Straight Talk: Growing as Multicultural Educators

Abstract

Straight Talk: Growing as Multicultural Educators, by Rebecca Powell. New York: Peter Lang, 2001. 240 pp., $29.95 cloth. Reviewed by Frances Y. Lowden, Medgar Evers College, City University of New York. Assuming an epistolary correspondence with White educators, Rebecca Powell, herself a White educator, attempts to encourage others to go beyond their discomfort and privilege and to engage in associated with human difference and their role as educators in a diverse nation and world (p. 11). Similarly, Alice McIntyre (1997) makes this attempt when exploring racial identity with White teachers and relates, While in an abstract sense White may not like the idea of reproducing White racism, and in a personal sense, do not see themselves as racist, in their talk and actions, they (p. xi). Gloria Boutte (1999) adds to the conversation stating: discussion of multicultural issues often causes discomfort for many people (p. 78). In a revelatory manner, Powell expounds upon her emergence from her middle-class cocoon and, through these letters, invites the reader on a journey to experience the joy of growing as a multicultural educator. Straight Talk: Growing as Multicultural Educators lends credence to a body of work that mandates White teachers be purposefully thinking through their own racial identities as salient aspects of their thinking through the racial identities of the students they teach (McIntyre, 1997, p. 5). Introspectively, Powell reveals, come to a place in my life's journey where I a desire and commitment to effect (p. 6). This personal revelation helps the reader understand her choice of letters to her audience. What the author is admonishing her readers to do extends far beyond cognition and affectively demands a change of heart. Letter 1, the introductory letter, and Letter 2 offer a rationale for feeling uncomfortable in dealing with (e.g., racism, sexism, classism). According to Boutte (1999), . . it is a privilege not to be aware of the isms (p. 319). Powell concedes that in the teaching field there is still need for reflection and introspection in this area. In Letter 3, Powell explores individual and institutional practices, and she asserts cultural racism is perpetuated-overtly and covertly-by Whites. Educator, researcher, and Spellman College provost, Joyce King supports the need for these letters: Whites need to identify, understand, and bring to conscious awareness our critical and limited ways of thinking about racism if we are to move toward a more critical conscious-raising dialogue (as cited in McIntyre, 1997, p. 78). Throughout these 16 letters, Rebecca Powell continually attempts to engage, cajole, enlighten, and inspire her readers to examine their cocoons as she skillfully moves the forward. Though some might disagree with the author that education is the only effective medium by which miseducation of the past and the present can be reversed, these letters make a powerful argument for her ideology. As Powell discusses in Letter 4, lower social class, when perceived as a negative indicator of success, leads to cultural, social, and academic mismatches that become a self-fulfilling prophecy for children who are considered the have nots. Powell states that it's not enough to about children; we must also learn culturally appropriate ways for demonstrating that care (p. 138). In Letters 5 and 6, which explore sexism and homophobia, arguments for fairness and understanding, if not outright acceptance, are well researched and cited. Letters 7 and 8 discuss learning environments, teacher expectations, and curriculum differentiation. The author continues her attempt to bring awareness to White educators about overt and covert practices that hinder the successful education of all children. During the 1950's and early 1960's, McIntyre (1997) explains, It was evident to most educators of color that White teachers, especially, knew very little about the lived experiences of students of color and that their teaching practices reified the myth that difference meant deficiency (p. …