Introduction
              So this is my first blog. I have never been very good about writing daily about things. When I studied abroad last year everyone told me I had to write in a journal everyday so I wouldn't forget anything and I put in a valiant effort at the start, but pretty quickly my entries started saying things like, "Just got back from Rome, I'll write more later."
              An introduction about me is that I just graduated with my Bachelor's in History from UMass Lowell. I'm pretty excited to start this program and take the next step in my education and towards my goal of becoming a teacher. I'm a pretty laid back and quiet person. I said in our first class that I was a huge geek in high school and I remain so. If you want to get me talking just bring up Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings and you'll have a hard time getting me to stop.

First Reponse
                Going into reading “White Privilege” I must have been thinking with my history goggles on, because I was expecting something different from it. I think I was equating white privilege with white supremacy. I thought it was going to be about white people who see themselves as better and more privileged than other races. I did not think I was going to find myself reflecting a lot about myself, because I know I am not a white supremacist. Of course the article is not about supremacy, but about privileges built into our society that favor the white race. They are things that many people, like myself, do not think about or even recognize as privileges.  Even reading the beginning of the article I thought well, this isn’t too surprising. It is not particularly shocking that our society favors its white population, but growing up in this generation you like to believe that things have been changing.

                What was enlightening about the article was the level these privileges reach in our day to day lives. Number four in McIntosh’s list “of the daily effects of white privilege in [her] life” (2) is about how she doesn’t need to worry about being followed while shopping. I have worked in retail for the past 5-6 years and I have had plenty of experiences where my managers have asked me to keep an eye on a shopper.  Some of these people were white and I was usually asked to watch them because they were known shop lifters. But it was typically non-whites who I had to follow and they were usually not known customers. My managers would usually qualify their request with a “not to be racist” or “this is not because this person is (insert ethnicity).”

                The next effect is about white representation in the media: on tv and in the paper. Her statement is about how the white race is widely represented in these areas. After I read this article I went to see a movie and one of the little previews before the trailers started was an animated ad aimed at kids and there was a black character that was nothing more than a black stereotype and I immediately thought back to this point McIntosh made. Not only are whites widely represented, but they are represented typically as the main character, the protagonist, the hero. In a good light. While characters of other races are often stereotypes, which can negatively affect how viewers see those races.

                A lot of the things on her list are things that I think I was aware of but not something I really knew about. Having them pointed out to me in that way was a bit eye opening to me. These are all things that I did not ask for and there things I take for granted because I did not really acknowledge as privileges. In terms of being an educator I think it is important to remember these and think about them when interacting with all students. In this class I assume we are going to focus a lot on disadvantages different races and ethnic groups face in the classroom, but we have to keep in mind these inherent privileges our white students have as well and the effects they have on the white students and the non-white students they interact with.