Abstract
As women of color in academia committed to matters of equity and inclusion, we remain undaunted by the idea of having difficult, but necessary discussions on race and ethnicity in the college classroom. After years of facilitating these types of conversations among mostly white, middle class, female teacher candidates, we began to notice an even greater reluctance than normal on the part of our students to authentically engage in difficult discussions in the classroom. As the sociopolitical climate within the United States shifted and became more divisive along racial and political lines, those divisions found their way into our classrooms. Although we were accustomed to the awkward silences and stiff body language that often accompanied this type of discourse, there was a notable increase in our teacher candidates' disquieted demeanor when we raised certain topics in the classroom. At the same time, our charge of preparing teachers to go out into a world in which they would have to face colleagues, parents and caregivers, stakeholders, and community members whose personal views varied extensively, took on a new sense of urgency. More than ever, it became critical that we disrupt what was quickly becoming normative practice and initiate rather than eliminate opportunities for productive dialogue among teacher candidates with differing perspectives on sensitive, but relative topics impacting education.
Recommended Citation
Glover, Crystal and Fuller, Sherell
(2019)
"Difficult Discussions: Critical Conversations as a Culturally Sustaining Teaching Practice in the College Classroom,"
Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina: Vol. 13:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/tejsc/vol13/iss1/4