The Pedagogy of Racism is pervasive
in American schools. The colonial systems, which
foster whiteness as a basis for hiring, cannot exclude
the racism, both overt and subtle that comes with
it. Racism, discrimination, and segregation are
as common today as they were in 1954. Instead of
lynching young men on trees, they are lynched in
a rising tide of poor teaching, low expectations,
and remediation. The national efforts to improve
national norms have resulted in fewer and fewer
minorities in the classroom as teachers. There can
be no nationally normed tests of basic achievement
until the day arrives when there is a national curriculum.
There is no such thing as a nationally normed group.
The national and state tests of teacher competency
are of the same absurd principles: Unless all teacher
candidates complete the same curriculum, there is
no adequate measure of teacher competency. There
has never been and there will never be a teacher
competency test, which will correctly gauge professional
performance in the classroom. What the nationally
normed tests, what these so-called tests of basic
knowledge, basic achievement, etc., do is assure
that each and every year, minority children and
minority teachers will be left out and the power,
prestige, and privilege of American society will
remain forever in white hands. Rousseau(1862) and
Jefferson(1776) offered a vision of a world of equal
justice, individual liberty, and equal opportunity
for all of the world's citizens...and like best
practices.., few follow them.
The Pedagogy of Acceptance represents the positive
side of the Pedagogy of Racism. Those who accept
the Pedagogy of Acceptance recognize the individual
worth of every student, see the essential and intact
human being in all students, work diligently to
teach students in the way they learn best, sets
high expectations for all students, and recognize
no clock in pursuit of student achievement. These
teachers practice social justice each and every
day, share a classroom of inclusion, offer an atmosphere
of trust, create personal power and voice in their
classes, and assure that fair play, honesty, and
acceptance are abundant in every class.
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