White Privilege In Middle Schools

By implementing a curriculum inclusive of diversity and white privilege, middle schools can further the understanding of each concept to the students. Kendall (2002) defines and details white privilege and how to overcome its institutional prowess over the United States by examining the epistemology of his life. However, implementing white privilege is difficult for anyone, especially early adolescents (Cushman & Rogers, 2007). Cushman and Rogers (2007) developed an outline on how to teach middle schoolers, inclusive of how to handle racial and ethnic barriers. Case (2007) does provide evidence of diversity courses benefiting college students in the article. The overarching theme of the three articles are focused on how students can understand
As well, the articles contribute and support the mission of Project SOAR. This paper will explore how a mentor that is equipped with an impeccable understanding of white privilege, tools to effectively teach the concept, and evidence of it benefiting the student can in turn benefit the mentee. White people need to be aware of the privilege they hold in order to destabilize the institutional racist oppression held over non-whites (Kendall, 2002). Kendall (2002) tabulates how white people can become aware of their privilege. First, white people need to “become clear about the basics of white privilege, what it is, and how it works” (Kendall, 2002, p. 62). They also need to understand that the privilege is institutional, and thus inherently given to them. Though minorities are not required to do so, they are a great resource when it comes to learning about white privilege; I have friends I made in elementary school that still educate me on white privilege. For example, my friend posted a video of him being told to leave his local 711 because of an accusation of theft. That video reminded and made me more aware of the privilege I hold. However, I failed a lot in being aware of my privilege. White people frequently use microaggressions, and are “able to do enormous damage with a
My community has twice the number of African Americans than the average town. My elementary, middle, and high school all had even higher percentages. Though I fail frequently in being aware of my white privilege and still use microaggressions toward my minority friends, I had resources that still positively affect me today. My interactions with African Americans is what educated me most on white privilege and, luckily, my teachers and schools accentuated diversity. During my school years in Oak Park, there were African American history classes offered, assemblies on diversity held, books on white privilege assigned, and personal anecdotes by teachers on their experiences with white privilege. My high school history teacher (and also the basketball coach) spent a whole class telling us his experiences of white privilege. The most eye-opening was where he was playing basketball with his African American friends. A police officer pulled him over and asked if him if he wanted the “black kids” to leave. That was my teacher’s big realization of white privilege. The same year, my English teacher (and also the football coach) assigned the book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum. The book was an eye-opening experience, and the weeks spent on discussing it educated all of us in the classroom. My experiences in school are one of the reasons why