Once I convinced myself that I could possibly reach more people through
a web page instead of a book, I decided to go with this page I chanced
upon
that provides an extensive list of issues and concerns of biracial
children. What impressed me most about this site was not only the wording
of the list, but that what was listed seemed so obvious. Being in education,
we are in constant contact with children from an expansive range of backgrounds
and may not have or take the time to find out what issues might go along
with these backgrounds, so this site really inspired me to search, to learn,
and to communicate what I find.
Lists such as these should cover the walls of faculty lounges across
the nation to help educators teach by example and show sensitivity, care,
and concern for others. I had never really thought about it, but I am
biracial and can identify with many items on this list. If fact, I might
even go so far as to say that just about every adolescent can identify
with at least a handful of these items as well simply because adolescence
is such a confusing time. And...if we stopped to think about it, aren't
we all, at the very least, biracial to some extent?
Some questions I have for the author are:
1. How can I use this list to educate children?
2. How can I approach the subject of biracial-ism without offending
anyone in order to better understand my students?
3. Does the author feel that being biracial is a stigma of some sort,
to be labeled and classified?
4. When a child exhibits the "problems" addressed in the last listed
item, how can we (educators, parents, administrators) determine the cause
of these as being biracial?
5. What other lists has the author created to help understand our
youth?
Submitted by Erica Duncan