By Derek Weaver
The Scene staff
Forest Park faculty and staff are studying a book with a provocative title that could help them better understand and assist minority students.
Six female employees — all white — showed up for the third meeting of the Center for Teaching and Learning Faculty and Staff Book Club. They’re discussing “Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race” by Debby Irving.
“This book was an eye-opener,” said Carol Foreman, secretary of the art department.
Kathleen Swyers, a professor in counseling, called it “thoughtful and thought-provoking.”
The center established the book club as a tool for professional development and personal growth.
Swyers selected “Waking Up White” after hearing about it from a fellow counselor. She thought it would be “useful in the journey” on Forest Park’s multi-racial campus.
Irving is a Boston-based racial justice educator and writer. She published “Waking Up White” in 2014.
“For 25 years, Debby Irving sensed inexplicable racial tensions in her personal and professional relationships,” according to the book’s summary on amazon.com.
“As a colleague and neighbor, she worried about offending people she dearly wanted to befriend. As an arts administrator, she didn’t understand why her diversity efforts lacked traction. As a teacher, she found her best efforts to reach out to students and families of color left her wondering what she was missing.
“Then in 2009, one ‘Aha!’ moment launched an adventure of discovery and insight that drastically shifted her world view and upended her life plan.”
The book club’s facilitator is Layla Goushey, assistant professor and English coordinator in the Center for Teaching and Learning. She feels “Waking Up White” could help faculty and staff examine the “culture of the classroom” and increase understanding in general.
“Different people have different perspectives of who is privileged and what that means,” she said.
English instructor Michelle Parrinelle-Cason noted that reality can get even more complicated, as she has gone through periods of both privilege and disadvantage in her life.
At one point, the discussion centered on the problem of children growing up with myths and stereotypes related to race.
“Kids naturally take it,” Goushey said.
Science instructor Michelle Laporte had a different view, noting she knew right from wrong as a child.
Erica Li, a retention coach in the health, information and technology program, praised author Irving for exposing her “vulnerable experiences.”
The book club is open to all Forest Park faculty and staff members. It will meet about once a month in Room L-109 in the Center for Teaching and Learning, but at press time, the next meeting had not yet been scheduled. For more information, call Goushey at 314-644-9359.