Critical Examination of Race and Gender: In the Professional Practices of Literacy Educators

• In Event: Facing Current Issues in Urban Education: Race, Class, and Gender

Abstract

Objectives/Purposes
In this analytic conceptual essay, and from my standpoint as an African American
woman teacher/researcher, I present a rich description of a personal sensibility and promising professional practice for literacy educators and those who prepare Reading/English/Language Arts teacher candidates for service among students who are historically marginalized and underserved by schools and communities. First, I examine some of the literature on the racial and gender identities of most teacher candidates in America, the corollary between this group's inexperience with students who are different from them, and conceptions about language in relationship to racism and sexism. Second, I provide examples of the ways demeaning words are used in popular culture narratives among those who are privileged and how their words alienate and oppress "others." Finally, I define the "Agitator Identity Trait" and articulate the ways it can develop promising pedagogical practices among teacher candidates, counter wounding words, and assist students' counter-oppressive thinking and action. While I ultimately contribute these promising practices for identifying and countering overt language adversities as they occur in popular culture narratives, I also present a brief review of the two primary ways language adversities function--covertly and overtly-as a way to frame the intersections of racist and sexist ideologies, language, and human objectification.
Perspectives/Theoretical Framework
Literacies, those socially situated and culturally informed literacy practices that acutely traverse, are responsive to, and make meaning from the politically charged popular culture narratives of our current day and age (Staples, 2008a). These literacies are entangled with constructs like race, gender, culture, language, religion, terror, and sexuality in ways that are globally unprecedented and hyper-communicated at lightning speed.
Conclusions
As linguistic violence increases in public discourse, English teacher candidates must learn ways to facilitate processes that combat words that wound. African American feminist epistemologies (Collins, 1990; Royster, 2000) provide information about historical and cultural ideologies of language and resistance. Queer theories of opposition (Blackburn, 2002/2003), malee available information about youth work and language reclamation. Theories about the merger of linguistic and ethnic identities (Anzaldua, 2002) shed light on racialized and nationalized perspectives on linguistic variation, diversity, and adversity. Ideas about language, cultural assimilation, and formation of the self (Balchtin, 1981) help form understandings of the social nature of dialogue. And, Imowledge about the intersections of literacy, psychology, sociology and teaching (Chung & Pennebaker, 2007; Cushman, 1998;Knoblauch & Brannon, 1993; Pennebaker, 2002; Pennebalcer & Stone, 2003 all present information about the ways literacy/literary education intersect(s) ideologies about the individual, groups, and society.
It is imperative that we remember, as Balkhtin (1981) explained, "language, even at the level of individual words, serves as an arena where opposing ideologies of identity and exclusion play themselves out" (p. 18). With this notion in place, we can take for granted that teacher candidates, and the underserved students they will engage, need to learn the social and cognitive practices to centralize these oppositions and deconstruct them for the betterment of democracy, inclusion, respect, and genuine appreciation of individuals and groups deemed "different" from them.

Author

• Jeanine M. Staples, The Pennsylvania State University