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[snieto at educ.umass.edu]

Dear NAME friends,

I have found this discussion of a keynote speaker enlightening and engaging.
It's always interesting what issues will bring people out, and this one seems to
have touched a nerve. Thank you, Bill Howe, for starting it.

I agree with much of what has been written, but I want to mention that the NAME
conference doesn't invite just ONE keynote speaker but several over the course
of the 5-day conference. The discussion seems to assume that we will have only
one. Given that we have several opportunities to invite speakers, I have always
believed that we should be as broad-based and inclusive as possible. I support
the idea of having a classroom teacher; a student or a panel of student; and
people who represent issues that - although we have tried to include in the
conversation often get short shrift (GLBT, social class, disability, and
others). All of these have been represented in previous NAME conferences, but
that doesn't mean we've heard enough.

Finally, I want to mention that NAME has never paid a keynote speaker. All of us
who have spoken at the NAME conference in the past 18 or so years have been
asked, and have happily agreed, to donate our time to this wonderful
organization (although NAME has provided transportation and a hotel room for 1
night). So, the honorarium need not be part of the discussion.

I hope to see you all in New Orleans,

Sonia Nieto

Quoting "Garcia Jr,  Antonio" <agarciaj at indiana.edu>:

>
>
> A mi gente,
> As I read through the replies I am amazed to see the responses and
> diverse opinions.  The common theme seems to be that we need someone
> “urban” and someone “non-white.”  Please correct me if I am wrong, but
> multicultural education is not defined as only black and white or inner
> city and other.  Perhaps Sonia will chime in on this point.  We are
> faced with struggles and complex issues across multiple dimensions.  No
> one person will ever be able to fully illuminate all of the
> complexities faced.  Why has no one mentioned a speaker like Gerald
> Unks who wrote "The Gay Teen" or someone dealing with an area not so
> readily discussed or acknowledged by schools(i.e social class,
> sexuality, special education marginalization etc
)?  There is a bigger
> dimension situated within critical theory and pedagogy that we cannot
> ignore especially in light of the current political status of the US.
> Schooling has become a terrain of identity struggle and ideological
> conflict.  Multicultural educators are faced with a strong
> neo-conservative movement which is reducing multiculturalism to a black
> and white antiquated ideal maintained by left-over hippy leftist
> radicals.  As I stated earlier, I think Sonia mentioned the fact that
> we are political by the very nature of what we are espousing and
> holding as virtuous ideals of a better society.  The political idealism
> of a keynote speaker is important when we are trying to establish the
> credibility of what we do and moreover the advocacy we need past
> his/her participation at the conference.  We must look and confront
> oppression as a faceless and colorless monster that seeks to degrade
> humanity and hope.  Our ideas and visions of a speaker should seek
> someone that speaks to all and does not limit the scope to identifying
> one struggle over another as this sets up a hierarchy of oppression.
> As long as there is inequality and oppression we will maintain our
> fists in the air with emotion and compassion in our heart for all
> peoples.  Just some thoughts I had.
> Antonio Garcia
> Indiana University
>
>
>
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