First Class

Before this year I had never really blogged at all, but I am strangely excited about the prospect of managing one of these even after class is over! Although I am writing a few blogs a week for classes and it all feels a bit overwhelming I think it might actually be fun once the stress of school is over. Anyway, I just wanted to say a couple things about class tonight....

First, I am still feeling really torn about my thoughts on the book my group reviewed in class, Black is Brown is Tan. Although I did enjoy the poetic structure and language of the book, I am unsure of how it would function in a classroom. Would it benefit students who come from multiracial families? Would it benefit those who do not? How do I really feel about addressing stereotypes? All of these questions and others are still circling through my mind. I actually ended up feeling kind of awkward during class when I mentioned that I thought stereotypes should be avoided when selecting multicultural pieces of literature because someone spoke up in total opposition to me. Initially I felt wrong in my thoughts, and embarrassed for having made the comment, but the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that I agreed with the person and hadn't spoken as clearly as I wanted when making my own comment. I do in fact believe that stereotypes should be addressed because I think that to ignore them may actually perpetuate them. If students are going to be hearing such information why not combat and dissect it? I think the point I was trying to make was that in the particular piece of literature my group was critiquing the stereotypes were presented discreetly and in a manner that might signify that making such statements is okay. I did not feel that the book was filled with a plethora of overt stereotypes for the purposes of dispelling them or having discussions about them- they were just stuck in there as unnecessary details in the story. I felt like the book had the potential to send some kind of positive message and after reading it, I just don't even know what kind of message was being sent at all.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I am disappointed in myself for not having read my poem in class tonight. I was beyond nervous and initially just wanted to get it over with, but as soon as I left class I regretted not sharing it. I actually enjoy writing poetry when I have time and there is a part of me that was proud of what I had written and I just let me nerves get in the way. Oh well, maybe I'll read it to my roommates....