Breaking Bad Habits of Race and Gender : Transforming Identity in Schools

Can't say enough about this book. The author really knows her stuff, and the information within is incredibly thought-provoking. This is a must-read. It is a great book about an important subject, and belongs in any educator's personal library. Every Day Teachers Encounter Moments Of Racial And Gender Tension In Their Classrooms. In The Most Drastic Cases, These Situations Erupt Into Overt Conflict Or Violence, While In Other Instances They Go Largely Unnoted. Such Incidents Reveal That, Despite Equality Legislation And The Good Intentions Of Many Teachers, Racial And Gender Problems Persist. How Can Teachers More Effectively Handle These Moments? How Can They Prevent Them In The Future? Breaking Bad Habits Of Race And Gender Is The First To Unite Two Major Schools Of Educational Philosophy - Traditional American Pragmatism And Contemporary Poststructuralism - To Offer Both Theoretical And Concrete Suggestions For Dealing With Actual Classroom Race- And Gender-related Events. While Schools Are One Of The Most Common Settings Of Race And Gender Discord, This Book Upholds Schools As The Primary Location For Alleviating Systems Of Oppression. For It Is Within Schools That Children Learn How To Enact And Respond To Race And Gender Through The Cultivation Of Habits, Including Dispositions, Bodily Comportment, And Ways Of Interacting. In A Spirit Of Social Transformation, This Book Argues That When Students Learn To Inhabit Their Races And Genders More Flexibly, Many Classroom Problems Can Be Prevented And Current Social Structures Of Identity-based Oppression Can Be Alleviated.--book Jacket. Deweyan Habits -- A Historical Look At The Making Of Race -- Redoing Gender With Judith Butler -- Flexible Habits Of Race And Gender -- Cultivating Flexible Habits In Schools. Sarah Marie Stitzlein. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 153-159) And Index. Every day teachers encounter moments of racial and gender tension in their classrooms. In the most drastic cases, these situations erupt into overt conflict or violence, while in other instances they go largely unnoted. Such incidents reveal that despite equality legislation and the good intentions of many teachers, racial and gender problems persist. How can teachers more effectively handle these moments? How can they prevent them in the future? This book is the first to unite two major schools of educational philosophy, traditional American pragmatism and contemporary poststructuralism, to offer both theoretical and concrete suggestions for dealing with actual classroom race and gender related events. While schools are one of the most common settings of race and gender discord, this book upholds schools as the primary location for alleviating systems of oppression. For it is within schools that children learn how to enact and respond to race and gender through the cultivation of habits, including dispositions, bodily comportment, and ways of interacting. In a spirit of social transformation, this book argues that when students learn to inhabit their races and genders more flexibly, many classroom problems can be prevented and current social structures of identity-based oppression can be alleviated.