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Reading Jessica Glidden's email about orange shirt day after just finishing chapter 2 I immediately connected the boarding schools for indigenous people as assimilationist and even more than trying to make indigenous people "more white" they were totally erasing who they were as a people, culture and community.

I do agree with the teaching practices behind the AVID program but I wonder and question that program now after learning and reading more because it focuses on a sub group with a deficit mindset. The elementary program is for all students and focuses on academic rigor for all. When it gets to JH and HS it's for a select group of students which to mean seems assimilationist.

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"Americans have long been trained to see the deficiencies of people rather than policy."

Policies are farther away, people are in your face. It's easier to blame people than policies for racism and problems in society. Policies are written in a way that are difficult to understand - in legal jargon - not in common everyday language, which makes it difficult to connect to.

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How did politicians, and how do they how, get away with racist policies? When there is research, facts, proof that policies are racist, and politicians and leaders are sneaky and manipulative and not trustworthy. They will say anything to get elected. It is hard to understand how this is allowed to continue or how people continue to be swayed to this.

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Using standardized tests that uses content that is irrelevant to different racial/cultural group, thereby not testing the skill but the life experience of the student, which invalidates that child's experience.

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Assimilation in schools: kids need to be a certain way "in school." They need to act a certain way: sit, listen, be respectful, etc. That's white culture. Assimilation expectations are still done in lots of ways in schools - students have to change to fit in, instead of the system/school changing to meet the needs of the students. How do we tease apart what's creating equal opportunities and what's perpetuating assimilation? Let's give them what they need to be successful, but how is that different from providing equal opportunity. How is equal opportunity related to assimilation? The way our society creates equal opportunity can be seen as assimilation. Equal opportunity is not the same as equitable opportunity. Do we focus on equal, or on equity.

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White people are more likely to sell drugs than other races. Races consume drugs at similar rates. (Thought black people are punished at far greater rates.)

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Segregationist is someone who separates people based off how they look, their culture, or beliefs. The way they treat people changes depending on what group they fall in. To be honest we don't see it in our school but we could sheltered in our little bubble. As far as our country you can see it in laws we have, policy we make, and unwritten rules that are assumed.

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White savior complex, teachers may not realize this is taking place but it is does.  I was one of these people.  My views have drastically changed over the years as I've been working for four years on striving to be an anti-racist.

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We are challenging the idea that education and hard work will "uplift" black people in this country. It is not "laziness" but systemic racism that is responsible for the disparities in our society.

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Both white people and black people experiences the same duel. Both groups have been made to believe the American body is the white body and both groups strive to assimilate into the American body, however the white body rejects the notion that the black body can assimilate into this white or "American" body.

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"To be antiracist is to conquer the assimilationist consciousness and the segregationist consciousness.  The white body no longer presents itself as the American body; the Black body no longer strives to be the American body...knowing there is no such thing as the American body, only American bodies."
The American way isn't one path or look a certain way. It can look a lot of different ways and that is OK.

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As white people, we aren’t faced with the struggle of code switching and assimilating- we are born looking ‘American’ because we are white. Kendi states- “the white body defines the American body” (pg. 33). According to Kendi, white people are controlling the narrative by wanting black people to be white but also using segregation to ensure that they are not.

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The black consciousness is usually between anti-racist and assimilationist ideas. The white consciousness is between segregationist and the assimilationist.

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"To be antiracist is to conquer the assimilationist consciousness and the segregationist consciousness.  The white body no longer presents itself as the American body; the Black body no longer strives to be the American body..."

This passage really resonated with me because we can no longer think of all of our diverse groups in this country as striving to be the "American body or really the white body", but instead celebrating and honoring each groups unique history, culture, and norms. This is what makes an American body.

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We interpret the dueling consciousness to be the system in which skin color defines power and status and nationality.

To be anti racists means no longer associating the white body as the American body, nor the black body as the American body, rather bodies that are American and have been “racialized by power” (pg.34)

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On page 32, Kendi references a double desire to be proud of his blackness (Black Pride) as well as “ a yearning to be white”.

We have a very diverse student body and this is a powerful thing to learn because this could be something that they are wrestling with. As white women, we just constantly be aware of the policies we and the larger society have in place and how those systems impact and cause our students to see themselves, or not.

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We are reminded that the students of color in our classes are not charity cases - they have families and traditions and culture and expectations that are valuable and important. Tapping into the experiences and perspectives of our students is how we can build relationships and help students learn. Working together with families is the best way to provide learning and social opportunities for our students - not trying to change them.

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"People have long been trained to see the deficiencies in people, not the deficiencies in policy." (p.28)

This resonated with us because we reflected on our own education and how the aspect of critical consciousness wasn't encouraged/taught in schools (nor college). Additionally, the lack of transparency with regard to policies exacerbates our lack of understanding.

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White people have the privilege to decide about the dueling consciousness and where they stand. Black people in America are in a country that was created by white men for white men - and have to live here with the dueling consciousness without choice.

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Assimilationist thinking is that one group is inferior but with effort the inferior could be more like the predominant group. In our classrooms it shows up in the bully culture. Students want to be aligned with the bully rather than victim. These students are assimilating to the dominate student, which could be also aligned with race but doesn't always. This makes it difficult for the teacher to promote inclusive social emotional learning in the classroom. No one wants to be on the outside.

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Something new we became aware of is the tendency to blame students' poor academic performance or behavior on the lack of family structure and lack of family values. "They don't know any better." This is a long standing kind of idea that we realize is not necessarily true. We need to put these biases aside as we look at students.

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When we look at the students who are referred to SAT, Special Ed, office referrals, etc., we can see there are a disproportionate amount of students of color. We also have a disproportionate number of white teachers and staff members.

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Segregationist thinking puts people into groups according to race, culture, gender, religion. It shows up in our school by where students self-select to sit at lunch, who they play with at recess, where they sit on the bus. It shows up in our community in that neighborhoods are segregated - white/middle class neighborhoods with homeowners vs. non-white/less affluent residents in apartments. This is replicated statewide and across the country.

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Assimilationist is continuing an idea that one group is superior to all others and actively working to keep the idea alive. We see this in our assessments, teaching styles, access to transportation, housing, food, healthcare. It is easiest to see when looking at basic needs and quality of life.

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“One never feels his twoness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two reconciled striving; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”
We have dueling ideals today and what has happened in our own state has shown us this war. Kids have that as well. We, as educators, have to feel their pain, show emapthy, give grace, and help heal wounds as best we can. Gatewood has such a great support system in place and are ready to make such healing possible.

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An assimilationist means someone who actively advocates for erasing a cultural group's identity by coercing them to "fit in" with the status quo and behave in a certain way. This idea shows up in schools through having a certain ideal of how to speak (not believing that AAVE is "correct English" when in reality there is no "correct" way to speak).

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A segregationist is someone who groups people based on a certain thing such as their age, grade, skill levels, race, etc. This idea shows up in communities through grouping people and associating certain stereotypes with how they "should behave". For example,

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The dueling consciousness are different for whites than blacks because white people can blend in with the status quo and don't always have to be reminded of their whiteness. Whereas black people may feel like their blackness is at the forefront of how others see them which can be unfair as this doesn't take into perspective their personality and who they are as a person.

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Assimilationist means continuing to do the norm and not what is good for the whole child. Data is important, but is there a better way to find out how our students are doing than standardize tests? How do we make everyone equal? Questions I think about often and not sure I have the answer to.

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Dueling consciousness I feel is a where skin color defines your power and status.  Both white people and black people battle for the right to be what we call American realizing the hidden rule is it is to become white American or what we define as white American.

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How do we fix American and make it what it was intended to be a place for all to strive for their dreams? How to help all of the students in my room learn and not feel it is out of their reach because of past experiences or the past experiences their families had.

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Dueling consciousness for whites people who struggle with trying to help others be like them and not realize they want blacks to be just like them in their education, thinking, job experiences, education, appearances, etc... To become something you are not is a duel with your inner and outer self.