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This reading made me feel very emotional as a future educator and human being. This story also made me angry that people in this world have to fear of having basic human rights and a safe space at school. The mother foreshadows her child's experience at school with challenges he will face for the rest of his life because the color of his skin. I think I have felt this way in my life as a person in the LGBTQ+ community growing up in a strict religious family, and never feeling like I truly belonged. I can truly feel the mother's perspective as I see a lot of my friends, unfortunately getting discriminated against. Although, I am not a mother, I worry for my friends and peers that get treated differently because I know how it feels. This story reminds me of the poem, "Remember Me," by Alice walker. This poem shares moments of the day to day life living as a person of color. Walkers imagery of hope and justice reminds me of the end of the Watson letter, as they both are searching for hope.

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After reading this story I felt an overwhelming amount of sadness for what the author had to endure during her schooling. It made me want to work to be like the teacher she wishes her son Caleb will encounter in his future.
I can't say I have ever experienced this throughout my life. I was always super shy so I never raised my hand or participated and hated having to do group assignments. I chose to make myself invisible because I didn't like attention on me.
I feel like I am different from the mother in this story because I have never imagined school as a place where I would worry about how educators, staff, and community members would treat my child because they don't look like everyone else. Going through college as an education major, I made friends and interacted with MANY other education majors and professors to make me feel hopeful about the current and future educators in the world so Caleb will not have to go through the same experiences as his mother.
This article reminds me a lot of the current talks in education about how to ensure equity for all students during remote learning and the pandemic in the country.

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This story opened up my eyes to something I have never personally experienced. Through the writing, I can understand the mother's emotions and it sickens me that people continue to experience similar things today. Every child deserves the same rights no matter what color they are and every child deserves the right to a proper treatment in an educational setting.

I felt like this in real life when I moved from Poland to America and I did not speak the language. Not understanding what my peers or teachers are saying made me feel invisible and separated from the rest of the classroom

I cannot compare myself to the mother in the story because I am not a mother myself but I understand her pain. I hope that my future children do not experience discrimination. I value her motivation to want the best for her son and that is the mother I aspire to me.

I do not remember reading anything like this story but I have witnessed racism, especially in the Black Lives Matter Movement.

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This letter gave me a lot of emotions. I felt upset that Dyan’s teachers growing up made her feel like she needed to “learn how to be not overly black” to fit in. I was frustrated that her band teacher gave her such negative feedback regarding music at the age of 11. It made me sick to my stomach to read that she remembered a teacher saying to another family “It’s OK, she’s not like the rest.” She said she remember this from 4th grade… I personally can not remember anything before 4th grade or having a teacher say something so unsupportive to me.

In this letter, after each story, she gave her son reassurance regarding his school experience. She shared her hopes for him. I am similar to Dyan in the way that I hope I can provide all students the opportunity to grow, to help form who they are, to stay curious about who my students are outside of my classroom, and create a space where they can become the best version of themselves. I want to give students and families, regardless of race, the feeling of comfort and excitement, not worry and doubt.

The only thing that comes to my mind that is similar to this story/letter is some Tik Tok's that have recently been showing up on my "for you" page. Lots of teachers and parents have been venting/blogging about children's experiences in schools since the pandemic.

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1. This story made me feel very sorry. I have seen so many people experience this issue throughout my school years. The part where the music teacher does not show care or interest in the student made me very saddened. I have felt invisible in school before and it is a terrible feeling. I believe every student should feel welcomed and appreciated.
2. In my real life, I can not say I have felt exactly the same way as the author did due to my color, race, etc. However, I have felt somewhat left out and invisible in school. I was very shy and people often ignored me and did not give me a chance to express myself.
3. In my opinion, I would wish the same for my child and often think about my past and learn from the past for a better future. However, I did not deal with racial issues growing up in school and often felt "safe" at school even though I felt left out at times.
4. A story that reminds me of this reading is the Rosa Parks story. Even though they are somewhat different, both stories deal with discrimination and being treated differently due to the color of your skin.

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The Watson reading made me feel an overwhelming sense of sadness. This story reminded me of the horrible actions that passively go on, on a daily basis. Specifically, the part about the music teacher who did not bother to learn or ask about the student and crushed their dreams in an instant. There is no place for this behavior in a school system, every student should feel important, heard and valued. It was heartbreaking to read how the students felt "invisible" throughout the entire day at school. This is not something students should have to endure ever, it is our mission to make students feel accepted and safe.
2. Although the feelings of being invisible and judged are well known to me, I can not say I have ever had to endure the heartbreaking situations Dylan or his mother have been in. After reading this I am eager to enforce change and make every student feel welcomed and valued.
3. I would say I am very similar to the mother in this story in the sense that I hope for a better world for all of us and for my future children and future generations. I have had a positive educational journey but that will not matter until all students feel this way. I have hope that our influence as teachers will help shape a world that will not make anyone feel "invisible". We must work hard to "know" our students to help them learn and grow.
4. In high school I wrote a research paper on racial segregation in the education system, during this time I read countless articles on the facts of court cases to the emotional accounts of students. This is a pressing issue, and as educators we must keep this at the forefront of our minds - always aiming to know our students and aiding them in personal and educational growth.

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1. This story only confirmed to me the significance of my position as a teacher and how I can make my students feel. It is so important for students to feel seen and valued in their learning environment. If a student doesn’t feel as if they matter when in class because they are never called on or their identity is ignored by the teacher, they will not be open to learning. Students need to feel accepted, seen, and heard by their teacher and peers in order to have an open mind and positive perception of school. Having a clear difference in the way you feel between being on the bus with other students from the same area to being in the classroom with mixed backgrounds is disappointing. The classroom should feel like a safe space to share things about yourself, ideas, entertain new conversations with people unlike you but in a way that respects everyone.

2. There have been times when I felt the ideas I had in class were not valued or heard by the teacher or the rest of the class. Of course, I have never and will never experience what Dyan has because of my white privilege. The history taught to me and historic figures shown mostly represent me and what I look like. I did not have to seek out famous figures or impressionable people that look like me or have a similar background as me. These images were all around the class, they were in the books I read, and the lessons I sat in. My job as a teacher is to make sure my lessons and materials represent my students and initiate conversations within my class about our diverse backgrounds and experiences.

3. This letter made me think about an article I read in my current issues class in high school. The article is called “How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students” written by Amy Stuart, Lauren Fox, and Diana Cordova-Cobo in 2016. This article addresses the social research that shows the academic benefits of integrating schools. Specifically, Stuart, Fox, and Cordova-Cobo have seen in their research that diverse classes make students smarter. When students are exposed to other students that are different, the ideas and challenges that arise from that exposure boosts cognitive skills especially with critical thinking and problem solving. This letter made me think about this article because it’s important to look at how a diverse classroom benefits everyone. Diverse classes can benefit those that come from lower socioeconomic areas, however it is also important for students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds to be exposed to the differences in backgrounds. Diverse classrooms foster great social skills, social awareness, and teach students how to work with people that are different from them.

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Mitch Shahbazian Watson Reading Response

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Mitch Shahbazian Watson Reading Response

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1. This story overall made me feel sad. In particular it was sad to hear that people over the years have told her “You’re not like the other blacks”, as if there is a particular type of black person. Today I would hope to most people that would be an obviously racist observation to make. It’s also sad (but understandable) to hear about her mistrust in the education system.
2. As a white person I can’t say that I have felt exactly the way the author did but I certainly have felt ignored or judged in different scenarios because of my background and how I looked. When I lived abroad most people were incredibly kind to me but they had certain perceptions of what white Americans were like and there were a few instances where I was ignored or left out because I wasn’t a native of the country I was living in. It wasn’t racism the way the author experienced it but it was still discrimination nonetheless.
3. I feel pretty different from the mother in this story. My experiences with schooling have overall been positive and I feel like most, if not all, of the teachers I have worked with have been encouraging and tolerant of diversity. However, after reading her message I do share her worried feelings for her son’s future in the education system. Although I think it really depends on the individual student, their family, and which school they attend, I agree there are biases that exist in our education system that could work against her son and that is unacceptable.
4. The first book that came to mind is “Black Boy” by Richard Wright. While obviously their stories are very different, Wright also talks about the racial discrimination he faces in his life growing up and how it affects him.

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1. This story made me feel shocked and heartbroken. The mother's fear and caution was clearly communicated throughout the story. She wrote with a strong, knowing perseverance warning her son about what was likely to come in his school years. I don't think this is ever really something that I have felt in my life up to this point. I have never been fearful for someone I loved because of a difference that they may possess. The closest I can relate to this story is that when I was in college, I had a biology professor take a special interest in me, switching me to one of her advisees and hiring me as her TA which required many out-of-classroom hours. When I told my father about this excitedly, he wasn't impressed that I'd been smart enough to get this kind of opportunity. His first question was "is this a male or female professor?" This type of systematic protection felt by parents due to the hardships they have witnessed in their own life can be seen here.
2. I can see myself as similar to the mother in this story in that I am very protective of the people I love and that I will do whatever I can to help prepare them for the world around them. I am different from the mother in this story because it seems like we have lived very different lives when it comes to the severity and impact prejudice has had. I have not often had to "prove myself" to be worthy of time or teaching like she has. This kind of thing leaves lasting marks and, while it does not define who she is, I'm sure it has an impact on how she views the world.
3. Honestly, I cannot say that I have been exposed/sought out much literature on stories similar to this. I have seen prejudices similar to this one as described in movies, but they are not very in-depth and do not give personal perspectives as this article does.

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1. The story makes me both mad and sad.  The children that were in the fight to start integration and the children that are still participating in it today have to live a life that robs them of much of what I imagine a perfect childhood to be.  I have read this story before, so like most things we revisit, I was not as moved by the story nor as alarmed by elements of the backstory.  It made me feel we still have so much further to go to reach a point where
2. In my real life, as a man of black Hispanic descent, I have more than once been described as "a good one."  The question "Where are you from?" is never about where in the U.S. I've lived.  People still think that Puerto Ricans are not Americans.  I'm never white and at the same time not quite black, which actually has allowed me to see gradations of racism.  I worry more about my nephew growing up than my own sons because of the difference in their complexions.
3. I believe that I am very much like the mother in this story, in how I perceive, have experienced and am fearful of the world for my children.  As a child on my first day of school, I too walked confidently away from my mother, telling her to go to work and that I'd be fine.  Other stories I have read that share these themes are "Down these Mean Streets" by Piri Thomas and "Where a Nickel Costs a Dime" by Willie Perdomo.

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With heavy hearts, we bid farewell to poet and visionary Miguel Algarín, founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, who passed on November 30 after a decades-long career as a poet, activist, educator, leader and advocate for the literary and performing arts.

Read more about Miguel's career and legacyhere.

Check out our segment on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon

Special thanks to NBC, The Tonight Show, and Grow with Google

Help us keep poetry, jazz and theater alive on the lower east side

The Nuyorican presents groundbreaking works of literature, music, theater, performance art, poetry slam, Hip-Hop, visual art and champions established as well as rising artists from every background imaginable for ALL AGES. To find out more about the Cafe, see our Program pages, check out our calendar and come on down to the biggest little stage on earth.

As you may know, the Mayor has instructed all performance spaces and nightspots in New York City to close due to the coronavirus outbreak. We'll suspend all programming until the city government determines that it is safe to resume public events.

Remember that creativity inspires resilience, and poetry can help us endure the most challenging circumstances.

We hope you'll use this time to support each other, as well as to channel your own creativity. While we're closed, the Cafe will post creative challenges for poets and spoken word artists, and we'll share some of the most inspiring and exciting responses. For more information on signing up for our online Open Mics and viewing our online events please visit our "Online Monthly Events" site here.

For a small arts organization like ours, this closure is a big financial blow. You can help by buying a gift certificate for our future programs at bit.ly/NPCGiftCert or making a tax-deductible donation at bit.ly/NPCDonate. We'd really appreciate your support. And if you need a refund or exchange, please contact us at info@nuyorican.org

Check out this Time Out article about our online programming: " The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is using the shutdown to amplify more voices ".

This gift certificate can be redeemed for admission to any event at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe; for drinks during an event; or for T-shirts. To redeem for advance tickets, please call 212-780-9386 or email info@nuyorican.org; to redeem at the door, please present this gift certificate to a staff member when you arrive at the Cafe.

Special Thanks

We'd like to thank the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Amazon Literary Partnership, the Academy of American Poets, The Tonight Show, Lift Every Vote, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Hispanic Federation, the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, The Literary Arts Emergency Fund, the Radio Drama Network and the New York Community Trust 's COVID-19 Response Fund for helping us to provide free online programming.

Please help support our efforts with a tax-deductible donation, by visiting www.nuyorican.org/contribute, or via CashApp to $NuyoricanPoetsCafe.

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Check out our segment on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon Special thanks to NBC, The Tonight Show, and Grow with Google Help us keep poetry, jazz and theater alive on the lower east side The Nuyorican presents groundbreaking works of literature, music, theater, performance art, poetry slam, Hip-Hop, visual art and champions established as well as rising artists from every background imaginable for ALL AGES.

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When I read this letter, it made me feel very sad and choked up. I cannot imagine how it must feel to send your child, who you love with all your heart into a place that stifles who they are. It's very upsetting to read, but at the same time, extremely believable for me, as it is something that I have witnessed during my own life, though I was fortunate to never experience.

I have been fortunate to never experience the same thing as the author did, but it saddens me to know so many people in my own life who have experienced this exact same thing.

I know that one day I hope to have children of my own, and I would hope that during their lives, they would not need to feel that they need to change who they are based on their race, religion, etc. This makes me think that I would feel very similar to the mother, as I do hope that the world will get better with each generation, but also different as I have never experienced this for myself, and the experiences I've had and the culture I am from place me in a very different place that the mother.

I don't remember reading anything to similar to this, but I think i've seen some documentaries (but I cant remember the names)

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1. It made me feel sad that this was something a mother had to write for her child. A mother shouldn’t have to write a letter for her son hoping that he gets the same opportunities as white students. Additionally, it was really eye opening to what a lot of people go through. This is something I will never personally understand so it was eye opening so hear the mothers story from her own perspective. It was also motivating. Reading about this mothers horrible experience in the school system and her wishes for her sons school experience it made me realize the kid of teacher I want and need to be for all of my students.

2. Growing up, I went to schools that were in a good area with not too much diversity. Because of that I have never seen anything close to what this mother is talking about. Further, as a white woman I have never experienced anything like what she is describing so I have never felt the way she does.

3. While I have never directly experienced the same thing as this mother I have a lot of the same hopes as her. I want to make all students feel seen, respected, and represented. Many of her hopes are hopes for her sons teachers, so as a teacher it is important to acknowledge and respect those hopes. Just like this mother wants the absolute best for her son I want the best for all of my students.

4. Last semester, I read a story about schools that were brining white students to an advanced school despite many Black students being eligible for the advanced school. In this article, Black students were being denied an opportunity for a better education that they deserved simply because of their skin color. It was eye opening to see what students of color go through within the education system. This article also made it clear that as a teacher we must make sure all students are given the same opportunities, representation, and voices no matter what.

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1) To me, this story was a bit more infuriating than it was sad or disappointing. Personally, it's really hard for me to grasp the idea of racism, as in the fact that I simply don't understand how, or why people hate on others because of a simple difference in skin color. It's heartbreaking, and as a young white woman I wish there was more that I could do to stop it, or at least help prevent it.
2. I truly can't say that I have felt this way in my life. As a woman, of course I have faced setbacks throughout my educational and workforce experiences. However, I personally don't feel as if those experiences could even begin to be  comparable to that of systemic racism.
3. I am different from the mother in that I don't, nor will I ever have a story like hers. I am the same in that I want to be an advocate. I want to be an advocate for young children who face discrimination when they should be focusing on playing on the monkey bars on the playground, or what flavor ice cream they want to eat.
4. It's honestly quite hard to pinpoint any specific references that have similar storylines. I have read about racism and indifference in a few of my previous college courses, but I can't remember any specific titles.
-Ashley P

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How did this story make you feel? When have you felt that way in your real life? How alike or different are you from the mother in this story? What other articles or stories have you read with a similar message or theme?
1. This story made me feel melancholic. Not just because Dyan experienced such significant ostracism from such a young age, but also because she is just one of many people to have experiences like this (or worse). I know I am not making any headlines by saying that racism is still a massive problem in this country, but an article like this shows just how harmful this sort of "other-ing" of people can be on their self-perception and trust of people. And her hardships took place after schools were integrated (problem solved, right?).

2.  I have not felt the way that Dyan did in this story in my life. Due to being a white male, my life of course has not been touched by racism in the same way that hers has. I think people telling their stories like this is incredibly important because it helps to provide further insight into a world for people that were raised without having to worry about these problems themselves.

3. I am pretty different from Dyan in physical appearance, as well as hardships and difficulties faced in upbringing. With that in mind we are similar in that we both want a world that is better for our children (when I do have kids that is) than it was for us. Additionally, as (future) teachers, we both acknowledge and welcome the impact that we can have on the students in our class and relish the chance to help make our dream of a better world a reality.

4. The first things this story made me think of were letters/stories written by  Rosa Parks detailing her experience at school (pre-integration). I had not read these letters until I subbed for a history class at my internship, but they still were very difficult to read, similar to Dyan's story. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of them and there are over 1000 letters of hers stored at the Library of Congress, so I am having trouble tracking down the excerpt that I am thinking of.

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1) How did this story make you feel?
This story made me sad that Dyan had faced so many seemingly small slights that added up to hold her back and slow her down in her pursuit of her dreams. I was also a little shocked to hear that people still held prejudice, especially towards a sweet little girl who in no way should seem like a threat. I was especially sad that she still held these memories very clearly, though most likely all those adults she met as a child did not.
2) When have you felt that way in your real life?
I have felt similarly unfairly excluded only once in my life when I was not allowed to sign up for a research trip to Costa Rica to assist in biological work with sea turtles, an animal I had loved as a child. The professor in charge of the trip told me that they were prioritizing bio students for the trip, but the work was physically demanding and she implied that I would not be able to keep up (this woman was maybe only an inch or two taller than me, and I told her that I was stronger than I looked). After attending all the informational meetings and talking to the bio club members and professor, I found out they had chosen instead to give the spot to a boy who was a senior writing major and a friend of the bio club president.
3) How alike or different are you from the mother in this story?
I am different from the mother in this story because nobody has ever looked at me with any sense of fear, and my academic efforts were nearly always rewarded. However, I related to her representation example in not seeing a lot of people who looked like me in textbooks or entertainment like movies or tv shows. Whenever I did see Asians, they were cast as nerds, karate fighters, or the "exotic" love interest for the action hero.
4) What other articles or stories have you read with a similar message or theme?
I can't recall any specific articles or stories that I've read with this similar message or theme explicitly, but this letter makes me think of movies like The Blind Side where everybody was afraid of this large black boy who never hurt anybody (not the main plot, but a piece of it), and parts of interviews with the cast of the Broadway musical Hamilton, in which several of the actors never dreamed they would be playing founding fathers onstage in any form due to being told they didn't look a certain way for leading roles in other shows.

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1.    How did this story make you feel?

The story was both sad and genuinely sweet. I think it was very sad that the mother went through so much growing up just because she was black. I think it was sweet that she expressed what had happened to her so that her son does not grow up the way she did based off the color of his skin. She wants him to live life to the fullest, be successful, and to know that he is cared for.

2.    When have you felt that way in your real life?

Honestly, I have never felt the way Caleb’s mom felt. However, I do feel for the people who are subject to racism. It has always been so frustrating to me that people can be so harsh against the color of someone’s skin.

3.    How alike or different are you from the mother in this story?

I am alike in the sense that I would want what is best for my child; for them to feel loved, cared for, respected, etc., however, I am different because I have not experienced what the mother has.

4.    What other articles or stories have you read with a similar message or theme?

I can’t recall reading anything similar to this article (besides history books/articles).

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I was very sad after reading this story and couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the situation Caleb was put in.  As we know, inclusion is a very important part of any child’s life and to feel isolated form who you really are is something that no one should have to go though.  Despite reflecting on my own life experiences, I can not remember a time in my childhood where I feel the way Caleb feels at this point in the story.  I’m struggling to relate to him because my childhood experiences were drastically different from his and I had more opportunity presented to me than Caleb may have.  When It comes to Caleb’s mother, I think that she is just like any other mother who wants nothing but the best for her children.  She wants Caleb to know he is loved, for his teachers to put in the additional work to know him, and for him to take advantage of every opportunity life has to offer him.  In this sense, I feel that I am very similar to Caleb’s mother and I too would want my son’s teachers to make every effort possible on my son’s behalf.  As a future educator, I think that its very important that Caleb’s mom knows I am making every effort possible to relate to her son and help him grow as both a student and an individual.  Last semester in SPED 552, we discussed some similar articles that share an underline theme with this letter.  Although most of our conversations in SPED 552 were centered around students with disabilities, I feel that the message of inclusion and acceptance remains the same.

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1.     This story made me feel a mixture of emotions – angry, upset, confused. School is supposed to be a safe place where teachers encourage and support their students, not give them backhanded compliments or tell them at the age of eleven that they do not have what it takes to be in the school band. It baffles me that all of this mistreatment comes from the way a person looks. And that unfortunately this still happens today.

2.     I honestly do not know or remember a time where I felt or experienced something like this. I feel like I’m grasping at straws with this, but during my basketball career I’ve had coaches tell me I was never going to play at the collegiate level, that “it’s not what [I’m] doing wrong, it’s what everyone else is doing right,” refused to play me because of my defensive skills (which there is no statistic for, it’s subjective), etc. At those times I felt frustrated and helpless because no matter what I did; I could not break out of the box they put me in.

3.     I think I am similar to the mother from the story because she used her past experiences to make a difference and inspire change. She became a teacher because of the influence one of her teachers had on her. I want to be a teacher/basketball coach because of my past experiences and I want to make sure I encourage my students to go after their passions.

4.     I read a similar article last semester that explained how students are still being mistreated and discriminated against based on their race. While that article more so provided facts, it still addressed that today teachers are not teaching all of their students with the level of care that is required, especially those who are a different race than them.

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1. This story made me feel disappointed and sad. It's disappointing because it's one of so many similar stories I've heard about. The way Dylan was treated was clearly wrong, and it's crazy that little has changed in many parts of the country. There are so many things that parents worry about, and being anxious to send their kid to school because they might face racism should not be one of them. All kids deserve to learn in a safe environment regardless of their skin color. I know this isn’t the case, but hopefully things are only going to get better.
2. I grew up in a town which was 99% white. I can think of just a couple students who were minorities like myself. At the time, I did not feel any direct racism or mean spirited behavior from other kids or my teachers. As I look back, I begin to remember certain remarks or assumptions made about me because of my skin color. Many of my peers didn’t know much about me, because I was the first Indian person they had met. I think about this time in my life often, because although I was not negatively impacted at the time, it’s definitely influenced the way I think about diversity, particularly in elementary schools.
3. A book that really impacted me is The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This book deals with racism in the 1960s, where a young boy is sent to a reform school. It is tough to read and the situations this boy has to deal with are really heartbreaking but I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

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Watson Reading Response- Maggie Phillips

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Watson Reading Response- Maggie Phillips

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1. This story opened up my eyes to something that I have not experienced before. Its very upsetting to hear someone say “I’m invisable”. I feel that not being noticed, or accepted in a school setting by teachers or peers is very scarring. This story made me feel all of the emotions felt by the mother.

2. When have you felt that way in your real life?

I have never felt the exact way that Dyan had felt. I did not grow up with challenges such as racism or discrimination. Although I know how often it happens to others, I have not personally been in the same position as Dyan.

3. I can’t completely relate to the mother, and what she is feeling in this story. But I can relate to her compassion and care towards her son. She wants what’s best for her son and those are feelings that I share with her.

4. A story that I have read that relates to this is the Bluest Eye. It is similar in that it shares the same thoughts and feelings that the mother has. This story also has younger characters in it, similar to that of her son.

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Maggie, Charlize, Kayla - Watson Reading

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Maggie, Charlize, Kayla - Watson Reading

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1. When reading this passage, we were all very moved by the mothers words. Some of us may have sympathized and understand with her and felt her words. Some people did resonate with the mother, and others did not. We all felt that it was very terrible what the mother had been through and no one should ever go through that type of situation in their lives. No one should ever have their dreams crushed for no reason.
2. Some of us are alike while some of us are different. While some of us personally have not had any experiences like this, our families definitely have. And some of us never experienced it at all. We all come from different backgrounds and cultures so we all had different stories to share. Overall, we would love to help and make a change in one way or another.
3. Another book that was read was The Bluest Eye. This book had to do a lot about discrimination in the education system. The education system should be equal for all and no one should ever feel any sort of discrimination while learning.

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1. This story opened all of our eyes to something that we have never experienced, and also reinforced the act of white privilege, which we are very aware of. We can understand the emotions that the mom was experiencing when she was in schooling, and how terrible that made her feel. We also imagine it is extremely difficult to send your child off to experience the same bad feelings that you did just because the color of your skin.
2. I cannot compare to Dyan and the experiences that her and her son went through because I did not grow up with the challenge of facing racism or discrimination. Something that I can kind of compare to (and I know this is way less harmful and not even close to racial issues) is that people would call me "pretty for a redhead" instead of just pretty. Dyan said that her teachers would say that she "isn't like the other blacks" taking away her culture and not hearing/seeing her as just a normal person. For another one of our group members, she wasn't born in the US and didn't fluently speak english when she first came here. This gave her a feeling of invisibility and felt separated from her peers.
3. We can't directly relate to Dyans problems growing up because we did not experience racism (because I am white) and we also grew up in a different time period than her. We think that we share similar morals and she seems like she really wants the best for her son, which is valued.
4. I have taken many courses throughout my Quinnipiac education about race issues, discrimination and more (sociology, women and genders studies, women in politics, etc) and within those classes I have read a lot relating to race and also similar themes to this story. In my sociology class we read a lot on the issue of hiding race/ not seeing race and how some people think that is a benefit but actually takes away from the main goals. For my feminist class, we talked about women-of-color feminism and how that group is often left out of "normal" feminists groups because of the color of their skin. Since the theme of Watson's article was to take ownership for yourself, no matter how others treat you, I think it is a widely used theme that can connect to so many different articles and books. Nobody should feel invisible and everyone should be proud of who they are and their race. One of the group members said that since she is a freshman, she feel like this is her first class that speaks upon these issues. Others in our group said that many articles relating to black lives mater touch upon this subject also.

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1. Reading this story brought out a lot of emotions. I felt for Dyan, a mother who just wants the best for son. I can feel the love she has for her son, as she shares her hopes for him. I can also tell the pain from her past experiences has left her fearful that her son might experience the same. It made me think about how I will make students feel and how I can incorporate a love of self, culture and academia by creating that environment. Overall, it made me more aware on the impact I could be having on my future students who do not share the same culture, ethnicity, etc.
2. Although I cannot relate exactly to Dyan's experiences, the closest way I can connect it to my life is that I have faced difficulty within the educational system over the years due to my chronic pain or mental illness, which at times made me feel isolated. My brother who has ASD, also has experienced negative attitudes towards him.
3. I am alike the mother in the fact that I have the same hopes for any child when they enter a classroom. As a future educator, I found myself really taking note and investing in her hopes for her son. Although I cannot directly relate to her experiences, I relate to her hope for the future.
4. Last semester in one of my courses we focused on false confessions and how minorities or the mentally ill are more susceptible to falsely confess due to the stereotypes that people hold and a social institution that is rooted in biases such as racism and ableism.

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Watson Reading Response- Caroline Mortensen

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Watson Reading Response- Caroline Mortensen

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1.     While reading about Dylan’s experiences in school and what she had to go through, I empathized with her and I felt sorry that she had to go through this growing up. The way that the mother wrote this message to Caleb really draws in the reader, making them want to read more about what she has to say and her point of view on things. The author uses pathos to appeal to the readers emotions and provokes anger and sadness in the reader because of how unfair Dylan’s experiences were. I was surprised when Dylan’s teacher said (“It’s OK, she’s not like the rest” (Watson)) because that is unacceptable and unfair to say about a student.

2.     I don’t recall any experiences in my life that relate to what Dylan is talking about in her story. Although, I can relate in the sense of being judged based off of my race. At times, people would make stereotypical assumptions about me based of my race (because I’m Asian). When I was in Elementary School I was often bullied/made fun of for being Chinese and having different shaped eyes than my peers (who were all white).

3.     I can’t completely relate to the mother’s experiences in this story, however I relate in the sense of wanting the best for someone else in hopes that they won’t go through what I went through in the past growing up. I just hope that my younger sister does not have to go through the bullying and stereotypes that I went through growing up because it has impacted me growing up in the future in terms of insecurities.

4.     I read the book “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah and it is such an amazing book which is about Noah’s childhood and young adult experiences growing up in South Africa under apartheid. This autobiography discusses many topics ranging from segregation, racism, discrimination etc..

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I think that the Watson article made me feel bittersweet. The way that the mom looked back on the problems of her education with worry for her son at the same time she imagined the ways that school could positively impact her son filled me with both a sadness/guilt for the failures of the public schooling system as well as a hope for what the system could be. I think I feel this emotion a lot when watching/learning about social movements like Black Lives Matter or the Women’s March where I am devastated that something tragic has happened that has spurred these demonstrations while I am also excited that people are taking action to make a more just society.

I think that I am different from the mother in the story in that I did not experience the invisibility in school that she did. As a white, upper-middle class woman who attended a suburban public school system, the adults and other students in the building looked like me as did the people we were learning about in class, and I felt comfortable in school. I think that I am like the mother in the story in that now as a person going into the field of education, I worry about the gaps that exist between groups of students of different races, and I want to learn how to close those gaps. At the same time, I worry that the pandemic and distance learning are widening the gap in ways that we will not fully understand for years.

Over break, I read Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum because I was interested in learning about how race affects identity development for different groups of students. I think that the book is a more academic argument of what this mom’s letter gets at in that the book also balances some pretty harsh and inequitable realities that exist in our school systems at the same time that it lays out a way that schools can form an integral part of positive identity formation for many students. I think that both pieces make the argument that school is not currently a place that helps black and brown students understand and develop positive identities but that we know some of the ways that schools can become those places like letting the Black kids sit together in the cafeteria so that they form a positive idea of blackness.

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h of the following questions based on the Dyan Watson reading. Then, respond to 2 or more classmates responses before the close of the module: How did this story make you feel? When have you felt that way in your real life? How alike or different are you from the mother in this story? What other articles or stories have you read with a similar message or theme?

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1. The Watson article and the stories in it evoked feelings of disappointment in the school system, frustration with teachers,  and hope in children. Dyan wants to best for her son, but she has had negative experiences during her education and can only hope things have improved. However, she is seeing her son's honest desire to go to school which reflected her own initial desire to learn to and go to school. To me, that desire to shows that every child wants to learn and that we need the school system to improve to respond to that.
2. Looking back at my educational experiences, I have met various kinds of teachers and some of them have used their position to control my actions or choices in less than stellar ways. When I was attending a private Hebrew school in first-grade, I had a teacher who split my class into arbitrary groups defined as "stupid" or "smart". I was in the "smart" group while my twin sister was in the "stupid", so the teacher treated us differently. The same teacher didn't like how I was too hyper because I was "too smart" to run around and would take away my chair and shoes forcing me to stand. Obviously this teacher is no longer employed, but it showed me the control a teacher can have and misuse.
3. I can relate to the Dyan Watson's feeling of being othered in schools as a child, however unlike her experience of being ignored I was often highlighted as an example. When I first started attending public school in the third grade, I was the class's token Jew. As the only Jewish student, when Jewish holidays were occurring  I was forced to explain their significance, when history focused on the foundation of Christianity I was forced to explain its differences from Judaism. I'm also from a town adjacent to a large Ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish community and because of that I grew up being told I'm good because I'm not "that kind of Jew". This is similar to the "not like other blacks" comment and I feel that this kind of comment exists in most identities through microaggressions like "you English so well" or "you're not that gay".
4. I think the main theme here is a parent wanting a better life for their children but being aware of the oppression they may face. As part of the orientation to the medical school, I read the book "Fatal Invention: How
Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century" by Dorothy Roberts to help us understand the socially constructed reasons for oppression. Being aware of the systems that oppress an individual can help a parent navigate their child through them for better experiences overall and I think that is what the mother is hoping for through the education system.

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1. Reading this story was truly heartfelt to me, as I have personal experiences with certain things the mother mentioned in the story. Hearing the same story and the same worries from a different perspective did, however, solidify issues me or my family have had within school systems that I have occasionally deemed as overexaggerated.
2. From kindergarten to fifth grade, I attended a predominantly white school. I was always the last pick for the teacher's call, put in the back for school group pictures  (though I was one of the shortest), and constantly pointed out for my coiled hair texture. Because my sister attended a more diverse school than I did, I never heard stories of her experiencing anything similar so I never took the way I was treated into consideration. However when my five-year old brother began kindergarten at his predominately white school, within the very first month the school was already insisting that my brother be enrolled into special education. This alone completely solidified all discrimination between predominately white institutions and black students.
3. In these cases, myself as well as my brother are very alike to the mother as far as the hidden discrimination that occurred during our youth education. To feel completely out of place while simultaneously being invisible is a feeling I have never wanted to experience again, and uproots major concerns about my enrollment at Quinnipiac today. It is a feeling I pray, just as the mother does to her son, that my brother will not have to continue to face.
4. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is a book that is everything to me because of her deep exploration of this issue. The book tour out part personal feelings about myself that I was trying to avoid yet made me appreciate my identity even more.

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1. This story helped me realize some specific behaviors and practices that I want to avoid as a teacher. For example, I want to be the opposite of Watson’s music teacher; I want to put forth the effort to know what my students’ dreams are and to encourage my students in their pursuit. I also want to make sure I’m not the type of teacher that makes assumptions about my students and that I have the self-awareness to identify racist and other stereotypical preconceptions in myself and others.

2. Watson touches upon how different and invisible she felt in school and this is something to which I relate. As an English language learner from another culture, I often felt very different in school as I compared myself to classmates on differences in the food my mom packed in my lunch to how I said certain words. While I haven’t experienced feeling invisible in the way Watson did, I have felt ignored in some situations.

3. While I am not a mother, I feel that when I do have children, my hopes and aspirations for their school experience will be similar to Watson’s. As an educator, my pedagogy reflects one of Watson’s core messages: to know your students is to be able to help them learn and grow. I think building genuine relationships with students is one of my core teaching principles and a pillar for addressing racism and other prejudices. I also believe that all parents want the best for their children but that what is best differs from family to family.

4. I’m sure I’ve read similar accounts but I can’t think of any right now!

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1. This made me empathize with Dyan's experience. I saw myself in a lot of moments she shared, like receiving backhanded compliments from teachers and becoming a teacher due to one of my teachers saw my talents and passions. I felt that way in many instances especially in college where I would be the only woman and/or Black person in the room.
2. Integrating a white school is an experience I can't understand. At the same time, having my race continuously thrown in my face more times than 1 is an experience I know all too well. I never really saw myself in what I was learning in school. I had to seek it all on my own. The journey to school I identified with; yet, I differ from Dyan. I experienced quite a bit of homelessness as a child. My personality and my interests made me "other" to my peers and as something "positively different" than my peers to my teachers. It made me feel uncomfortable and like I had no place in the world.
3. In my own research of finding my identity, i've read stories of young black girls that experienced similar situations. Dyan's wishes for her son are the same for my future children and students of color. Reading Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise" and her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings helped to make me feel that I wasn't alone and that I had a place in the world. I felt that many were and felt the way I had. I had to be patient. I'm still exploring and reading.

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1. This story is upsetting in the fact that a teacher can pull someone aside to tell them that they don't have what it takes to do something. Crushing the possible dreams of students is the opposite of what teachers do and it is appalling that it occurred to the mother. On the other hand, the mother is also a stronger person now for that experience, and while no student should be treated in such a way, adversity makes us stronger. Teachers should encourage students, as the mom does to their kid, but we must also use bad experiences to lift ourselves.
2. In my real life I had a professor who no longer keeps in contact with me. I had 6 undergraduate courses with him, was in the class that he student taught to demonstrate his teaching to the board, and did my dissertation with him. I got an A in all of his classes but was let down when he forced a topic onto me for my dissertation. I received a B on my thesis and he said that all my work in other classes was better. During that time I was struggling with external factors and had to write extensively on a topic I didn't choose. I forgave him and think it best for students to choose their topic with only directional help, but it still hurts that even though I try to contact him, he does not reply.
3. I would say I am very alike to the mother in this story, but rather than tell my son about what he should do, I like to think that I'm doing what I dream to do. That professor told me I should not pursue a PhD, however after this MAT program I look forward to a PhD in Church history. He did not think I have what it takes to go to the graduate level and put me down. Likewise, I hope to promote all of my student's dreams and not put them down. Rather than have me judge what they can and can't do, I would rather support them all the way and have them decide if it is what they wish to do.
4. I haven't read any other articles with a similar story, but I know stories of people being put down, not considered for promotion, or not taken in based on their ethnicity/color. My own father was fired from his job so that his boss could hire a family member and told my father that the communist regime is over, no more Romanian Diaspora, and to go back to Romania. Sadly, he lost the lawsuit because he did not know English at the time. I feel that he has suffered do to this as he tells me how much more he could have done if he knew the language, both in that case, and in his life overall, and for that reason he made sure to always insure my sister and I had/have a great education.

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1. This story was very eye opening to me, I never considered that schools over-enroll black students to "Criminalize," and "View them as negative statistics on the dark side of the achievement gap." It was very sad to read about the segregation and the isolation that a minority felt in a white-dominant school. 2. Although I didn't feel isolated, when I was younger (middle school aged), I was called a ginger with "No soul" due to my hair color. It didn't both me too much, but as I look back, I realize this could have made me feel very isolated from the typical brunettes or blondes in my school. However, it is a similar experience; others putting you down due to physical attributes that you can not necessarily change. 3. I believe that I am alike to this mother. The mother said, "I want your teachers to help you love being in your skin." This is one thing that I plan to incorporate in my future classroom, and incorporate daily as an intern. I never want to feel that a child should change themselves to fit the status-quo, whether it is their personality or physical traits. However, I am slightly different from this mother. I grew up in a town where the majority of students had the same upbringings and skin tone as myself, so I personally don't have the experience that she had being an outcast. 4. In one classroom that I observed, a teacher read a book called Same, Same but Different. This book included two students who were the same age, yet had different physical traits, and it highlighted how although you may look different, you may have similar interests. I loved this book and plan to use it in my classroom in the future, teaching students to appreciate differences. 

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1. This story was very eye opening to me, I never considered that schools over-enroll black students to "Criminalize," and "View them as negative statistics on the dark side of the achievement gap." It was very sad to read about the segregation and the isolation that a minority felt in a white-dominant school. 2. Although I didn't feel isolated, when I was younger (middle school aged), I was called a ginger with "No soul" due to my hair color. It didn't both me too much, but as I look back, I realize this could have made me feel very isolated from the typical brunettes or blondes in my school. However, it is a similar experience; others putting you down due to physical attributes that you can not necessarily change. 3. I believe that I am alike to this mother. The mother said, "I want your teachers to help you love being in your skin." This is one thing that I plan to incorporate in my future classroom, and incorporate daily as an intern. I never want to feel that a child should change themselves to fit the status-quo, whether it is their personality or physical traits. However, I am slightly different from this mother. I grew up in a town where the majority of students had the same upbringings and skin tone as myself, so I personally don't have the experience that she had being an outcast. 4. In one classroom that I observed, a teacher read a book called Same, Same but Different. This book included two students who were the same age, yet had different physical traits, and it highlighted how although you may look different, you may have similar interests. I loved this book and plan to use it in my classroom in the future, teaching students to appreciate differences. 

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Watson Reading Response - Ashley Winfield

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Watson Reading Response - Ashley Winfield

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1. While reading this story of Dylan's experience in the school system, I found myself having a variety of emotions. I felt for Dylan and his experiences, I felt angry at what he had to go through, and while I can't completely relate to the extent he went through I found myself seeing connections to myself and to peers that went through similar experiences.
2. Again, while I can't completely relate, I can feel and connect to the way teachers put him down. In my junior year of high school I was searching and applying to colleges. I had a meeting with my guidance consular to talk about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to be. I shared with him what my top school was. He replied back to me that I could never get into that school and that I wasn't smart enough to get accepted, while my gpa was a 3.7. He told me that I could never get into any hard colleges and I should be looking at community colleges and state schools. The way he put me down made me think and doubt that I would never get into a university and that I wasn't smart enough.
3. I think I relate more to the mother in the story. Even though I am not a mother yet, I hope and dream for my future children, students, friends, etc. to have a good, loving, and safe learning experience. Even when in school I am so hopeful that teachers will be accepting and understanding to each and every student.
4. I have read similar stories about how teachers and school systems are unfair to certain students. I have read and experienced teachers being unfair to students based on race, religion, and even learning disabilities. I took a class in high school called conversations on race and we read many articles, books, and watched videos about the unfair treatment students received by teachers.

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The format in which the story was written was really powerful to me. Reading a tender, heart-felt letter from a mother to her child, filled with prayers, hopes, and memories allowed me to connect deeply to an issue which I have not experienced in my own life, due to white privilege. Throughout my time in this program, I have been exposed to some really great resources on culturally-responsive classroom practices, and yet every time I read an account of the ways in which discrimination and racism are normalized and excused in schools around the country, I am shocked. I think that this article helped me, through the vulnerability and deeply personal tone with which it was written, to resolve even more to bring cultural equity into my own classroom. Like I said above, I will never truly know the effects of racism and cultural discrimination - and this is why it is so important to make space for the voices of people of color to share their lived experiences so that we can all learn from them and right these wrongs going forward. I think that probably the closest I can relate to the feelings of shock and just utter disappointment that I felt while reading about the casually dismissive remarks of Dyan’s teacher (“She’s not like the others”) is when I was a sophomore in undergrad, and I had to take a science course for my core requirements. The class that I ended up taking was on genetics, and the professor had previously worked in the field, so I was pretty excited to learn something new. However, the man turned out to be a gross misogynist and the entire 15-week course was through his discriminatory lens of men being better than women on every level, including evolutionary. On my final exam, the essay question read: “Suppose you have one son and one daughter, and you can only educate one of them. Which one do you educate and why?” The correct answer, we had been coached in the class before, was the son, because he could produce more children to carry on his genes. “Women are only good for a few children, and it takes much longer,” my professor told us as we studied for his exam. “The son is the better option.” My feelings of disgust and shock then were probably the closest I will ever come to experiencing the racial bias that the author discusses in her article, but I understand how powerful that moment was in shaping my view of gender equality, and I will carry that with me as I come into a position of authority in which my words and the information I give students shapes their views of the world, as well. In ED575, we listened to an excellent podcast titled “Nice White Parents: Not Our School” which also discussed the way that white people - parents, teachers, administrators - who probably don’t consider themselves to be racist, still perpetuate not only harmful stereotypes, but also active harm against the opportunities that black and minority students have access to in school. It was shocking and thought-provoking in a very similar vein to this article, and I really enjoyed listening to it and examining my own role in the process of equity. I’m including the link here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/podcasts/episode-three-this-is-our-school-how-dare-you.html?action=click&module=audio-series-bar®ion=header&pgtype=Article

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1. After reading this message I was filled with mixed emotions. I was angry at how education was for the mother, how she was treated based off of the color of her skin and hearing things like "you're not like other blacks" as if that was a compliment. But as I continued to read what the mother wrote, she reflected upon her upbringing and her hopes for her son, which made me happy because she wants the best for her son and wants him to be loved for who he is!
2. I felt similarly (not to the same extent at all) when someone commented that "all blondes are dumb" and that I was "pretty smart for blonde girl," basically receiving a back handed compliment just as the mother did in the message to her son. It was frustrating because hair color is not something that dictates intelligence, just as, skin color does not dictate ones capabilities.
3. I would say that I am a mix of both. Similarly, I would wish the same upon my child and I do reflect upon my past in order for a better future such as this mother did. I would say I am also different because I did not have that upbringing with education. School was somewhere I felt safe. I was never mistreated based off the color of my skin and was treated fairly by my educators.
4. This message made me think of articles, books, and interviews I have seen about the Holocaust. We all know how this ended, millions dead. Just because they had different beliefs they had to wear the star of David on their sleeves to identify themselves as "different". They were not able to be themselves. This is clearly to the worst possible extent of human nature, but connecting it to this article you can see how individuals similarly were ridiculed for their culture, their looks, beliefs, etc. Not feeling safe enough to be themselves.