Builds strong relationships with students and families, employing a two-way communication style that proactively engages them beyond problems.
----Please note, we will be adding to this page in coming weeks----
Key Definitions
Biases
Attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in making favorable and unfavorable assessments of others. They are often activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. SOURCE: Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity
Complicity
The condoning of dominant beliefs and practices (e.g. racism) by passive acceptance and, often, lack of action. Someone complicit in a system for racism, for example, may not explicitly act on beliefs about racial superiority over others, but they might think "it doesn't affect me" and avoid discussions or actions that regard race and racism. Cultural Humility
The ability to maintain a curious and humble stance in relation to learning about aspects of cultural identity, particularly ones that are not your own. Cultural Humility is a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation, recognizing and fixing power imbalances, and developing partnerships with people and groups who advocate for others. SOURCE: Reflections on Cultural Humility. Amanda Waters and Lisa Asbill.
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
A system of teaching beliefs and practices that empower students, particularly students of color, by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes. It helps students to recognize and honor their own cultural beliefs and practices while acquiring access to the dominant culture to improve their socioeconomic status and making informed, critical decisions.SOURCE: The Theory and Practice of Culturally Relevant Education. Brittany Aronson, Judson Laughter.
Deficit Perspectives
"Approaching students based upon our perceptions of their weaknesses rather than their strengths. Such a perspective deteriorates expectations for students and weakens educators’ abilities to recognize giftedness in its various forms (Ford & Grantham, 2003). The most devastating brand of this sort of deficit thinking emerges when we mistake difference for deficit." (Gorski, 2010, p. 2) [NEED TO CITE]Gender
A concept that describes how societies manage sex categories; the cultural meanings attached to men and women’s roles; and how individuals understand their identities including, but not limited to, being a man, woman, transgender, intersex, gender queer and other genders. Gender involves social norms, attitudes and activities that society deems more appropriate for one's sex assigned at birth. SOURCE: Sociology of Gender. Dr. Zuleyka Zevallos. Routledge, 2017.
Readings and Resources
1. Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?
2. The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys, by Dr. Eddie Moore, Ali Michael -PhD., Dr. Marguerite Penick-Parks
[Part 2] - Pg. 89-152 Understanding the Constraints and Challenging the Narratives About Who Black Boys Are and Who White Women Can Be
[Part 4] - Pg. 235-286 Relationships With Parents, Colleagues and Community
The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys brings together research, activities, personal stories, and video interviews to help us all embrace the deep realities and thrilling potential of this crucial American task. Change school culture so that Black boys can show up in the wholeness of their selves. Overcome your unconscious bias and forge authentic connections with your Black male students. If you are a teacher who is afraid to talk about race, that's okay. Fear is a normal human emotion and racial competence is a skill that can be learned. We promise that reading this extraordinary guide will be a life-changing first step forward . . . for both you and the students you serve.
3. Recovery From White Conditioning, by Combs
This 12 step text invites exploration of ways in which white people have become ill from white conditioning...and ways in which we may recover essential portions of our humanity. Various tools and strategies are shared for moving through the steps, on an ongoing basis, in community with others.
Activities and Applications
Reversing the Dehumanization of Families of Color in Schools: Community Based Research in a Race Conscious Parent Engagement Program
http://www.adi.org/journal/2018ss/YullEtAlSpring2018.pdf
Recovery From White Conditioning, by Combs