#tom white

Tom White (@tombowhite)

Lapis Luzuli

Know what’s cool? When the teacher who inspired you to become a teacher is in your classroom as a guest lecturer. Granted, Tom White was in my classroom via Zoom today, but it still counts. The lecture he gave is entitled “Systemic Racism: The United States and Nazi Germany (Learning from the Past,” and I think my students’ minds were blown more than once. Tom’s really good at explaining how mainstream racist ideas were (and are) in American popular culture, how racism influenced (and influences) policy, and how much our history and Germany’s are tied together in the lead up to WWII (and after). It’s doubly beneficial for me to have him teach this stuff because, obviously, that content knowledge will help me teach about the Civil Rights Movement, but also because it gives my students a taste of what a college lecture is like. They had really thoughtful comments for Tom after he was done teaching, and I was really proud of them for engaging with a difficult subject the way they did.

I was proud of my ninth graders, too, for the questions they asked and the comments they had after I finished showing Shake Hands With the Devil. They wanted to know what happened in Rwanda afterwards, of course, and then followed up with questions about the surrounding countries because I mentioned the war in the DR Congo. They were really able to grasp how colonialism and the Cold War had contributed to what happened, which is good because that’s going to be a recurring thing as we study other conflict clusters. They also asked about the US’ decisions at the time of the genocide, and we had a great discussion about risks and benefits, values, national interests, etc... It’s important stuff. I’m glad they’re curious enough about it to want to talk. 

I spent my prep time getting ready for tomorrow’s lessons. It’s more big, consequential stuff; I’ll be going into the Civil Rights Movement in GOV, and elaborating on the war in the DR Congo and other ongoing regional conflicts in World. I also had a quick chat with The Principal because he stopped by to ask me about a student transitioning from face-to-face instruction to remote instruction. 

Tom White - In Poor Visibility

hibernate