Racial Identity: I am what I am, what I feel, and where I am!
By JLT
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 28, 2009
What a class! Tonight's discussion was animated, passionate, and complex.
After listening to others and reflecting on the thoughts and feelings this class evoked in me, I’ve concluded that race/ethnicity, in many cases, affects us all only to the extent that we perceive it so. In other words, those who were not born in the United States may feel their origins to be more a part of their identity, their definition of self. Is that not the point? Race and ethnicity matter only so much as they are a part of us. Those of us who are visually and audibly “like” the majority only feel the effect of our heritage in so much as it is an integral part of our daily existence, our being. In contrast however, those individuals who sound differently (have an accent) or dress in traditional garb, or have a prominently “different” skin color, appearance or mannerism, are more affected by their cultural or ethnic origins and people’s ignorance and preconceptions of them.
“Different” is subjective within a given environment. I would be a visible minority in Asia, in Africa, and in Ireland. A black person may be the minority in one area of the United States yet a majority in another. Likewise, hair color, eye color, skin tone, a physical abnormality large or minute can differentiate us from the majority at a given time and place. In the classroom; attitudes, learning styles, levels of previous knowledge, learning differentials, differing prior experiences, past teachers, home environments, and health are but a few of the less visible factors that can profoundly effect one’s feelings about oneself, how others relate to us., and ultimately our learning.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 28, 2009
What a class! Tonight's discussion was animated, passionate, and complex.
After listening to others and reflecting on the thoughts and feelings this class evoked in me, I’ve concluded that race/ethnicity, in many cases, affects us all only to the extent that we perceive it so. In other words, those who were not born in the United States may feel their origins to be more a part of their identity, their definition of self. Is that not the point? Race and ethnicity matter only so much as they are a part of us. Those of us who are visually and audibly “like” the majority only feel the effect of our heritage in so much as it is an integral part of our daily existence, our being. In contrast however, those individuals who sound differently (have an accent) or dress in traditional garb, or have a prominently “different” skin color, appearance or mannerism, are more affected by their cultural or ethnic origins and people’s ignorance and preconceptions of them.
“Different” is subjective within a given environment. I would be a visible minority in Asia, in Africa, and in Ireland. A black person may be the minority in one area of the United States yet a majority in another. Likewise, hair color, eye color, skin tone, a physical abnormality large or minute can differentiate us from the majority at a given time and place. In the classroom; attitudes, learning styles, levels of previous knowledge, learning differentials, differing prior experiences, past teachers, home environments, and health are but a few of the less visible factors that can profoundly effect one’s feelings about oneself, how others relate to us., and ultimately our learning.
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