Is this inappropriate-school district requiring teachers to read White Fragility?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very inappropriate

+1. I wouldn’t like this at all snd if I were a teacher I would not do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol I can't believe you idiots are actually trying to defend this book

If the book said all black people are racist

and white people can't be racist

would you tolerate that,,, no.... so how the f can you tolerate it in reverse

OP here. I just started reading the book and to be fair the author doesn’t state this. She does say that racism exists among all groups, however she does state that this book is specifically geared towards a white audience and is focused on white racism. The problem I have is is I don’t think the employer should require us to read (and more specifically discuss) a book that is solely focuses on white racism. Can you imagine requiring such a conversation about Asian racism, or Hispanic racism?

If it was affecting our schools I could imagine it and it would be ok.

When you finish this read anti-racist and you will read all about black people being racist if they makes you feel all balanced.

+1

Yes, we live in a country built by white racists, most of us grew up in a society governed primarily by white racists, and most were taught with schoolbooks (when those were a thing) written by white racists.

Time for a reality check.

lol let me guess black studies major

get a clue idiot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol I can't believe you idiots are actually trying to defend this book

If the book said all black people are racist

and white people can't be racist

would you tolerate that,,, no.... so how the f can you tolerate it in reverse

OP here. I just started reading the book and to be fair the author doesn’t state this. She does say that racism exists among all groups, however she does state that this book is specifically geared towards a white audience and is focused on white racism. The problem I have is is I don’t think the employer should require us to read (and more specifically discuss) a book that is solely focuses on white racism. Can you imagine requiring such a conversation about Asian racism, or Hispanic racism?

If it was affecting our schools I could imagine it and it would be ok.

When you finish this read anti-racist and you will read all about black people being racist if they makes you feel all balanced.

+1

Yes, we live in a country built by white racists, most of us grew up in a society governed primarily by white racists, and most were taught with schoolbooks (when those were a thing) written by white racists.

Time for a reality check.

lol let me guess black studies major

get a clue idiot

So fragile

[Anonymous]

I’d be scared to say anything. I don’t trust the people who run these discussions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school district is requiring that all staff members read White Fragility. Not sure how I feel about this. The title is rather off-putting.

Will there be a communist party meeting later where you need to prove you have read it, or else you are labeled as enemy of the people and send to Siberia?

We have book discussions throughout the year, so if someone didn’t read the book it’s rather obvious.

[Anonymous]

It's inappropriate--the book is not research based and it's not written by a POC. They should have chosen a book by a POC (or several) to discuss racism. Instead, they put more $ in a hack's pocket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "book" is basically

white people are always racist

black people can't be racist ever

Yep. That is the summary.

Which is a shame. In contrast my organization has had some short Virtual trainings that a corporate diversity trainer does and they are VERY well done. She is relatable, uses more neutral language (everyone needs to “X” vs just “White people need to...”). And definitely comes at it from a sense that seems to convey “hey we are all good faith and nice people here, but sometimes we do some hurtful things accidentally without realizing it. Let me tell you about what some of those are to help make it easier to avoid those unintended slip ups”.

+2 The bolded is basically what my (black) son stated when he handed me (white mom) the book to read. You don't really need to know any more than that. Buy the book, open it a few times and bend some pages so it looks like you've read it, and then nod, nod, nod in meetings where the book is discussed. Say as many mea culpas as appropriate.

I agree with another poster that the backlash from all of this is going to be intense. Not just whites but Hispanics, Asians, Jewish, you name it.

Oh your poor son.

Don't feel sorry for my son, sweetie. He is at a Top 10 university with a 3.95 gpa. He knows BS when he reads it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol I can't believe you idiots are actually trying to defend this book

If the book said all black people are racist

and white people can't be racist

would you tolerate that,,, no.... so how the f can you tolerate it in reverse

OP here. I just started reading the book and to be fair the author doesn’t state this. She does say that racism exists among all groups, however she does state that this book is specifically geared towards a white audience and is focused on white racism. The problem I have is is I don’t think the employer should require us to read (and more specifically discuss) a book that is solely focuses on white racism. Can you imagine requiring such a conversation about Asian racism, or Hispanic racism?

I mean, if the majority of teachers were Asian or Hispanic and there were multiple studies about the detrimental effects of their racism/implicit bias on educational outcomes for their students then yes?

But what if someone doesn’t agree that most white teachers have such a degree of implicit bias that it is detrimentally effecting their students of color? If we say that are we going to be chastised for not recognizing our racism? Don’t you see that this is a topic that a white teacher simply can’t disagree with without possibly jeopardizing their career?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "book" is basically

white people are always racist

black people can't be racist ever

Yep. That is the summary.

Which is a shame. In contrast my organization has had some short Virtual trainings that a corporate diversity trainer does and they are VERY well done. She is relatable, uses more neutral language (everyone needs to “X” vs just “White people need to...”). And definitely comes at it from a sense that seems to convey “hey we are all good faith and nice people here, but sometimes we do some hurtful things accidentally without realizing it. Let me tell you about what some of those are to help make it easier to avoid those unintended slip ups”.

+2 The bolded is basically what my (black) son stated when he handed me (white mom) the book to read. You don't really need to know any more than that. Buy the book, open it a few times and bend some pages so it looks like you've read it, and then nod, nod, nod in meetings where the book is discussed. Say as many mea culpas as appropriate.

I agree with another poster that the backlash from all of this is going to be intense. Not just whites but Hispanics, Asians, Jewish, you name it.

Oh your poor son.

Don't feel sorry for my son, sweetie. He is at a Top 10 university with a 3.95 gpa. He knows BS when he reads it.

If he gave it to you to read, he’s trying to send a message...not subtly, and you aren’t getting it. Poor kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. So much white fragility. AKA snowflakes.

Put on your big girl panties and read the book. You won’t melt.

It’s not the reading it, it’s the discussing such a loaded topic with coworkers that’s the problem. Do you honestly not see how a white person who disagrees with the book’s premise and says so during the discussion, could be placing themselves in a very precarious situation?

If someone isn’t willing to read a book with an open mind and discuss on any level (even if they disagree), then that person isn’t intellectually curious enough to be in a teaching position.

I’d also be curious why they “disagree with the premise”.

Again it’s not the reading of the book, that I object to it, it’s the having to discuss it with co-workers that I object to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. So much white fragility. AKA snowflakes.

Put on your big girl panties and read the book. You won’t melt.

It’s not the reading it, it’s the discussing such a loaded topic with coworkers that’s the problem. Do you honestly not see how a white person who disagrees with the book’s premise and says so during the discussion, could be placing themselves in a very precarious situation?

If someone isn’t willing to read a book with an open mind and discuss on any level (even if they disagree), then that person isn’t intellectually curious enough to be in a teaching position.

I’d also be curious why they “disagree with the premise”.

I don’t agree with the author’s definition of racism and therefore don’t support the notion that all white people are racists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. So much white fragility. AKA snowflakes.

Put on your big girl panties and read the book. You won’t melt.

It’s not the reading it, it’s the discussing such a loaded topic with coworkers that’s the problem. Do you honestly not see how a white person who disagrees with the book’s premise and says so during the discussion, could be placing themselves in a very precarious situation?

If someone isn’t willing to read a book with an open mind and discuss on any level (even if they disagree), then that person isn’t intellectually curious enough to be in a teaching position.

I’d also be curious why they “disagree with the premise”.

Uh, you don't understand the issue, PP. RIF (reading is fundamental). It isn't that the poster is concerned about reading and discussing the book, the poster is concerned about a supervisor hearing the poster's opinion, disagreeing and then penalizing the poster for his/her opinion.

I agree with the poster that this is a great danger. The supervisor could think the book is the greatest truth ever written or the supervisor could think the whole thing is hogwash; either way a subordinate disagreeing with a supervisor's opinion during a book club "discussion" could have negative consequences for the subordinate.

Your simplistic approach shows your immaturity. Try to look outside of yourself a little bit. Once you have a job and experience the work world perhaps your worldview will grow to accept that others can make have opinions that are valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. So much white fragility. AKA snowflakes.

Put on your big girl panties and read the book. You won’t melt.

It’s not the reading it, it’s the discussing such a loaded topic with coworkers that’s the problem. Do you honestly not see how a white person who disagrees with the book’s premise and says so during the discussion, could be placing themselves in a very precarious situation?

If someone isn’t willing to read a book with an open mind and discuss on any level (even if they disagree), then that person isn’t intellectually curious enough to be in a teaching position.

I’d also be curious why they “disagree with the premise”.

Oh really? What would you say about making The Bell Curve a required reading and discussion, and labeling anyone who balks at it “not open minded and intellectually curious”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. So much white fragility. AKA snowflakes.

Put on your big girl panties and read the book. You won’t melt.

It’s not the reading it, it’s the discussing such a loaded topic with coworkers that’s the problem. Do you honestly not see how a white person who disagrees with the book’s premise and says so during the discussion, could be placing themselves in a very precarious situation?

If someone isn’t willing to read a book with an open mind and discuss on any level (even if they disagree), then that person isn’t intellectually curious enough to be in a teaching position.

I’d also be curious why they “disagree with the premise”.

Again it’s not the reading of the book, that I object to it, it’s the having to discuss it with co-workers that I object to.

Then just listen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "book" is basically

white people are always racist

black people can't be racist ever

Yep. That is the summary.

Which is a shame. In contrast my organization has had some short Virtual trainings that a corporate diversity trainer does and they are VERY well done. She is relatable, uses more neutral language (everyone needs to “X” vs just “White people need to...”). And definitely comes at it from a sense that seems to convey “hey we are all good faith and nice people here, but sometimes we do some hurtful things accidentally without realizing it. Let me tell you about what some of those are to help make it easier to avoid those unintended slip ups”.

+2 The bolded is basically what my (black) son stated when he handed me (white mom) the book to read. You don't really need to know any more than that. Buy the book, open it a few times and bend some pages so it looks like you've read it, and then nod, nod, nod in meetings where the book is discussed. Say as many mea culpas as appropriate.

I agree with another poster that the backlash from all of this is going to be intense. Not just whites but Hispanics, Asians, Jewish, you name it.

Oh your poor son.

Don't feel sorry for my son, sweetie. He is at a Top 10 university with a 3.95 gpa. He knows BS when he reads it.

If he gave it to you to read, he’s trying to send a message...not subtly, and you aren’t getting it. Poor kid.

He gave it to me to read because we often switch books. He reads a lot of trash and he is never afraid to tell me his opinion when he does. I get that your agenda is to castigate and malign regardless of consequences. I also get that you're feeling insecure and angry so you're lashing out. I think you need to talk to your therapist about it.