July 19, 2007
I’ve been thinking about this all week, and I finally got to talk about it with GC and DW last night, which was very helpful. But first, I should start with the problem, which is that: I tend to get more or less flustered when one of my students asks me to talk about something that I have complicated feelings about. It hasn’t always been easy to ask people about their feelings or about their families, or where they come from; but now I find this much easier than to talk about feminism, or white supremacy, or immigration. The other day one of my students (IJ) asked me about the shirt I was wearing – depicting a Zapatista with a bandana around her mouth and braids down the sides. Below, the letters EZLN. He was like:
- What is that – EZ…L…N? Is that like a gang?
I ended up saying something like
- Well, … they’re more like… freedom fighters.
To which he replied:
- So are we gonna fight?
And I said:
- Uhhh… well, first you need to know what you’re fighting for.
- We fight for our pride!
- … OK…
And meanwhile I’m thinking Pride?? What are you a lion? And then I think about the pictures of Bob Marley facing a lion and about the dignity of the Zapatistas that I met in Chiapas and about the egos of “solidarity activists” who think they’re revolutionaries and… It’s suddenly time to go for our afternoon ride on the trails.
And on Tuesday, the same student IJ got accused of sexual harassment by a student in the neighboring class (but not in so many words). They got taken to Brother V for a talk and when I spoke with the girl the following day, it sounded like the matter had been resolved, but it must have been a painful experience for both students involved. On the asphalt outside, my class was full of rumors about whether the girl was a ho or not or whether she had or had not called him a puto first.
Then M, another student in IJ’s crew leaned back and said:
- Why do girls have so many issues?!
But in this very rhetorical way, as if it were clear that girls by default have a lot of issues, while he as a boy had none. I was just like…
- And you want to tell me you don’t have any issues?
- NO. I’m just – I’m just, playing.
- Well, I do think that it’s hard for girls to get by in our societies that are so male-centric…
At which point I was thinking in my head: What?! Male-centric?? What the hell is that supposed to mean to them?
When I talked to DW about this she told me about something she calls “scaffolding” which she explained as setting up layers so that later down the line it’s easier to explain complicated concepts. How would this work in a class like bike-repair? In our ground-rules should we have talked about the systematic oppression of women and young people and people of color and people with disabilities? In our next class should we have a discussion on personal boundaries?
I think in classes that deal with concepts like history … it’s a little easier to introduce the “scaffolds” but I think it’s important to try to do this no matter what the subject matter is in the class.
One thing I would do differently is try to take my time a little more. I wasn’t exactly quick with my uhhh…s and well…s but it was a whirlwind in my head for sure. On the other hand, it isn't like you have their attention all day.
And what about the difference between preaching and teaching people to think for themselves? This is the subject of another post, I think.
I’ve been thinking about this all week, and I finally got to talk about it with GC and DW last night, which was very helpful. But first, I should start with the problem, which is that: I tend to get more or less flustered when one of my students asks me to talk about something that I have complicated feelings about. It hasn’t always been easy to ask people about their feelings or about their families, or where they come from; but now I find this much easier than to talk about feminism, or white supremacy, or immigration. The other day one of my students (IJ) asked me about the shirt I was wearing – depicting a Zapatista with a bandana around her mouth and braids down the sides. Below, the letters EZLN. He was like:
- What is that – EZ…L…N? Is that like a gang?
I ended up saying something like
- Well, … they’re more like… freedom fighters.
To which he replied:
- So are we gonna fight?
And I said:
- Uhhh… well, first you need to know what you’re fighting for.
- We fight for our pride!
- … OK…
And meanwhile I’m thinking Pride?? What are you a lion? And then I think about the pictures of Bob Marley facing a lion and about the dignity of the Zapatistas that I met in Chiapas and about the egos of “solidarity activists” who think they’re revolutionaries and… It’s suddenly time to go for our afternoon ride on the trails.
And on Tuesday, the same student IJ got accused of sexual harassment by a student in the neighboring class (but not in so many words). They got taken to Brother V for a talk and when I spoke with the girl the following day, it sounded like the matter had been resolved, but it must have been a painful experience for both students involved. On the asphalt outside, my class was full of rumors about whether the girl was a ho or not or whether she had or had not called him a puto first.
Then M, another student in IJ’s crew leaned back and said:
- Why do girls have so many issues?!
But in this very rhetorical way, as if it were clear that girls by default have a lot of issues, while he as a boy had none. I was just like…
- And you want to tell me you don’t have any issues?
- NO. I’m just – I’m just, playing.
- Well, I do think that it’s hard for girls to get by in our societies that are so male-centric…
At which point I was thinking in my head: What?! Male-centric?? What the hell is that supposed to mean to them?
When I talked to DW about this she told me about something she calls “scaffolding” which she explained as setting up layers so that later down the line it’s easier to explain complicated concepts. How would this work in a class like bike-repair? In our ground-rules should we have talked about the systematic oppression of women and young people and people of color and people with disabilities? In our next class should we have a discussion on personal boundaries?
I think in classes that deal with concepts like history … it’s a little easier to introduce the “scaffolds” but I think it’s important to try to do this no matter what the subject matter is in the class.
One thing I would do differently is try to take my time a little more. I wasn’t exactly quick with my uhhh…s and well…s but it was a whirlwind in my head for sure. On the other hand, it isn't like you have their attention all day.
And what about the difference between preaching and teaching people to think for themselves? This is the subject of another post, I think.
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