Case Study Week 1
- Linda Howard
- 19-year-old senior
- Class valedictorian
- Recent grad
- Awarded a four-year scholarship to a prominent university in New England
- Race:
- Constantly mistaken for being Puerto Rican or Cape Verdean
- Father is African American
- Mother is European American
- About her race she states:
- “I don’t really use race, I always say, ‘My father’s Black, my mother’s White, I’m mixed.’ But I’m American; I’m human. That’s my race; I’m part of the human race” “It’s insulting when people label me as ‘You’re black’ or ‘You’re white’ I am both, I want to be part of both. I think teachers need to be sensitive to that. Stop asking me about soul food, that’s just one aspect of my mixed culture”
- About culture:
- “My culture is my family, I have an enormous family. I have three brothers, and my parents. My father has ten siblings. I was born and raised in America, I am fourth generation American. I’m just American and my culture is my family
- Issues:
- As a person of mixed heritage or race, Linda may feel or be seen as “less authentic” in terms of her identity.
- Linda didn’t expect all her teachers to be biracial like she was, but did expect them to be sensitive, accepting of who she was, and not impose their own ideas about identity on her.
- Teachers that stood out to Linda were those that could identify culturally with her, made learning fun, engaging and challenging
QUESTIONS:
- If you were one of Linda’s teachers, how could you be sensitive to her multicultural background?
- Do you think more teachers need to be “multicultural” in order to relate to their students and teach effectively?
- As an educator, how could you find ways culturally relate to your students? Describe/explain some of the ways this could be accomplished.
- Can issues or race and identity be handled by schools? Are these issues too complicated for them? Why or why not? What skills do you think you need if you are faced with these kinds of issues? At what age should race and identity be discussed? Why?
Requirements: NA
