The key conceptual points of the article with specific reference to the text

o That White people need to be de-privileged to understand minorities

Re-examine their own perspectives as culturally constructed (Geertz,
1973) and their version of the world as just that, a version.
o That when put into a minority setting white people act as a group and show their
whiteness making the difference between the two very noticeable

They often made mistakes, putting their foot in their mouth so to speak.
At the same time, the Latina(o) students were empowered to speak their
mind and disagree with the White students,
It was as if these students were drawing on the same assumptions about
participating in class and how valued their ideas would be and all
simultaneously (and quite quickly) found those assumptions to be faulty.

o Learning another culture, and experiencing minority is difficult and unpleasant

and challenge you in ways that you had not experienced and may be unprepared
for

The lesson did not end in five minutes as many members of the class
suspected it would. It continued with more Spanish vocabulary words and
instruction.
She complained that everyone in the film who cared about the
immigrant students were the non-White people. I felt very offended by
that. No one responded and Inez finally asked the class what they thought
about her comment.

o Allowing yourself to understand a view point, even if it may be challenging and

require you to de-privilege yourself will ultimately give you a better set of tools
for handling that culture in the future

White students questioned their own understanding of education, they

made room for more perspectives and became more willing to listen to
their colleagues of color not because they felt like they should but because
they needed to.
This de-privileged space re-organized cultural capital, re-distributed
power, and re-defined expert or legitimate knowledge.

Points that were prickly for you. What challenged your thinking or what do you have a
hard time with?
o I found that being treated as a minority was vastly different than I would have
expected it to have been. In that setting the white students were ignored and

ostracized in a lot of situations. This is a reality that exists but I have a hard time
believing that every student of diverse ethnicities is treated as if their less worthy
of education. Obviously this could be me showing my whiteness, but I recall
being in class particularly in high school and hardly noticing any difference
between races. My school was fairly diverse and I never really felt that any one
student was given a disadvantage. And clearly being bilingual or having English
be your second language is inherently difficult. I dont mean to take away from
their struggles. But I am still skeptical of the gravity in which this kind of racial or
cultural biased still exists.

Points that resonated with you.

o I do really like that they put the white people in a place where they were
uncomfortable and destined to fail. I think that this sends a clear message of how
minorities often feel. Activities like the Spanish lesson may have over stated the
issue but I think the message it sent of being aware of those who may need more
time to learn or dont understand the concept you are addressing is extremely
valid. I also thought the notion of not even knowing your privileged is very true.
Part of striving for equality across races has left a residue of everyone being the
same, which isnt true. Although things should be equal and fair that doesnt mean
that students should be taught in the same way, that isnt actually fair. The White
students in the MTT cohort were unprepared for a context in which their natural
responses and their experiences would be less legitimate than others. This quote
exemplifies how as a white person you hardly even realize that the way you think
is entirely subjective.

How might you apply the reading to your life and practice?
o I feel that this reading has opened my eyes to the struggles that minorities have in
school. That how being in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar environment can
affect your ability and desire to participate. I think I am more aware of how
ethnically diverse students may struggle. I am also more aware of the fact that I
simply will not be able to fully understand what they are going through. I think I
will be able to do my best to try and be understanding and work to incorporate
cultural congruency in my classroom. The best I can do is try, and be attentive
since the presence of my whiteness is never going to change. I need to be aware
that there is a privilege in being white, and that not everyone thinks the same way.

Two discussion questions informed by the reading that you might ask a colleague in the
field to start a thoughtful conversation.
o What are ways in which you could help minority students feel less alienated in the
classroom?
o In your past experiences what ways has your race or culture effected your
education, either positively or negatively?

Other Quotes That I Liked

Not only had their answers to simple questions changed from before the semester began,
the way they spoke in class had shifted dramatically as well.
The MTT classroom cracked open this privilege to reveal the existence of Whiteness
generally and its limitations in preparing them to be good teachers specifically.
The White students in the MTT cohort were unprepared for a context in which their
natural responses and their experiences would be less legitimate than others.
White pre-service teachers need to see the limitations of their Whiteness and also find
the value and importance of others perspectives so they can learn to be successful in
classrooms in many different cultural contexts.