"Letting Myself Get Pulled Away": Learning to Negotiate Race Talk Dilemmas in the English Classroom

• In Event: 69.057 - Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: 69.057-8 - Race Talk at Home, at School, and in Communities

Abstract

English teachers frequently face race talk dilemmas that require them to decide whether and how to address racism in the classroom. Negotiating race talk dilemmas can be especially difficult for White teachers whose own racial understanding and complex White racial identities may still be emerging. This qualitative case study explores a second year White English teacher’s semester-long examination of the relationship between race and English teaching, which led her to focus on instances of race talk in her classroom and her own White teacher identity. Drawing on critical race theory, critical Whiteness Studies, and antiracist pedagogy, this study suggests that sustained focus, exploratory writing over time with feedback, and a supportive relationship were all key to this English teacher’s growth.

Authors

• Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides, Westfield State University

• Carlin Borsheim-Black, Central Michigan University