Stop Faking It

Dear Readers, 

This past week, my philosophy capstone has been discussing race and culture. I'd like to share my recent journal reflection on differences in our society:

We have identified the issues of race within education. We have considered the possibility that race is actually a human-made categorization that has negative connections to a student’s success in school. We have also examined how teachers can rise above the current teaching methods to expand learning for all students. This incorporates a knowledge and appreciation for all cultures.

Still, I think the most important part of dealing with this racial issue and developing culturally responsive pedagogy is one that connects with my ethical vision. This is the idea that we must be intentional and obvious. So often, differences are the elephants in the room. We as human beings have a terribly tendency that desires to be “normal.” This is far from what our Creator once made us to be, fearfully and wonderfully made, with everything about us known to God. But not everything about us is known to one another.

I can relate to this very well from the perspective of someone with a disability. Disclosure is such a tough question, because it has so many parts. When? How? Who? Why? Frankly, there are situations such as walking in a dangerous area or traveling on a bus alone when disclosing my disability, a hidden disability to the naked eye, would likely cause more harm than help. But what about other situations? What about the grey areas of life when we have to make a choice whether or not to expose the reality of the label society has given us.

I can think of countless moments in the past few years when I have struggled to decide when and how to share about my disability. Often enough, these questions only float through my mind once things are already awkward. It happens after my ride is late to take me to a meeting where my colleagues don’t know I’m blind. It happens after I awkwardly drop my silverware in my lap at a fancy restaurant or awkwardly walk slightly behind my date to his car because it’s too dark for me to see him side by side. It happens after I walk around the store 17 times to find a particular item that I can’t see, passing the same service clerk each time.

This is just like the issue of race and cultural differences in our society, except that race and culture might actually be more identifiable than my disability. But the notion is the same. They must be handled in an open and honest discussion. This leads to the same disclosure questions as disability, because we still need to decide exactly how to approach this discussion. Is it actually going to take the form of a classroom discussion of differences? How are we going to incorporate many cultural ideas into our classroom? How does the teacher know what cultures are represented in his or her student group?

I don’t know all of the answers to these questions, because they require context within the classroom itself. But perhaps more importantly, I do understand the importance of honesty. If our society could find a way to make differences shine, we would be so much stronger. In other words, if could somehow just face the fact that we are all uniquely made to fulfill specific roles in God’s world, perhaps this awkwardness would be gone. Perhaps we could move past trying to impress people. We could move towards feeling comfortable about the many gifts and blessings that God has given us, knowing that whatever extra challenges or differences we might have don’t really matter.

My fear is that this is too far into the ought-side of life. Our society is in a continuous spiral of narcissism. We want to be the best, have the biggest, and do the most. Making the best impressions, winning everything, and appearing to have it all together is what our society strives to accomplish. This means that those of us who can pause to recognize this significant issue in our society need to shout a little louder. We have to be voices for differences, qualities that are labeled as both good and bad by our world. We have to defend the dignity and honor of all people. We must realize the abilities in all of us. 

Sing as one,

sjc