james baldwin: a letter to teachers

(that means you!)

love this quote . . .

Getting warmed up. . .

Forget about the fact that this is Disney. Here’s a fictional depiction of the era in

which Baldwin wrote. (ps—you really should watch the whole film)

who on earth is james baldwin?

why are we studying him in this class?

i thought we we going to learn about education?

all valid questions, except there were more figures important to the Civil Rights movement than MLK Jr. & Rosa Parks

read baldwin’s bio

Do you take equality for granted?

Where I grew up

My school experience

s

My race

My Economic

Status

Religious / Spiritual

Upbringing

DO I SEE the world through a privileged status?

Have I ever been “othered”? Think race issues have gone away? Especially that Obama is President? Think schools are segregated today?

Hear it from Baldwin’s contemporary, Langston Hughes

What affects my racial viewpoints?

to what end education?Students in the past have criticized this

question, often complaining it is incomplete—that it lacks a fullness.

I, however, like the openness it encourages.

If James Baldwin were to answer this question, what would he say? Find a passage from “A Letter to Teachers” that

addresses “to what end education.” Really, take some time and do that now. You will be asked to write about it on the discussion forum.

an interview

James Baldwin live . . . Listen to race in his words. . . .

OK. Take a moment. What have you learned? What was going on in our country that made our schools so sick?

What has baldwin taught you about the “multicultural” foundations of our schools?

Who is to be held accountable?

What are YOU going to do when you are faced with teaching students who inevitably will see you as privileged and who won’t respect you? Are you ready for that shock?

Here’s the answer: BUILD TRUST

How far have we come?Since the publication of “A Talk to Teachers,” 1963

Read this first

Read this second

How far have we come?Since the publication of “A Talk to Teachers,” 1963

OK. Here’s another angle. You might be saying to yourself, “Well, our schools are not

segregated anymore. At least we have come that far.”

Please read this report. I know it is academic (but you’re in graduate school), and it is

damning. Download the full text and take the time to read it. Think about the race issues

Baldwin discussed.

How far have we come?

OK. Was that too deep? Check out what’s happening in my part of the woods across the Hudson. (By the way: Westchester & Rockland ARE JUST LIKE BERGEN COUNTY!)

If you cannot view the article, you need to become a member. Take the time to do so; it’s worth it.

james baldwin

• What are MY expectations of how I will handle the race issue in the classroom?

• Will I be ready?• What did I gain from Baldwin?

• What would he want from me as a teacher?

james baldwin• Education is indoctrination if you're white - subjugation if you're black. James A. Baldwin

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor. James A. Baldwin

I love America more than any other country

in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I

insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.

James A. Baldwin It is very nearly impossible... to become an educated person in a country so distrustful of the independent mind. James A. Baldwin

Money, it turned out, was exactly like sex, you thought of nothing else if you didn't have it and thought of other things if you did. James A. Baldwin

The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to

become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he

is being educated. James A. Baldwin

You know, it's not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if the world does it to you long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself. James A. Baldwin

james baldwin

Remember me