Responses

Responses

March 1997 Vol.6 No.3
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	Editor's Note

Case Study Responses

The following responses to the case study, "The White Teacher," were collected by Diane Gillespie and her colleagues at the University of Nebraska as part of the diversity awareness project that produced the cases. — J.R.

Lucy A. Garza

I am a young Latina woman, now a senior in college who has become well seasoned in her ability to negotiate with professors. "The White Teacher" does not apply to me now, but the case reminded me of myself in my first years of college. A student in a Black Studies class, I was called "white" by an African-American student in the class. It so offended me because I'm not white, but I felt threatened to say anything in front of the entire class about my identity. So I went to the instructor who I felt brushed me off and told me not to let it bother me. I felt that I could not express the intensity of my feelings to him. I just didn't have any language to express what my ethnicity meant to me.

In some ways I was very similar to Maria, Tonyetta's friend in the case. She just hung back, not because she didn't have contributions to make but because no one had taken the time to help her articulate the relation between her ethnicity, gender, and the academic world. And even when I was learning to express myself in terms of ethnicity and gender, people couldn't or wouldn't understand what I was saying. When I was a junior in a sociology class, I was the only Latina and the only student of color who would participate in class discussions. I felt that other students dismissed what I said about ethnicity. Yet nobody said anything directly. Like Tonyetta, I would ask myself if I was just overly sensitive. Without support from the instructor, I finally stopped contributing to the class.

I think if students of color discuss "The White Teacher"early in their university life, they will have a chance to prepare for the future when they may encounter behaviors which make them question whether or not their teacher is treating them differently based on the color of their skin. Without such discussions, students will keep their fears and their comments to themselves becoming isolated and feeling crazy.

Cynthia L. Robinson

I am a Black graduate student in the field of social history. During my first semester in college, I was very outspoken about issues of racism and especially Black history. As a result, I was treated differently than white students and those less outspoken Black students. This became very apparent my first semester, when I was taking an English course with a white male professor. When I wrote my persuasive essay on the importance of Black history, for example, I felt that I did not receive the grade I should have because my professor disagreed with my viewpoints. On the other hand, a Black student in class who wrote her essay on a less controversial topic was not singled out for the teacher's critical comments, as was I. The issue for me has always been not so much as skin color but consciousness.

As a Black student on a predominantly white campus, I sometimes feel traumatized by the racism and sheer lack of understanding that I experience in my classes. I get negative vibes not only from white professors, but especially from white students who are really not trying to hear what I have to say. For example, during a World Civilizations course, when I would disagree with the professor's portrayal of Africa and African people, I would hear groans and moans from students behind me.

I can definitely sympathize with Tonyetta and her experiences. However, she should recognize that she has the right, indeed the obligation, to confront her white teacher. How else will the teacher recognize her own prejudices? She should also confront the white student, Julie, in order to educate her about multi-cultural issues. Part of the problem with the white teacher is that she has been able to get away with leaving people of color out of her curriculum. Julie, as a student, should be given the opportunity to understand how important multiculturalism is for her education, so that it won't always be the Tonyetta's speaking up for cultural diversity.

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