Re: Diversity Issues & Resistant Students

Tane Akamatsu or Terry Watada (tanea who-is-at ibm.net)
Fri, 03 Oct 1997 21:15:50 -0400

Jay Lemke wrote:
--snip--
> The strategy in that course was to get students to write about their own
> educational problems, social limitations and worries, in an
> autobiographical mode, but anchored in the themes of the course. To help
> them see grounds for similarity and empathy with others.
-snip-

I tried this once while teaching a course on Socio-cultural Aspects of
Deafness to a class of 16 hearing and 1 Deaf (all of whom happened to be
white, and one of whom (himself hearing) had Deaf parents). I myself am
hearing, but also a visible minority. I raised the question of visible
minority deaf people, and got a nice heated discussion going. I also
had students write dialogue journals throughout that class in prep for a
final paper on some relevant topic. One of the most memorable
statements came from a (I hope) rather naive young woman who stated

"I always assumed they [visible minorities] knew their place."

After I peeled myself off the ceiling .....

I asked what that place might be?

My sympathies, Melanie, and good luck.

Tane Akamatsu