Uncomfortable read

Racism is not an issue I would have expected to take a significant focus in Brookfield's book, however I found the perspective was very different than any I’d heard or thought about. While I grew up in a larger Canadian city with a wide variety of friends who were from different backgrounds than me, I have never felt “race” stood out louder than say, character differences from one friend to another.

It feels uncomfortable as I think back and try to dissect my friends into grouping based on their skin colour. Age, ability level, gender, culture... all these varied. None of these were the basis for how I chose a friend. None of them impacted if that person was nice to me or not. Some were story tellers, some extroverted or introverted. Some were good at sports, or liked art. They were people with different habits, likes and dislikes.

Maybe it was the lens of childhood that did not allow me to categorize these character differences into a race based system.

As an instructor, I can't say I've ever found I inflated a grade based on race, gender or similar biases. Maybe I'm being naive? I know some students are more likely to argue a grade and boy, I'd better right enough notes so they clearly understand where and why a mark was taken off, but I still took it off. The 4 students I'm thinking of more recently are various ages, cultures and ability levels. Some, in the 95% percentile, others barely passing. They are people.

Thinking back, and reflecting about the conscious ways race has (or has not) played into my decisions I’m ok if this is naivety that keeps my friends lumped as friends, my students as my students and not sub divided more. Likely that is part of why I was so uncomfortable with this chapter.