Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach

own identity. But no society is really anxious to have that kind of person around. What societies

really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society. (pp. 678–679)

According to Baldwin, “The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is
to examine society and try to change it and to fight it—at no matter what risk. This is the only
hope society has. This is the only way societies change” (p. 679). He believed he was speak-
ing in a dangerous time and he was especially concerned with teachers who were working
with African American youth. He said that if he were a teacher working with this group of
students:

I would try to teach them—I would try to make them know—that those streets, those houses,

those dangers, those agonies, by which they are surrounded, are criminal. I would try to make

each child know that these things are the results of a criminal conspiracy to destroy him. I would

teach him that if he intends to get to be a man, he must at once decide that he is stronger than

this conspiracy and that he must never make his peace with it.... I would teach him that there

are currently very few standards in this country which are worth a man’s respect. That it is up to

him to begin to change these standards for the sake of the life and health of the country. (p. 685)

He concluded: “One of the paradoxes of education was that precisely at the point when
you begin to develop a conscience, you must find yourself at war with your society. It is your
responsibility to change society if you think of yourself as an educated person” (p. 685). He
adds, “If this country does not find a way to use that energy, it will be destroyed by that en-
ergy” (p. 686).
Each time I reread this essay, I am struck by its currency, yet I know it was written nearly
40 years ago. I think we have to ask ourselves why it still rings so true, and how we respond
to it as teachers and prospective teachers.
Should we dismiss Baldwin as an echo of another era or as a prophet whose message is
only intended for people planning to teach in “the city” or “the ghetto”? If we teach in those
inner-city urban schools, do we expose ourselves to criticism by colleagues, administrators,
and politicians by inviting students to stand up against injustice and demand “standards”
that are “worth a man’s respect”? Can we do this knowing that when students learn to chal-
lenge unfair practices, they will also be questioning our attitudes and behavior in class?
If we are working in suburban schools, do we have a responsibility to teach about race
and upset the comforting myths held by many White students, parents, and colleagues? Or,
do we allow them to continue to live with blinders on, culturally challenged, in the middle of
a world of diversity and oppression beyond their wildest imaginations?
Should privileged students learn that their bounty comes at the expense and suffering of
others, or is it safer to just let them compartmentalize, stereotype, and believe that I have
what I have because my family, my ancestors, my people, and so on worked hard, while
“they” are poor, sick, without because of some flaw in their individual or group character
and culture?

JOIN THE CONVERSATION—RACE AND INJUSTICE

Question to Consider:

Should teachers see race and discuss injustice? Explain.

RELATIONSHIPS 121