Stimulus/Response for

March 13, 2008

By

Halford H. Fairchild

Roots

Stimulus: The film clip showed the ‘re-socialization’ of Kunta Kinte, but the media portrayal was a false one. This fact notwithstanding, the reality is that Africans have lost their identity. Many Black Americans DENY their African heritage. (And no wonder, given the way that Africa has been portrayed in popular culture.)

Lecture by Jeremiah Wright

Stimulus: Reverend Wright, of Trinity Baptist Church in Chicago, entertained the assembled (at the annual meeting of The Assn. of Black Psychologists in 1996), with a talk that ranged from Black identity (“Who are we”? “We are Nelson Mandela and Imhotep….”) to Black linguistics. The focus was on language. A number of BIG IDEAS:

· Differences are not deficits

· Many “survivals” from Africa were identified, language, music, sense of rhythm,

· A nice quote: “If you don’t where you started out, you will always be headed in the wrong direction,” (Molefi Asante). This is a very Sankofa idea.

· Black/White comparisons are invalid, especially when done from a European epistemology.

Responses: The talk demonstrated the “call-and-response” style of African and African American worship services. The speaker draws energy from the audience, and a back-and-forth dialog ensues. This is importantly implicated in American pedagogy where students sit still, silently, in rows. Black culture demands more of an interactive teaching methodology. [This ties with news article, Schools Slow in Closing Gap]

On the invalidity of Black/White comparisons – violates the canon of systematic, and/or controlled observation. Recall Asa Hilliard’s critique of such research: how do you operationally define “Black” or “White”?

African American Dialects

Stimulus: This piece by Fairchild and Edwards-Evans reviews work on the issue of ‘ebonics’ or AAVE or AAD. AAD are legitimate and not deficient.

Teacher attitudes create SFPs.

Pedagogical Implications: teachers should monitor their own attitudes and behaviors to linguistic minorities. Teachers must presume academic success.

Responses: I like the naming of the field. [Vernacular is pejorative: “common, native, ordinary, peculiar to a class”]

We admit that certain areas are “beyond our expertise” (dialects of the Carib and South America and elsewhere).

Understanding and comprehending language as proof of our intellectual genius.

Don’t reject students’ language: “I ain’t got no money.”

Change curriculum content: focus on world problems.

Linguistic diversity as an asset, vs. English only. (What do you call someone who speaks 3 or more languages?....)

Fairchild cites himself a lot.

Today’s America Needs many Tongues

Important ideas: subtractive bilingualism; immigrants as an untapped resource. Spanish speakers should be cherished, not scorned. Bilingualism as a cognitive asset.

Redefining Excellence in Higher Education

If excellence is attaining achievement in an established discipline, it is problematic because of the history of Manifest Destiny and the tainting of these disciplines with racism and sexism.

Covers the world map, history of Western Civ in Greece;

Excellence redefined: “…the taking of challenging perspectives to traditional academic disciplines.” This is to be found in ‘ethnic studies’ and ‘women’s studies.’

Schools Slow in Closing Gap

Gaps worsen over 12 years, saying that schools are causal in producing those gaps. Why? How?

What is needed is a secular change, a sea change, in attitudes toward minorities, and in structured inequalities in opportunity, and in teaching styles (allowing for more call-and-response and interactivity), and in curriculum content.