Tricky Moments address issues of boundary violating remarks and acts during situations of teaching and learning. Reading through them can therefore have a (re-)traumatizing effect on people who have encountered violence and discrimination before (racism, sexism, ableism, etc.). The following Tricky Moment depicts a fictional situation inspired by actual experiences.

Pretty Eyes

This is about:

Body
Othering
Racism

Describing the situation

At a secondary school in Vienna. A female student is teaching a class with pupils of all genders. Three of her fellow students as well as the course teacher are also present. They observe the student’s teaching practice with the aim of giving feedback on her didactic conduct. During the lesson, the pupils are attentively following the student’s instructions. After they fail to execute a guided rhythm exercise a short period of disturbances ensues. Everything else the student offers in her teaching is received well and easily put into practice by the pupils.

In one of the following classes at university the students reflect upon the teaching practice together with the course teacher, also talking about the less successful rhythm exercise. When the female student enquires about the reason why the pupils did not understand her instructions, one of her fellow female students responds: “The kids probably had difficulties understanding you because your eyes are so small.” Neither the teacher nor the other students offer any response to this statement.

What happened here?

Viewing/regarding the situation from different perspectives

The fact that the exercise failed is attributed to a fixed physical feature of the female student which in itself is simultaneously identified in connection with her alleged Asian background. Doing so reduces the actions of the student to her bodily features, correlating them with certain group membership and associated stereotypes.

The teacher does not respond to the discriminatory statement a) because possibly they did not detect the underlying racism or b) because they are not sufficiently prepared to accordingly react to the situation. For the students, the teacher’s non-intervention implies that the racist remark is acceptable.

The exercise the student had planned was not as successful as she had envisioned. Being well aware of that fact, she had hoped to receive professional feedback or possible suggestions on how to do it differently the next time.
She feels isolated, given that neither the teacher nor her fellow students object to the comment made by her fellow female student. Her initial impression of having encountered racism is corroborated by the experience that nobody responded to these remarks. She’s doubting her own perception.

Two fellow students offer no response to the comment made by the third, either. Did they not understand the statement’s context? Are they ignoring the remark because they deem it to be unqualified feedback? Do they not see the racist implications of the utterance because they themselves have never been affected by similar discrimination? Or are they simply dumbstruck?

The fellow student has identified the female student as being Asian and made the assertion that certain faculties are associated with physical traits. This attribution of skills to external features betrays an attitude that is decidedly racist.

What if?

How could their actions (have) influence(d) the situation?

  • …the teacher understands the discrimination in the very moment it happens and reacts immediately? It is their responsibility to create classes characterized by an atmosphere of respect for everyone.
  • …the teacher responds with a question, “Are you aware of what you have just said?”, before identifying the racist implications of the statement.
  • …the teacher offers their students to individually approach them if they want to talk about the situation?
  • As a matter of principle, the teacher can advise the students to bring cases of these nature to the attention of the Working Group on Equal Opportunities (AKG).
  • …the student experiencing discrimination rejects the statement as racist?
  • …she seeks support from her fellow students and/or the teacher?
  • …she knows that she can bring such a case to the attention of the Working Group on Equal Opportunities (AKG) and will do so?
  • …being in the position of observers, fellow students show moral courage and reject their colleague’s comment?
  • …they inquire about the statement’s intention and voice disagreement? Doing so opens up possibilities of becoming involved, of intervening and of disapproving and would support the student attacked.

Which terms, concepts and images are relevant here?

The following definitions are taken from Carmen Mörsch’s glossary Diskriminierungskritische Perspektiven an der Schnittstelle Bildung/Kunst [“Engaging discrimination at the interface of education and art – critical perspectives”]

Colonization, Colonialism »Colonialism denotes the practice of state-sponsored or state-run occupation of an area and foreign domination of the resident population. […] They legitimized the subjugation, enslavement and killing of the locals with their racist ideology which asserted their alleged biological, civilizational and religious supremacy. […] Up until the 1970s, European governments refused to grant independence to the colonized territories. Consequences of colonialism are still palpable in colonized and formerly colonized societies today.« https://diskrit-kubi.net/glossar/#K Siehe mehr zum Kolonialismus-Begriff hier.
Othering »describes the practice of asserting one’s ‘normalness’ by using other groups or distancing oneself from them. Othering describes the process of distinguishing oneself or one’s social image by branding someone or something else as negative and classifying them/it as different, i.e. ›alien‹. Be it due to (ascribed) background, geographical location, ethics, environment or ideology. The potential for hierarchical and stereotypical thinking is inherent in this differentiation so that one’s own position may be justified and elevated.« https://diskrit-kubi.net/glossar/#O [links to German content] Siehe mehr zum Othering-Begriff hier.
Racism/ racialized discrimination »Racism construes humans as homogenous ([uniform]) groups by classifying, hierarchically valuing and excluding them on the basis of actual or presumed physical or cultural characteristics (e.g. skin color, background, language, religion). Founded on claims of biological differences, classical racism purports the inferiority of certain groups of humans […] In cultural racism, justification of this inferiority is based on alleged differences of ›cultures‹. Grounded in unequal power relations, racism is the sum total of all exclusionary and hierarchizing behaviors, laws, provisions and beliefs. They are based on asymmetrical power relations.« https://diskrit-kubi.net/glossar/#R [links to German content] Siehe mehr zum Rassismus-Begriff hier

Becoming active, doing what and how?

How can my actions actively contribute to successful situations of teaching and learning?

Links

for further reading and exploration

Have you experienced a similar situation?

You are not alone. Here you can forward your experiences with discrimination directly to the Working Group on Equal Opportunities (AKG) or ask for possible courses of action. Your information will be treated confidentially.

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