The Burden of Being Black and White in a Grey Society (unfinished)

 

I often wonder if I am the only "black and white" person I know. It seems easier to live where absolutes are clear, clearly written, clearly designed, and unmistakable in any society. You know who you are. You know where you stand. You know where you "fit in." You don't have to have a bullhorn--people just know what you stand for and in whom you believe. I think that sounds easy, but it is not.

While teaching persuasive writing to seventh graders, we practiced topics by drawing a line down a sheet of paper; the left side labeled "plus" and the right side labeled "minus." Then we listed the reasons we could think of why we were for or against a topic. Then, we switched sides and wrote all the reasons why we were against something. Whichever side had the most comments was then used to write a simple five paragraph style essay; an introduction, a paragraph for each of the "fors" or "againsts" (so it might be a four or even six paragraph. And then we wrote a summary conclusion.

My question to the kids was this: "can you see both sides of your topic as valid?" They agreed they could. So, I continued, for this writing exam, you choose only ONE side, do your perfunctory writing. When the test is over, you have the right to change your mind. Can you do this? We can was their response. You would be so surprised at how many students came up to me afterward and stated they wrote on both sides of the argument. It was  easy to do with our planning sheet. My heart sank. Not every student would draw the persuasive prompt; they were distributed randomly. But it drove home the point of my wondering about being black or white in a grey colored world.

Being gray requires no stance either for or against. You just go with the flow of what you see and hear and internalize. Being black or white requires thinking, rethinking, testing your values, defending your values, reshaping them as more knowledge is added, and sometimes you are black or white "just because."

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