Diversity, Difference, and Disparity
(Janks, 2010, Ch. 5)
Diversity without attention to relations of power - education must recognize structures of dominance and that not all discourses are equally powerful. (Janks, 2010, Ch.5) (Sarah Mattison) #
Ex: "Refugees are just like us". The use of us automatically creates a "them" that is separate and dominated by this discourse. (Janks, 2010, Ch.5) (Sarah Mattison) #
Avoid the celebration of sameness and the demonization of the "other". (Janks, 2010, Ch.5) (Sarah Mattison)
"The standard [language] variety is no less a dialect than any other variety. It has become the standard through a process of standardization, of norming" (Janks, 2010, p.115) (Sarah Mattison) #
"Bourdieu calls it 'misrecognition' because he sees it as an example of institutionally manufactured compliance or consent"
(Janks, 2010, p. 115) (Schuyler Alschuler)
Over the summer, we talked about how to get past race you need to first talk about it. This class has been making me think about this a lot. The discussion of race does not create racial divides, but a good conversation on this topic must first acknowledge that there are perceived divides. (Schuyler Alschuler)
To get past a fear of refugees, people need to first acknowledge that fear. Given the audience this poster is meant to persuade, maybe acknowledging the other is a necessary first step. That is, the target audience ALREADY perceives refugees as being other (this divide is not created by the poster, only acknowledged). (Schuyler Alschuler)
The connection between literacy/social practices:
Street says. "literacy practices are aspects not only of 'culture' but also of power structures" (Janks, 2010, p.118) (Schuyler Alschuler)
"These vernaculars, the varieties used by ordinary people, are at best overlooked or ignored by social elites and dominant institutions and at worst denigrated and constructed as deficient" (Janks, 2010, p. 119) (Schuyler Alschuler)
:
click to edit
" It is interesting to note how many times during the ceremony to inaugurate Barack Obama he was referred to as the first black president of the United States. In foregrounding his racial identity in this way he was marked as different from his predecessors, in much the same way as Hilary Clinton would have been marked as the first female president of the U.S, had she been elected. This establishes white and male as the unmarked forms that would be literally unremarkable" (Janks 2010, Chp. 5) (Danny Bonitz)
"So refugees are just like us, except that they are not. They have nothing. At the very moment that unity is declared, fragmentation emerges. The emphasis on what refugees have lost, by the use of repetition and overlexicalisation, suggests that we are simply the sum of our possession (Janks 2010, Chp. 5) (Danny Bonitz) #
In extension, "doing difference" is a good way to combat the celebration of sameness. Too often, people construct "we are the same" sort of colorblind arguments; these are very problematic. We should instead strive to understand and accept how we are different. (Danny Bonitz)
Very powerful quote. This can be related to English curriculum. Though some argue that teaching POC writers is enough to combat dominant discourse, it is incredibly important to point out that for years white, male authors dominated (and still continue to) English curriculum and discourses. (Danny Bonitz)
I linked this to the quote about how President Obama and Hilary Clinton are both 'firsts' but any other white male would be 'unremarkable' because they are essentially normalized to be what we expect a president to look like. There are a lot of times our textbooks also enforce this process of naturalisation, where most of the main figures in our textbooks are white males. (Amy Wang)
This example was entertaining, because in trying to unite the consumer of the poster with the idea of refugees in order to create 'unity', the poster really does the opposite in assuming what a refugee may look like to the consumer and then overemphasizing the hypothetical similarities. I remember seeing this used a lot too during the Syrian Refugee Crisis, which is still happening but I think its peak social media presence was around 2 years ago. There were lots of stories and media floating around of 'good refugees' stories in an attempt to fight back against xenophobia. But this instead just creates the narrative of 'good vs bad' refugees. Also, what makes someone a 'good' person? People want to make connections with strangers, but in doing so, ignore that even people who are different still deserve to be treated with decency. (Amy Wang) #
Something that has stuck with me since our summer Equity seminar was the idea that in order for me to have gotten this far, I had to "speak, read, and write White", because educational institutes value this form of language the most. It's in the research we read, it's the papers we write for a grade. Therefore, this quote speaks to me because even at a level where we're criticizing how the dominant language is prioritized in education and all other languages get lip service, we still use the dominant language in formal contexts and written work and expect our students to do the same despite knowing that this excludes a lot of people. (Amy Wang)
"It is interesting to note that speakers of marginalized languages or dialects tend out of sheer necessity to be more multilingual than speakers of dominant languages" (Janks, 2010, p.116). (Amy Wang) (Is this really that interesting? These folks need to learn the language in order to usually traditionally succeed in society. It's like saying it's interesting that people in poverty are more likely to work multiple jobs compared to a CEO with one job. Sarcasm aside, I thought the point about feminism research showing that women have to learn male interaction patterns eye-opening too, though not surprising.)
Who would want English to be the only language used in school? Those who would like to strip those without English skills of power. (Schuyler Alschuler)
"Linguistic diversity is often treated in much the same way in educational institutions. A dominant language is chosen as the medium of instruction, lip service is paid to multilingualism, and at best students are allowed to study their home language as a subject" (Janks 2010, Chp. 5) (Danny Bonitz) # # #
"It is clear that the more languages one speaks the more speech communities one has access to...without acquiring secondary discourse we remain locked into our local communities. While speakers of a dominant world language such as English, a language with a great deal of linguistic capital, are able to move beyond the confines of the local, monolingualism limits their perspectives" (Janks 2010, 121).
The lack of value placed on multilingualism and linguistic diversity has and is creating a world in which the dominant culture and language is normalized and "local" everywhere. Colonialism through language!! (Liz Vaughn) #
The example from the UNHCR "Spot the Refugee" lego poster shows us how prevalent the us v. them binary is in our society. Refugees are described to demonstrate that they are the same so people should care about them. However, in the process their humanity is belittled, the severity of their situation is under acknowledged, responsibility of the oppressors is ignored, and individuality/culture are marginalized. All of this to make them seem "normal" and "the same" aka Western. If this isn't analyzed critically then the reader, taking the poster on face value, accepts that the only people they can care about are people like them.
(Liz Vaughn)
In reference to the opening story and the saying, "When in Rome do as the Romans," Janks (2010) remarks "this process of naturalisation, which makes the social constructedness of practices invisible to those who belong, works to constitute the normal" (p.101). (Amy Wang) #
This makes me think of how this kind of normalization pervades our lives with the labeling of "female authors," "authors of color," putting "lady" before mascots for women's sports teams. When we label people with these markers before we are acknowledging the norm that authors are white men and that sports are for men. (Liz Vaughn) #
"The thought that we might be remolded into sameness, like Lego dolls, suggests a dull monochromatic world. What we need is a world in which we can learn from our differences..." (Janks 2010, 125). (Liz Vaughn)
"...a space of radical openness in which a 'dialogic affirmation of difference,' 'semiotic border crossing,' and the dynamics of cultural hybridity, provide the resources for imagining new possibilities... a third space that cuts across the binaries of 'us' and 'them' and enables the production of new meanings based on our 'diverse semiotic resources and funds of knowledge' (Kostogriz 2002)" (Janks 2010, 123). (Liz Vaughn).
click to edit
This also makes me think about the use of the term "non-white" - the use of this phrase normalizes Whiteness and perpetuates
White dominance, while marginalizing people of color. It categories people always in relation to whiteness, and the farther someone is from whiteness, the more they are discriminated against. (Annie Corkery) #
"The recognition of literacies has to include the recognition that they are not equally valued and they do not offer equal access to symbolic and economic capital" (Janks 2010, 119)
Just as one cannot choose to ignore racial discrimination that exists institutionally and socially, one cannot ignore the hierarchies and the discrimination that exists in literacy and in language. Language is political and it would therefore be extremely problematic to study literature and texts as isolated and neutral. (Annie Corkery)
“That languages have no inherent linguistic inferiority or superiority does not mean that they enjoy social equality. What counts as acceptable language in different social contexts is tied to the construction of… a ‘linguistic market’” (Janks 2010, 115)
Even when multilingualism is taught, there are still some languages that have more linguistic capital than others - teaching languages gives students access to more cultures and groups, but which cultures and groups does society/education value gaining access to? (Annie Corkery)
#
“Literacy practices are shaped by socio-cultural practices and their institutional locations. Understanding literacy as a social practice is very different from seeing literacy as a discrete set of autonomous skills” (Janks 2010, 118) --> how does this relate to the definitions we all wrote day 1 of class? Literacy is a fluid practice formed and shaped by culture and society, not static and fixed. (Annie Corkery)
Adegoke's research on the ways individuals from other countries in Africa are treated in South Africa highlights harmful "us" and "them" rhetoric: "represented... as burdens and criminals or as victims of crime. They 'flood' the country and use up resources, creating social and economic burden for South African taxpayers" (Adegoke 1999, 107) in Janks ch. 5, page 109. Eerily and dangerously similar to the rhetoric the current U.S. administration uses against Mexican and Middle Eastern immigrants. (Annie Corkery) #
"The classic example of the celebration of diversity is what Nieto (1996: 196), after Banks (1991), calls the 'holidays' and heroes' approach to multicultural education. In this uncritical approach, decontextualized 'bits and pieces of the lived experience of dominated groups' are 'trivialized' when they are separated from larger understandings of their diverse cultures and their diverse histories, and when they are added 'as pieces of exotic content' to the margins of the curriculum (Nieto, 1999, 2002)." (Janks 2010, pp. 114) (Jake Winkelman)
"Divorced from history and geography, from socio-political and economic conditions, and from the ugly specifics of racial, ethnic and religious othering, the fact of refugees is presented simply as a state of affairs, with undefined causes and inevitable effects." (Janks 2010, 108) (Jake Winkelman)
"Discussions of race and racialization in the literature on critical multi-cultural education (May 1999; Sleeter & McClaren, 1995) argue that 'white people 'colonise' the definition of the normal' (Haymes, 1995: 111):" (Janks 2010, 103) (Jake Winkelman)
"How easy it would have been for Mrs B to let my son write about the pink rabbit. Not many children offer their teachers the gift of a way out. Lots of students simply become disaffected and disruptive, and who can blame them? How I hope that Mrs B (and other teachers like her) get to read this story." (Janks 2010, pp. 103) (Jake Winkelman)
One of the readings from our methods class discussed the ways in which it was important and productive to engage with students' misunderstandings about academic concepts in order to effectively provide counter-examples and promote new learning. I wonder if this idea can be applied to working through issues of racism, classism, and xenophobia in that acknowledging the realities of these societal forces is a necessary prerequisite to having substantive conversations about how to create changes in society. I often feel that schools attempt to create a somewhat false counter-narrative about a multicultural society that doesn't exist rather than recognizing reality and working with students to understand how our culture can shift. (Jake Winkelman)
"We need to think of identity as constantly in process, as dynamic rather than fixed, as produced but not determined... By imagining identity as fluid and hybrid, we resist essentialising people on the basis of any one of the communities to which the belong or to which we assign them" (Janks, 2010, p. 99) (Hannah Wilson)
This quote is extremely important because getting to know our students is only one piece of the puzzle. Understanding where they are coming from, building a relationship and then knowing that their identities are constantly changing and supporting them through that process in whatever way possible is a big responsibility to hold as a teacher and to carry out successfully (Elizabeth Lewis)
“It is important to remember that difference, including different literacies, is structured in dominance…” (Janks, 2010, p.119). This quote connects to the quote about Hillary Clinton and Barck Obama. Our society is so focused on "othering" and finding differences. They are framed here as a positive while in reality supporting the dominant structure of white males in charge.(Elizabeth Lewis)
"Without acquiring secondary discourses we remain locked into our local communities" (Janks, 2010, p.121). The use of the word locked stood out to me in this sentence. Usually we associate community with a positive connotation but here it is described as restricting access to other opportunities. (Elizabeth Lewis)
In describing Delpit, "she sees the value of children's community language in relation to identity , self-worth, standing in the community and enculturation as indisputable, while simultaneously being able to recognise the importance of English for access to the wider society" (Janks, 2010, p.121). I really liked that Janks connected the importance of access to Delpit's ideas. The readings we did over the summer about warm demanders really resonated with me and I think the balance of students' encouraged use of home language in the classroom while accessing dominant discourses is vital. (Elizabeth Lewis)
"It is particularly important to think about how teacher insensitivities and institutional practices with regard to difference impact on children and their families" (Janks, 2010, p.100). (Elizabeth Lewis)
Amy, to connect to your point about 'good vs bad' refugees, I was not satisfied with the final advertisement advocating for refugees in the Janks reading. Although the Einstein ad was an improvement on the Lego refugee poster, I think that it has a problematic subtext. In an attempt to humanize refugees by giving readers a familiar story to connect with, a mythologized "model refugee" is created. What happens to the people who aren't genius physicists? Will teachers, grocers, mechanics etc. also be welcomed into a new community? (Hannah Wilson)
"White people 'colonise' the definition of the normal (Haymes, 1995: 111)" (Janks, 2010). As it exists now, multilingualism operates in relation to whiteness - the normative majority. It feels as though the languages that are valued serve a white agenda or are there to do 'lip service' (Hannah Wilson)
This chapter of Janks helped me (I think) gain a better understanding of (re)design. Without diversity, equitable redesign is not possible. Diversity is the material with which the blueprint of design can be drawn. Janks notes that "diversity provides the means, the ideas, the alternative perspectives for reconstruction and transformation" (Janks, 2010). A design can be a "space of radical openness with dialogic affirmation of difference" (p. 123). I have worked within an innovative design, a 'third space,' in which undergraduate students observed literacy patterns while playing with children from diverse backgrounds in an after school program. (Hannah Wilson) #
"Cultural collisions as a driving force that enables us to re-mediate and re-present the world and that produces the creative energy necessary for transformation and change" (Janks, 2010, p. 123). (Hannah Wilson).
click to edit
I'm glad that Amy pulled out this quote about naturalisation, it is one of Thomspon's Modes of Operation of Ideology from Janks Chapter 3. Just like reification, naturalisation functions as part of a mode in which, "transitory states [are] presented as permanent, natural outside of time" (p. 40) (Lauren Nord)
In the personal narrative example of "Christmas and the Pink Rabbit," the teacher, Mrs. B, was so deeply situated within the dominant British-Christian practices that she did not recognize her attitudes toward Christmas as a cultural practice but rather took it for granted as a norm. Her proximity to the experience made it hard to read against the situation. (Lauren Nord)
"my son is different. and I want to know what you are going to do about it" (Janks, 2010, p. 101) (Lauren Nord)
Wait but, wouldn't not recognizing their divergence from the "norm" be ignoring the realities race and gender play in politics/every social sphere thus underselling the very real barriers to political ascension both Obama and Clinton faced? Ignoring or glazing over the fact Obama was the first African American president is what people who claimed to "not see race" did during the time of his election. I don't know that it is othering to talk about a candidate's race in a historical election. However, I agree there is a distinct lack of dialogue around the lack of diversity in all-white spaces of power until people of color enter the scene. Then, their race is the only one talked about. (Lauren Nord)
"telling members of a marginalized group that their identity is irrelevant" I feel this twitter debate on the sexuality of Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street illustrates my point. I wouldn't want to downplay the importance of someone of a marginalized group making a "first" achievement in the public sphere. (Lauren Nord)
"it has been the invisibility of whiteness that has enabled white Americans to stand as unmarked, normative bodies and social selves, the standards against which all others are judged" (Wray and Newitz, 1997) # (Katie Begerow)
He also highlights how other African countries are painted as bestial, anchoring media discourse about them on war, violence, crime, etc. (Katie Begerow)
Linguistic exchange is an economic exchange...they are signs of wealth and signs of authority (2010, p.115) (Katie Begerow)
"The recognition of literacies has to include the recognition that they are not equally valued and they do not offer equal access to symbolic and economic capital (Janks, 2010, 119) (Katie Begerow)
"It is clear that to speak of refugees as having nothing and to imagine that nothing is all they'll ever have unless we extend a helping hand, fundamentally devalues the knowledges, skills, and values that they have to offer and negates the fullness of human resources that they bring" (Janks, 2010, p.125) (Katie Begerow)
click to edit
I thought the personal example where Ms. B essentially tells the parent to "assimilate or brand your child as different" was incredibly powerful. If we do see a student making an effort to assimilate should we as teachers stop it? What is our role? (p. 101) (Annie Choy)
click to edit
I also felt that Amy's quote could serve as an example of rationalization. (Annie Choy)
I feel also in our current political climate regarding immigrants and refugees, Katie's quote essentially dehumanizing refugees seems to embody expurgation of the other, or the construction of an enemy within that is evil which individuals need collectively to expel (Annie Choy)
click to edit
The "other" Sarah references also reminds me of the initial article we had to read at the beginning of the program for our interview preparation. How do we aim to be inclusive as teachers without identifying who isn't "included" in the first place? (Annie Choy)
I like this connection back to our initial definitions of literacy at the beginning of the semester. "A literacy event is any occasion in which a piece of writing is integral to the nature of participants’ interactions and their interpretations of meaning’ (Heath, 1983). How can this quote change our current understandings of what literacy is? (Annie Choy)
Membership in these communities is further inflected by the social identities (for example, our gendered identity) that we embody. (Efrain Carrillo)
One of the many ways in which power works is to construct dominant forms as the natural default position, with different forms constructed as other." (Efrain Carrillo)
click to edit
I am thinking about that English-only requirement was not repealed until 2016, by Proposition 58 in California. I was aware in the 2015–16 school year, there were approximately 1.37 million English learners in California public schools, according to the official website of California Department of Education. This massive amount of English learners, including recent immigrants, had no choice, but to stay in the English-only classroom. Being aware that it is such a recent policy to allow non-English languages in public education, I am interested in learning the reasons behind this and evidence of supporting English-only instructions.
（Yinxuan Gu）
Who is empowered and who is disempowered by the English-only instructions? (Yinxuan Gu)
English-only instruction is a decision made based on "power without diversity," which did not recognize and respect the "difference and diversity" of the U.S. society (Janks, 2010, p.102)