P. DuPont's Blog Spot

After reading, Race: Some Teachable and Uncomfortable Moments by Heidi Tolentino, here are my thoughts: I understood Carlen’s reaction by stating, “You can never know what’s it’s like. You will never understand.”  However, I appreciate the fact that Jess was trying to understand and that should be acknowledged, too.  The teacher was trying to shed light on racism because those difficult conversations need to take place in our classrooms.  Our classrooms should be a safe haven for ALL of our learners.  One of the problems with racism is that we don’t have those open discussions about it and I believe that nothing will ever change if we don’t engage in those difficult conversations.  Carlen’s reaction made me think of this video that I view as powerful and eye opening.  With all the racial events that have occurred in the world, my husband I had a similar talk with our daughters.  Procter & Gamble made this video which shows “the talk” that African-American parents need to h

Reflecting on this week’s reading, Ms. Wild in Yo Miss! reminded me of myself in regards to being extremely mentally exhausted thinking about life while at the same time bringing what happened at work home with me.  I have been teaching for about 14 years and my class this year has been one of the most challenging classes in regards to defiant behavior, lack of attention and chronic absenteeism which is a recipe for teacher burnout.  Like Ms. Wild, often times I find myself at home reflecting on my challenging day, asking myself what can I do differently with child X, how can I help these students be more engaged while questioning my reason for choosing education in the first place in addition to thinking about everyday life issues such as family, finances and etc...  After my mental digressions, in the end I’m reminded about how blessed I am and all the positive differences I’m continuing to make in the classroom and in my personal life and that’s what drives me.  This article was j