Thread by @MsAbeja

I missed this facebook live conversation between powerhouses @PRHSspanish & @BobPatrick earlier today--I just caught the tail-end as you all were finishing up.

So I'll use this space to live-comment as I would have if I had been there? Does that work? Let's try!
#langchat

https://twitter.com/PRHSspanish/status/1283038873745076224

around 9:25 Bob mentions a problematic representation in a Latin textbook, but won't name the textbook bc he "doesn't want to bash any books" and I'm wondering about his choice to characterize the naming of sources w/problematic themes or stereotypes as "bashing" them.
#langchat

At 11:55: The question is "do content creators owe us a constant stream of revisions?"

I find the way this question is posited to be very interesting as well. There's a difference between feedback based on teachers' preferences, and criticism based on racist tropes & stereotypes

17:15 @PRHSspanish says "if it was 'buy-once, use-forever' you'd probably still fit in those old jeans..."
And I have to say, I feel VERY attacked right now 😬😂

"You👏Don't 👏Use 👏Realidades👏" Meredith, would you please tell that to my district 😂😐

Around 26:45 Meredith says she'd rather get a call or text over having these conversations on Social Media.
As a newer teacher who has not been able to afford to attend a bunch of conferences, this is where the CI field starts to feel very "clique-ish" to me.
#langchat

And probably my own communication style/preference has something to do with this, but reaching out to someone via DM feels... almost intimate? Very personal? It feels almost like crossing a line to me sometimes, especially if I'm offering critique.

Maybe it's due to the fact that I haven't attended a bunch of conferences to meet any of you in-person, but I just don't have that sort of relationship w/the "CI EduCelebs" or content creators.

I don't think that should preclude me from starting or engaging in a convo.

Just shy of 30 min in, @BobPatrick says "My blind-spotters have to be people that I trust." And I'm wondering about this comment as well. I don't necessarily disagree, but I wonder...

What if no one that I feel like I trust has helped me identify a particular "blind-spot"?

What if the folx I trust have the same "blind-spot"? Or what if they're so concerned about hurting my feelings that they don't point it out to me? That doesn't help.

Iknow DiAngelo is out of vogue w/many ppl lately, but she addresses this in Ch 10 "WF & the Rules Of Engagement"

BC we often fall into the good/bad binary wrt racism and implicit biases, white folx often react very emotionally when confronted w/our own implicit biases, even if the person helping us see our "blind-spot" is gentle w/us.
#langchat

Through her yrs of running anti-racist workshops w/white folx, DiAngelo has noticed a number of unwritten "rules" that white folx insist on when confronted w/our own implicit biases.
The Cardinal Rule:
1. Do not give me feedback on my racism under any circumstances.
#langchat

"If you insist on breaking the Cardinal Rule, you must follow these other rules:
2. Proper tone is crucial--feedback must be given calmly. If any emotion is displayed, the feedback is invalid & can be dismissed."
#langchat

"3. There must be Trust between us. You must trust that I am in no way racist before you can give me feedback on my racism."
#langchat

"4. Our relationship must be issue-free. If there are any issues btwn us, you cannot give me feedback on my racism until the unrelated issues are resolved."
#langchat

"5. Feedback must be given immediately. If you wait to long, it will be discounted."
#langchat

"6. You MUST give feedback privately, regardless of whether the incident occurred in public. To give feedback in front of others is to commit a serious social transgression. If you can't protect me from embarrassment, the feedback is invalid & YOU are the transgressor."
#langchat

"7. You must be as indirect as possible. Directness is insensitive & will invalidate the feedback & require repair."
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"8. As a white person, I must feel completely safe* during any discussion on race. Suggesting that I have racist assumptions will cause me to feel unsafe so you will need to rebuild my trust by never giving me feedback again.

*When I say 'safe' I mean 'comfortable'"
#langchat

"9. Highlighting my racial privilege invalidates the form of oppression that I DO experience (classism, sexism, homophobia, etc.) We will then need to turn our attention to how YOU oppressed ME."
#langchat

"10. You must acknowledge my intentions (always good) & agree that my good intentions cancel out the impact of my behavior."
#langchat

"11. To suggest my behavior had racist impact is to have misunderstood me. You will need to allow me to explain myself until you can acknowledge that it was YOUR misunderstanding."
#langchat

DiAngelo says "The contradictions in these rules are irrelevant; their function is to obscure racism, protect white dominance, and regain white equilibrium. And they do so effectively." (p.124)

Now, I know that DiAngelo is currently out of favor, so I hesitate to cite her, but when I first read this list I saw it as a "How NOT To Be" list, and for that purpose, I still think it is valuable.
#langchat

Back to watching the chat now.
30:36 @PRHSspanish Meredith you use the analogy of shouting to someone that their fly is down--like "you could have whispered it! I'm here for the whisper!" 😂

Fair enough. I just want to know if it's down so I can stop flashing my undies. 😄

I have to say, avoiding ableist language is one of my areas of growth, & as I'm looking more closely at my own practices around this, I'm cringing when I see others do it.

Like the phrases "blind leading the blind" and even "blind spot"--I'm trying to root those out.
#langchat

Talking about Jon Cowart's recent blog post now. I know that his initial reflection was in response to a "call-in" email that he received (which he quotes in the blog.)

joncowartteaching.com/2020/07/11/im-…

However, he has also been "called-out" about the section on Ruby Payne (which @BobPatrick reads out loud here)the Rules of Poverty vs Rules of Middle Class. Folx who know much more about Payne & how problematic her work is called that part out. And Jon's response was 💯
#langchat

Jon said "Several people have pointed out that Ruby Payne, who I cite in the post, is problematic. Thank you! That's the whole point of this post, is that I still have blind spots, and my journey is incomplete. 1/2"
#langchat

Jon said "I only started becoming anti-racist like, 2 years ago, so I still have a lot of work to do. Keep reading, keep sending me criticism, and keep pushing me to be better. We all should do this for each other, and for our students."

He wasn't mad abt the Call-Outs
#langchat

LOVE when @BobPatrick links White Supremacy Culture's need for "perfection" w/the CI classroom (so NOT what a "perfect" academic classroom is "supposed" to look like! We break all the "rules!)

AND to our knee-jerk defensive reaction when confronted w/implicit biases.
#langchat

However--I see this need to protect our own egos by insisting on ONLY getting feedback through the call-in (which Jon didn't do, mind you) ALSO falls victim to the White Supremacy Culture's folly of perfectionism.
#langchat
@BobPatrick @PRHSspanish

"Only call-in" also means "don't embarrass me in public, let me maintain a perfect image."

Ultimately I see that as a way to divert attention from the work back on to ourselves & our feelings--our need to preserve our "innocence," or control the narrative.
#langchat

Now, I've never said we should ACTUALLY shame or attack each other in the name of Social Justice or equity.

But, while having your implicit biases pointed out to you in front of others may FEEL shameful, I don't think it is inherently an example of public shaming.
#langchat

I fall back on the wisdom of @BreneBrown who distinguishes btwn Shame & Guilt (& who modeled an excellent way to respond to being publicly called out for something earlier this year w/@mochamomma)

Just because we FEEL shame doesn't mean we're BEING shamed.
#langchat

At 56 min @BobPatrick you talk abt when you're receptive to feedback. I thought the bar was pretty high.
Feedback should:
1) come from a trusted member of your inner circle
2) happen face-to-face
3) be gentle enough to give you space & time to process
#langchat

I'm breaking all of those rules by even writing any of these Tweets! (I promise this isn't public shaming! Brene Brown would probably agree with me 😆🤪)

But I think it's imperative that we white folx strengthen our own racial resiliency
#langchat

Looking back at my tweets, I shouldn't have spoken about you @BobPatrick in the thrid-person, because I did intend to have this be more of a conversational tone & not "talking about you."

So I apologize for that. I do hope to keep the dialog open.

Here is a link to the elements of White Supremacy Culture, which is really relevant in this overall conversation, particularly the part about perfectionism.
#langchat
showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremac…

I just realized that I wrote this thread “about” @PRHSspanish and @BobPatrick rather than “to” you both for the same reason as I avoid sending DMs with critical feedback—and that it may just be a personal odd hang up of mine.

But I don’t mind receiving DMs, usually. Odd.

Thinking on the convo more this morning—if establishing trust is a valid pre-requisite when calling in/out... at one point @PRHSspanish you made a comment about it becoming clear to you when a person doing the call-out doesn’t really care abt your personal growth
#langchat 1/

The comment happened amid an overall suggestion that “calling out” may be performative (trying to win most woke, I think was said) and that if someone is just trying to “look woke” by calling something out, then they clearly don’t care about the other person’s personal growth. 2/

I think @AdrienneBranden has quoted ABAR ppl who assert that if you prioritize the personal growth of white folks in your anti-racist endeavors, you miss the mark.
I can’t find that quote or the source, but maybe she will come share. I think it’s an important consideration. 3/

Looking again at the elements of White Supremacy Culture and I’m seeing that Defensiveness is evident in many of the convos around diversity, equity, & inclusion In our #langchat community.
#dismantleWSC

Fear of Conflict is also relevant in these discussions
#langchat #dismantleWSC

And also The Right to Comfort
#langchat
#dismantleWSC