PCS Workshop: Social Justice Forum Discussion: Assimilation and our Educational System

The post-World War II era provided many opportunities for assimilation, particularly in the suburbs and on college campuses.  Assimilation has been a force that shaped the United States even after periods of dissent and marked policy changes meant to eliminate racial and socio-economic disparities (i.e. Reconstruction, Brown v. Board of Education).  Assimilation became connected to significant and increasing inequalities in our country.   Our panel discussion will dissect why assimilation aided in the continuation of an underclass, labeled and viewed as “Others.” Vignettes illustrating the pervasiveness of and education that omits the experiences of the “Others” will be presented, thereby demonstrating an analysis of how the exclusion of the “Other” frames the teaching and learning experience.  We seek to increase teachers’ awareness, instructors’ capacity and general confidence to interrupt the patterns and privileges of prevailing influences that are too often normalized in learning.  Co-sponsored by the Westchester Association of Black School Educators.