Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dickman Critical Incident Project 2
Dickman Critical Incident Project 2
1. What
On a Friday towards the end of the year, first thing in the morning, my
crew was getting ready to go to the park. In the classroom before heading to
the park, one of my white students, Sarah, got out her sunscreen to bring to
the park with us. Sarah had been giving her sunscreen to some of the
students but not everyone. Once we got to the park, Sarah continued to give
sunscreen to some of the other students, but still was not giving her
sunscreen to everyone. A couple of my black students came up to me and
began to tell me that Sarah was not sharing her sunscreen with them, as her
mother had told her that black people are not able to burn and therefore do
not need sunscreen. The girls were very confused and hurt that Sarah would
not share her sunscreen with them. I called Sarah up to come talk to me and
explained to her that regardless of skin color, we are all equally affected by
the suns harmful rays and that even though it may not always show in the
same way, we are all capable of being sun burnt. Sarah told me that she was
just doing what her mom had said and was not sharing her sunscreen
because her mom told her she did not need to share her sunscreen with
those girls. Sarah began to tear up and went to sit by herself.
Once we got back to the school, I sat all the girls down with me to have
a talk about what happened. Just as I had done with Sarah, I explained to all
of my girls that regardless of our skin color, the sun affects us all equally. I
used this as an opportunity to also discuss with the class the regardless of
our skin color, we are also all affected by one anothers words. This turned
into a good discussion between my students and many of the girls took the
opportunity to apologize to one another for possible harm they may have
inflicted with their words. I brought the conversation to a close and continued
on with our day. However, once we went out to the next recess, I saw Sarah
was still visibly upset. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that
some of the other black students had called her mother a racist. I explained
to Sarah that by her mother sending her to this school, she was not racist.
Our school is incredibly diverse, which is one of the best parts about it. As a
charter school, Sarahs mother had proactively chosen to send her daughter
to this school and to be surrounded by this diversity. We called the other girls
over to talk to us and explained the same thing to them. Again, there were
some tears shed and apologies were shared on both sides. After that, we
never heard about the incident again.
2. Emotions
Teacher (myself):
Shocked
Confusion
Sadness
Empowered
Frustration
Uncomfortable
Taken aback
Nervous
Student (Sarah):
Confusion
Hurt
Defensive
Embarrassed
When we had the issue that day, I was shocked and taken aback and
didnt quite know how to deal with it. Since I had never dealt with this topic
before, it was awkward for me to figure out how to discuss this issue with my
students. I was immensely frustrated with Sarahs mother for appearing to
be so ignorant about the suns affects on people regardless of skin color. I
was frustrated with Sarah for following those seemingly ignorant directions
and not sharing her sunscreen with everyone. I was embarrassed in front of
my African American students because it was the first time that I felt like our
racial differences had been drastically clear.
Once I had worked through the issue in my head and figured out how
to discuss it with my class, I felt somewhat relieved. I even began to feel a
bit empowered to finally have those conversations with my students and
make it clear that it wasnt a taboo issue or something that we werent
allowed to talk about. I was nervous about how parents may respond after
hearing about this incident and even more nervous about how Sarahs mom
may have responded. However, I found it very important to have a frank and
honest discussion with my students about what happened and what it meant
for us.
with the other white girls. My mom told me that since their skin is already
darker, my black friends didnt need to use my sunscreen because they dont
burn. This made sense to me, since when I get burnt, the sun is just making
me darker. I didnt think anything of it.
When I got to school that day, we had a bit of class and then started to
get ready to go to the park. Ms. D let me put sunscreen on before we started
to head down and everyone was doing their own thing getting their stuff
ready. I shared my sunscreen with my friends and some of the other girls. We
went down to the park and some more of my classmates asked to borrow my
sunscreen. When some of my black friends asked to borrow my sunscreen, I
told them that I wasnt allowed to let them use it because they didnt need it
so I didnt want to waste it. They got really made at me and told me they
were going to tell Ms. D on me. I was confused and hurt. I didnt know what I
did wrong, but I was nervous that I was going to get in trouble since
apparently I had hurt my friends feelings somehow.
Ms. D called me up to talk to her and explained to me that everyone
gets hurt by the sun no matter what his or her skin color is. I was confused
again because this is not what my mom had told me. I felt bad for making
my classmates feel bad. I was also embarrassed because I didnt think I did
anything wrong. I told Ms. D I was just following my moms directions. I didnt
know what to do so I decided not to share sunscreen with anyone else. I
apologized to the girls who I did not share with. Even though I apologized,
they said that my mom was being racist.
When we got back to school, Ms. D asked me why I was still upset. I
told her that the girls had called my mom racist. Ms. D explained to the
whole class that since we are a charter school, our parents want us to go to
this specific school, which means they want us to be around all of the kids
who go here. This made me feel better, but I was still embarrassed that all of
the attention was on me for something that I never meant to do. The girls
apologized for calling my mom racist and told me that they understood now.
At the end of the day, we all felt better with each other.
had also been burnt by the sun before. We were hurt by what Sarah told us.
We went and told Ms. D, as we did not think Sarah was treating us fair.
Ms. D called all of us to come talk to her. She explained to us all that
no matter what skin color you have, we are all equally affected by the suns
harmful rays. Sarah started to cry and walked away. We followed her to talk
to her and she apologized to us. We accepted her apology but told her that
her mom was being racist by not letting us use her sunscreen. We walked
away from Sarah to go play by ourselves.
When we got back to school, Ms. D again talked to all of us about what
happened. She explained to the whole class once more that just like the sun
affects everyone in the same way, we are also all affected by each others
words in the same way. Also, since this is a charter school, our parents
purposefully wanted us to go to this school, which means they would want us
to be surrounded by all of the different races. We all felt better and decided
to apologize to Sarah for calling her mom racist.
students. Sarah was not aware that her knowledge was misguided and
possibly offensive, and therefore she unconsciously hurt others around her.
This was not her fault, though, since she had never been taught otherwise.
She was simply going off what she knew.
better team and network of support, which could have provided the
opportunity to have those more sensitive discussions around race and to
make sure we were all on the same page. This principle also talks about
using role models, which families and influencers are. By setting positive
examples about how we relate to other races, this incident could have been
avoided.
The other TAL impact principle that relates to this incident is that of
Executing Effectively. In my practice and execution, I never felt it necessary
or felt comfortable enough to touch on race or to explicitly discuss it. As the
principle of Executing Effectively states: for highly effective teachers, every
action, large and small, is taken because it contributes to the goal of student
learning (TAL Impact Model). Again, while this wasnt necessarily academic
based learning, it was cultural learning. By having the courage and
confidence to explicitly discuss and teach about race, I could have cleared up
confusion or unconscious biases or racism. Throughout most of the year, I
never effectively executed a discussion or lesson related to race, and
because of that we hit an issue that sprang completely from confusion and
misunderstanding.
By focusing on the TAL Principles and thinking about them even
outside of academic learning and education, I will better be able to reach my
students as a leader.
7. Actions
8. Reflection of Learning
By taking the time to reflect on this critical incident in my first year of
teaching, I learned a lot. One of the basic, most important things that I
learned from this process was just how important communication is. I also
learned how important it is for me to truly accept my role as a leader in the
classroom and that the values that I set forth really do hold so much sway in
what happens in our room. Through analyzing an unfortunate incident that
happened in my classroom this year, I am able to learn and grow from it.
While at the time I may have wished that the incident never happened,
instead of just passing it over and attempting to forget about it, I am able to
take the time to step back and critically analyze what happened and what I
space for my students to discuss taboo issues such as race. I will even go so
far as to say I wish to create a space where my students feel comfortable in
sharing not only what they know and what they bring to the table, but also to
share their questions and confusions. It is possible that if Sarah had felt more
comfortable to share what she knew (or didnt know) in this setting, that we
could have avoided this situation. It will take a lot of practice and work to
create a space where my students will feel safe to share what they dont
know. However, I want to be a leader in a classroom where not only do
students feel like they can share what they dont know, but other students
feel safe and confident to help guide that student given their backgrounds
and experiences. As Freire discusses in Pedagogy of Freedom, the teachinglearning process, together with the work of research, is essential and
inseparable aspect of the gnostic cycle (Freire, 15). My classroom will be the
sort of space where my students will be learners and leaders. They will feel
confident and safe to teach their peers given their own cultural background
and identity. Again, as Villegas puts it, this will look like involving all
students in the construction of knowledge, building on students personal
and cultural strengths, helping students examine the curriculum from
multiple perspectives, using varied assessment practices that promote
learning, and making the culture of the classroom inclusive of all students
(Villegas, 27). I will lead the sort of classroom where students will feel as if
their culture is embraced and as if their voice is important.
References
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage.
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998. Print.
McMannon, Timothy J. "Introduction: The Changing Purposes of Education
and Schooling." The Public Purpose of Education and Schooling. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997. Print.
A. Bartlett Giamatti, A Free and Ordered Space: The Real World of the
University (New York: Norton, 1988), p. 213
Moule, J. (2009). Understanding Unconscious Bias and Unintentional Racism:
Acknowledging our possible biases and working together openly is essential
for developing community in our schools. Phi Delta Kappan, January 01,