Enid Lee, Incorporating Antiracism Essay

In Taking Multicultural, Antiracist tuition Seriously, Barbara Miner interviews Enid Lee, a leader in antiracist fosterage as noted on her website, Enidlee. com. She thrustes for the accustom of the term antiracist because the tem currently in use, multicultural, is too nice, focal pointing much on food and fun rather than hard issues of racism. Although her interview is invigo pose and very necessary, both(prenominal) facets of her presentation seem to swing to far to the belligerent side to garner widespread acceptance. First, Lee explains that in many schools, European posters, readings, games and activities dominate the landscape.While I believe this is true in some cases, I do not believe it to be true in all cases. Many, many classrooms in which I arouse learned, observed and taught train been filled with pictures of prominent white, black, Hispanic and Asian authors, researchers, and political leaders. Lees multistage approach to antiracist education is clear and or ganized and sequentially stepped so as not to seem overly forceful. However, her insistent on the use of antiracist is a bit harsh in that it assumes that anything not adopted or preceding to this new ideology is racist. That is a huge overgeneralization.It also separates people into groups the antiracists and everyone else, who, by association, must be racist. I do not think that many public school systems, and certainly no private systems, will grease ones palms curricular materials and send teachers and administrators to antiracist workshops because it implies the worst of these people and materials. Lee can exclusively not make that kind of generalization. She urges the changes to extend beyond the school. Racism is breathing and well in the community, but her approach sends the wrong message We have an antiracist plan to change this racist community. That is the message that people will hear.A less forceful message is much preferable to Lees approach. Lee is convincing in her devotion to creating antiracist schools. She urges to push for administrative changes and curricular changes, which she admits are financially blockaded by under-funded school districts. She gives an unsubstantiated take that multicultural, antiracist programs are the most under-funded, when the removal of arts programs in elementary schools has do the national media several times in the last few years.Finally, later on admitting the sad lack of money for programs, she launches on her website, a national push for her own conference called Putting Equity on the Table that be $1450 for two school officials to attend. This is a three day conference and the rate (which is the early bird rate) does not include the hotel fee at the Hampton auberge in downtown Boston. In addition, the recommended reading resource is entitled Education Children of African Ancestry in the United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom.If we are unfeignedly talking about an antiracist educ ation, why does our primary conference resource sole(prenominal) focus on one race? Nobody will smirch Enid Lee and others like her for taking on the cause of equity in education. Clearly the past has shown that steps are necessary. However, Lees focus on only African-descended children, on an inflammatory name for her type of education (which, oddly, does not appear on her conference registration information), and on her choose to charge exorbitant fees for her conference detract from her credibility and are credibly to be off-putting for widespread educators.