Taking it All Home

 Bringing it All Together

Teaching at the Intersections by Monita K. Bell & 5 Tips for Being an Ally 

    I think both the article "Teaching at the Intersections" by Monita K. Bell and the 5 Tips for Being an Ally by Chescaleigh were a great way to tie everything we have discussed in class together. Both covered power, privilege, oppression, race, gender, and the ways to support those members of groups that are often oppressed. Bell focuses on intersectionality and the importance of using "an intersectional lens to better relate to and affirm all students - and help young people understand the relationship between power and privilege" (p. 3). This quote directly made me think about Allan Johnson's "Privilege, Power, and Difference" and Lisa Delpit's "Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom". Delpit states students "must be encouraged to understand the value of the code they already possess as well as to understand the power realities in this country" (p. 40).  Bell preached the same message, we have to get to know our students more than just the basic information to truly understand them, their behaviors, and occasionally their performance because a lot of times, like Nicole from Bell's article, get judged based on their race and performance. If her teachers had taken the time to get to know her situation outside of school and used an intersectional lens, they would have realized that she is essentially the caretaker in her house since her parents work, which impacts her achievement. Intersectionality is "the social, economic and political ways in which identity-based systems of oppression and privilege connect, overlap and influence one another" (p. 2). 

    When reading this definition it made me think of Leslie Grinner's S.C.W.A.A.M.P. because intersectionality is essentially looking at all of the things that would give you less power in relation to S.C.W.A.A.M.P. (race, gender, sex, etc.) and using that to understand a person better. This also relates to the Power Line Chart from Kim A. Case's "Deconstructing Privilege: Teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom". People have different experiences based on the different power they hold in relation to S.C.W.A.A.M.P.,  the Power Line Chart, and intersectionality. If we take the time to look at the overlap, look at the power, look at the privilege, then we can create an accurate and more understanding picture of the students we are working with. We need to be the role models and at times their ally. An ally is defined as “a person who wants to fight for the equality of a marginalized group they’re not a part of,” according to Chescaleigh. We need to understand our own power and privilege, listen and understand, speak up (but not over), and actually do the work to support these students and people in general. If we can start having these conversations in school and allow students to feel safe, understood, accepted, and important. We want to talk about the diversity, but we also want to celebrate their differences because that is what makes them who they are and unique. When we use an intersectional lens in and out of the classroom you are "seeing your students as more than just the think that stands out in the classroom" (Bell, p. 3).