Student reflections

What was it like to have a community partner and faculty co-teach this course?

• I enjoyed having Marika in the classroom especially when it came down to policy conversations because she is very well versed in the matter. Additionally, it was nice to get input from her on the various topics that we discussed in class like ethnic studies courses in Minnesota and what that legal process looked like to get it passed and also data and digital surveillance. 

• I found this co-teaching model crucial and highly relevant. The information Marika brought in, whether it was her activism experience related to prone restraint or her and Anita's involvement in advocating for the ethnic studies agenda in the Minnesota social studies standards, played a vital role in bridging the gap between academic concepts and community-based practices. These contributions deeply enriched my learning experience, making the material more tangible and impactful.

•  Before taking this class, I had often thought of Abolition as an abstract movement that opposed policing (especially in schools) but lacked a concrete vision for how policing could be replaced and concerted efforts to enact this abstract future. Thanks to the organizing and teaching experiences of Anita and Marika, we were able to learn about movements for Abolition and the ins and outs of organizing on a social and political level. This applied learning and venture into the world of organizing is something missing from most classes at Carleton even as we learn about social justice issues and discuss the importance of action, so I greatly appreciated Marika’s presence in class and the experiences she shared with us from the organizing world.

• It was also very helpful to have a professor in class who was not familiar with Carleton’s environment and culture, as we were able to question aspects of the Carleton experience that, because of their ubiquity and normalization, evade our critical concern. 

• I appreciated having Marika as our community partner and co-educator because she helped bring the conversation back to the community. Her knowledge of the ethnic studies legislative process and her community work background gave insight into how youth, families, and educators can be involved in abolition work. She challenged us to think about the possibilities of abolition while reminding us of the internal and external work that comes with it. When we discussed the One Million Experiments podcast on Queenie’s Crew (2023), which mentioned how adults can reinforce “punitive understandings or power dynamics” through parenting styles, [some of us] expressed how it might be difficult for caregivers to change their internalized views about raising a child. However, Marika was there to remind us that trying to educate parents/caregivers on how we can teach children lessons without inflicting physical or emotional harm is still essential. We must keep in mind that parents/caregivers can also be people [that have been harmed by ]punitive parenting styles, and we need to understand that it takes time for them to heal and grow into abolitionist ways of thinking. Regardless of how challenging the work might seem, we should strive to create a better future for youth by attempting to disrupt systemic violence using community resources. Moreover, Marika’s experience navigating difficult conversations helped her facilitate class discussions around abolition in ways that humanized and inspired deep reflection on community work.

• Anita and Marika were an excellent pairing to teach the course. It was really cool to learn from someone who devotes their professional energy entirely to the content that we are learning about. It felt like we had experts to learn from on both the theoretical side and the practical side of education. Also, I think another benefit was the fact that Marika has a lot of connections to people who were willing to talk with our class. 

• I really enjoyed having a community partner and faculty to teach this course. Anita was a great person to put what we were learning into the context of greater academic discourses. She understood how to explain topics from an educational academic’s perspective. Marika was a joy to have in class because she was able to explain the real-world implications of what we were learning. Marika’s background as a community activist for ethnic studies - along with a myriad of other causes - allowed her to have excellent experiences within the classroom and outside of it too. She was able to explain the democratic processes of passing legislation and how grassroots organizations can have a positive impact on schools. I liked that Anita and Marika also met outside of the classroom, so they were able to bounce ideas more organically off of each other.

How was learning organized similarly and/or differently in this course than in other Educational Studies courses?

• Something that was particularly different in this course versus others was that we had so much time at the end of the course, from about 7th or 8th week to work solely on our final projects. Class time was used as work time or meeting time with the professors. Which I enjoyed and really appreciated because as a senior we already have so much to do this time so the fact that we were encouraged to use this time to work on our projects was amazing. 

• The learning in this class was organized similarly to other Educational Studies classes except for the final project, which gave us more freedom and time than I have had for other projects. There was a good mix of visual and audio content to supplement our readings, and a lot of the learning happened in class via discussion and visitors who augmented the knowledge we already had access to in our readings and from Anita and Marika. One difference to other Ed Studies classes was the lack of papers and focus on Moodle posts; I was pleasantly surprised by the ubiquitous participation in our Moodle forums and was inspired by my classmates' thorough responses to put more effort into my Moodle participation. Class exercises were wonderfully varied, and although creative activities such as Zines are not always my cup of tea, I always felt engaged and enjoyed all of our class time. I loved the feel of the classroom and our communal learning venture; it felt like all eight of us had things to contribute to class, and we listened well to each other.

• The structure of our class was slightly different from what I am used to in other Educational Studies courses because it was more discussion-based and receptive to ideas/materials outside of the classroom. Being a small group made this course feel more conversational and intimate, especially with guest speakers, because we had time to engage with them before and after they presented. Connecting with the guest speakers through their work and in person is meaningful to me because it helps me humanize the materials and remember that the authors are also growing and evolving in their ideas, encouraging me to listen to their perspectives fully. One thing I valued was the time we had to debrief the guest speaker’s presentation because our co-educators and classmates shared lingering questions and critical thoughts they still had about what was said. 

• The other main difference between this seminar and other classes I’ve taken in the Educational Studies department is that the final assignment for this course feels much more meaningful than other final assignments I’ve had in the past. I think it is really meaningful that our final projects are going to be offered for the public to use, and it makes the project much more significant to me. I’ve put in a lot more effort than I might otherwise have if I felt like the main goal of the project was to demonstrate my learning, rather than try to put some good into the world. In this way, I have pushed myself to learn a lot more than I may have otherwise. 

• I found this class to be similar to other Educational Studies courses I've taken at Carleton, particularly those focused on educational justice issues. Like those courses, it challenged many of my assumptions about the U.S. public school system and introduced necessary nuance in understanding the racial dynamics and power balances in educational settings. As a result of this class, I feel much more prepared to discuss issues surrounding educational justice and more observant of the injustices within educational contexts. As a future educator, I find this preparation invaluable, and honestly I believe that every educator should take a course like this before embarking on their teaching careers.

How did this course reinforce or challenge carceral logics/prison regime?

• This class did a lot to challenge carceral logics and the prison regime at the same time as it equipped me to go forth into the world with a knowledge of the systems around me as well as frameworks for opposing these systems. Many classes at Carleton do a great job of forwarding social justice issues, but this class went above and beyond in focusing on abolitionist efforts. Abolition is, in my opinion, the most scathing critique and actionable framework for understanding the oppressive systems that define American society and culture.

• Beyond the concept of Abolition and exploration of surveillance systems, we challenged the prison regime at all levels, developing a deep understanding of how it functions to understand exactly why we don’t need it. Our readings about the concept of the panopticon (Wiley, 2015) and the workings of power (Foucault, 1975) informed how we conceived of the prison regime and its connection to schools, and the entire class challenged us to connect the disparate loci of the School-to-Prison Nexus. We also explored, in the latter half of the class, what it would mean to have a world not defined by prisons and policing, exploring content from Lessons for Liberation (The Education for Liberation Network & Critical Resistance Editorial Collective, 2021), See You Soon (Kaba, 2022), and the podcast episode “Queenie’s Crew with Zara Raven” (Williams & Kisslinger, n.d.) to rethink what Abolition and a world without police could look like. I did not feel that this course reinforced carceral logics or any aspect of the prison regime. There was deep trust between all of the students and professors, we enjoyed ourselves while learning important content and coming together as a group, and it was overall an excellent learning experience.

• This course challenged carceral logics by allowing us to have pretty much the last two weeks to explore our final projects. I LOVED this. I felt like Dr. Vygotsky would be very proud of this approach because we were all able to focus on our passion project and have independence. Anita and Marika treated us like adults who were able to manage our own time and passions - which is definitely a counter narrative to carceral logics. I also liked how we were able to leave the classroom during this time - because it acknowledged that everyone has different styles when it comes to working in their own time.

• The main way in which this course challenged carceral logics for me was when we discussed digital safety, data collection, and surveillance. I had no idea that companies like Gaggle even existed, so the documentary about it was truly eye-opening (and horrifying). I think the series of posters that we walked through for Jamal’s Journey was also a really valuable resource. Beyond the fact that things like Gaggle exist, I had never considered the malicious ways in which students could be harmed by companies that collect and use their data. 

• This course defied carceral logic by entrusting us to lead our projects, having us contribute to the community norms, and creating a space where we learn from one another. Students are constantly subject to surveillance, standardized tests, and intense scrutiny in U.S. schools, so having a classroom that grants students the freedom to explore their interests and critique the institutions they attend is refreshing. The assignments where we had to think about the architectural design of Carleton and find examples of carcerality in our K-12 experiences made me aware of how inaccessible and hostile some learning spaces were designed to be in this country. As [a classmate] mentioned in [their] third reflection post, even the way desks are arranged in the classroom gives a sense of the values educators are trying to promote. Organizing our desks in a circle or having small group discussions outside the building shows that our co-educators trust and care about us as contributors to the course. Anita and Marika value creativity and collaboration over order and hierarchies, so they set up classroom time for us to work on our projects and receive feedback from each other. They created a learning environment where we could express our ideas and feel empowered to take on our approaches to abolition, as well as foster our imaginations and critical thinking skills.