Déjà vu?

Midway through the Bad Teacher text- I began to do a double take. All of a sudden the reading opened up to provide a viewpoint that echoed the one made in Deepa’s Islamophobia text. An example that displays the parallel of Deepa’s viewpoint of Islamophobia in America is shared in the Bad Teacher text: “within the United States, more and more individuals seemed to this this war was against anyone who “looked Muslim” or “looked Arab.”

Shortly thereafter, another similar point in the Bad Teacher text is expressed: “the media constantly reminded us that the “terrorists” were still out there, planning their next attacks.”

I found it quite interesting to be reading a book about the plight of America’s public education system and to then encounter ideas that were shared in Deepa’s book. In a sense, it was an analogy made by Kumashiro that this “Muslim terrorist” that is created by political leaders and are used as the scapegoat- are essentially what Kumashiro argues to be America’s teachers. Everyone blames teachers and say that if the school is failing well then it must be the teacher’s fault. Blame them! Yet as the case with the “Muslim terrorist” this is once again an accusation that has been blown out of proportion. Of course just like in every profession there truly are bad teachers (and also bad movies, case in point ironically Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz) but there are also many devoted, passionate, and hardworking teachers as well.

I think that instead of blaming the teacher or in Deepa’s novel, the “Muslim terrorist” – we as Americans must continue to educate ourselves and learn more about a particular issue rather than immediately placing the blame on someone who is undeserving of such negativity. We need to stop playing the blame game and be held more accountable for our own actions. 

STOP THE BLAME GAME!