I need four reflections. We had guest speakers who spoke about the materials in the articles. 1 and a half to 2 pages. Materials in articles 1 and 3 are two in total each. The last one is a presentation. The rubric is also attached
WHY IS OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM STILL GUILTY OF WHITENESS? WHY IS OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM STILL GUILTY OF WHITENESS? Author(s): Patrina Duhaney Source: Canadian Social Work Review / Revue canadienne de service social , 2010, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2010), pp. 95-111 Published by: Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE) Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41669924 REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41669924?seq=1&cid=pdf- reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE) is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Canadian Social Work Review / Revue canadienne de service social This content downloaded from ������������130.113.111.210 on Wed, 16 Jun 2021 05:20:29 UTC������������ All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms https://www.jstor.org/stable/41669924 https://www.jstor.org/stable/41669924?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents https://www.jstor.org/stable/41669924?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents WHY IS OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM STILL GUILTY OF WHITENESS? Pattina Duhaney Abstract: This critical, auto-ethnographical analysis of the author's experiences of being racialized in the Canadian educational system takes an anti-racist approach and utilizes critical race theory to illuminate how everyday practices and ordinary interactions with students and professors affect how Black students are positioned in various educational settings. The author challenges students and professors to rethink the impact that pursuit of academic attainment has for racialized people, particularly Black students. Professors are encouraged to adopt culturally respon- sive pedagogy that addresses the unique needs of Black students. Abrégé : Cette analyse critique, auto-ethnographique, de l'expérience qu'a vécue l'auteure d'avoir été racisé dans le système canadien d'éducation part d'une perspective antiraciste et du recours à la théorie critique de la race pour tenter de comprendre l'influence qu'ont les pratiques quotidiennes et les inter- actions ordinaires avec les étudiants et les professeurs sur la position qu'occupent les étudiants de race noire dans différents cadres scolaires. L'auteure met les étu- diants et les professeurs au défi de réexaminer les conséquences de la poursui- vre des études pour les personnes qui sont racisées, en particulier les étudiants noirs. Les professeurs sont encouragés à adopter une pédagogie adaptée à la réalité culturelle tenant compte des besoins uniques des étudiants de race noire. African Americans place a heavy emphasis on education because of its role in family and community. Education is about a liberated future that must be better than the oppressive past. Pressing hard for a higher edu- cation for children today is linked to the strong educational aspirations of African Americans in a distant and recent past. The prospect of a successful future for one's children and grandchildren helps to justify and give distinctive meaning to the collective suffering and struggles of the past and the present. (Feagan, Vera & Imani, 1996, p. 22) GENERATIONS of Black students have learned the importance of aca- demic success. As Feagan, Vera and Imani (1996) assert, African Amer- icans have placed a great emphasis on education and have passed this on Patrina Duhaney received her MSW from Ryerson University in October 2010. Her article placed first among the English-language master's level papers submitted to the journal's 2010 Student Manuscript Competition. Canadian Social Work Review, Volume 27, Number 1 (2010) / Revue canadienne de service social, volume 27, numéro 1 (2010) Printed in Canada / Imprimé au Canada 95 This content downloaded from ������������130.113.111.210 on Wed, 16 Jun 2021 05:20:29 UTC������������ All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 96 Revue canadienne de service social, volume 27, numéro 1 to their children. In their study examining 430 Black high school students, Smith, Schneider and Ruck (2005) found that the students were positive about education, had high aspirations and expectations, and were opti- mistic about their chances for success in life. Taylor and Krahn (2005) found that approximately 75 per cent of visible minority students, com- pared to 5 1 per cent of Canadian-born students who were not from vis- ible minorities, were more likely to have higher university aspirations. One main reason why higher education has remained so relevant in Black communities is that Black people have always had to fight for their right to participate in education and to maintain their identity once in the school system (Freeman, 2003). Black people have also recognized the liberating power and privilege attached to education. According to Colour of Justice Poverty Campaign (2007), having access to higher education greatly improves a person's learning outcomes, job opportunities, income potential, health status, and overall quality of life. Similarly, the Cana- dian Federation of Students-Ontario (2010) maintains that higher edu- cation has long been considered a social equalizer, providing new path- ways to higher learning and social mobility. Despite their educational aspirations, however, not all Black individ- uals have equal access to education. In fact, Black students are globally under-represented at all levels of education (Freeman, 2003). Among stu- dents surveyed in 2007, only 19 per cent identified themselves as mem- bers of a visible minority group and only 3 per cent identified themselves as Aboriginal (CAUT, 2009). A number of complex social, demographic, economic, and political factors combine to create barriers to higher edu- cation (Looker & Lowe, 2001). Black students who have gained access to universities have done so with great difficulty. Teranishi (2007) explains that the challenges encountered by racialized students have to do with the uneven distribution of opportunities awarded to them. Students have had to prove that they are "just as good" academically as White students. Similarly, Stewart (2009) speaks of his personal experience within pre- dominantly White spaces in which he felt he has had to justify who he is and why he is in a place where other people do not expect him to be. As a little girl, I was always told that I should aspire to get a good education because once I had it no one could take it away from me. Throughout my years in middle school and high school, I also learned that a good edu- cation meant doing well; unless I did well, I would not make it to the next level. A student's academic success is often measured by how well she or he is able to master course content and is evaluated on a set of crite- ria deemed to be objective (Marchak, 1996) .The reward is often a letter or number grade and advancement to a higher academic level (Kelly, 2008). As a Black student, one of the ways that I have been able to demon- strate my competency is by aspiring to get a certain grade, specifically an A. However, this meritocratic ideology present in universities has privileged one way of knowing, particularly White Western ideology. This content downloaded from ������������130.113.111.210 on Wed, 16 Jun 2021 05:20:29 UTC������������ All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Canadian Social Work Review, Volume 27, Number 1 97 Through the lens of critical race theory (CRT), I provide a critical analysis of my day-to-day experiences of being "raced" through my years in various universities. I illuminate how everyday practices and ordinary interactions with students and professors continue to define me as a raced individual in and across educational settings as well as hav- ing an impact on my mental health (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004; Jay, 2009). Furthermore, I hope that the issues discussed here will contribute to the current dialogue on critical race theory and education (Giles & Hughes, 2009). I was prompted to write this piece is a result of the numerous dis- cussions, both private and public, with fellow students and professors that have taken place while I was completing my graduate studies. I felt at times that I was implicated in some of the discussions about marks, as I had carried the label of being "overly concerned," "obsessed," or "neu- rotic" about marks. In a sense, the institution and its inhabitants had perceived me as a "mad" woman. After all, I must have experienced some form of psychosis that caused me to place such a high value on achieving high grades. At other times, I have felt the need to explain my strong desire to attain an A average in my studies. It has been frustrat- ing and infuriating to have to justify and revalidate my personal values and the desire to achieve a certain educational attainment. During this time, I have felt "othered" and racialized more than ever during my years in university. Racializatíon and Whiteness Any discussions of racialization usually overlap with definitions of race and racism (Rattansi, 2005). The term racialization has both theoretical and empirical significance to racialized and non-racialized individuals. It has been used broadly to refer to ways in which race is talked about in cultural and political processes, situations, or ideological practices (Rat- tansi, 2005). Likewise, the Human Rights Commission (2010) defines racialization as the process whereby society constructs race as real, dif- ferent, and unequal in ways that matter to economic, political, and social life. The above terms provide a starting point to understanding the process of racialization; however, Collins (cited in Murji & Solomos, 2005) and Galabuzi (2006) offer a more comprehensive definition that speaks to the lived experiences of racialized people. According to Collins, racialization is more than simply an issue of representation, but is tied to social practices through which racialized people are excluded from political, economic, and social spheres. Through these processes, Galabuzi (2006) notes, the dominant group enjoys a certain amount of privilege while oppressing and further marginalizing racialized groups. While the intention here is not to view the concepts of racialization and Whiteness in binary terms, they are both relevant in discussions that This content downloaded from ������������130.113.111.210 on Wed, 16 Jun 2021 05:20:29 UTC������������ All use