A Diversity Primer for independent school teachers, some suggested reading

Here are some works and essays to start with in our attempts to educate ourselves as Independent School teachers fully committed to diversity and the principles of multicultural education. This list is far from complete and it is just a taste of the philosophical and real considerations that confront us all in creating a truly equitable climate in which to teach and to learn. The second set of works concentrates primarily on the experience of those who are not white, heterosexual and wealthy in either secondary schools or in their pursuit of college, the principal task and goal of Independent Schools. Some of these essays were originally published in Independent School Magazine (NAIS); others are available in various anthologies like Rereading America. Many of these authors continue to write interesting and challenging essays and books.

Philosophy:

• Race Matters, (at least the Preface and Introduction) - Cornel West

• “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack- Peggy McIntosh

• “Multiculturalism, E Pluribus Plures”- Diane Ravitch

• “Racial Socialization in African American Families: The Art of Balancing Intolerance and Survival.” - Howard Stevenson Jr.

• “Not Color Blind: Just Blind”- Nicholas Katzenbach and Burke Marshall

• Affirming Diversity: The Sociological Context of Multicultural Education, - Sonia Nieto

• “Historical Reconstruction of the Concept of Race” - James Banks

• “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation.” - James Baldwin

Reality:

• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, (especially Chapters 1 and 4) - Beverly Daniel Tatum

• Black Ice, (especially Chapters 1 and 4) -Lorene Cary

• Hope and The Unseen, (especially Chapter 7, “Goodbye to Yesterday”) - Ron Susskindß

• Visible Now: Blacks in Private School - D.T. Slaughter and D.J Johnson

• “What It Takes: A Look at Black Achievers” - Stephanie Bell Rose

• “Silence is the Voice of Complicity: Addressing Homophobia in Schools” - Kevin Jennings

• The Big Test, (especially Chapter 15, “The Invention of the Asian-American”) - Nicholas Lehmann

• “The Achievement of Desire”- Richard Rodriquez

*There is also the Independent School Magazine of Summer 2003 that was dedicated to the discussion of diversity topics in Independent Schools.