There were many turning points for me in the “Transformative College Literacy of Literate Black Women Peer Counselors” essay by Robin Wisniewski. First the slow start made it difficult for me to get into it. Maybe it was outlining of what it means to be a black woman or the constant in text sites to validate what she was saying. Second, it wasn’t until I realized that she was a white woman that I understood why it was somewhat necessary for her to take this route. The color of her skin did not bother me but the interesting background gave me a holistic view as I continued to read. In Wisniewski’s essay a few things turned me off completely however there were things I could relate to or wanted to better understand.
One thing I neglected to do when reading a scholar essay was to explore some of the references in the cited section. After Wisniewski pointed out she had only drew from white males to describe the schema theory I was turned off because I had accepted her references without thinking twice about it. She noted how close minded her findings could be and I started to see that there is more to reading an essay than just the words. You have to understand where the data is coming from and understand it before you accept it. Immediately following the unveiling of the author’s race she dove into the accounts of two college black women named Lauryn and Vania.
The two women came from different backgrounds. One of the women came from an urban area and majority black high school, and the other woman came from a rural area and majority white school. Both accounts included there isolated filled experience at their majority white college. The author shows the growth the women find in serving as peer counselors. The job consists of encouraging, motivating and giving students a voice. The women mention the stronger connection they felt with the school because of this program.
No comments:
Post a Comment