#Activism

Introduction 

As I have been reading Critical Literacy in the Early Childhood Classroom by Candace R. Kuby, the term “othering” came up in the text. Kuby (2012), described this term with the following explanation, “I positioned myself as better than Others: my experiences, my language, my dress, my beliefs on parenting, my behaviors, and my teaching styles were better at some level” (p. 31). As I reflected on this statement, I thought about times that I might have “othered” people that were different than me. I have always thought of myself as kind and accepting but when I really dug deep into my experiences with various people, I could unfortunately think of times that I had “othered.” While this is never intentional or done in a mean-spirited way, I think most people have done this at some point in their lives.

When I really sat down to think about my experiences of “othering,” I thought about parents, students, colleagues, classmates, people of different races/ethnicities and sometimes even family members or friends. I reflected on experiences with these individuals and why I may have “othered” them, even if it was unintentionally. I wanted to explore this issue a little more to see what others have to say about it and maybe gain some insight to my own thoughts and feelings. I also want to understand “othering” better so it can help me improve my relationships with my students, parents, and colleagues. I think it is important for our society to reflect on this and to be aware of when it is happening by them or even to them. If people understand the term “othering,” why it happens, and their feelings behind it, maybe they will be more conscious of it and instead of looking down on certain people, they will look at them as an equal.

I chose to explore #OpposeOthering. Oppose Othering is made up of young filmmakers from Germany as well as Central and Eastern Europe. These filmmakers teamed up in groups of two and set out on a journey through their countries. Their main goals included using the filmmaking to investigate misanthropic attitudes toward people of different social, religious, cultural, ethnic, and sexual orientation/gender backgrounds or identities and also using portraits of individuals and projects that work to promote solidarity, civil courage, and resistance to discrimination (Oppose Othering, 2016).

Perspectives

Perspective 1: Classroom Teacher

As a classroom teacher, I have sadly participated in “othering” and I am sure I am not alone on this. Teachers need to be aware of this because even though we are the teacher we are not  superior to anyone else – not our students, parents, or our colleagues. I don’t feel I have ever directly treated anyone this way, but I know I have thought it at least a few times. What about the parent who never signs anything for their child, doesn’t do homework with their child or read to him/her? What about the teacher down the hall whose students seem to be slightly more rambunctious than you would allow in your own classroom? I am just guessing that most classroom teachers have thought about those parents or teachers and thought to themselves how they were better than that parent or teacher because they would make sure everything school related was taken care of or that they would never let their students behave that way. Classroom teachers need to be aware of this because in order to build positive and productive relationships with parents, students, and colleagues, teachers need to treat them with acceptance and respect. Whether a parent, student, colleague, or really anyone you interact with, people can pick up on the fact that we are judging them in some way or don’t accept them for who they are. This will not build the relationships that teachers need to have with the various important people they work with.

Perspective 2: Parents

I believe parents also need to consider the term “othering.” I think it is important for parents to understand how they themselves might unintentionally participate in “othering” as well as how their children might be doing this as well. I believe most parents want to their children to be kind and accepting to others and I think if parents have a good understanding of when/if they do this as well as when/if their children do this, it can open up meaningful conversations about how this type of behavior can hurt others or even themselves. Opposing Othering really does begin at home with parents taking the time to have these important conversations with their children in order to make the world a more accepting and embracing place.

Perspective 3: Students

Finally, students need to understand the term “othering” and work together to do something about it. With positive influences such as their parents and teachers helping them understand this behavior, why and when it happens, how it can make others feel, and how it can negatively affect our society, students will be better armed with quality knowledge on how to act on this problem. They not only can try to stop this behavior within themselves, but they can stand up to others that make particular people feel less than or at a lower status for whatever reason. If students work together, with the guidance of teachers and parents, they can become more accepting themselves and help others along the way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, adults need to be aware of “othering” and how they may unfortunately be participating in this negative behavior so they can in turn, help guide our students to be more accepting and appreciative of peoples’ differences. This will make for more peaceful and safe classrooms where students can respectively disagree on topics that are important to them, but not judge each other on the color of their skin or the clothes they wear. If we guide our students/children to accept others’ differences as a positive thing, our society will be a more comfortable and peaceful place as well. #OpposeOthering

References:

Kuby, C. R. (2012). Critical literacy in the early childhood classroom: Unpacking

            histories, unlearning privilege. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Oppose Othering. (2016). Retrieved from http://oppose-othering.de/