8 Ways that Teachers can Help to Eradicate Inequity within Public Education
As a teacher, nothing makes me happier than when I hear back from students in their adult life who are successfully following their dreams and passions. And when I learn that they are going above and beyond that to make a positive impact by being a changemaker, that rocks my world!
Meet Nia Slater-Bookhart, one of my former students that I taught in Florida at Bartels Middle School who is now a certified fellow educator with a Masters in Teaching!!!
| "I am my ancestors' wildest dreams." |
When Nia was my student, I remember her as a natural leader among her peers. She could've easily been a class clown with her sense of humor; but I recall that she had a keen awareness of when was the appropriate time to joke around and when was the time to focus, listen, and speak with respect. She was very well-spoken for her age, and she stood out as one of the stronger adolescent writers among her peers in my English classes. I knew back then that this girl had a voice, and that one day she would use it in a big way.
After graduating high school, Nia attended Clark University and earned her Bachelor's Degree in History in Community, Youth, and Education Studies as well as her Masters in Teaching. Here are some of Nia's words from her graduation post on her Facebook page:
"The journey to getting my Masters in Teaching was definitely many leaps and hurdles... It was a hard year in many ways, especially when I came to terms with the many issues that our education system has, but also what it meant to be a Black educator in a system that wasn’t made for you/people that look like you. But that became one of the many reasons I wanted to be a teacher. ... Now a year later and a newly licensed Social Studies Teacher, I am so excited to create a classroom where my students feel empowered to learn the truths of our world histories through different/marginalized perspectives, but also to appreciate the understanding of our past so we can move toward a better future. More importantly, my hope is to teach all my future students to lead with empathy and kindness in all they do and to share that with the world, because it is so needed."
During Black History Month in February of 2020, prior to the impact of the COVID-10 pandemic, Nia was invited to be a part of a panel for an event in honor of the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. As a panelist, she discussed inequity and inequality in K-12 education and the challenges of educational equity in our schools today which includes, but is not limited to, a lack of understanding/consideration of minority cultures, (Luttrell).
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During the panel discussion, Nia recounted that from her experience in public schools, she was not introduced to a single piece of literature written by a person of color until her senior year of high school (Luttrell). When I learned of this, a pang of shame overcame me, and I had to admit to myself that when I was her teacher, at the time, planning my lessons through a lens of equity or diversity was not on my radar, and I did not (that I recall) teach a novel that was authored by a person of color. This was absolutely unintentional on my part; as a relatively new teacher, when selecting a novel to teach, I probably chose a book that:
1) the library was sure to have a class set of
2) that I had read before and was comfortable with teaching
3) I thought would be engaging for most students and/or
4) was required by the curriculum.
We probably read something like "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton (which is a book I absolutely loved teaching and that most students loved reading, based on their feedback); but honestly, it's been so long, I can't recall what novel we read the year I had Nia. (After speaking with Nia during the drafting process of this post, I learned that she read the novel Tangerine under my instruction, which was the novel that was required by the newly adopted SpringBoard curriculum that our district purchased at the time.) Nonetheless, my point is that for a long time, I didn't intentionally think about selecting a novel (or other literature pieces) through a lens of cultural relevance for my students. I don't think my heart was in the wrong place as I loved all my students dearly and I genuinely was trying to make learning purposeful in order to help my students achieve as much as possible while they were in my classroom; but not planning my instruction through the lens of cultural relevance was, like the panelists discussed, a lack of understanding on my part of the needs of my students of color.
It is so important for teachers, especially white teachers who are the majority in our field, to confront the biases that we may not even realize exist within ourselves in order to change the educational experiences of our students of color.
“Once educators are freed from defensiveness and realize that no one is questioning their intentions, they can engage in the daily work necessary to ensure students of color are consistently treated fairly and with respect, high expectations, and dignity,” (Benson & Fiarman).
We must acknowledge that there are "disparities in meaningful educational opportunities that give rise to the achievement gap," and that the racism that exists in the public school system plays a large part in creating those gaps (U.S. Dept. of Ed.). I recently came across edgap.org which is a powerful mapping tool that can help viewers "see" the educational and opportunity gaps in education based on low/high income areas. Another source worth exploring is opportunityatlas.org which shows which neighborhoods in America offer children the best chance to rise out of poverty.
To close these gaps, it is a moral imperative that we provide equitable, meaningful learning experiences to our students of color that will fuel their desire to achieve. Not only is this imperative for each individual child's overall well-being and educational success, but it is imperative for our national economy to thrive and for non-white American graduates to be able to compete in the global workforce. According to the U.S. Department of Education, economists have estimated that if we can achieve a "90% graduation rate for students of color," it would add approximately "$6.6 billion in annual earnings to the American economy," (U.S. Dept. of Ed.)! Can you imagine that?!
So, how can we, at the teacher level, do our part to help eradicate inequities within public education?
1. Educate ourselves - although we are educators, we don't know it all! (to start, I would suggest watching 13th and Teach Us All on Netflix and reading Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy DeGruy or The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander). Be a lifelong-learner beyond the content you are assigned to teach. Seek to truly understand the past and how BIPOC's (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) lives have been impacted because of it.
2. Truly listen to people of color, especially our students and colleagues, and believe them when they share their experiences with racism (Singleton, p. 5). In the classroom, this means cultivating a "community where students feel comfortable having difficult conversations" and expressing themselves in a safe space (Wertheimer). Conversations about race, racism, bias, stereotypes, etc. can be woven into nearly every subject when appropriate. “This work is uncomfortable and that’s not something that people really want to step into,” Nia noted in a recent conversation when discussing how to navigate difficult conversations with colleagues and students. But this work is absolutely necessary to profoundly understand the catastrophic impact of racism, inequities, and inequality and to do the work needed to achieve true educational equity.
3. Confront our own internalized biases and sociopolitical consciousness that may influence interactions and impact on students. This includes taking the time to explore and recognize your own racial, cultural, and ethnic identities and the perceived societal stereotypes that may come with that identity and owning your mistakes when you make them (Wertheimer). Honestly reflect: Are my words and actions potentially excluding or evening harming people of color OR am I including and helping marginalized groups? Take the advice of Rosa Isaiah and start transitioning your mindset from color-blind to color-brave (Isaiah).
4. Be an empathetic ally by recognizing racist discriminatory practices and speaking out against it. We tell our students all the time in "bullying" situations to not be a bystander - we shouldn't be bystanders either. When we don't oppose racism, we enable it. We need to be anti-racist in any and every situation that calls for it by raising awareness and advocating for equity. Looking for more resources for Social Justice and Equity? Check out this collection from Common Sense Media!
5. In the four walls of our classrooms, make learning meaningful and culturally relevant for our students. Expose students to the experiences (triumphs and tragedies) of people from a variety of cultures and ethnicities, especially those of African Americans by affirming Black lives in schools - and this includes not glossing over or downplaying the crimes against humanity that were committed by our white ancestors. Check out this Affirming Black Lives Bookshelf of a few curated resources that could get you started (links to more resources are in the notes of the slides).
6. Become a high-quality equitable educator because our students deserve for us to be at the top of our game! Read the professional development articles and books, view the webinars and videos, attend the trainings and conferences - never stop learning and growing for the sake of your professional self and your students!
7. Be a part of helping to create a schoolwide culture by enriching coversations that promote true educational equity and excellence. A good place to start with this work is with the book Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools. A quote from the forward of this book: “Courageous Conversations helps us to be better educated, and that is exactly what every educator should want...[so this book] is a perfect place to begin,” (Singleton, xvi).
8. Take action, vote, and support policies/measures that promote equity in education. For example, start by supporting the Emergency Educational Connections Act (which is now known as the Homework Gap provisions of Heroes Act 2.0 - HR 925, S.3362). The COVID Pandemic has shone a spotlight on long-standing inequities in our public educational system. A major inequity is the lack of internet access at home for as many as 16 million students. "The Emergency Educational Connections Act provides at least $4 billion for a one-time emergency fund, administered by the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program, to equip students with hot spots and devices for distance learning." Supporting this measure will help give ALL our kids access to online public educational services during the pandemic so that the opportunity and achievement gaps do not continue to widen. #connectallstudents - Check out where your state stands in the Digital Divide.
***And as a side note to this last one, I'm very proud to say that the school district I work for (Hemet Unfied School District) made getting students access to devices and internet a priority, and now 100% of our students are equipped and connected which has helped to close the digital divide for our students. There is still work being done in upgrading some devices and strengthening internet connections in outlying areas so that students' overall experience in online distance learning will be better, but I'm happy that we have a CTO who is making this type of work a priority. If you're reading this and you work for a different district, one way you can advocate is to contact your district's leadership and ask "Do 100% of our students have access to devices and internet? If not, what steps are we taking to make this happen?"
This is not a comprehensive list; I'm sure there are more steps we can take as individual teachers to help eliminate inequities in education, but these eight suggestions are a good place to start. Please feel free to comment with other ideas and resources that may help us to eradicate inequities in public education.
And to my former student Nia, thank you for being the beautiful person that you are, both inside and out, and inspiring me to write this piece. I will be following your journey as an educator and advocate for equity from across the country!
Sources:
Benson, Tracey & Fiarman, Sarah. "The Reality of Unconscious Racial Bias” in School Administrator, February 2020 (Vol. 77, #2, pp. 20-25), https://bit.ly/31XxxjU
Isaiah, Rosa. "The Leadership Journey From Color-Blind To Color-Brave ". Ascd.Org, 2020, http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education_update/nov20/vol62/num11/The_Leadership_Journey_from_Color-Blind_to_Color-Brave.aspx. Accessed 30 Nov 2020.
Luttrell, Aviva. "MLK event panelists urge the pursuit of equity in education". ClarkNow. January 27, 2020. https://clarknow.clarku.edu/2020/01/27/mlk-event-panelists-urge-the-pursuit-of-equity-in-education/?fbclid=IwAR3hdyUnYzpOu-9NwFJW1FgqP-Z8pt9OOxzQ8_xEKoktUi4v-hR2zn28Coo#.Xk8Twtr7hE4.facebook
Singleton, Glenn E. Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools. 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks, Corwin, 2015.
U.S.
Department of Education, For Each and Every Child—A Strategy for Education Equity and Excellence, Washington, D.C., 2013. https://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/eec/equity-excellence-commission-report.pdf
