claims she became alarmed by the content on some handouts that her 18-year-old son brought home from school.
A class handout defines “white privilege” as:
A set of advantages that are believed to be enjoyed by white people beyond those commonly experienced by non-white people in the same social, political, and economic spaces (nation, community, workplace, income, etc.)
Students were also instructed to visit the toy section of a local Wal-Mart, where they were to count the number of white dolls versus the number of black dolls.
School district superintendent, Robert Crist told Fox that “a lot of red flags go u in my mind when I look at the materials. Her concern has merit.”
“Ideally, you would want to present one theory that might be way on the left and another theory that may be way on the right and if you find one in the middle you can present that, too,” he continued. “Now you have a well-rounded discussion in my opinion.”
Crist noted that the course has been suspended, while it is under review.
This program is 100% accurate! I support it 150% and would enroll my kids in such a course! If a person is going to say that oppression of non-whites does not exist, then they have their head in the sand are a daft! We have institutionalised white privilege in this country and we should not.
It was not JFK, that passed Civil Rights measures. It was Johnson. Besides, this is not an exercise in the law. This is an exercise in sociology.
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:I'd want it removed because it is unjustifiably inflammable to the white race in this century. If they wish to include a broader history of how this was once an accurate assumption -- fine; but we have been actively correcting the heinous mistakes of our forefathers since the Great Emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. In addition, MLK, JFK and many countless others throughout history who moved mountains to correct the injustice; and some paying with their very lives. Additionally, affirmative action has been upheld by the Supreme Court etc. When exactly do the reins pass to the persons that feel they are being oppressed to extend their own destinies?
Quoting pansyprincess:I agree with what you wrote, except the bolded part. I am white, so are my children. We are certainly not oppressing anyone, so I don't feel any guilt.
But I think it's important to teach my children about how there is a certain level of white priviledge, and we need to be aware of it, and we need to work to make sure that everyone is treated equally. Why would you want it removed?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I am white and feel no guillt, my children feel no guilt. We are not oppressing anyone by the mere color of our skin. I regard this material as propaganda and would petition for it to be removed from the school.
I guess this is the difference. I don't believe that it is gone. I think white priviledge is alive and well and rampant today. Most white people deny it, or feel like it's not there, because they have come to know it, and expect it. No, we don't have slaves, and separate schools, but it's just *there*. That's why we have more blacks in jail than whites. Is it because they commit more crimes, or is it because they are more likely to get arrested and found guilty? Are you more likely to cross the street when you see a black man walking towards you late at night, or a white man? A less educated white man is more likely to get hired than a better educated black man. We can deny it, but it's there. Ignoring the problem will not make it better. So we need to teach about it, call it out, and try to fix it.
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I'd want it removed because it is unjustifiably inflammable to the white race in this century. If they wish to include a broader history of how this was once an accurate assumption -- fine; but we have been actively correcting the heinous mistakes of our forefathers since the Great Emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. In addition, MLK, JFK and many countless others throughout history who moved mountains to correct the injustice; and some paying with their very lives. Additionally, affirmative action has been upheld by the Supreme Court etc. When exactly do the reins pass to the persons that feel they are being oppressed to extend their own destinies?
Quoting pansyprincess:
I agree with what you wrote, except the bolded part. I am white, so are my children. We are certainly not oppressing anyone, so I don't feel any guilt.
But I think it's important to teach my children about how there is a certain level of white priviledge, and we need to be aware of it, and we need to work to make sure that everyone is treated equally. Why would you want it removed?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I am white and feel no guillt, my children feel no guilt. We are not oppressing anyone by the mere color of our skin. I regard this material as propaganda and would petition for it to be removed from the school.
Are minority families raising `victims ' then? Don't be concerned with evolving or being responsible for your own existence because we have an entire race to blame for atrocities that happened 200 years ago. In that same thought, what about our Jewish families who have thrived and overcome the most extreme oppression and suffering?
Quoting candlegal:According to some on here, Never. Don't you know it is always easier to blame other people and to stay a victim?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:I'd want it removed because it is unjustifiably inflammable to the white race in this century. If they wish to include a broader history of how this was once an accurate assumption -- fine; but we have been actively correcting the heinous mistakes of our forefathers since the Great Emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. In addition, MLK, JFK and many countless others throughout history who moved mountains to correct the injustice; and some paying with their very lives. Additionally, affirmative action has been upheld by the Supreme Court etc. When exactly do the reins pass to the persons that feel they are being oppressed to extend their own destinies?
Quoting pansyprincess:I agree with what you wrote, except the bolded part. I am white, so are my children. We are certainly not oppressing anyone, so I don't feel any guilt.
But I think it's important to teach my children about how there is a certain level of white priviledge, and we need to be aware of it, and we need to work to make sure that everyone is treated equally. Why would you want it removed?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I am white and feel no guillt, my children feel no guilt. We are not oppressing anyone by the mere color of our skin. I regard this material as propaganda and would petition for it to be removed from the school.
Quoting louzannalady:This program is 100% accurate! I support it 150% and would enroll my kids in such a course! If a person is going to say that oppression of non-whites does not exist, then they have their head in the sand are a daft! We have institutionalised white privilege in this country and we should not.
It's not so much that white privilege is non existent as much as that this kind of hand out isn't going to be effective. That's my opinion.
You missed the whole point. This is a lesson to those who have never had the good fortune(haha) to experience discrimination or prejidice. It's a lesson in self-awareness and personal responsibilty.
Quoting candlegal:
According to some on here, Never. Don't you know it is always easier to blame other people and to stay a victim?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I'd want it removed because it is unjustifiably inflammable to the white race in this century. If they wish to include a broader history of how this was once an accurate assumption -- fine; but we have been actively correcting the heinous mistakes of our forefathers since the Great Emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. In addition, MLK, JFK and many countless others throughout history who moved mountains to correct the injustice; and some paying with their very lives. Additionally, affirmative action has been upheld by the Supreme Court etc. When exactly do the reins pass to the persons that feel they are being oppressed to extend their own destinies?
Quoting pansyprincess:
I agree with what you wrote, except the bolded part. I am white, so are my children. We are certainly not oppressing anyone, so I don't feel any guilt.
But I think it's important to teach my children about how there is a certain level of white priviledge, and we need to be aware of it, and we need to work to make sure that everyone is treated equally. Why would you want it removed?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I am white and feel no guillt, my children feel no guilt. We are not oppressing anyone by the mere color of our skin. I regard this material as propaganda and would petition for it to be removed from the school.
Many of them are.
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:Are minority families raising `victims ' then? Don't be concerned with evolving or being responsible for your own existence because we have an entire race to blame for atrocities that happened 200 years ago. In that same thought, what about our Jewish families who have thrived and overcome the most extreme oppression and suffering?
Quoting candlegal:According to some on here, Never. Don't you know it is always easier to blame other people and to stay a victim?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:I'd want it removed because it is unjustifiably inflammable to the white race in this century. If they wish to include a broader history of how this was once an accurate assumption -- fine; but we have been actively correcting the heinous mistakes of our forefathers since the Great Emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. In addition, MLK, JFK and many countless others throughout history who moved mountains to correct the injustice; and some paying with their very lives. Additionally, affirmative action has been upheld by the Supreme Court etc. When exactly do the reins pass to the persons that feel they are being oppressed to extend their own destinies?
Quoting pansyprincess:I agree with what you wrote, except the bolded part. I am white, so are my children. We are certainly not oppressing anyone, so I don't feel any guilt.
But I think it's important to teach my children about how there is a certain level of white priviledge, and we need to be aware of it, and we need to work to make sure that everyone is treated equally. Why would you want it removed?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I am white and feel no guillt, my children feel no guilt. We are not oppressing anyone by the mere color of our skin. I regard this material as propaganda and would petition for it to be removed from the school.
I am of the overwhelming opinion that JFK was assassinated for his radical support of Civil Rights. He layed that ground-work for Johnson, changed and pushed forward a more liberal agenda than anyone before him and gained the support of many around the nation. This is arguing apples and oranges anyway. The point here is, that a lot of people throughout history have contributed to advancing minorities and they have not adequately taken advantage of these opportunities and live within the mentality that they are oppressed and always will be.
Quoting louzannalady:It was not JFK, that passed Civil Rights measures. It was Johnson. Besides, this is not an exercise in the law. This is an exercise in sociology.
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:I'd want it removed because it is unjustifiably inflammable to the white race in this century. If they wish to include a broader history of how this was once an accurate assumption -- fine; but we have been actively correcting the heinous mistakes of our forefathers since the Great Emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. In addition, MLK, JFK and many countless others throughout history who moved mountains to correct the injustice; and some paying with their very lives. Additionally, affirmative action has been upheld by the Supreme Court etc. When exactly do the reins pass to the persons that feel they are being oppressed to extend their own destinies?
Quoting pansyprincess:I agree with what you wrote, except the bolded part. I am white, so are my children. We are certainly not oppressing anyone, so I don't feel any guilt.
But I think it's important to teach my children about how there is a certain level of white priviledge, and we need to be aware of it, and we need to work to make sure that everyone is treated equally. Why would you want it removed?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I am white and feel no guillt, my children feel no guilt. We are not oppressing anyone by the mere color of our skin. I regard this material as propaganda and would petition for it to be removed from the school.
I didn't miss the point, I just want to know when it ends My husband's family is Irish and were very much discriminated against when they came to this country. That didn't stop them from doing what they had to do. They did it in spite of the discrimination.
Quoting Ms.KitKat:You missed the whole point. This is a lesson to those who have never had the good fortune(haha) to experience discrimination or prejidice. It's a lesson in self-awareness and personal responsibilty.
Quoting candlegal:
According to some on here, Never. Don't you know it is always easier to blame other people and to stay a victim?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I'd want it removed because it is unjustifiably inflammable to the white race in this century. If they wish to include a broader history of how this was once an accurate assumption -- fine; but we have been actively correcting the heinous mistakes of our forefathers since the Great Emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln. In addition, MLK, JFK and many countless others throughout history who moved mountains to correct the injustice; and some paying with their very lives. Additionally, affirmative action has been upheld by the Supreme Court etc. When exactly do the reins pass to the persons that feel they are being oppressed to extend their own destinies?
Quoting pansyprincess:
I agree with what you wrote, except the bolded part. I am white, so are my children. We are certainly not oppressing anyone, so I don't feel any guilt.
But I think it's important to teach my children about how there is a certain level of white priviledge, and we need to be aware of it, and we need to work to make sure that everyone is treated equally. Why would you want it removed?
Quoting MeAndTommyLee:
I am white and feel no guillt, my children feel no guilt. We are not oppressing anyone by the mere color of our skin. I regard this material as propaganda and would petition for it to be removed from the school.
What do you think of the parent's concerns in this story? And how do you feel about the material and how it is presented?
I answered your questions. It's my answer and I'm sticking to it!
You have not answered my question yet though.
Quoting Radarma:
"White guilt is a hard pill to swallow"?
That's what you have to say about the specific questions I asked?
Alrighty then.what's your point- I know you want to make one. "Dig Deeper"
Quoting Radarma:
Quoting Ms.KitKat:
That parents' "white guilt" is showing and it's a hard pill to swallow. Boo-hoo the little white boy is upset because now the world he thought he knew is not in reality- THE reality.
And OF COURSE the class is suspended because God forbid an American teenager feels any sense of emotional angst.
As I said before (and I will say again) ONLY IN AMERICA!
Think a bit deeper.
The little black boy feels resentment as a result. Boo hoo there too?
Dig deeper.
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- Radarma
on Jan. 17, 2013 at 11:40 AM