I wrote this letter to my director two days after I 'd started working at this school. Classes hadn’t begun yet, and the staff was preparing for the school year. We (the teachers) were doing mini-lessons, to develop our co-teaching models, and receiving feedback about it, and one of the responses struck me as inappropriate. Fortunately, the director was in agreement, and initiated a conversation with the whole staff body about the issue, which I believe helped create a much healthier culture around clothing and appearance in the school.
Recently, I've started sending this email when I'm asked for writing samples that "reflect my work experience." It's certainly not the best piece of writing I've produced, but is perhaps the most succinct reflection of my work experience.
Dear Carla,
I am writing to address the incident at our session this afternoon, which I found extremely concerning. I don’t know that there will be time to speak with you in person before our professional development session tomorrow morning, but we do need to address it sooner than later.
During the feedback after my demo lesson with Margaret today, Greg told Margaret, essentially as the first order of business, that she needed to change the background of her laptop because it was inappropriate for students to see. This, and the fact that we went about the rest of the meeting without addressing this in any way, set an unhealthy tone for school, which must be addressed by us all, as a community.
The tone with which it was said, as an instruction rather than a suggestion, or a subject of discussion, was the first issue. We are theoretically equals as teachers in the school, and I think that dynamic needs to be respected. Not only was it an instruction, it was also one of the first things that was said, as though that was in any way relevant, or appropriate.
His position as an American man, telling a Guatemalan woman, in the cultural context that is hers (not his), what is and isn't appropriate, is rather concerning. For instance, the sari, which is my traditional clothing, would show my waist. If my desktop background was a picture of me in a sari, would I be expected to change that, to appease the moral preferences of someone from a culture that historically has enacted deep violence on mine? An argument that it was culturally insensitive has no place coming from him, especially considering the dynamic of him being an older white man, and her being a young indigenous woman.
Greg’s essential point, that the picture was "inappropriate," comes from an unhealthily gendered perspective. It was a picture of her in a swim suit, presumably while she was swimming. If it had been a man in swimming clothes, swimming, I think we can be fairly certain that no one would have thought to raise the question of it being inappropriate, let alone simply instruct that he change it. The choice to view the photo as inappropriate, I think, can only come from sexualizing it, which is the choice of the viewer, and not a mandate of the photo.
It is not lost on me that we, as a school, exist in a community that values modesty. That said, we also exist in a globalized, post-colonial society. The sexualizing, inappropriate response that Greg’s command anticipated from student, while plausible, as an educator, should be handled as a moment to teach crucial lessons.
We need to teach students to be respectful of others, whether or not they conform to our cultural norms. We need to hold students accountable for how they treat and view others. We also need to make sure not to convey to students that they need to be ashamed of their bodies being visible. Younger children, especially, take their cues from adults, in how to respond to unfamiliar situations or stimuli. It is a good opportunity to normalize and de-stigmatize human bodies, and teach them a model of community that respects all bodies.
I understand that there is content that is inappropriately sexual, and that we have hard limits in the context of a school but I am also keenly aware that no one can be stopped from sexualizing anyone, or anything, regardless of how innocent it actually is. Yes, we need to be aware, as teachers, of how we present ourselves, but also, it's our responsibility to teach students that they need to behave appropriately regardless of how sexual they find something they are exposed to.
I fully appreciate that it is a complex and delicate issue, and I don't mean to vilify Greg for his response. But I also am vehemently against accepting his response as entirely appropriate or acceptable. I would not ever presume to speak for Margaret or anyone else, but I, personally, was offended, extremely uncomfortable, and perhaps foolishly, not prepared with a diplomatic, calm rebuttal in that moment.
I am coming at this with the perspective of a woman of colour, of a deeply post colonial community, with little to no patience for the casual sexism and racism that is often excused as cultural sensitivity. I appreciate that this is not where everyone is coming from, and am more than open to discussing these dynamics. I hope that the culture we're trying to create in this school is one of openness and discussion and not one of imposition and shame.
I appreciate your time and consideration in this matter, and I hope that it allows us to have meaningful conversations that positively impact the school. . Thanks,
-Vashti
(All names have been changed)*
