When I was an 8th grader the war in Afghanistan was just about a year old. Clearly, there was tension in the air regarding anything "middle east." In addition, anything "East" of Berlin was deemed as suspicious or in need of political help in the media and throughout history. My history teacher of the time occasionally made funny remarks regarding the current events regarding the middle east too. All in all, I was getting rather annoyed. My friend Chanana and I discussed this unfairness and simplemindedness of our teacher. We decided to confront him about it in class.
During the following history lesson the teacher ranted on about something middle east again in an, I thought, rather inappropriate fashion. I stood up and said, "It's making me uncomfortable the way you, and it seems society as a whole, speak about the middle east. Not everything East, including Russia and the former Soviet Union, is bad...." (those weren't my exact words of course, but parts of it are; this was the message I was trying to bring across anyway). He told me that what I was saying was stupid and absurd; that's all I heard. I know he kept talking to me, but I couldn't hear anything.
The following day his supervising teacher (he was still a student teacher) took me out of class to roam the halls with me and "chat." I felt rather uncomfortable and don't really remember the conversation, besides the fact that this teacher was not praising me for speaking my valid observation or comforting me after my teacher thought what I was saying was stupid.
Now I am a junior at a University and reading Edward Said's (1978) Orientalism in which HE states, "No one will have failed to note how 'East' has always signified danger and threat during this period, even as it has meant the traditional Orient as well as Russia" (26).
HA! I'm sure this sort of thing happens to everyone: you say something and it is disregarded, but later you read exactly your point somewhere, or you hear someone with higher credentials say it. Reading Orientalism really made me glad. I was an 8th grader, and although I did not study this theme as Edward Said did, I understood his message before even reading his book. I'm thankful that Said wrote this book the way he did. Of course, Orientalism must be read critically, just like anything else, and there are definitely issues within this text that can be discussed, but for now, I'll leave it by praising Said's work.
14 years ago
Maria,
ReplyDeleteThat is an incredible story of bravery on your part as a student. It is sad that more students did not question this teacher. I had a similar experience with a high school teacher who told the class adamantly that being gay is simply "unnatural." I was angry because I knew several gay people and the extent of their feelings about the subject. Not to mention the inappropriateness of my teacher's statements. I was later, in my opinion, proven right by more credible sources. I also once had a friend who told me that there have been no worthwhile female authors, which we all know is false. The important thing is that we stand up to these moral tyrants and don't allow them to think that their points of view are common or normal.
I agree with Ashley, and I sense that brave 8th grade girl is still there inside the mature college student. I see you continuing to stand up and I admire that.
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