This section of the module was eye opening to my own privileges that I was previously unaware of, especially in regard to educational opportunity. I was born and raised in a small, predominately white, town and eventually moved away, but to another "small town feeling" location. While I live in a small, rural, community, I work and provide services in a big city. This was my first experience at seeing the disparity that occurs when schools are funded by property taxes. I've also seen through providing school-based services that many of the teachers in the racially and ethnically diverse school districts hold very biased opinions of their students, openly express their fear of being in those neighborhoods, and only hold the position for a year to two a time as this was their "stepping stone into a better position." Sharing these messages in front of children is traumatizing and taught them to fear their own neighborhoods just because a white authority figure in their life was afraid of their neighborhoods. This section of the module also makes me think of my experiences of filing ChildLine reports and the differences in outcomes when I file against a white family versus against a non-white family.
I am a teacher in a large city in Wisconsin, and I have also witnessed these same things. I grew up not learning about any of the events in Module 1. I feel embarrassed that I am so privileged, that I didn't know a lot of our countries true history. Over the last several years, I have been trying to teach my students about our overlooked history. It is super sad and disappointing on how our school systems are set up to fail students of color. Wisconsin is one of the worst states for racial inequality. It's my hope that more people will recognize their privilege and activity work to be anti-racist.
I am also a teacher, but started my work in a public school that was low income and predominately comprised of students of color. The systemic racism did not surprise me, as I saw the difference with red-lining and just how the community is separated. As a white female, I recognize now that I had some misguided biases about the area my students lived and hope to counteract my own lack of awareness with learning more information.