This was supposed to be the post before my final post...whoops!

This semester was crazy y'all. In a good way. I have literally been busy 24/7, same as y'all, I'm sure. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be teaching 3 sections of Intro to Comm. I still find it hard to believe sometimes. With that being said, there was so much that I wanted to teach my students and pedagogy helped she the way I could do it. I think that one of the most important things I wanted to include in my classes was the idea of addressing privilege, self-reflexivity, and just being a good person, in general. We all have students who think that racism doesn't exist anymore. Luckily for them, it doesn't. Why? You ask? Because now we can use Hooks' White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy instead.

It's long but it works. This term helps remove the "whiteness" out of the social issue that surrounds us on a daily basis. I don't think that I had many students who avoid discussing these issues too much, but the times that I did encounter these moments, I made sure that I affirmed their agency. As much as we don't like listening to someone's ignorance on a specific issue, it is our job to listen as much as it is to guide our students to reach awareness. The privilege walk was a great way to do this. Another time  that I feel was important to teach about "whiteness" and addressing privilege was when I included the wall commercial during the week we discussed stereotypes and the types of appeals. There is always a way to implement teachings about challenging the status quo and I think that if we can identify those moments, teaching about difficult topics can become an easy task.

Never hesitate to call people out on their racism. There are jokes that go too far and those can certainly change the tone of your classroom. As instructors, we need to know when it is okay to step up and make things a teaching moment. Don't scapegoat jokes, you're in the position of power and it is your duty to stand up when you know something is wrong.

If your students chose to not learn from what you are trying to teach them, they can always chose to remove themselves from the situation. You're the teacher, help them realize that their mindset needs to change (if it is an entitled one). You're the instructor, you got this. Go on and impart your knowledge!

Mari Officially, officially Out <3