Reflections of Complacency and Growth
During the early years of desegregation, teachers experienced significant change. White Teacher, a book written by Vivian Gussin Paley takes us through five years of her career as a kindergarten teacher; five years during an era of change and growth for our country. Paley’s honest exploration of culture helps the reader gain a feeling of cultural diversity in education. The encompassing of students, teachers, parents and reflections of her Jewish childhood takes her on a journey from integration to a more sincere understanding of individual differences. She learns that the individual differences that each child brings to the classroom are to be celebrated and encouraged, not ignored. She realized that children have an innate sense of acceptance and they recognize each others differences. Through watching the children role play and taking some positive feedback from others with whom she works, she gains a rich blending of cultural philosophy and knowledge.
Paley’s first black student afforded her the opportunity to treat each child equally. She did not draw attention to the color difference because she did not want the children to feel different. As a Jewish child she never wanted anyone to draw attention to her culture because the difference made her uncomfortable. She was raised to ignore the color difference; she notes that “we showed respect by completely ignoring black people as black people. Color blindness was the essence of the creed” (Paley, p. 8). This was the way Paley was raised and this is the way she thought it was to be done. She began to notice a dynamic among the children that captured her attention. The students did refer to the color of each others skin, in positive and negative ways. Paley could no longer ignore the difference and was confronted by a parent who made this very clear to her. The parent told her, “My children are black. They don’t look like your children. They know they’re black and we want it recognized. It is a positive difference, an interesting difference and a comfortable natural difference. . .” (p. 12). Paley had ignored the color difference all her life and was now seeing how that was wrong. This parent interaction gave Paley the permission she needed to recognize the children as black, talk to them about it and use it in a positive way.
This kind of honesty from parents opened a door of communication for Paley, making it possible for her to “communicate with black parents in an honest and open manner” (p. 20). Paley was excited to not only communicate, but also to celebrate the children’s diversity. She began to involve the parents in the classroom through open communication and cultural involvement. She invited parents to come to the class to share aspects of culture with the students. In doing so, encouraging each culture to shine and helping herself and the students become comfortable with their differences. The parents sent in music from different cultures and children brought family photos from their native lands. One child taught the children to write Chinese words and some parents came to cook food representing their cultures. This incorporation of culture gave the children the opportunity to experience diversity and continued to enhance her understanding of differences.
Paley’s journey was enriched by the people with whom she worked. She was continually challenged culturally by other teachers. She watched how the teachers interacted with the black students and she gained feedback from people who watched her. Janet Albright, Mrs. Paley’s black student teacher, was very instrumental in helping Mrs. Paley find a more secure comfort in teaching black children. She loved how Janet interacted with the children: letting them brush her hair, keeping an honest dialog with them and drawing attention to their differences in order to empower and encourage. Janet did not hold back from the children and they felt her honest sensitivity toward them. This honesty opened up dialog between Mrs. Paley and Janet about white teachers. Janet told Mrs. Paley, “They either avoid talking about race like it was the plague, or else they look at me only when black kids are discussed as if the ghetto is the only thing I know anything about. I feel absolutely paranoid when I’m with most white teachers” (p. 42). Paley had to have been moved by this comment, having ignored the color of skin for so long in her life. These honest interactions with black people gave Paley an insider’s view of the world through eyes that were not of a white teacher, helping her to view the children as they formed their own cultures within the classroom.
Mrs. Paley’s philosophy of teaching was to allow the children to play and develop their own sense of individuality. She watched as they formed theatrical productions of life events in the doll corner. The girls act out family life and “not only is the structure of the family examined, but the order of the peer group is questioned” (p. 84). There was a hierarchy of roles and the girls created their own societies of diversity and acceptance. By each child bringing their individual experiences to class they were enhancing the dynamic of the atmosphere. Children were able to witness how others perceived life. Mrs. Paley saw how they could play together and still accept the multicultural society they had formed.
Although this book was written over 30 years ago, it has a message that can be echoed today. At Longfellow Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona, teachers are celebrating the diversity of the children. While teaching history lessons, a teacher calls upon a child’s culture to show how that affected an outcome. As she taught a lesson on the History of voting in America, the teacher explained to the class that at a certain time in History, the children’s ancestors were not allowed to vote. This acknowledgement of the children’s race shows the students that their heritage is important and not something to be ignored. By addressing the child’s culture, the teacher created a safe environment for discussion and acceptance. Paley’s mistakes during a changing time in history help us to address and celebrate cultural diversity. Paley wants teachers to know that children are beautiful, unique, culturally diverse individuals who have great contributions to offer this world. She wants us to slow down and watch the children, see how they interact with each other. For her to take the time to journal these stories for future teachers is an invaluable gift. We must not take for granted the difficult lessons that Paley learned in developing a cultural awareness and understanding of diversity in education.
Personal scanned image.
Paley, V.G., (1979). White Teacher Massachusetts, Harvard Press
Author:
Carrie Seather
Last modified:
4/29/2006 5:20 AM (EST)
Please wait...