Discussion of Episode 1 (30-45 min)

Read the below excerpts from 10 of your discussion posts. Come up with a general reaction about what you were interested in or reacted strongly to in the episode AND come up with a discussion question based on these excerpts. A good discussion question does the following:

• It’s a question you genuinely don’t know the answer to
• It cannot be answered with “yes” or “no”
• They tend to have multiple possible answers because they are about complex topics (not always, but frequently this is the case)

When ready, post your discussion question here. You can OPTIONALLY post your general reaction to the episode. But only the discussion question is required for you to help you get credit for participating today.

Khaz:

I was confused by the creation of a separate group. While Rob, the fundraiser, had good intentions to support the new French course, his group could have operated under the PTA, avoiding Mrs. Hernandez’s frustration and exclusion. I also wondered why communication wasn’t improved. Mrs. Hernandez mentioned being left out, saying, ‘I didn’t know about this,’ but despite Rob’s initial apology, there was no effort to address or fix the communication gap.

Gilayne:

 At 18:25, Imi’s description of community speaks a lot for itself because a dinner where all cultures are invited along with their home-cooked meals perfectly accentuates the support that takes place within public school families, whereas now hearing the idea of catering now comes off as cold or artificial, much like the White families who came in to reserve their space. . . . I often found that while listening the New parents came off as condescending all throughout, first beginning with excluding parents who were there prior to their arrival, then in separating both groups to claim full control of the program’s funding, to even hosting the school event. The school event I saw coming when Imi first clarified with Rob that it would be free and in hoping I’d be wrong, in the end was proven right when they completely changed this event to a formal gathering for people who had absolutely no knowledge or genuine interest of the school.

Suleidy

The part that caught my attention the most was when it talked about the original purpose of the public school education system. It emphasized that public schools were intended to make it easier for the wealthy and the poor to come together and build a democracy. In reality it has been the opposite and it is even more shocking to hear that the New York City public school system is one of the most segregated public school systems because white parents seem to have trouble sharing public spaces.

Milo:

Listening to The Book of Statuses made me think about how schools can change based on who has the most power. One thing that stood out to me was how easily the new white families directed the  vision of SIS. The school had been attended by Black, Latino and Middle Eastern students for many years, but in 2015 the dynamic shifted and major changes ensued, including the establishment of a French dual language program, which was not something the existing community required or wanted. This made me think about the debates I have read or seen regarding school funding and gentrification. Like cases where rich people move into an area and bring their money with them, then they start paying for things that the local community didn’t even consider important.

Ammar:

It really showed the main idea that it’s difficult for diversity to really effectively work, as the two groups here were constantly at odds, with the PTA not trusting the fundraising committee for constantly sneaking things behind their backs, and the fundraising committee thinking that their donors needed stability, and assuming the PTA wouldn’t offer that stability. Susan moesker says “Here they come to save our poor struggling school that couldn’t possibly make it on its own without their money and their vision” and that really reminded me of what I remembered of the concept of the white man’s burden, the idea that the “white man” should help civilize the “nonwhite”. It felt a lot like that was what was happening, known to the white parents or not, and they felt like they were being “saved whether they liked it or not according to Imee.

One last thing I found really interesting was this quote near the end by Chana Joffe-Walt where she says, “I agree with rob, it’s great to give kids access to equal opportunity, but what they’re being given access to are the opportunities that Rob and the other white parents care about.” This quote really shows the impact that was made here. So much money was raised by those parents, but in the end, all it afforded them was a french program they didn’t even have a chance to agree on, when that money could have gone elsewhere, like Mr negron’s extra uniforms, an ongoing problem in the school, even when I was there, and even now, according to one of my friends who goes to their high school. And mr Lobianco (Lo) who when I went to middle school there, did not in fact have any microscopes.

Sarah:

Something I had believed before listening to the podcast was that all racism was direct and intentional, but as I tuned in, I soon realized that this is an inaccurate assumption. For example, Rob Hansen, a white parent, who took an underpopulated public school as an opportunity to provide a school for his child and for other white families as well. In addition to this, a chance to “advance” the school with a seemingly innocent dual-language French program. When asked if he considered himself an integrator as he was creating a great influx of white students in this segregated school, he said “No.” and laughed, unaware of the effect of his race and impositions on the school.

Pedro:

So, prior to this fundraiser, that was set in place to gather donations for the school new bilingual French program (which the old parents felt they really had no say in), there was already some tension in the air. This tension between the parents had me curious in finding out how things would play out under such circumstances, and on discovering if anything positive would derive from that situation. And for my surprise, some of the old kids parents actually showed up, which was unexpected, since the exclusionary actions from the parents of the new kids put that in question. Meanwhile in the event, there was some of the same negative behaviors towards the parents of the old kids. The same sense of entitlement and superiority fallacy played out, which made it seem almost as if they couldn’t help themselves. 

Erica:

I was shocked when the reporter said, “But what they’re being given access to are the opportunities that Rob and the other white parents care about.” This stuck with me because, yes, Rob is giving all people opportunities and access to all the new things that are happening at the school, but it’s not considering what other PTA members think. If they had spoken with the PTA (mostly people of color) and adapted based on their wants too, it would have been fairer to everyone.

Shirley:

I went to a small high school that is in between two neighborhoods that have a very clear race difference. One neighborhood had their population majorly being wealthy white people and the other with people of color with lower incomes. When I started high school, there was a fair mix, with kids like myself from different neighborhoods that weren’t from the two that the school was located in, attending. But throughout the past four years and especially my last year of high school, the percentage of white students started increasing and you could visibly see it with each year when the new freshman class started. More fundraisers and events that made the school look like a “community” was being organized. The majority of these families attending were the new white families. Families of color hardly went to these events because “they couldn’t afford getting out of work”, which was something kids, especially of color, would often say when they were asked why their parents weren’t coming to an event. Rob’s advantage and knowledge to create fundraisers for a French language program reminded me a lot of that. 

Andre:

However, by the end of the episode, with the help of Rob Hanson and other white parents involved in the parent teacher association (PTA) they “helped” attract new white wealthy parents to enroll their kids into SIS. Despite that the school did not improve in terms of education, the school’s status changed because of the enrollment of new white kids.

Writing I vs. Writing II: The Rhetorical Stance (30 min)

We expect more here. In Writing I, the focus was going from the personal to the academic. In Writing II, we are working on the same things but I expect you to be able to handle more complexity in your writing tasks. And, I want you to start thinking about what it means to be an intellectual, going from the academic to the public…to what’s next in your life inside and outside of college, as an intellectual.

On way to start that conversation is to think about the complexity of communication and what we can learn from that ordeal. Let’s try it with the concept of “stances” as described by Wayne Booth below.

Wayne Booth’s (1963) “stances” in communication:

• Pedant’s Stance: Putting more emphasis on the content you want to communicate and less attention on other things.
• Entertainer’s Stance: Putting more emphasis on how you are presenting yourself and your voice. Focusing more on “personality” and “charm” (Booth 144). To sound a certain way that you think audiences may prefer. Here, you’d be really interested in how you say things in ways audiences find pleasing.
• Advertiser’s Stance: Putting more emphasis on doing things that would attract an audience (think clickbait, catching attention, being salacious). The advertiser’s stance is something that decides what you might want to watch on Netflix or see in your social media feeds. Here, you would be worrying a lot about topics that are framed a certain way to appeal to specific people (and many of them).
• Rhetorical Stance: Having a balance of these stances. Being aware of making choices about the topic’s presentation, the way you present yourself, and your knowledge of the topic. The topic, the way you speak/write, and how the topic is presented work together with a careful duty to the knowledge you have and an awareness of the audience.

Let’s read this poem. There are two speakers. What are their stances?

Write it in the chat…no wrong answers here (we are trying to test the limits of a concept…something writing can be useful for)

How about the stances of some of the people we’ve heard from so far in Nice White Parents?

Rob:

Imee:

Principal Juman:

Maurice:

Barbara:

Anyone else of note?

What do you make of all of these stances? And of the idea of “balance” in rhetoric?

My challenge to you: have higher expectations for yourself than you did in Writing I. I will have higher expectations.

Logistics!: Grading Contract, Weekly Writing, Next Class (15-20 min)

• Let’s talk about the grading contract briefly.
• Let’s talk about the reading due for Wednesday and doing the Reaction for it.
• Let’s talk about the composition book for your weekly private writing. And, also, the first prompt for this Wednesday.
• FINALLY: I read each of your in-class writing essay from last Monday. Enjoyed reading! Some of you are quite funny, insightful, and very contemplative in a good way (you are really thinking and weighing things). I was pretty impressed overall. Your Writing I and/or other instructors served you well. BUT. I have one issue with MANY of you…