Many students in today's urban classrooms find safe houses within the schools that they attend. Their current English, Language Arts, etc. class may already be a safe house allowing them to share and express viewpoints in a non-threatening manner. This is something that I have experienced in my short career as a teacher of "urban youth", and my own experiences were similar to those of Canagarajah's. I feel that whenever students are allowed to interact with students of a similar background (not necessarily race), they feel less threatened and are more willing to express their opinions and share with the group.
The students comments on "History" and that it is of "White America" was great! I have read "Lies my Teacher Told Me" and discussed in depth the "History" of America with colleagues and students alike. It was terrific that the students understood that the history was of a narrow viewpoint and not a true account of what always happened.
2 comments:
I like the idea of the class itself as being a safe house. I wonder if Canagarajah would agree with the idea of the class itself being the safe house? It seems like he think it should exist outside, but connected, to the officially sanctioned classroom environment. But. like you, I buy into the idea of the class being a place where students feels safe to explore their own identities.
I agree, Jeff. I think that Canagarajah would agree in many cases, where the students are of similar backgrounds and feel comfortable to share freely in their own discourse.
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