Invasion of Privacy
INVASION OF PRIVACY
INVASION OF PRIVACY
A student in my school told me her experience in her freshman global class. She mentioned how her class had spent two months on the unit about Martin Luther and the protestant reformation, which was boring and didn't reflect her identity as a female Black student. When her class entered the Africa unit, she said the teachers prefaced with a small class discussion about students prior knowledge of Africa and they made sure to addressed the issue which is NYC's very Euro-centric curriculum where students don't learn about Africa unless it is connected to slavery in someway. That being said, her teachers only spent that week on the early Africa unit, and assigned a homework to read 14 textbook pages about Africa. "They did not prioritize class time like they did for the protestant reformation unit." She was upset that the teachers lead with an empathetic and more progressive approach, but continued to quickly skim through the unit.
Many students in New York City often do not feel represented in their schools curriculum. There are also students that overwhelmingly feel misrepresented. The black experience is often associated with trauma, no celebration of their power, which this student mentions. This story also reflects on how the black experience is often minimized to a few figures like Martin Luther King Jr.. While there is effort being made in vocally challenging white supremist influence over history, if there is no action to follow, such as spending more time, then it is simply performative. Without the proper relationship, the student did not feel seen by her teachers or classmates. Additionally, if there were more space for teachers of colors then they would be able to provide a different point of view.