School Books arrive

I ordered 7 books - needed for 3 classes this summer. The other 2 classes use booklets made by the professor. My first class is Multicultural Education. Just in case you want to follow along, I have to read "White Teacher", The Education of a WASP" and Racial Healing: Confronting The Fear Between Blacks and Whites".

I'm hoping the class is better than the one I took in college titled "Minority Studies". The entire semester was filled with nothing but "how horrible the white race is". No kidding, I got an A in the class because all you had to do was not say a word in class (if you were white) and pick the right multiple choice answer to questions like, "All of the problems in our world are caused by white people - True/False?" You think I'm kidding, but it was really that outrageous. We had a young black man speak in class one day and the hatred that filled that room is something I remember to this day. An hour of angry, heated speach about how horrible all white people are and how racism is worse than it's ever been.

I felt so badly for that young man - and still do say a prayer for him to this day when he is brought to mind. I did learn what racism is - one definition from dictionary.com is "hatred or intolerance of another race or other races". Some people see it as a "black and white" issue. I've really always seen it as just hatred.

Kids come in one variety - they all need to be told and treated like they have value just the way they are. They all need to be encouraged and helped to find their strengths and work around their weaknesses. They all will fit in the real world just fine if they are focused on making the world better, doing something they enjoy and contributing to the kind of world they want. None of them are expendable - these are the kids who will shape the world for the next 40 years, who will raise the next generation. Disinfranchise and discourage them and just watch them go in a negative direction.

I have certainly not seen this attituded in the schools my kids have been in. I'll be interested to read my books and see what this class is teaching.