Well, first, to be fair, there are a good many people with the best of
intentions who hold different views from those of us who have so far
spoken out on this thread. I love discussing social justice issues
with my son because he knows a number of people whose opinions differ
wildly from the ones with which he grew up, and is exploring how that
might affect his own values. It helps me see best intentions behind
some perspectives I used to think of as ill-informed at best - often
the same
beat intentions that I have. I listen to my students discussing
prejudice and you'd think they were absolutely in agreement
politically. But they most emphatically are not, and this greatly
complicates action plans.
So I would reframe the question slightly. How can we support
trepidatious administrators who do want to take more of a stand on
social justice issues? How we find common ground with those with whom
we disagree and begin to work together toward that common end? To that
end, I would hope that people who disagree with Fred, Peter, Steve and
me would weigh in on this thread.
This notion of having a conversation and seeking common ground fits
with Steve's notion of finding solidarity. The notion of white
privilege, to which I think he alludes, is a far more thorny issue,
never mind gender privilege and most especially class privilege. It
took me years to understand them, and it would be insane to expect
twelve-year-olds to get it in one unit (never mind to expect them to
agree with me - besides, I'm enough of a free thinker to want them to
develop their own, informed, thought-out opinions).
Just a few more thoughts.
Take care,
Bill Ivey
Stoneleigh-Burnham School
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