Moving Closer To Speaking the Unspeakable: White Teachers Talking about Race

Frustrated with the traditional transmission model of teacher education which "typically does not foster in teachers a sense of culture as a dynamic process whereby people make meaning in contact with one another" (Glazier, McVee, Wallace-Cowell, Shellhorn, Florio-Ruane & Raphael, 2000, p. 287), Florio-Ruane was joined by Taffy Raphael-co-principal investigator on the project-and three research assistants in exploring how reading and discussing ethnic autobiographies in the format of teacher-led book clubs might influence teachers' learning about the cultural foundation of literacy in their own and others' lives, perhaps leading ultimately to change in teaching practice. Data we collected during the course and the subsequent Literary Circle included: an instructor's journal, students' written texts, participant observer field notes, audio and videotapes of book club discussions, and follow-up interviews with participants conducted after both the course and the first six months of the Literary Circle. The term "hot lava" refers not just to the topic of race but also to other topics that are avoided in these conversations, in particular topics related to social class and gender. 2All names used throughout, with the exception of those of the members of the research team, are pseudonyms. 3 Class sessions were divided between Book Club format, involving discussion of autobiographical texts, and the reading and discussion of theoretical and conceptual texts related to culture and literacy. 4 The autobiographies used in the course were chosen because they represented the author's experiences with literacy and explored the relationship between the author's cultural identity and literacy or schooling more broadly. 5 Four dashes indicate a four second pause. 6 I want to thank one of the reviewers of the manuscript for calling my attention to the repetition of this term, something I neglected to address in an earlier version of this manuscript. 7 One additional topic identified as hot lava for this particular group was the topic of rape. Enhancing the capacity of teacher education institutions to address diversity issues (Research Report 954).