Reflecting on The Privilege of Waking Up White

Reflecting on The Privilege of Waking Up White
Kara McDuffee, English Faculty

“What percent of yourself can you bring to this school? What about your students?”

These were some of the first questions Debby Irving, author and diversity specialist, asked us to consider at our faculty workshop.

As a teacher, I always try to think of ways that I can broaden my students’ perspective on the world. What activities will develop their empathy? What projects will help them to look beyond themselves? Debby made me realize that before we can truly see outward, we must first understand ourselves. And before we as teachers can ask our students to look inward, we must first do so ourselves.

The workshop followed up the all-faculty summer reading of Debby’s book, Waking Up White. The memoir describes Debby’s journey of being awoken to the issue of race, educating herself on its origins and complexities, and accepting how her status as a white person has allowed her privileges in society. My quick description makes it sound like an easy journey, but let me clarify: it was not. I was awestruck by her vulnerability in exposing herself and her uncomfortable experiences. I was also impressed by her ability to put those experiences into well-written anecdotes that I found both relatable and thought-provoking. Then to have her standing in front of us, on our campus? Blame it on the English teacher in me, but it was, for lack of a better word, cool.


After Debby started the workshop asking us what our expectations were - Craig (our head of school) was the first to offer, “To learn more about these issues so we can better serve our students” - she jumped right into her question of authenticity. What percent of yourself can you bring to the school?

She then began to draw a map that laid out a visual of the different social identifiers and where they fall on the line of privilege in our society. The concept of privilege was not new for me, but the way Debby explained the complexities of race in regard to these groups was enlightening. She made us look at our own race. People of color often look at their own race on a daily basis, yet I found myself relating to Debby’s stories in her book. Yes, I was white, but I never really had asked: what does that mean?

I believe everyone who went to the workshop would agree: It means everything. In the United States, society is dominated by white culture. We live by a code of habits and values that are the backbone of white families. As a result, we unknowingly exclude and oppress every other culture, forcing these individuals to either hide or pass for something they are not.

Having this level of understanding is critical, but it begs the next question: how do we use it as teachers? At the end of our workshop, one of our faculty members asked, “We can see where these white cultural norms are limiting, but what tools are there for us to use in the classroom?”

Debby’s answer was immediate. “The tools are only as good as the person using them,” she said. “Understanding is the first and most important piece.”

I thought about her answer. While I had expected to leave the workshop with the usual handouts of classroom activities and strategies, I now understood how much more valuable this understanding was. I had more perspective into the experiences of people with different races. I possessed language that I could use to be more inclusive of my students.

Most importantly, I knew how much I still didn’t know. And that, to overcome this ignorance, I would have to ask.

I hope to take this new understanding into my classroom. It’s my job to ask my students how they want to be identified, what their experiences are, and how they view the world. It’s also my job to continually question myself: how am I perpetuating white culture, and how can I try to break down some of these barriers of privilege?

It is no secret that boarding schools have a long history of privilege. In an attempt to overcome this history, I believe we throw the word “diversity” around quite a bit. I will confess (even here it takes courage to be vulnerable) that I often thought of diversity as a percent: what percent of student are non-white? Now I see just how very wrong - and privileged of me - this way of thinking is. Debby explained a new definition for us: diversity is not just populating a space differently; it is understanding the power dynamics, bias, and systems, in order to create a fair and questioning environment.

At the end of the workshop, I walked out with a new understanding of race, as well as more questions. I imagine the same was true for my fifty colleagues. I know that one workshop will not change our school, that these issues are so deep-rooted in society that the amount of work it will take will be enormous. But the first step is to have these conversations. And as I heard people continue to discuss the workshop during lunch, in our afternoon team meetings, even at social events that night, I think change is on the horizon.

Our newly revised mission statement (Brewster prepares diverse thinkers for lives of purpose) has even further relevance as we process what diversity should mean to us. At one point in the past, I personally might have tried to define “diverse thinkers” by various labels, categories, and percentages. Now, armed with Debby’s new definition, I am excited to view our school’s diversity through one question for our students: what percent of yourself can you bring to Brewster?

And I hope every single one of their answers can be 100%.
 

Pictured above: Guinevere Hilton, Arts Chair; Debby Irving, Author, Waking up White; Melissa Lawlor, Director of Community and Inclusion Programs; Bret Barnett, Assistant Head of School - Campus Affairs