Competency 1, Attribute B

Recognizes one’s social location and how these impact deficit perspectives about students and families

Attribute Key Definitions

Social Location

An expression of your place in relation to others, particularly people in dominant social groups (e.g. white people, cisgender men), that influences your access to power, resources, opportunities, and political influence (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2010).

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)

Resources

"Cultural Deficit Model" by Jason Irizarry

Many white teachers have been socialized to compare the "goodness" of other cultures to Western, white culture. Irizarry outlines the beliefs behind the cultural deficit model, an ideology that explains lack of student success (most often for poor students of color) on an inherent deficit in their community, family, or culture. He then explains alternatives to the ideology, based in anti-racist and anti-classist principles.

"The Myth of the Culture of Poverty" by Paul Gorski

Educators who come from primarily middle class families/communities often have class privilege and implicit biases about poor people. Gorski outlines prevailing myths about students and families in poverty and how they infiltrate schools. Next, he outlines ways in which such myths can be dispelled and how to build an anti-classist teaching practice and culture. Listen/watch Gorski define deficit perspective and connect it to ways many middle class teachers, (often unintentionally) view poor and working class students, at the link below. Suggested start point: 2:58.

"White Privilege and Male Privilege" by Peggy McIntosh

A precursor to her seminal work on white privilege, Peggy McIntosh discusses the parallels between male privilege (a system of advantages provided to cis men) and white privilege. In it, she argues men might acknowledge the under-representation of women in curricula, but are far less likely to acknowledge and act on the ways in which men have unearned advantages and freedom from considerations that people of all other genders must face. For a podcast of Peggy McIntosh talking about white privilege and its intersection with school, listen to the "Teaching While White" podcast (below). AT 15:00, McIntosh unpacks her answer to the question, "How can teachers make whiteness visible/explicit in the classroom that gives you hope we're moving the right direction?"

"Kids Meet a Gender Non-Conforming Person"

Although they might not describe themselves this way, most teachers are white, cisgender females. In this video, children talk to each other about gender normativity, cisgender privilege, and what it means to be gender non-binary. It demonstrates ways in which children can, and are often willing, to engage in discussions and learn about the multiplicity of gender identity.

Whiteness Visible (Part 1)In this episode, we hear from Peggy McIntosh, author of, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack , and also Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White . Both guests reflect on why they feel it is important to make whiteness visible. 

Activities & Applications

A Suggested Curricular Arc

Step 1: Connecting to Prior Knowledge:

If you have worked on Competency 1, Attribute 1, have your group re-articulate key takeaways. In small or large group, have them discuss/write how their influences and social location might influence their views students and families, particularly people of color, people from non-Western cultures, and trans or non-binary people.

Step 2: Engaging with Resources:

Next, ask your group(s) to read Jason Irizarry's article on the Cultural Deficit model and/or Gorski's article on the Myth of the Culture of Poverty. This can be done prior to arriving or during your time together. Alternatively, assign one article to some groups and the second to others. Each group might also engage in a protocol of discussion such as Save the Last Word for Me or the Text-Rendering Protocol to make sense the articles' key ideas and make connections.

Ask each group to share out key takeaways. Ask them to clarify their definition of deficit perspectives/ideology and write, discuss, or investigate how they might manifest in their own practice or evidence in schools. A good way to do this is through a Chalk Talk, a silent, open discussion on paper. Good reflection questions to guide these discussion might be:

1. How and why do we learn deficit perspectives about students and families?

2. What evidence of deficit perspectives have you seen, heard, or experienced in your life or in school spaces? How might it show up in my personal practice with students and families?

3. About whom do we often learn to perceive as deficit? How does this relate to our racial, cultural, or gendered identities?

Next, provide a short presentation on the link between white and male privilege and deficit perspectives. Use the piece by Peggy McIntosh to frame and define male privilege and white privilege. Discuss ways that privilege (e.g. males usually do not have to consider their own sexual safety in the company of female teachers) connects to seeing students and families without that privilege. For example, ask white educators in the group to reflect on the ways in which their white privilege can obstructs their capacity to see behaviors of some black and indigenous children as "school appropriate", "respectful", and "compliant" as defined by white culture.

Step 3: Reflecting and Connecting to Future Learning

The group can then reflect on potential pathways for more self-investigation:

1. In what ways might my privilege help define what I view as "normal" or "good" students?

2. What further learning do I need to do about my privilege and the deficit perspectives it enables?

For example, based on my social location as a white educator, how more do I need to learn about potential deficit perspectives I have about Black, Brown, and Native students?

Based on my social location as a Christian educator, what do I need to learn about potential deficit perspectives about Muslim, Jewish, agnostic, or atheist students and families?

Save the Last Word for Me.pdf

Chalk Talk Protocol.pdf

Text Rendering Experience.pdf

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