Why is this discussion important to you?

RE'NEE

"I think that this whole open discussion is valuable. I think that African Americans have had these discussions amongst ourselves, but we haven't had them with everyone else."

"I think it is important as far as education is concerned, because the issue needs to be explored in the eyes of education. It is essential for minority students to get above the achievement gap. Because the number one education issue for minority students is the achievement gap."

SARA

"This will give me great insights into other cultures. I am traveling to the inner-city Baltimore to teach, and I feel like this will give me an opportunity to learn more about my students and how I can teach from an unbiased standpoint. I also want to explore the racial boundaries that have been excluded from discussion in schools".

Why is this worth studying?

Because no one else has!
There are very few discussions recorded between two teachers of different races traveling through such diverse demographics (Hollywood, Inner-City Baltimore, and The Gambia)

What we are doing

Together we are traveling from Hollywood, to Inner-city Baltimore, to The Gambia to teach. As we encounter these different demographics, we will be participating in online conversations about race, social class, and our educational experiences at these sites. At the end of our research, we will use these discussions to find major themes.

What we are researching:

We are looking at our different interpretations of educational experiences and opening a dialogue about how race and social class are substantial influences in our lives.

Conversations between a Black and a White teacher

We are opening a dialogue between us, that relays information about our experiences based upon the different ways we see situations, are treated by others, and by how we feel in these diverse teaching settings.

We are keeping this blog to keep a running log of our conversations about race, social class, and teaching. In this blog we are going to freely express ourselves, and we are working to respond to one another's opinion productively. Over the next semester, we plan on finding the most thought provoking ideas so that we may share them.

We will also be methodically using other alternative methods to communicate our differing perspectives so that we may increase our understanding of one another's viewpoints. These will include artistic compositions such as photography, painting, and other visual demonstrations, that will be used to make our thoughts observable by our viewers.