Abstract
Teachers do not often have opportunities to openly examine and discuss issues of racism, power, and white privilege. In fact, as Lisa Delpit and other educators have pointed out, these discussions are systematically “silenced” in most educational discourse among teachers. This article explores why it is so difficult to have an open, explicit dialogue about power, privilege, and racism. We examine an instance in which there was a structured effort to hold such a discussion among 60 teachers during a professional development institute. Using discourse analysis and other methods derived from sociolinguistics and qualitative educational research, we focus on two central questions: (1) To what extent were the participants in this session able to have a discussion about racism, power, and white privilege? (2) What impeded and facilitated this discussion? The results will be helpful to anyone who might facilitate or plan discussions that focus on racism, power, and white privilege in education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Andrzejewski, J. (1995). Teaching controversial issues in higher education: Pedagogical techniques and analytical framework. In R. J. Martin (ed.), Practicing What We Teach: Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education, 3–26. Albany: SUNY Press.
Apple, M. (1979). Ideology and Curriculum. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Apple, M. (1982). Education and Power. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Au, K. (1980). Participation structures in a reading lesson with Hawaiian children: Analysis of a culturally appropriate instructional event. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 11: 91–115.
Au, K., and Jordan, C. (1981). Teaching reading to Hawaiian children: Finding a culturally appropriate solution. In H. Trueba, G. Guthrie, and K. Au (eds.), Culture and the Bilingual Classroom. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Bay Area Writing Project (Summer 1993). Unsilencing the dialogue: A continuation of the BAWP forum on the essays Lisa Delpit. Bay Area Writing Project Newsletter. Berkeley, CA: Author.
Bay Area Writing Project (Winter 1993). Unsilencing the dialogue: A forum on two essays by Lisa Delpit. Bay Area Writing Project Newsletter. Berkeley, CA: Author.
Burbules, N. C., and Rice, S. (1991). Dialogue across differences: Continuing the conversation. Harvard Educational Review 61(4): 393–416.
Cohen, J. (1993). Constructing race at an urban high school: In their minds, their mouths, their hearts. In L. Weis and M. Fine (eds.), Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, Race, and Gender in United States schools, pp. 289–308. Albany: SUNY Press.
Collins, J. (1988). Language and class in minority education. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 19(4): 299–326.
Cummins, J. (1989). Empowering Minority Students. Sacramento: California Association for Bilingual Education.
Delpit, L. (1988). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people's children. Harvard Educational Review 58(3): 280–298.
Delpit, L. (1995). Other people's children. New York: New Press.
Derman Sparks, L. (1989). Why an anti-bias curriculum? In Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Educational Research Service (1995). Demographic Factors in American education. Arlington, VA: Author.
Erickson, F., and Mohatt, G. (1982). Cultural organization of participation structures in two classrooms of Indian children. In G. Spindler (ed.), Doing the Ethnography of Schooling, pp. 132–175. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Foster, M. (1993). Resisting racism: Personal testimonies of African-American teachers. In L. Weis and M. Fine (eds.), Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, Race, and Gender in United States Schools, pp. 273–288. Albany: SUNY Press.
Freire, P. (1971). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Harper & Row.
Freire, P. (1973). Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Seabury Press.
Freire, P. (1985). The politics of Education. Sough Hadley, MA: Bergin & Garvey.
Giroux, H. (1981). Ideology, Culture and the Process of Schooling. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Gollnick, D. M., and Chinn, P. C. (1990). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Grant, C. A. (1989). Urban teachers: Their new colleagues and curriculum. Phi Delta Kappan 70: 764–770.
Gumperz, J. (1982). Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haberman, M. (1991). Can cultural awareness be taught in teacher education programs? Teaching Education 4: 25–32.
Heath, S. B. (1983a). A lot of talk about nothing. Language Arts 60: 999–1007.
Heath, S. B. (1983b). Ways with Words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hidalgo, N. M., McDowell, C. L., and Siddle, E. V. (eds.). (1990). Facing Racism in Education. Reprint Series No. 21, Harvard Educational Review. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review.
Hill-Collins, P. (1990). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Harper-Collins.
Jordan, C. (1985). Translating culture: From ethnographic information to educational program. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 16: 105–123.
King, J. (1991). Dysconscious racism: Ideology, identity, and the miseducation of teachers. Journal of Negro Education 60: 133–146.
King, J., and Ladson-Billings, G. (1990). The teacher education challenge in elite university settings: Developing critical perspectives for teaching in a democratic and multicultural society. European Journal of Intercultural Studies 1: 15–30.
Kivel, P., and Creighton, A. (1996). Making the Peace: A 15-Session Violence Prevention Curriculum for Young People. Alameda, CA: Hunter House.
Kozol, J. (1991). Savage Inequalities. New York: Crown.
Labaree, D. F. (1997). Public goods, private goods: The American struggle over educational goals. American Educational Research Journal 34(1): 39–81.
Lamphere, L. (1994). Expanding our notions of “critical qualitative methodology”: Bringing race, class, and gender into the discussion (Response). In A. Gitlin (ed.), Power and Method: Political Activism and Educational Research. New York: Routledge.
Lucas, T., and Schecter, S. R. (1992). Literacy education and diversity: Toward equity in the teaching of reading and writing. The Urban Review 24(2): 85–104.
McElroy-Johnson, B. (1993). Giving voice to the voiceless. Harvard Educational Review 63(1): 85–104.
McIntosh, B. (1989). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom (July/August): 10–12.
McLaughlin, D. (1992). Power and the politics of knowledge: Transformative schooling for minority language learners. In D. Murray (ed.), Diversity as resource: Redefining cultural literacy, pp. 235–258. Washington, DC: TESOL.
Metz, M. H. (1990). How social class differences shape teachers' work. In M. W. McLaughlin, J. E. Talbert, and N. Bascia (eds.), The Contexts of Teaching in Secondary Schools: Teachers' Realities, pp. 40–107. New York: Teachers College Press.
Michaels, S. (1981). Sharing time: Children's narrative styles and differential access to literacy. Language in Society 10: 30–34.
Michaels, S., and Collins, J. (1984). Oral discourse styles: Classroom interaction and the acquisition of literacy. In D. Tanned (ed.), Coherence in Spoken and Written Discourse, pp. 219–244. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Mitchell, J. (1990). Reflections of a Black social scientist: Some struggles, some doubts, some hopes. In N. M. Hidalgo, C. L. McDowell, and E. V. Siddle (eds.), Facing Racism in Education, pp. 118–134. Reprint Series #21, Harvard Educational Review. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review.
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) (1995). 1994 Audit of Violence against Asian Pacific Americans. Washington, DC.
Neira, C. (1990). Building 860. In N. M. Hidalgo, C. L. McDowell, and E. V. Siddle (eds.), Facing Racism in Education, pp. 9–14. Reprint Series No. 21, Harvard Educational Review. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review.
Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Omi, M., and Winant, H. (1993). On the theoretical status of the concept of race. In C. McCarthy, and W. Crichlow (eds.), Race, Identity, and Representation in Education. New York: Routledge.
Pang, V. O. (1990). Ethnic prejudice: Still alive and hurtful. In N. M. Hidalgo, C. L. McDowell, and E. V. Siddle (eds.), Facing Racism in Education, pp. 28–34. Reprint Series No. 21, Harvard Educational Review. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review.
Philips, S. (1983). The Invisible Culture. New York: Longman.
Rosaldo, R. (1989). Culture and Truth. Boston: Beacon.
Sacks, H., Schegeloff, E., and Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplist systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language 50: 696–735.
Strom, M. (1994). The Holocaust and Human Behavior. Brookline, MA: Facing History and Ourselves.
Sturm, S., and Guinier, L. (1996). The future of affirmative action: Reclaiming the innovative ideal. California Law Review, 84(4): 953–1036.
Tatum, B. D. (1992). Talking about race, learning about racism: The application of racial identity development theory in the classroom. Harvard Educational Review 62(1): 1–24.
U.S. Department of Justice (1993). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Hate Crime Study. In FY 1993 Discretionary Program Announcement Application Kit. Washington, DC.
Villegas, A. M. (1988). School failure and cultural mismatch: Another view. The Urban Review 20(4): 253–265.
Villegas, A. M., and Lucas, T. (In preparation). Transforming Teacher Education for the 21st Century: Preparing Teachers for a Changing Student Population.
Weiler, K. (1988). Women Teaching for Change: Gender, Class, and Power. South Hadley, MA: Bergin & Garvey.
Zeichner, K. (1992). Educating Teachers for Cultural Diversity (Special Report). East Lansing, MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Henze, R., Lucas, T. & Scott, B. Dancing with the Monster: Teachers Discuss Racism, Power, and White Privilege in Education. The Urban Review 30, 187–210 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023280117904
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023280117904