Great point about there being viable different views. Curious that my
younger son will also -for many of the same reasons as your son- often
challenge my liberal biases. (My wife usually smiles in a most irritatingly
knowing way when this happens.)
I think you are right in proposing that a good open conversation in which
differences of opinion are respectfully explored is a necessary precursor to
discovering if there is some common ground upon which to build a group
effort to push back on economic inequality.
Fred
On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 8:27 PM, Bill Ivey <bivey01370@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> 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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--
Fred Bartels
Dir. of Info. Tech.
Rye Country Day School
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