Reply to High School Boys Struggling at our Big 3

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "High School Boys Struggling at our Big 3"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you have a white male child, why would you ever send him to a school that makes them feel “white guilt” or they are a “male oppressor” as a 14 year old boy!  All you parents that send your kids to these woke schools deserve what you are getting![/quote]

I send my white male child to a school that is explicitly pro-equity and inclusion. He doesn't feel white guilt. Why should he feel guilty about learning about systemic racism? He didn't create it! And he sure as heck doesn't want to be a part of it. He chooses to be part of the solution, not stick his head in the sand. He feels courageous and helpful and kind, not guilty. And no, he doesn't feel like a "male oppressor." He feels like a young man who sees women as equals, and recognizes that men AND women have been dealt a crappy hand by sexism. He sees what a limited range of emotions his dad was allowed to feel growing up, and how he is now teaching his dad how to be a more open and emotionally aware man. Its really sweet, and they really adore each other. And he sees that women have been excluded from power for oh, the last thousand years or so, and that correcting that may take a minute.

There is no guilt, no shame, and no disempowerment in any of that. I find it so odd that people think that recognizing oppression means you have to identify with the oppressors just because you happen to share their skin color or gender. Why would you do that? [/quote]

Seems to me that teens are generally very adept at recognizing and capitalizing on social dynamics.  When they are placed in an environment where they gain more power and higher status by reiterating the same views about "toxic masculinity," or "systemic racism," or "intersectionality," they have very little incentive to do anything other than double down on that rhetoric, unless and until someone challenges them to advance the dialogue.

It sounds what is happening here is that the dialogue isn't advancing; instead, you have various people (teachers, female students, POCs, white males) who by now know what their assigned roles are in this particular passion play.  In the case of the white male students, they get two options:  (1) disengage and gripe about it privately or (2) become full-fledged "allies."  The latter is risky, because the second the white boys start warming to the task, they run the risk of being accused of "mansplaining" (or its teenage variant) and quite possibly told that it's their responsibility to listen to the "lived experiences" of others, and follow, not lead.

Personally, I'd reach out to the teacher(s) and just ask them for their perspective on what's happening in the classroom, and how they see themselves advancing the classroom discussions in ways that actually engage and challenge all the kids.   [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics