Racism: What It Is and How to Deal with It - Uned

A Guide to Talking about Racism | 14
Some Dilemmas
While preparing the Guide, we ran into some dilemmas that refer both to the audience
and to the Guide’s contents and application. We would like to share our reflections
and the provisional answers that we proposed in each case:
• The Guide targets professors and educators who carry out their activity in
school centers, in educational programs, in associations, etc. However, is
the Guide meant exclusively for them, or for anyone interested in the
subject?
Even though we expect out main audience to be professors and
professional educators, the Guide was conceived as a document aimed at
any person interested in the subject. In each section, we included a specific
module for “adapting the curriculum” with the purpose of situating the issues
discussed in the educational context, but it can also be interesting for any
reader who, in one way or another, has had experience with situations like
the ones we describe.
• The Guide may often be used in seminars or brief sessions, that is, for a
specific purpose or with a very limited amount of time. But it is meant to be
a global document in which each module focuses on the subject from a
particular perspective, even while it is related to the other modules. The
same goes for the glossary.
Each module was created around a specific issue that gives it its own entity.
The contents of each module are linked to those of the rest, but there are
cross-cutting subjects that show up in most of them. We think that it is fitting
to choose the modules or module to work with according to the conditions
and time available (workshop, training seminar, sessions, work group in a
center).
• Sometimes the Guide will be used with groups of teachers, orientation
counsellors, mediators, educators, other professionals, etc., without
previously having had access to significant information about their interests,
previous knowledge, and expectation. How can we select, in this case, the
proper contents and the most relevant activities?
We recommend starting by asking the audiences about their ideas on the
subject, their expectations about the session/seminar, and their concerns
with respect to racism and education. It is also useful to do one of the
activities proposed in the Guide for “breaking the ice.”
• How can we balance individual reflection and cooperative activities?
Seeking this balance can, at times, become a limitation. Often, some people
are prepared to read and write, to look for information on Internet, but…
they feel it is inappropriate to ask others, interview people, or get involved in
activities that require personal contact.