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-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Graham <pw.graham who-is-at student.qut.edu.au>
To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Date: Sunday, November 22, 1998 7:15 AM
Subject: Re: Hair shirts, self-flagellation, and equality
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Phil said:
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"The guilt that many progressive "Anglos" express for the =
unfortunate circumstances of the so-named "minorities" seems to produce =
a well-defined sense of the "other", thus dialectically defining the =
"us" and the "them" with increasingly finely-focused criteria."
I found Phil's whole message interesting particularily this line. =
My experience is most of the upcoming teachers appropriate the =
difference or otherness in reference to minorities and class in a =
deficit way eventhough that may not have been the original intent. MI =
and learning styles is an example that demonstrates this. Where MI and =
learning styles have been applied has been special education where the =
goal is to correct particular learning styles rather than validate them. =
I was at a recent meeting in which future teachers were sharing about =
their experiences in a low-income, or minority vollunteer setting, and =
every one mentioned the biggest challange was dealing with the =
"negative" otherness of parents and culture. =20
Although, the actual message of diversity in schools of education is =
a positive one, it seems to be appropriated against a middleclass =
ideology and therefore becomes a negative difference. Everytime I am in =
a class that focuses on difference especially in reference to class and =
race I become concerned how that difference will be appropriated by most =
of the teachers. Even when there are practices that allow future =
teachers to have experiences with those who have different experiences =
than themselves (poor, minority) they leave those experiences with more =
of a sense of otherness rather than a sense of identity or commoness of =
experiences, with these other groups. =20
NateNate Schmolze
http://www.geocities.com/~nschmolze/
schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu
People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds,
People who possess strong feelings even people with great minds
and a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys and =
girls
L.S. Vygotsky=20
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