Courageous Conversations About Race by Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton

Courageous Conversations About Race: Chapter 5

Authors Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton in Chapter Five of Courageous Conversations About Race broach the topic of race, by asking the reader to evaluate his or her own consciousness of race. According to the authors, in order to address the achievement gaps between African American students and White students, educators should shift their energy towards focusing on the factors that they have direct control of inside the classroom rather than on the factors that influence this achievement disparity between races outside the classroom.

The first step towards addressing the racial achievement gap begins with educators addressing his or her individual racial attitudes for, as the authors purport, “As we become personally aware of our own racialized existence, we can more deeply understand the racial experiences of others” (Singleton, Linton, 2006). In all honesty, I think Singleton and Linton hit the bull’s eye by suggesting that the first step towards initiating culturally relevant teaching is for the teacher to really examine his or her attitudes, values, and principles.

Gloria Ladson-Billings supports this idea in her essay titled “’Yes, But How Do We Do it?’ Practicing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy” and also expands upon its importance by adding the insight of how teachers think about the social contexts, the students, the curriculum, and about instruction, all impact the students because how teachers regards these contexts get woven into their pedagogy, which create the very classrooms for learning.

If I had to identify with one of the authors, I would identify more with Curtis Linton, who is white and grew up in a predominantly homogenous community (Park Ridge, Illinois...

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...I feel it is my duty to encourage my students to see the beauty in such differences as opportunities for possibilities. I feel it is important to recognize one’s own heritage and race and values, but I also feel at times it is equally important to detach one’s self from such in order to allow for one to be exposed to new perspectives and alternative ways of life.

Chapter 5 of Courageous Conversations About Race reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by the 16th Century French essayist Michel Montaigne, who pointed out “Il y a mille contraire façons de vivre,” in other words “there are a million different ways of living.” As a teacher, I feel it is vital to bring awareness of the many different ways of life to my students and critique them accordingly from a variety of angles in hopes of cultivating a greater understanding and appreciation for all of human kind.