I learned about tokenism in a Chicano studies class. I had experienced that feeling, but never knew a word to explain it. Tokenism is pretty much just pretending to care for underrepresented groups by slightly making an effort to include them, nothing with significant change. I met a classmate in my english class last quarter and told me about a time she felt tokenized at her school. She was one of the only Indian females in her predominately white High school, they asked her during her senior year if she could bring Indian attire/wardrobe to school so they could host an event including a different culture. Thats so crazy to me that people don't see the wrong in that, in the 4 years that she was at that high school, they never made an effort to include/talk about other cultures and they suddenly wanted to show that diversity.

I agree! I enjoy being in classrooms where my opinions feel welcomed. I talk a lot and I really have a lot to say most of the time, so when I see that participation is actively encouraged, I feel more eager to learn. This also allows students to teach themselves more because it helps them control their learning, some may feel shy to participate, but by participating they will have their questions answered and even help answer others questions.

I don't know how i feel about this. Although I may be shocked to hear people share opinions or ideas that I do not agree with, "a tremendous sense of disappointment" seems a little close-minded to me. I don't know, I just always tell myself that everyone grows up differently, there are different norms in different parts of the world, some people grow up sharing opinions with the community they grew up in, while other communities have complete opposite opinions. I feel like since the COVID pandemic, people have begun to be more openminded and advocate for change, but at the same time there are many people in the world that have grow up differently. Yes, racism is VERY bad, but these professors are attending these meetings to learn from others and gain new perspectives/share their own-which is a good start! Change on ideas that are very controversial and spark a lot of discussion/different opinions are not going to be changed right away!!! Furthering those discussions and getting others to share other opinions can slowly produce open minded individuals.

I love seeing openminded people. The fact that these professors are able to recognize that they need to change shows how dedicated they are to their teaching. They are able to change their perspectives and teaching style in order to benefit their students/audience. Love the self growth. Holding themselves accountable and willing to grow from it!!

Yes!!! Some people have unrecognized biases and that is completely normal. Some people may grow up hearing things and just keep those thoughts in their unconscious mind, it may not be intentionally hurtful in their mind, but to others their may be a problem. Anyone can say something that seems completely normal to them, but their audiences can all interpret them completely different. I think that through these discussions with the professors will allow them to release their unconscious biases and learn from one another and transform their teaching/curriculum to better fit a multicultural classroom.

Haha I like this. If I was a teacher and was discussing stuff about students/how I want to change/transform my teaching for their good I would feel so nervous and judged... I would probably say stuff that I think they would want to hear (not racist like it says here though LOL ). I think its good that they keep it limited as to who can go because people can be completely honest and share or debate their viewpoints. Its just a good learning process for teachers/professors because they will grow to be more openminded.

Yessss!!! I think that this can be tied into working in groups in the classroom. By interacting with others and coming across different views, opinions, and approaches, people can learn new things and experiment differently in their lives. Although, not everyone is open to listening to new viewpoints, it can be a good start for them. Especially teachers, they can learn from other teachers on how they run their classrooms, how they make connections with their students, and how they format their curriculum.

This is so true, especially with student debt. The fact that you have to pay thousands of dollars to earn a post-secondary education is actually insane. Imagine being low-income trying to get a post-secondary education in hopes to become a bit more wealthy and have better occupational opportunities so that you can fight the poverty, but still have to pay back those tens of thousands of dollars you spent on gaining that education!! Now imagine coming from a high-income community where your family could afford to pay that money to help you obtain post-secondary education- student debt is low or non-existent. The experiences are completely different.

Facts!!! My community during K-12 was not wealthy, my high school did not have any IB course (I honestly did not even know what an IB course was until I came to UC Irvine where students from wealthy areas told me that they had them offered at their High school). Having these courses offered and being able to take them is going to give those students a higher chance of admission into post-secondary education because they are already understanding the material and experiencing post-secondary school work.

It is refreshing to see that the perspective of someone who gained a post-secondary education is very similar to someone who did not. Honestly, when I was reading that middle school is the peak where students/children should be locked in and the most advanced with their education threw me off because its so specific and not recognizable to everyone. I did not know this and neither did the person writing this book!

It makes me mad to know that people actually think like this-especially those who have more privileges than those who come from low-income/minority communities. Teachers clearly have a post-secondary education, which means they were introduced to more opportunities than most. Children from low-income or "poor" communities usually do not have a good free education because although it is a free education, they are not being introduced to greater opportunities to strengthen their education, some may be doing all the things and above in their school and not wasting anything, but not all schools offer the same opportunities to their students. My school In South Los Angeles offered a handful of AP (Advanced placement) courses and I took all of them, but if you go to a school in (example) Irvine where most of the High schools offer 10+ AP courses, they are at an educational advantage because they have more classes to take in order to gain college level education. South Los Angeles is predominately low-income, Irvine is predominately high-income, I took advantage of all the handful of free AP course that my school had to offer, but I am still low income and considered below the students in Irvine that have access to more classes despite me taking advantage of all my limited school resources.

The prejudice and hierarchy remain is sadly so true. Despite racial/ethnic minority groups wanting to do better for themselves and their education, some people remain close-minded and do not see the good in what those people are trying to accomplish.

I completely agree!!! Like I have been stating, i come from a low-income, minority concentrated area in South Los Angeles. I never thought of myself gaining a post-secondary education just because most of the people in my family and community were not able to attain one- I thought I was due to fall into their same steps. In 11th and 12th grade though, I gained the ambition to do my own research and want to do better in order to gain a higher education. Once I succeeded and ultimately ended up at UCI, it was a complete culture shock because most of the people here have had way more education privileged and opportunities that I ever had. Seeing so many students ahead of me in the same grade made me want to do better and learn from them- which I did! Not only do I get to meet new people, but those people share their experiences with me and push/support me to do better.

I agree. Honestly, if I was wealthy and lived nicely and had a good occupation/education, I would want that and more for my children. Why would I want them to struggle tremendously when I know that they are not guaranteed the same success in America? It is sad to see that not everyone is offered the same opportunities as others, but it is the reality. Some people have their lives made for them, some people spend their whole lives trying to get to that point, and many overwork themselves to get to that point and end up failing.

Hmmm... When I read this I had to blink hard and re-read it because why. My elementary, middle, and high-school were all in South Los Angeles- all of which were mostly Hispanic/Black concentrated. I did not come across any of these "extraordinary leveled resources" until I was in High school, and even those were not really endorsing much change. When I entered high school, there were different "fun" clubs such as sports, cooking, and gaming, but there was a complete lack of educational resources. Especially since my community was full of minority groups, I just feel like it is an example of how not everyone in America is offered the freedom and opportunities to succeed as the American dream says. If the American dream was real then my school and surrounding schools would have had access to post-secondary educational support.

I actually disagree with this quote. I feel like the American dream is not made out to be what it actually is for those who do not actually live in the country. Many people have this idea of coming to America to live the so called "American Dream" and I just feel like it does not go as expected for most. From the experience of my immigrant parents and grandparents, they travelled to the United States from Mexico in hopes to fulfill the American dream, but instead they faced back-breaking labor that BARELY allowed them to survive. Although they work(ed) extremely hard, their ability to barely survive did not line up with their promised "better life" and "opportunity to succeed". Being an immigrant in the United states is HARD. You do not get equal opportunities as those who are actually born here, instead you are usually thrown at the bottom, and the possibility of reaching the top is extremely difficult for most. I know that there are many successful immigrants, but the harsh reality is that the "American dream" is not really possible for everyone.