Blog Post #3

Ms. Crenshaw's Ted Talk was one of the most powerful pieces of video that I have viewed in quite awhile.  As she read the list of names in the opening, I was curious to see who would remain standing and what they had in common.  Ms. Crenshaw stated, "If we can't see a problem, we can't fix a problem!"  Just as she shared how Emma struggled with multiple injustices, so do many of our students.  We have shared in class the many challenges that students bring into the classroom on a daily basis.  However, some students deal with one challenge, while others deal with many.  When these challenges intersect, how do we best serve the student?  Which challenge poses the greatest obstacles or is it a combination of them all?  Do these combinations change daily?  I'm willing to say they do, as they do for us as well.  The term intersectionality reminds us, as educators, to acknowledge the many challenges that some of our students face.  I was watching the Ted Talk with my husband and he said that the term and graphic reminded him of a Venn diagram.  When placing the student in the intersecting part of the diagram, the outer circles represent all of the outside influences impacting his or her access to success.     
Winn & Johnson discuss the “education debt’ that occurs between culturally diverse and white populations in school.  Although they acknowledge,  “That there are no simple answers to the very real problems that underscore academic failure among marginalized youth,” four explanations are given as contributing factors.  These factors connect to Ms. Crenshaw’s talk in that there are possibly several factors intersecting simultaneously affecting our culturally diverse students.  Culturally relevant pedagogy is a term that can seem very intimidating; however, the authors offer a very real, obtainable definition, “One that can regard students as experts, one that is open to learning about the lives of students, and one that can push students to connect their lives to the world around them.”  This is definitely an area that I need to reflect and ask what and how can I do more.  As I think of my students, I am excited to offer meaningful opportunities to have them share their experiences and culture.                             

       

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