Unpacking the… Invisible Knapsack?

Culture has always been a passion of mind, so I am thrilled that it is a topic regularly accompanied by education and teaching. However, in some cases it unfortunately is not discussed in a positive manner. Instead, sometime it is necessary to look at a topic from an oppressed standpoint in order to gain insight into how to improve the situation. The metaphor of an ‘invisible knapsack’ represents the privileges that ‘white’ people have that are taken for granted.

http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/white-privilege-unpacking-invisible-knapsack

Growing up in a small town, I had little opportunity to experience diversity and gain a more concrete understanding of diversity and privilege. Fortunately, my social circle did not have any strong negative attitudes towards anyone. This allowed me to grow up without having strong prejudice beliefs. Coming to university, I learned about so many more cultures, but also gained a stronger understanding of what privileges I had previously taken for granted. These ‘invisible’ privileges had never occurred to me, which is something I am not proud to admit.

This raises the question… if it is invisible, how as teachers can we identify this and take the appropriate steps to promote change? There is no simple answer, talking about oppression can raise many difficult questions, but I think it is an important topic to education children about.

I would suggest the following steps to create a safe and diverse classroom:

·      Identify your own viewpoints and preexisting biases

·      Address issues in the classroom directly

·      Be a good role model to students

·      Provide opportunities for integration

·      Encourage open communication

·      Self-reflect constantly and build on your experiences

A fantastic way to teach students about white privilege in the classroom is through an activity that I have previously learned about. Students are given a list of situations that are examples of the daily effects of white privilege. For instance, ‘I can watch television and my race is usually widely represented’. There are two ways to potentially go about implementing this activity. I would either provide my students with a checklist so they may do this privately. Or, an alternative would be to have the whole class sitting, and get the students who believe each statement applies to them to stand up. It is important to facilitate a class discussion after this is completed in order to build on these ideas and concepts.

Peggy McIntosh shares this great example of sentences that represent privilege.

Privilege Activity

I like this activity because it can be extended to talk about other forms of oppression too. In this case, cultural literacy and critical literacy are being discussed, however I would expand it to include mental health literacy, media literacy, or even financial literacy.

Our life experiences cause us as teachers to naturally have beliefs and values that are ingrained in our minds. In order to move past this, we need to UNLEARN ideas that may contribute to racism and prejudice within the classroom. I strive to make myself a better person, and a better teacher by doing so.

https://andreaamyjackson.wordpress.com/category/positionality-and-privilege/