Exploring White Fragility: Debating the Effects of Whiteness Studies on Americas Schools

(Paperback)

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Exploring White Fragility uses both existing research and anecdotal classroom observations to examine the effects whiteness studies is having on Americas schools, and investigates how the antiracist movement to dismantle white supremacy culture is impacting student and teacher morale and expectations, school discipline, and overall academic achievement. Specifically, it analyzes the major tenets of whiteness studies, including awareness of white privilege and white fragility; the belief in colorblindness, individualism, and meritocracy; white racial identity development (WRID); implicit bias and microaggressions; and the methodologies underlying these concepts.

The book also compares traditional multicultural education to antiracist education; examines the impact of family and culture on learning, discipline, and achievement; investigates how whiteness studies and antiracism influence stereotype threat, the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP), and teacher and student expectations (Pygmalion Effect); studies the impact of race-based discipline approaches on student learning and achievement; and finally, offers solutions and improvements for whiteness scholars, teachers, administrators, and school reformers.

Reviews

This is a brave book. Paslay reveals and cuts through the endless layers of antiracist gospel which, in the name of enlightenment, leave one cohort of brown kids after another uneducated. Aspiring teachers seeking clear eyes and genuine progressivism should start by inhaling this book. -- John McWhorter, professor of linguistics, Columbia University; host of Slate's Lexicon Valley podcast
Paslay provides a thorough exposition and measured critique of the new ideology that has colonized the minds of Americas school administrators and threatens to wreak havoc on our studentsespecially students of color. Its a must-read for any parent or teacher who is concerned about the soul of the next generation. -- Max Eden, research fellow, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
This well-researched, well-argued, and thoughtful book provides a clear and comprehensive account of how the theory of white fragility is dividing rather than uniting American society and America classrooms. A must-read. -- Jonathan D. Church, author of Reinventing Racism: Why 'White Fragility' Is the Wrong Way to Think About Racial Inequality
Paslays thorough review of attitudes and actions associated with whiteness studies and racism give voice to all sides of diversity and pluralism so that we, as a nation, can continue the ongoing conversation about how to treat each other with the respect ALL humans deserve. -- Eugenia Krimmel, education professor and ESL/Bilingual education advisor at the Pennsylvania Department of Education

Author Bio

Christopher Paslay is a longtime Philadelphia public schoolteacher, education writer, and track coach. Hes a certified Pennsylvania school counselor with an M.Ed. in Multicultural Education. His articles on school reform have appeared in numerous publications, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Federalist, and Real Clear Politics.