On page 35 Bishop writes, “Identifying multicultural literature as literature of or about “The Other”-- people other than white middle-class citizens of the United State-- helps reinforce and maintain old social patterns by setting up the American white middle class as the norm......” Through out the article, this quote kept popping up in my mind. I whole-heartedly agree with the statement and belief that when you create this separation between whites & everyone else, you are continuing to reinforce the idea that whites are on a higher standard.. but in reality, here in the 21st century, that notion isn't necessarily true anymore.
Another thought that really popped out to me was the idea that "teachers should be colorblind." After reading that on the anticipation guide, I really had to think about it. On one hand, you've got the idea that by acknowledging that there are minorities you continue to feed into the idea that white Americans have the upper hand in life. On the flip side, all cultures are different. What kind of message does it send to the student if you completely disregard their culture? As of right now, I am still a little confused on where to draw the line. Hopefully it will become more clear through out my courses here at ISU.
I think as a white person it is very easy to think this separation is irrelevant nowadays. We are brought up thinking that color doesn't matter. So when we hear that it does our initial reaction is "no". I think part of acknowledging diversity is to realize that there are different view points on this matter and to a lot of people who are not white, the separation by color is still a very real problem.
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