The Beginning…
Contrasting Colors. To be Black - “any human group having dark-colored skin” (Merriam-Webster), is to be parallel to “tragic or disastrous events, causing despair or pessimism” (Merriam-Webster). Unintentionally, Black and Blackness carry negative connotative undertones while its counterpart is often associated with positive things such as “fresh milk” and “the light at the end of the tunnel”. In creating a picture for the comparison of race, one can imagine white snow as being clean and pure while the darker snow is dirty and disgusting. Since there is no designated meaning of “Black experience”, for the sake of this research; to grow up Black, immersed in all that comes along with Blackness is the “Black experience”. The Black experience is all-inclusive term used to aggregate the journeys of those that identify as a Black/Brown minority member. While each individual journey is different, many of them converge in one aspect or another. Though there is not a plethora of research conducted on the correlation that exists with race, emotional intelligence and education, understanding the intersectionality of these topics can help to address many lingering questions about the impact that race has within schools for Black and Brown youth.
Education’s History. The abolition of slavery allowed for the safe and public education of Black and Brown people which essentially resulted in a dual educational system divided by race, which would later be an integrated system as a result of Brown vs The Board of Education Topeka, Kansas. In the 19th century, education and learning was about teaching obedience so that the individuals in the classes were productive workers and did not contribute to chaos (Historical Timeline of Public Education in the US 2006). As a result of Plessy vs. Ferguson, segregation became legal which resulted in many southern states mandating “separate but equal” schools. Post Brown, Elissa Nadworny and Cory Turner in their 2019 article This Supreme Court Case Made School District Lines a Tool for Segregation, Nadworny and Turner share that Milliken v. Bradley held that cross district desegregation wasn’t required thus allowing for inner city and suburban students to remain inherently segregated. This was instrumental because the ruling suggested that as long as there were no explicit policies in place that prohibited Black students from attending a specific school, districts could be separated which led to the segregation of social class and ultimately race that we see apparent in today’s society.
In the 2019 article titled Desegregated Schools, Unequal Assignments by Tanji Reed Marshall, Marshall dives into the consequences that occurred as a result of Brown v. The Board of Education. Marshall (2019) shares that while Brown v. The Board of Education was the landmark case that ended legalized school segregation, it was also the “critical education reform measure of the 20th century” (Marshall, 2019, p. 69). Marshall (2019) analyzes how prior to Brown vs. The Board of Education, colored school districts received the last allocation of funds which often resulted in second hand and damaged material from white schools (p. 70). This material was not representative of Black and Brown students however, colored districts weren’t provided with enough funding to purchase their own. During the desegregation movement, Black students were tasked with integrating these heavily resourced white schoolhouses in which most of the teachers and students were white while having to abandon the racial, social and educational supports that they received at their segregated schools. Marshall (2019) profoundly states that “while Brown required schools to physically desegregate, it made no provision for what or how students were taught or what they would learn” (p. 72). Thus, perpetuating a racial hierarchy within the school and classroom environments as Black students entered these schools at a disadvantage. Marshall (2019) proclaims that even six decades after the decision of Brown, “Black students still face an education system that was neither designed for them nor seems to have their well-being at heart” and that “despite legalized desegregation, we have yet to achieve true integration” (p. 72) and this could be attributed to Milliken v. Bradley and the legalized racial segregation that we see as a result of socioeconomic class separation. This social class separation ultimately perpetuates segregation because stereotypically, good schools are the schools in predominantly white/affluent neighborhoods while the bad schools are those located within under resourced communities.
Understanding and exploring the Black educational experience means dissecting the very components that define it. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education” (King 1947). Prior to Brown vs The Board of Education Topeka, Kansas, Black communities thrived in educating their youth including discipline and character development (Marshall 2019). When the Supreme Court released the decision that “separate was inherently unequal, the decision opened the door to challenge conventional expectations for students and student outcomes” (Marshall, 2019, p. 69). Marshall (2019) continues by bringing attention to the fact that the Brown v. The Board of Education decision is complex “when examined through the lens of curriculum” (p. 69) and even more so when we examine those that deliver it. Marshall (2019) explains that it is imperative to understand both the pre-Brown pedagogical innovation by Black educators and the post-Brown fallout for the Black community.
Despite their ill provided resources, Black teachers still ensured that their students learned at a high level. Marshall (2019) shares that teachers created supplemental curriculum in order to “undo the subtle and overt messages of inferiority their students received through the outdated materials they were forced to use” (p. 70). Marshall (2019) argues that Black teachers “fostered community involvement in meaningful ways and facilitated interdisciplinary learning” (p.70) within their supplemental curriculum. In short, Black teachers within their communities were aware of how to educate and empower their Black students and the same is true for white teachers in white communities. Amid this transition, there was an extensive layoff of Black teachers and closings of Black schools. Marshall (2019) shares that while educators and leaders discussed the pitfalls, the NAACP lobbied in the South that losing Black teachers was the necessary sacrifice to achieve the equality they had been fighting for and that it was for the good of the community (p. 70). In their 2004 article entitled Black Teachers, Black Students, Black Communities and Brown: Perspectives and Insights From Experts, H. Richard Milner and Tyrone Howard note, that “the Black teaching force has declined significantly over the last few decades and continues to decline even in 2003” (Milner & Howard, 2004, p. 285). The sacrifice that the NAACP lobbied for is still prevalent in our educational system today and is showing residual consequences that harm Black and Brown students.
The lack of Black teachers and saturation of white female teachers inherently indicates that Black students are less likely to have a teacher of their same racial background than that of their white counterparts. In the 2010 article entitled Fostering Cross-Cultural Competence in Preservice Teachers Through Multicultural Education Experiences by Jared Keengwe, Keengwe (2010), points out that the American school system, specifically the public-school system, is becoming increasingly diverse while the educators that teach in it are not (p. 198). In a society where white teachers dominate the teaching workforce that seems to feed directly into the criminal justice system; one could question their abilities to effectively educate a student of color. This is called into question because the desegregation of schools never actually integrated the curriculum itself or the delivery of curriculum; nor did it address the concept of race in a way that empowers and is inclusive of all teachers and students. In fact, per Milliken vs. Bradley (1974), this implicit segregation is still legal and reinforces the stereotypical “good school and bad school” prejudice that many teachers use to compare the students and their teaching experiences.
F**k I Look Like, The Average Black Girl. Ernestine Morrison, in her 2014 spoken word performance entitled The Average Black Girl, revisits her own experience of being held to a stereotype when one of her exes’ parents told her that she was liked because she spoke in a manner that they felt was “so white” (Morrison 2014). This blatant microaggression depicts cultural colloquialisms, the African American vernacular and tone as somehow lacking academic skill when compared to white peers. In his 2018 TedTalk, Dr. Christopher Edmin challenges this ideology that cultural colloquialisms are indicative of intellectual capacity. Edmin (2018) argues that individuals are permitted to be intellectual, even if they happen to fit some stereotypical attributes because of the rules of engagement and intellect that others have juxtaposed together. Javon Johnson, in his 2013 spoken word performance entitled Cuz He’s Black, recollects a conversation that he had with his four-year-old nephew where he rationalizes that “poor Black boys are treated like problems well before we are treated as people” (Johnson 2013). While he does not explicitly say it, Johnson is talking about the dilemma that is often seen in the systemic discipline of Black boys within the educational system. He alludes to the cradle to prison pipeline that weaponizes race as a result of historic stereotyping and the discriminatory policies that govern schoolhouses. The execution of these stereotypes is a big contributor to the Black educational experience, however the perpetuation of those stereotypes via the media and policies contribute to creating racially insensitive classrooms.
Cuz He’s Black, They Think He’s A Gangster. In the 2018 article, They Think I'm a Gangster: The Young Black Men Caught in Joblessness by Damien Gayle, Gayle talks about how “aggression and violence is the strongest stereotype that research has shown is associated with Black men” (Gayle 2018). In the 2019 article Understanding the Racial Discipline Gap in Schools by Maithreyi Gopalan and Ashlyn Aiko Nelson, Gopalan and Nelson stated that Black students disproportionately experience adverse disciplinary action while at school (p. 2). This disproportionality is a symptom of a lack of preparedness to teach the Black demographic of students. As Gopalan and Nelson (2019) argue, “racial sorting across districts explains a significant portion of the racial discipline gaps in our fixed effects and decomposition analyses” (p. 3). Experiences, education, historic implications and upbringing reinforce stereotypical assumptions. These assumptions allow for implicit biases and explicit biases to surface which is displayed by are everyday interactions. These explicit and sometimes implicit biases that are exercised in the daily life of some can be detrimental in the Black educational experience.
Blurring the Colored Lines. The Black educational experience and the effects that it has on several aspects of life is an understudied phenomenon. It is very important to understand how the Black educational experience affects all of the stakeholders involved including those who are non-Black/Brown. Race is always a controversial topic because racism and prejudices make everyone uncomfortable. However, in order for things to really change, we have to be willing to feel uncomfortable for the sake of growth. I care about the Black educational experience because it is the experience that billions of youths are going through throughout the country. I care because my brother, my sister, my mother and grandmother are Black and Brown. I care because I want my six-year-old brother to have an experience far different than mine. Being that this is a public concern, we all have a stake in creating a society where it’s no longer the Black educational experience and instead it's just the educational experience. However, it should be understood that this will not happen through colorblindness but through cultural competency. This multifaceted research will assist politicians, curriculum writers, educators, sociologists and psychologists in creating and utilizing material geared at ensuring that all youth receive an adequate education. Simply reading this research gives readers an opportunity to reverse the societal norms that have been set and demand change.
Race, Social Construct or Biological Make-Up. Prior to the 20th century, race was biological categorization that was used to rationalize genocides, slavery, political agendas and segregation. In 2014 Darren Curnoe published an article entitled Human Races: Biological Reality or Cultural Delusion? Curnoe (2014) examines the assumption that prior to the 1960’s race was a biological reality used for several hundred years by biologist and anthropologist in an attempt to classify plants, animals and humans (p. 1). Curnoe (2014) argue that “Races have been identified on ecological, geographical, climatic, physiological and even seasonal criteria” (p. 1). Curnoe (2014) continues contending that “Races simply aren't real like species are. Species represent genuine "breaks" in nature while races are part of a continuum that can only ever have very arbitrary boundaries” (p. 1). In an attempt to remove subjectivity and arbitrary analysis from the sciences because the biology of race could no longer be substantiated, in the 1960’s scientists began to widely accept race as a sociopolitical construct. In the 2019 article Getting Mindful About Race in School by Elena Aguilar, Aguilar would agree declaring that “race is a construct” (Aguilar, 2019, p.65). Aguilar (2019) continues defining race as a story. Aguilar (2019) shares that “it’s a very dangerous and destructive story that has resulted in the dehumanization, marginalization, and deaths of millions of people. It’s a story constructed by European men who sought to colonize and exploit the earth, a story told to justify oppression and uphold hierarchy” (p. 65). In the 2015 article Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory and the Primacy of Racism: Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in Education written by David Gillborn, Gillborn explores the intersectionality of race, class, disability and gender in education through the lens of the Critical Race Theory. While there are several core tenets and perspectives that pour into Critical Race Theory, there is an “understanding that “race” is socially constructed and that “racial difference” is invented, perpetuated, and reinforced by society” (Gillborn, 2015, p. 278). Gillborn (2015) continues by sharing that “in this approach, racism is understood to be complex, subtle and flexible; it manifests differently in different contexts, and minoritized groups are subject to a range of different (and changing stereotypes)” (p. 278). Gillborn (2019) asserts that “critical race theorists argue that the majority of racism remains hidden beneath a veneer of normality and it is only the more crude and obvious forms of racism that are seen as problematic by most people” (pg. 278). Gillborn (2019) states that “racism is an ingrained feature of our landscape; it looks ordinary and natural to persons in the culture” (p. 278). Gillborn (2019) explores this idea that critical race theory “challenges ahistoricism by stressing the need to understand racism within its social, economic and historical context” (p. 278). As we explore race in education through the lens of a social construct, we are able to identify the social norms that create a racial hierarchy in society and classrooms as they contribute to the Black educational experience.
Black Is A Mixture and the Presence of All Colors. The Black experience in its very essence is an ideal that can be studied multi-disciplinarily. However, combining the knowledge of each of those disciplines to address it in an interdisciplinary way and create one solution with several perspectives I would argue makes it more efficient. In addressing the Black educational experience from a single discipline or lens, we minimize other disciplinary perspectives that may contribute to creating a holistic solution. The history of racism in education is important to understand as we outline the where the stereotypical behavior and biases began and how those ideologies began to be perpetuated in schools. The sociological perspective is important in understanding how individuals in society are socialized through media, historic understandings and experiences. Allowing us to connect the history of racism in schools with its current and continued impact on education. Furthermore, it guides the understanding of how these ideals are perpetuated and how races subconsciously socialize each other within the classroom. The educational perspective is important in understanding how the Black educational experience contributes to the achievement gap, discipline structures and success rate of Black and Brown students. The public administration perspective is important in understanding how policies work to reiterate and perpetuate classroom that are not designed for student success. All of these perspectives combined offer an interdisciplinary understanding of the entire Black educational experience as we work to comprehensively understand racism within schools and its implications.
Menken and Keestra (2016) said “whether we like it or not, complexity is the inescapable reality” (p. 36). As a result of the complex world that we live in, “academic research is expected to provide a basis for policies and interventions that contribute to solving societal problems” (Menken and Keestra, 2016, p. 40). It is imperative that I understand the complexity and relationship that lies between racism in education, teaching within schools, policies that govern education and the way teachers who will teach Black and Brown youth are prepared. As Menken and Keestra said, though problems are complicated it does not always imply complexity and it is up to me to decipher. The educational system and issues that arise as a result of its complexity will never have a definite solution. The disparity in education, along with the underrepresentation and perpetuation of stereotypes and its effect on children as young as preschool is alarming. Regardless of the “solutions” that are presented and implemented, there will never be true equity, because we live in a capitalist society. This research primarily discusses the role of a teacher, but it's important to understand the dynamics of different school districts, curriculum implementation and cultural influences. In narrowing down this topic because of the “academic curiosity” (Menken and Keestra, 2016, p. 38), this research will focus specifically on teachers in underserved and underprivileged communities because teachers are the most visible representation and most critical element of classroom education. Teachers are teaching through the lens of policies that are being implemented, knowledge gained through their education programs and personal experience. The aggregation of those three items make teaching the most important contributor to the Black educational experience.
Teachers...
H. Richard Milner and Tyrone C. Howard (2004) in their article entitled Black Teachers, Black Students, Black Communities and Brown: Perspectives and Insights from Experts highlight the importance of having a good teacher. The term good can be extremely subjective in relation to the stereotypical definition of good which is often associated with whiteness. In this context, Milner and Howard (2004) is speaking of the qualifications of a teacher including their ability to impart social emotional skills, engage students in ways that provide inclusivity in representation and treat students as curious being with cultural variations instead of problems as Jovan Johnson (2013) alluded to. Milner and Howard (2004) argue that educators often represent a surrogate parent acting as disciplinarians, therapists, role models and essentially advocates for each of their students. This representation of several critical positions highlights the importance for the teachers in front of students to be well equip with the necessary tools regardless of the students. In the article Role of a Teacher as Classroom Manager by Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar and Bushra Naoreen (2009), Gujjar and Naoreen assert that teachers play the most critical role in the educational system. Milner and Howard (2004) and Gujjar and Naoreen (2009) would agree that society hold teachers to a high esteem due to the role that they play in the overall development of youth. They concur that teachers are responsible for social emotional learning and are responsible for ultimately assisting to raise productive members of society. Gujjar and Naoreen (2009) contend that the development of each generation lies in the hands of teachers and that their attitude, delivery, qualifications, training and investments in their student’s future tends to be reflected in their teachings and expectations.
In the 2005 article entitled Being a Good Teacher of Black Students? White Teachers and Unintentional Racism by Nora Hyland, Hyland presents the results of an ethnographic study in which four teachers were observed to conclude whether they had unconscious biases and participated in unintentional racist activities. Hyland (2005) starts by laying a foundation in which to understand the context of the study. She says, “it would be unfair to assert that teachers are fully responsible for such racial inequality in education or that they are solely responsible for correcting it” (Hyland, 2005, p. 429). As mentioned, teachers are the most visible position in the cycle of racism in schools as they are connected to policies, parents and pupils daily. In order to really dismantle racism in education, it is understood that policies that govern the education landscape, curriculum that dominate classrooms and racist ideologies that are rooted in historic oppression must be addressed, however each of these elements are transparent in the teaching position. Hyland (2005) continues by saying, “the research in this field generally points to the idea that successful teachers of students of color identify the public-school system as racist and see themselves as part of a larger political struggle for racial justice” (Hyland, 2005, p. 430). Hyland (2005) asserts that the most successful educators, regardless of racial or ethnic background, see the public-school system as a structure built upon racial divides.
Teachers who see the systemic issue and refuse to perpetuate the ideology that is showing to be unsuccessful in public schools are extremely necessary. In fact, there are more teachers than leadership members thus placing them in a position to set the tone for the culture that they would like to see at their schools. In the 2019 article Avoiding Racial Equity Detours by Paul Gorski, Gorski examines the impact that race has on educational environments. Gorski (2019) makes a strong claim that “in schools committed to racial equity, educators who resist anti-racist measures should feel uneasy, isolated and on the outskirts of their schools’ institutional cultures” (p. 56). While this assertion may seem a bit aggressive, it is an imperative step if we would like to begin eradicating the perpetuation of oppression and racism in schools. Gorski (2019) continues by sharing that “educators least invested in racial equity should wonder whether they belong” (p. 56). Creating a classroom and school culture that does not tolerate racism being perpetuated requires all educators shift the norm where they may have historically allowed their peers to cause harm by being complicit. Educators must begin calling each other out and holding each other accountable, professionally.
Shifting the current paradigm is not a task that can wait, it must be met with urgency. Gorski (2019) profoundly states that “students experiencing racism can’t wait for schools to move at their own pace and comfort level” (p. 56). Each day that goes by without educators taking an immediate and firm stance against racism within schools are days that Black and Brown students continue to be ignored within the school system. Gorski (2019) continues by saying that “the hard truth is that racial inequity cannot be achieved with an obsessive commitment to “meeting people where they are” when “where they are” is fraught with racial bias and privilege” (p. 58). He urges that educational institutions no longer prioritize the comfort of educators who may be reluctant to fight for equity and instead prioritize equity especially in schools because equity is needed now.
While educators should remain mindful about the practices that they are using and the impact that it has on the students that they are serving, the intent and motive is just as critical. Gorski (2019) defines equity detours as “detours white people follow to protect their privilege and avoid the messy work of racial justice” (p. 57). Gorski (2019) shares that equity detours “create an illusion of progress towards equity while cementing, or even exacerbating, inequity” (p. 57) and that “they can be more devastating than explicit racism because they do racism’s work while consuming resources ostensibly earmarked for racial equity” (pg. 57). These equity detours can be extremely detrimental to the educational experience of Black and Brown students.
Analyzing Brown (1954) through the lens of Gorski (2019) and applying his definition of an equity detour, one is compelled to label Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) an equity detour. Brown vs. The Board of Education (1954) integrated schools which minimized the culturally relevant education that Black and Brown students received because there was no representation in schools physically and no incorporation of Blackness into the curriculum. The mere fact that Milliken vs Bradley (1974) held up financial segregation perpetuated racism in that many Black and Brown families could not afford to live in the affluent and more resourced schools. Gorski (2019) labels equity detours anti-anti-racism and dives into the four types of detours: Pacing for privilege, Poverty of Culture, Deficit Ideology Detour and Celebrating Diversity Detour. During Aguilars’ (2019) time at the school, the principal wanted to break the cycle of manifested systemic oppression, but she was unsure of the source.
“Racial inequities exist in schools largely because of educators’ actions—but actions emerge from beliefs. We do what we do because of what we think. Many well-intended equity initiatives fail because they are targeted at the level of people’s behavior and actions and rarely dig into underlying beliefs” (Aguilars, 2019, p. 63).
Gorski (2019) highlights that “equity initiatives should focus on eliminating conditions that marginalize students—never on fixing students of color” (p. 59). In schools, this means addressing the conditions of education, methods of discipline and addressing biases as to not continue to perpetuate it within the classroom. Addressing classroom culture for teachers typically begins in their education programs.
Culturally Relevant/ Culturally Responsive, it’s all the same. In the 2007 article entitled Addressing Diversity in Schools: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy by Heraldo V. Richards, Ayanna F. Brown and Timothy B. Forde, Richards, Brown, and Forde also discuss the importance of addressing diversity through the usage of culturally responsive pedagogy. Richards, Brown, and Forde (2007) define culturally responsive pedagogy as “effective teaching and learning occur in a culturally supported, learner-centered context, whereby the strengths students bring to school are identified, nurtured, and utilized to promote student achievement” (p. 64). As we should understand it, teachers alone are not responsible for this shift so Richards, Brown and Forde (2007) review the institutional dimensions that must change in order to create culturally responsive pedagogy including the organization of the school, school policies and procedures and community involvement (Richards, Brown and Forde, 2007). Richards, Brown and Forde (2007) outline some of the things that teachers need to do in order to be considered culturally responsive including adjusting their curriculum, promoting equity within their classrooms and validating student’s cultural identity amongst other things (Richards, Brown and Forde, 2007, p. 66). Richards, Brown and Forde (2007) explain why addressing diversity is important saying that “today’s classrooms require teachers to educate students varying in culture, language, abilities and many other characteristics” (Richards, Brown and Forde, 2007, p. 64) which is the same argument that Brown (2007) and Keengwe (2010) assert. In response to the shift of educational landscape, teachers must be prepared by their educational institutions how to deliver education to their students in a way that is culturally responsive.
To really and truly create impact within classrooms, teachers must be armed with knowledge of self, knowledge of the way the classroom dynamics are constantly shifting and the role that they play in perpetuating or changing those dynamics. Keengwe (2010), points out that the American school system, specifically the public-school system, is becoming increasingly diverse while the educators that teach in it are not (p. 198). It is important to note that Keengwe (2010) says that “...many teacher education programs face challenges in better preparing preservice teachers to respond appropriately to the diversity they are likely to encounter in the classroom” (p. 197). Keengwe (2010) adds that with the increase of cultures, languages and races, many educators are not equipped to provide adequate support needed to ensure that all youth are able to succeed. If the education programs aren’t adequately preparing educators for this diversity, they are essentially doing youth a drastic disservice.
In recent years, there has been this shift toward the implementation of culturally responsive pedagogy. Many educators, like myself, are first exposed to culturally relevant pedagogy when our districts decide to adopt variations of the practice. In the 2007 article entitled Educating All Students: Creating Culturally Responsive Teachers, Classrooms, and Schools by Monica R. Brown, Brown presents the importance of creating and implementing culturally responsive pedagogy. She starts by saying “...this change in the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of the student population is not the problem. The problem lies in the way educators have responded to the change…” (Brown, 2007, p. 57). Brown (2017) continues by saying “a positive or negative response could affect the self-esteem and academic success of students from these varied racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds” (Brown, 2007, p. 57). Brown is alluding to the idea that often, students are forced to assimilate into the whitewashed educational system instead of the system adapting to meet them where they are. As a result of the increase of diversity, Brown (2007) asserts that creating and teaching a culturally responsive pedagogy is even more important. Brown (2007) argues that “the academic achievement of students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds would improve if educators were to make the effort to ensure that classroom instruction was conducted in a manner that was responsive to the students’ home cultures” (p. 58). Small shifts such as hands on experiences to assist in learning and making education more relatable could shift student success rates dramatically which is what we are hoping to see.
Imagine classrooms that weren’t governed by racial hierarchies and instead allowed students to critically analyze and create plausible solutions to the issues going on around them. Continuing her point Brown (2007) says that “modifying the way that classrooms are structured and transforming the policies and practices of the school are critical aspects of the enhancement of learning for all students” (p. 58). Brown (2007) is addressing the impact that is made when educators are culturally responsive within their classroom while also shining light on the responsibility of the school system and educator preparation programs in creating culturally responsive educators. For example, if education programs taught educators how to use relative information to still hit standards, teachers wouldn’t be so scared to venture out and not be successful on standardized assessments. A perfect example would be having students read an informational text on the Derek Chauvin trial/ decision and then asking them if they agree or disagree using the textual evidence to support their stance. Bringing this conversation into the classroom would be at the comfort of the teacher and creating a complete cultural shift away from the standardized curriculum would involve the school system at large. Brown (2007) concludes by saying “if we are to remove from students the burden of having to learn under unnatural cultural conditions, all teachers will need to become culturally responsive” and “school administrators and faculty must be willing and ready to transform the current curriculum to one that addresses all of their students’ needs” (Brown, 2007, p. 61). In short, Brown (2007) asserts the need for educators to teach in a culturally responsive manner and places emphasis on how they are exactly taught to do so.
Teachers Are Only Human. Our experiences really shape our beliefs and govern our behavior, educators aren’t exempt from that. Keengwe (2010) states that “...teachers’ beliefs about how students, for instance, from different racial backgrounds learn and the expectations that they have for different racial groups may influence the way that they conduct their lessons” (p. 197). Keengwe (2010) is alluding to the implicit and explicit biases that may be held by educators, especially those who do not identify with the cultural differences experienced by their students. In the 2005 article entitled Six Key Factors for Changing Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes/Beliefs about Diversity written by M. Arthur Garmon, Garmon (2005) argues that even though teachers may be required to take a diversity course, it potentially does no justice to the communities in which they are working with. This is for the mere fact that like Garmon (2005) asserted, educators will only retain the knowledge they feel pertinent to their jobs and sadly, often, diversity isn’t a pertinent factor to them. Preservice teachers are teachers who are studying to begin service within the classroom. Since a vast majority of teachers are white individuals without a culturally diverse background, it is imperative that we begin by ensuring that preservice teachers are open to embracing cultural diversity, are prepared to challenge their very own whiteness and decide whether being a leader of a culturally diverse student body is a part of their passion. These dispositions they gain are molded by the interactions between other cultures, formal education that is obtained about diversity and support structures that are in place for them. As dispositions form, they inform our implicit and explicit biases.
Biases both implicit and explicit are shaped over time and it is often because of dispositions and experiences that are encountered, not because all white teachers genuinely think any less of students regardless of cultural differences. For many, the intention consciously is to be inclusive, but in practice often fails. Aguilar (2019) argues that “many “diversity” programs, equity and inclusion initiatives, and even culturally responsive practices stay on the surface and address only educators’ behaviors, amounting to only technical responses to inequity” (p. 63). Aguilar (2019) is discussing the good intentioned Black History month projects that ignores that fact that Black history is American history and that it should be discussed year-round in more than a trauma induced context like slavery. Aguilar (2019) continues saying that “schools are inequitable in terms of outcomes and experiences for different races in part because educators’ beliefs are profoundly polluted with racism” (p. 63). This racism doesn’t have to be explicit; it could be discussing how Christopher Columbus colonized American discounting the genocide to palliate the truth and paint him as an American hero without consideration of Native American students. Aguilar (2019) shares that just because there is diversity quantitively, that doesn’t equate to equity. Which focuses on this idea that an increase in representation automatically means that students are receiving equitable services and that is just inaccurate. Aguilar (2019) concludes by sharing that “those of us committed to transforming external systems of oppression must also examine our own internal systems that unconsciously fuel those systems” (p. 67).
The Relationship Between Students and Teachers. As we engage in conversation about white teachers and their preparedness to engage with Black and Brown students, it is imperative to also touch briefly on the relationship that exists between the two of them. Downey and Pribesh (2004) start by challenging previously collected data which concluded that “teachers rate Black students as exhibiting poorer classroom behavior and as being less academically engaged than they do white students” (Downey and Pribesh, 2004, p. 267). Downey and Pribesh (2004) continues by raising the question “do Black students act out more when placed with white teachers than with Black teachers, or do white teachers rate Black students more harshly than they deserve?” (p. 267). Downey and Pribesh (2004) said that the disparity with the evaluative results could be because “white teachers merely misinterpret Black students’ cultural style” and “misread Black students’ different behavioral styles (e.g., speech, dress and energy level) as defiance” (Downey and Pribesh, 2004, p. 268). Edmin (2018) argues that individuals are permitted to be intellectual, even if they happen to fit some stereotypical attributes because of the rules of engagement and that students are permitted to be cultured without that culture being deemed wrong. Downey and Pribesh (2004) breaks their research into two subgroups in an attempt to understand whether the difference in evaluation results change as youth age, they concluded that it doesn’t. They also concluded that “the strain between Black students and white teachers is evident as soon as Black children begin kindergarten” (Downey and Pribesh, 2004, p. 279). This strain that Downey and Pribesh (2004) speak of has become the typical relationship that is observed between Black/Brown students with white teachers throughout their recent educational journey.
Race Matters. While it may see a bit uncomfortable, talking about race could possibly began to bridge those strain relationships between Black and Brown students and white teachers. In the 2019 article, A “Color- Aware” Approach to Data, Rachel Roegman, Ala Samarapungavan, Youkiko Maeda, and Gary Johns explore the importance of acknowledging students racial and ethnical identities. Roegman et all (2019) share that “race matters in terms of access, discipline, and outcomes” (p. 75). In the 2020 article SEL and Equity If We Don’t Address the Wound, We Cannot Heal written by Suzanne Bouffard, Bouffard records the responses from an interview session that she had with Dena Simmons. As the “assistant director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and faculty at the Yale Child Study Center” (Bouffard, 2020, p. 24), Simmons has spent an exuberant amount of time within classrooms and creating curriculum that highlights social justice, promotes anti-racism, and demands equitable social and emotional learning within teacher education. During high school, Simmons shares that she was one of the few students of color at a school for the first time in her life. Simmons shares, “Now I had to worry about a different type of safety—emotional safety. I asked myself, “Am I safe to be Black in this environment?”” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 25). She continues this line of rhetorical questioning by asking “Am I safe to be my full authentic self in this space?” (Bouffard, 2020, p. 25). These questions that Simmons asks are questions that undoubtedly go through the head of each Black and Brown student as they enter white spaces.
As Simmons reflected on the importance of professional learning about social emotional learning practices, Simmons shares that “You can’t teach people how to get along without talking about why we don’t get along. One of the reasons we don’t get along is because of the racial strife in our country, the racial barrier between groups of people. If we don’t address the wound, we cannot heal” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 25). Simmons then digs into reflective questions for teachers to really check themselves and where they are in the work to assist in solving this issue. She voices rhetorical questions such as, “Who am I? How do I show up in this world? What access or power do I have or not have?” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 26). She continues asking, “What power and privilege do my students have or not have? Who are they and who are they not? What do I not know and what do I need to ask?” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 26). Lastly, Simmons shares that “We know it’s not going to be comfortable, but what we’ve all learned as educators is that you need to be in a space of disequilibrium in order to grow and learn” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 26). Simmons advises that “if we don’t apply an anti-racist lens to SEL, it has the risk of being used as a weapon, as something else Black and brown kids don’t know how to do” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 25). Simmons contrasts the way that SEL is delivered in black and brown communities versus their white counterparts, “when we talk about white kids and privileged kids, SEL is about college and career readiness and about thriving in those settings. When we’re talking about Black and brown students, “Our students need to learn how to control their behavior”” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 25). Simmons is saying that for us to change the educational landscape and adjust the current issues with race in schools, we must utilize these anti-racist practices and really level the playing field. Regardless of their color, teachers, students and school administration should all critically evaluate the role they play in creating an anti-racist environment.
In their 2008 article entitled The Impact of White Teachers on the Academic Achievement of Black Students: An Exploratory Qualitative Analysis by Bruce Douglas, Chance W. Lewis, Adrian Douglas, Malcolm Earl Scott and Dorothy Garrison-Wade, they discuss an understudied phenomenon that surrounds the impact that the predominantly white workforce of educators has on the predominantly Black/Brown and low-income public-school student. According to Douglas, Lewis, Douglas, Scott and Garrison-Wade (2008), now more than ever, “...Black students are being educated by people who are not of their racial or cultural background” (p. 48). They continue by saying that according to a 2004 report released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), “Black students continue to trail white students with respect to educational access, achievement and attainment” (Douglas et al, 2008, p. 48). Douglas et al (2008) is referring to the large achievement gap that is growing annually between Black/Brown and white students. Douglas et al (2008) also mentions that the NCES fails to “discuss who is teaching Black students or whether these teachers are prepared to teach Black students effectively” (p. 48). The typical rationale as to the reason that Black/Brown children trail are because of factors outside of the school system such as socioeconomic status, Douglas et al (2008) calls into question this deficit model of instruction. For reasons not outlined, Douglas et al (2008) conduct an intimate interview with eight Black/Brown students that attended a predominantly white high school taught by predominantly white teachers. They concluded that in the 10th-12th grade, the themes that were prevalent amongst them were their need for respect, stereotypes that they were held to, administrations lack of assistance but, alike of the environment (Douglas et al, 2008, p. 53). In short, Douglas et al (2008) called into question the impact that is made on students when the teacher is a representation of themselves compared to the impact of the white teacher. While race alone is not the determining factor as to whether someone will be a good teacher, it is a factor to be considered.
In the article Empowering Educators Through Cultural Competence (2015) written by Jose Vilson, Vilson emphasizes the impact that is made when students believe that their teachers care. Vilson (2015) includes a powerful statement gathered from a teacher who said, “The student might not be able to read, but they can read you” (p. 3). In very few words, Vilson (2015) epitomizes the students’ ability to decipher a teacher’s intentions well before they decide or are able to decipher material given to them. Gujjar and Naoreen (2009) concede acknowledging that teachers set the tone in their classrooms and have the ability to create environments where students are motivated to learn. Milner and Howard (2004) continue the conversation saying that when teachers accept their students, weaknesses included, it sets students up for achievement.
Sociological Analysis of Racism. In the 2010 article entitled Messages in the Medium: The Relationships Among Black Media Images, Racial Identity, Body Image and the Racial Socialization of Black Youth by Valerie N. Adams, Adams 2010) exams the impact that the media has on the racial socialization. Adams (2010) begins by stating that “during adolescence, the primary crisis around which many tasks and experiences revolve is the identity development; for Black youth, racism is a significant cultural factor influencing identity” (p. 2). This is important in recognizing that during their adolescent years, youth are developing their identity. Additionally, whether it be implicit or explicit racism, for youth that exposure impacts their identity. Adams (2010) continues by saying that “stereotypically negative television images of Blacks” is one of the “reasons why there should be a research agenda for exploring relationships” (p. 3). Television is a socializing agent for all that indulge in the past time. When the images depicted of Black/Brown youth are that of negativity, it is perpetuated in the Black/Brown community via internalized oppression and perpetuated in the non-Black/Brown community via cultural destructiveness. Adams (2010) continues arguing that “the terminology and images associated with Black people are accompanied by implicit and sometimes explicit messages that have changed very little” (p. 8). Aforementioned, these messages contribute to the perpetuation of stereotypes by all members of society. Adams (2010) concludes by stating that “development is influenced by micro and macro level environments: exchange of information, perception of experience, individual response to the environment, and environmental responses to an individual converging and/or conflicting as youth transition into adults” (p. 11). Adams (2010) is reinforcing the idea that our perceptions are cultivated based on all of the interactions we have, whether it be big or small. In short, Adams (2010) is arguing that the media has an impact on the way that Black/Brown youth view themselves and the way that other people view them.
Douglas et al (2008) and Adams (2010) both touch on the presents of implicit and explicit biases in teaching and how they affect the youth. While Adams (2010) is talking about the stereotypes that we subconsciously obtain through our media consumption, Douglas et al (2008) highlights those stereotypical ideations being translated into our everyday lives, including work. During the study the interviews that Douglas et al (2008) conducted on the eight-minority youth attending predominantly white high schools, parts of their conclusion allude to the point that Adams (2010) was making specifically about stereotypes. As Douglas et al (2008) conclude in regard to the interviews, “the statements revealed the magnitude of stereotypical comments that the students face daily” (p. 55). Adams (2010) would argue that students face this daily stereotyping because “exposure to negative TV images will reinforce and influence negative perspectives of Black people by white society” (p. 3). While Douglas et al (2008) and Adams (2010) address the implicit and explicit biases in very different ways, it is important to note that regardless of whether it is the media or it is their upbringing that creates the preconceived notions and stereotypes, they exist.
In the 2008 article entitled Service-Learning and Pre-Service Educators’ Cultural Competence for Teaching: An Exploratory Study by Karen S. Meaney, Heidi R. Bohler, Kelcie Kopf, Lesley Hernandes and LaTosha S. Scott, they explore the important role that the social-cognitive theory framework has on understanding the impact educators’ cultural competency has on students. Meany et al (2008) justifies their use of the social-cognitive theory framework by saying that “...the majority of human learning occurs in a social environment, because dynamic social settings promote interactions between one’s personal factors, environment and behaviors…” (p. 193). Sociology is the study of how individuals interact in various environments thus socialization is the process in which individuals begin to understand and operate within social norms. Meany et al (2008) is describing the way in which they conducted socialization via service learning in their program in an effort to make preservice teachers more culturally aware. Meany et al (2008) are referring to the role that service learning has on molding more culturally competent educators. By their very definition, service learning is the process in which individuals are exposed to culturally different environments provided with real world experiences while gaining knowledge about and meeting the needs of the economically disadvantaged and underrepresented (Meany et al, 2008, p. 192). Meany et al (2008) reported that of the sample of college students that participated in the service-learning project located in a low-income neighborhood populated heavily by Blacks and Latinx people, many of them “increased perceived competence as instructors, improved teaching skills and increased use of varied instructional strategies” (p. 192). Meany et al (2008) uses the triadic reciprocal causation chart to show the multidirectional impact that an educator’s personal factors, behavior and environment may have on their perceived competence (p. 194). It is important to note that as preservice educators partake in more service learning, they develop more empathy and reconstructed knowledge (Meany et al, 2008, p. 202) In short, Meany et al (2008) argues that experiential submersion is the best way to create more culturally competent educators based on the social-cognitive theory. In order to be more culturally competent, teachers have to do more than just learn about the cultures, they must be submerged within them.
Social Emotional Skills and Anti-Racist Education. In the 2019 article titled, Trust Your Team: Our Journey to Embed Social and Emotional Learning in a Teacher Education Program Focused on Social Justice by Patricia Swanson, Colette Rabin, Grinell Smith, Allison Briceño, Lara Ervin-Kassab, Dena Sexton, Dale Mitchell, David A. Whitenack, & Jolynn Asato, they argue that, “as programs designed to embed social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools proliferate research suggests that SEL integration should focus on developing teachers’ ability to embed SEL in academic content instruction” (p. 68). They acknowledge that there is not a plethora of research as it relates to understanding the unique role that teacher preparation plays in the overall development of social and emotional competencies of their students. Swanson et al highlight this idea that many teacher programs require that teacher receive social and emotional education for themselves but no that they take any courses on implementing it into the classroom (2019). They even argue that many of those teacher preparation courses place emphasis “more strongly on relational and decision-making skills than self-awareness or management skills” (Swanson et al, 2019, p. 68) as opposed to equipping them to assist students in building such capacity. Swanson et al (2019) shared that the goal of social and emotional learning “is to help children (and adults) enhance their ability to integrate thinking, feeling, and behaving to achieve important life tasks” (2019, p. 69).
Swanson et al (2019) uses the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework to break social and emotional concepts up into five dimensions, “self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making” (Swanson et al, 2019, p.70). Swanson et al (2019), discuss the teaching program that they developed citing that they did not see any of the dimensions as standing alone however, they saw them as having the ability to be embedded within the various courses. They provide one example where “we situated teaching self-awareness and cultural awareness in foundations classes, social awareness and relationship skills in classroom management, responsible decision making in field placement and self-management and growth mindset as components of persistence in problem solving” (Swanson et al, 2019, p. 70). Swanson et al (2019) point out that “with the adoption of the Common Core Standards, our work shifted from examining individual courses to mapping the integration of SEL across our entire elementary teacher education curriculum as an essential foundation in preparing students to grapple with, among other skills, the rigors of open-ended problem solving” (2019, p. 70). In the program evaluation, they noted that “candidates recognized the value in cultivating SEL skills and embedding them in their teaching but struggled to enact these values” (Swanson et al, 2019, p. 71).
Swanson et al (2019) highlight that “CASEL dimensions, rooted firmly in psychology, did not explicitly address the broader lens of sociology to our satisfaction, paying scant attention to socio-political context and culture. Although the literature acknowledged a tacit understanding—at best—of the role culture plays in creating and sustaining respectful interpersonal relationships, the CASEL heuristic did not acknowledge the cultural nature of identifying and working with emotions and reflected a colorblind approach privileging white middle-class American values of what constitutes SEL competencies” (2019, p. 71). They continue stressing that “the absence of the larger socio-political context became particularly jarring during the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement, which brought the persistent violence against Black youth to the national consciousness and heightened awareness of the importance of examining how societal and institutional entities define and act upon children. We were aware of critiques of SEL, including the individualistic, monocultural, and thus deficit-perpetuation of the approach” (Swanson et al, 2019, p.71). Lastly, they discuss the way that they addressed this gap by using the social, emotional, and cultural competencies (SEC) that the Center for Reaching and Teaching the Whole Child (CRTWC) developed which “integrate social emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching” (Swanson, 2019, p.72). In short, “the schema provides five broad goals for teachers: provide a safe and supportive environment; strive for equity in teaching and learning; build resilience and a sense of optimism; promote academic success; and develop responsibility for the greater good.
In the 2019 article Introduction: Social Emotional Learning and Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Teaching Practices by Heidi Stevenson and Nancy Louriè Markowitz really dug into social emotional learning (SEL) and culturally responsive and sustaining teaching practices (CRT) because the “California Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s 2016 Teaching Performance Expectations require teacher educators to explicitly address SEL and CRT in their teacher education programs” (Stevenson & Markowitz, 2019, p. 3) and there was confusion as to how this expectation should be met. After collecting 200 survey samples, Stevenson and Markowitz (2019) reported a “common concern about the lack of a guiding vision for how to integrate SEL and CRT into teacher preparation and a common language for talking about the two” (p. 4). They continued declaring that “the absence of shared meaning and language makes it difficult for programs to enact a common vision of what SEL and CRT should look like in teacher preparation” (Stevenson & Markowitz, 2019, p. 4). Stevenson and Markowitz (2019) reference Marianne D’Emidio-Caston in Santa Barbara, California when she discusses the integration of SEL and CRT at Antioch University asserting that “she highlights the importance of the teachers disposition to care” (p. 7). Stevenson and Markowitz (2019) also share that Donahue-Keegan, Villegas-Reimers and Cressey approached their integration through a model of advocacy. They share that Donahue-Keegan, Villegas-Reimers and Cressey:
“Provide an overview of the framework that has guided their work advocating for the integration of SEL and CRT practices and principles into teacher education programs. In addition, they share insights gained through this process. They also describe the MA SEL- Ted Consortium from its inception in 2011 to its present-day advocacy work in bringing culturally responsive SEL into teacher preparation programs and P-12 school” (Stevenson & Markowitz, 2019, p. 7-8).
Stevenson and Markowitz (2019) restate an ask from the Aspen Institute which calls for us to identify “ways in which equity and social, emotional, and academic development can be manually reinforcing” (Stevenson & Markowitz, 2019, p. 8). They end by asking a rhetorical question, “how do teacher educators gain the expertise to more fully integrate SEL and CRT within preservice teacher education” (Stevenson & Markowitz, 2019, p. 8)?
The way that Bouffard (2020) captures Simmons story during their interview highlights the need for intentional SEL teaching that encompasses cultural competency and antiracism that Stevenson and Markowitz (2019) and Swanson et al, 2019 noted. The mere fact that Simmons ever had to question her ability to be “emotionally safe” in an environment that is supposed to be inherently safe for her was alarming. Simmons advocacy for antiracist social emotional teaching and learning is at the foundation of her experiences. In considering the very experiences of Black and Brown youth in many under-resourced communities that are led by teachers, principals and policy makers that do not look like them, I am immediately drawn to the experience of Simmons and how there are sure to be parallels prevalent within the two environments. Since we are talking about predominantly Black and Brown students in these structured white environments, her sediment that this specific group of students are tasked with learning more about self-control for their social emotional learning tasks is unnerving, especially since much of their self-control could be influenced by cultural norms. I immediately think about this idea of Racehetdemic practices coined by Dr. Christopher Edmin, that allows students to be both cultural, loud and hip hop but also academic and smart. The questions that Bouffard record Simmons asking at the very end should be at the beginning of every educator’s mind when considering their why and their how. These questions should really drive their practices within their classrooms to ensure they are academically enriching and socially and emotionally safe for Black and Brown students. Revisiting Simmons declaration that “we can leverage SEL for an antiracist future and for racial justice, but SEL without deliberate and active antiracist work is not enough. SEL alone will not solve racism and oppression” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 25); we must acknowledge the importance of incorporating this anti-racist approach to SEL skill building.
A Colorful Truth…
Brown. Milner and Howard (2004) argue that the legal separation within public spaces brought on by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) often resulted in lackluster supplies, scarce resources and minimal funding for Black public schools. Years later, Brown v. The Board of Education Topeka, Kansas (1954) reversed the separate but equal clause mandating the integration of all schools. While met with resistance, all schools across the country began to either desegregate or close (Milner & Howard 2004). This desegregation of the public school system emanated, in what some would argue, the beginning of underachievement for the Black community due to the substandard education they would begin to receive as a result of ill-prepared educators and administrators. In the 2011 book review titled The Detroit School Busing Case: Milliken v. Bradley and the Controversy over Desegregation by Howell Baum he argues that though Brown (1954) called for integration, Milliken vs Bradley (1974) unanimous Court decision “held that compensatory education was an acceptable remedy for school segregation” (Baum 2011). Merriam- Webster defines compensatory education as “educational programs intended to make up for experiences (such as cultural experiences) lacked by disadvantaged children” (Merriam-Webster). As a result, cross-district integration was minimal, and segregation continued to be perpetuated via social class separation which often a mimic of racial divides. This separation continues to be reflective in the allocation of resources and the achievement of Black and Brown students. Baum (2011) argues that:
“Nothing happens by accident, and the state is involved in doing, endorsing, or enforcing a great deal that affects who goes to school with whom. Not only do governments, financial institutions, and realtors act in discriminatory ways, but also even “normal” activities have racial consequences. Suburban governments approve large-lot zoning and don’t build public housing, and the results are to keep low-income Black families in cities. It is not necessary to discover malign intent to find that such actions contribute to urban school segregation.”
Black. In the 1994 article Missing Teachers, Impaired Communities: The Unanticipated Consequences of Brown v. Board of Education on the African American Teaching Force at the Precollegiate Level by Mildred J. Hudson and Barbara J. Holmes, Hudson and Holmes proclaim that since Black students were tasked with integrating white schools, there was a subliminal message dispersed about the superiority of white Schools and white education. As Milner and Howard (2004) phrased it, integration was implemented like there was something secretive and sacred about white education. Admittedly, Holmes and Hudson (1994) along with Milner and Howard (2004) acknowledge that because of the lack of funding and resources, the actual infrastructure of the buildings were better, but that does not eliminate the quality of education that the Black students received. For the Black community, that meant ill prepared teachers for the students and demotions or subpar disciplinary and administrative duties for those who were previously teachers. As Gorski (2019) mentions, the education that Black and Brown students received from their Black and Brown educators within their communities was often better even without the resources.
White. In the 2005 article Being a Good Teacher of Black Students? White Teachers and Unintentional Racism by Nora Hyland, Hyland introduces this idea of whiteness. She defines it as a social construct that uses attitudes, ideologies and practices to deny Black people and other minorities access to opportunities, dignity and freedoms awarded to White people (Hyland 2005). In the 2015 article Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory and the Primacy of Racism: Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in Education written by David Gillborn, Gillborn explores the intersectionality of race, class, disability and gender in education through the lens of the Critical Race Theory. While there are several core tenets and perspectives that pour into Critical Race Theory, there is an “understanding that “race” is socially constructed and that “racial difference” is invented, perpetuated, and reinforced by society” (Gillborn, 2015, p. 278). Gillborn (2015) continues by sharing that “in this approach, racism is understood to be complex, subtle and flexible; it manifests differently in different contexts, and minoritized groups are subject to a range of different (and changing stereotypes)” (p. 278). Gillborm (2019) asserts that “critical race theorists argue that the majority of racism remains hidden beneath a veneer of normality and it is only the more crude and obvious forms of racism that are seen as problematic by most people” (pg. 278). Gillborn (2019) states that “racism is an ingrained feature of our landscape; it looks ordinary and natural to persons in the culture” (p. 278). Gillborn (2019) explores this idea that critical race theory “challenges ahistoricism by stressing the need to understand racism within its social, economic and historical context” (p. 278). Gillborn (2019) states that “”whiteness” is a racial discourse, whereas the category “white people” represent a socially constructed identity, usually based on skin color” (p.278). Gillborn (2019) analyzes whiteness claiming that it “refers to a set of assumptions, beliefs, and practices that place the interests and perspective of white people at the center of hat is considered normal every day” (p. 278). Gillborn (2019) contends that “critical scholarship on whiteness is not an assault on white people themselves; it is an assault on the socially constructed and constantly reinforced power of white identifications, norms, and interests” (p.278). Hyland (2005) continues by exploring white racism and Institutionalized racism saying that whiteness is an issue because it is the infrastructure that society has been built upon. Hyland (2005) concludes by saying that schools can be inherently racist because of the racial neutrality or colorblindness inserted into the curriculum. This idea of colorblindness is when individuals and systems implement actions that aren’t specific to color. Colorblindness or race neutrality is this idea that one doesn’t see race at all and instead sees only people. Roegman et al (2019) argue that taking a color neutral approach to “allows educators to ignore the presences of different social realities due to identities that are different” (p. 75). Rogeman et al (2019) further contend that “seemingly neutral processes often have profoundly disparate and inequitable impacts” (p. 76). Rogeman el al (2019) concluded by emphasizing the urgency that should accompany moving from color neutral practices to those that make us more color aware. They share that while Brown vs. Board of Education was the first step in dismantling legalized segregation, it must be follow by work and policies that continue to dismantle oppression in the K-12 system that specifically harms students of color. Rogeman et al (2019) share that since “the nation has never fully and honestly dealt with its ‘race’ problem” (p. 78) schools need to examine “race and racism in students’ educational experience” (p. 78).
Implicit Shades of Grey. Hyland (2005) presents the results of an ethnographic study in which four teachers were observed to conclude whether they had unconscious biases and/or participated in unintentional racist activities. Hyland (2005) starts by laying a foundation in which to understand the context of the study. She says, “it would be unfair to assert that teachers are fully responsible for such racial inequality in education or that they are solely responsible for correcting it” (Hyland, 2005, p. 429). Garmon (2005) asserts that there are six factors that influence a preservice educator’s attitude and beliefs about diversity. He argues that their predispositions in combination with their life experiences may influence how much they learn and how they respond to diversity immersion (Garmon 2005). Garmon (2005) dissects the dispositions as he breaks it into three categories including openness, self-awareness/self-reflectiveness, and commitment to social justice (p. 276-79). Downey and Pribesh (2004) assert that white teachers do not understand Black culture and therefore they see many of the typical behaviors as out of line. Hyland (2005), Garmon (2005) and Downey and Pribesh (2004) would concede that implicit biases that are carried by an educator can result in Brown students being undereducated and harshly disciplined.
Cultural Competency…
Top Down. Madsen and Mabokela (2002) dissect the important role that leadership and diversity has on creating culturally responsive school environments. In outlining the three pervasive leadership functions, Madsen and Mabokela (2002) highlight the importance of cultivating educators into dynamic leaders of diverse student bodies. In changing the term educators to leaders of diverse student bodies, it changes the way we really see educators. Since educators are leaders of diverse student bodies, they have to understand the very power that comes with that title. Embracing each culture within the classroom and school in tandem with accepting the differences that cultures may have will create and promote environments conducive to learning for all students. Garmon (2005) argues that even though teachers may be required to take some form of a diversity course, it potentially does no justice for the communities in which they are working with. As mentioned, Stevenson and Markowitz (2019) found that there was confusion as to how this expectation of preparing teacher should be met. In some programs, a simple. The reason that it does little to no justice is because like he asserted, students (preservice teachers) will only retain the knowledge they feel pertinent to their jobs and sadly, often, diversity isn’t a pertinent factor. Madsen and Mabokela (2002) and Garmon (2005) would synthesize that in order for change to be made with the teachers, we must first begin with redefining what it means and what it takes to be a teacher. Additionally, we must address curriculum and policy that impact the way in which teachers do their jobs.
Teachers Leave a Long Lasting Impression. As a society, we must get better at recognizing how educational environments really impact students. Teachers and students often spend in the upwards of 38 hours together per week during a school year which represents a little over twenty percent of their entire week. Considering how this is such a huge chunk of their lives from Pre-K through twelfth grade, it would be logical to assume that these teacher/student/learning environment relationships matter significantly. While I am not an advocate for segregation within the school system, I contend that the significant role that white teachers have in the lives of Black and Brown students and their education must be acknowledged.
As a student, I found myself in front of mostly white teachers who lacked a foundational understanding of cultural differences. As a freshman, one of my white peers told me that I was smart for a Black girl and my biology teacher didn’t understand how that wasn’t a compliment but instead an insult. I spent moments attempting to explain the context before asking to report it to the administration who didn’t understand my offense either. From that point on, I never felt emotionally safe or safe to be black in that that classroom again.
Teachers are responsible for setting the tone and establishing the culture within their classrooms. When describing “culture”, I am referring to the overall environment that students enter that affirms what is considered acceptable behaviors and deters students from engaging in what would be considered unacceptable behaviors. Classroom cultures are developed through each teachers’ individual experiences in tandem with their academic learnings and their socialization. Socialization simply refers to the way in which learn what is considered acceptable and unacceptable in society. This is the same process that teachers perpetuate within their classroom cultures which makes socialization cyclical.
While I am not certain what training my freshmen biology teacher received, I am inclined to believe that based on those interactions, experiential learning during her college years in tandem with constant anti-racist SEL professional development may have aided her in seeing why being call smart for a black girl was an insult. Meany et al (2008) discuss the benefits of teachers participating in these experiential leaning opportunities to really immerse them in varying cultures and perspectives. The reality of the situation is that I was attending a homogenous school who had just created a program aimed at enrolling and retaining minority students. Knowing that this was a new journey, teacher should have undergone anti-racist training. They should have asked themselves those very important questions that Simmons brings up “Who am I? How do I show up in this world? What access or power do I have or not have?” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 26). She continues asking, “What power and privilege do my students have or not have? Who are they and who are they not? What do I not know and what do I need to ask?” (Bouffard. 2020, p. 26).
Once my teacher would have been able to begin working through her own biases, the expectation in the classroom could have been that everyone was open to working through their own biases. To be clear, I am saying that she or the student should’ve automatically known that that was an insult, but once I explained my position, I am saying that in that moment empathy and understanding were lacking. As an adult, I have found myself acknowledging this concept of intent vs impact, I am sure that my peer’s intention wasn’t to offend me, but the impact was offense, anger, and isolation.
Focusing on racial differences, experiences for white teachers are typically different than the experience that their students have had. In fact, in considering recent events with unarmed Black people dying at the hands of police officers, Black students may see themselves in the victim and begin to villainize white people simply because of the consistent propaganda and occurrences. On the flip side, white teachers could potentially see their student in the victim however, they are not the victims, nor do they feel like walking target practice for police officers. While in a discussion with my twenty middle school students, one being white the rest Black, all the Black students shared that they simply don’t feel like white teachers understand what it feels like to be Black because they have never had to worry about the same things. Many of the students emphasized how race impacts their store experiences, their interactions with police officers and interactions with other white people, including their classmate. In talking to a white teacher 11th grade teacher, she noted that their experiences are different and that she would never claim to have to go through those experiences however, she stressed that it didn’t make her love her students or empathize any less. She stresses the importance of teachers understanding that students carry a lot of different baggage into the classroom and that it isn’t the job of the teacher to compare their experiences to that of their students to say that what students feel is wrong. In this context, teachers must be able to identify how their life experiences may be different from their students. It is not to somehow say that all Black people share the same experience, it is to highlight that there is overlap as it relates to race often being the source of demonization and in modern times, death. White teachers must not only factor in their experiences of privilege and power, but they most also factor in their students’ experiences of social oppression.
Teachers Caught Doing Right. I’ve always been quite the radical, reading books and writing things that really touched the intersectionality of my existence. During my senior year my English language arts teacher Ms. Fizle, was this short, curly blond haired, white lady with a lot of pep in her step and a lot to say. Ms. Fizle would give you a “NP” quicker than it felt like she would read the paper and she would leave very few put concise red notes in the margins of your paper, she was quite the lady. For my senior project, I remember submitting my brainstorming ideas to her, one with respect to race, one with respect to domestic violence and one with respect to child abuse. I remember wondering if she would attempt to deter me from one topic or another because it could potentially make her uncomfortable, but instead in her red pen in those side margins she simply wrote “pick a topic”. After class, she pulled me aside and told me how all my ideas were exceptional and even quoted a few things that I said. She continued telling me that instead of writing three outlines, I could’ve began writing one paper and called me silly. In that moment and in moments like that all year, there was never this awkward dealing when it came to talking about race or my senior project. Ms. Fizle saw me, she saw us. She still loved us. Ms. Fizle made sure that we knew that we all got on her nerves and when someone would bring up race or issues in race, she would stop and talk about it, often ending on a light note. Ms. Fizle would acknowledge the differences the lie within our experiences and often made us write about them, after all she was the ELA teacher.
During my 10th grade year, I had a US history named B-Rad. He was a part of organizing committees, unions, advocacy groups, etc. You name it, he was on it. In the second semester we analyzed the I’m Not Ready to Make Nice song by the Dixie Chick and the impact it had on the George Bush and his constituents. I can remember diving into freedom of speech and expression, protesting and civil disobedience. At the time, Barack Obama had become president and while we were happy, people were painting swastikas on schools within the district. Oscar Grant II was shot and killed by police and many of my peers were talking about it since there were just as many cops as there were office staff in our school. B-Rad used his position to not only teach us what we didn’t realize we wanted to know but did so in a way that was relevant so that we understood. To this day, B-Rad is still actively advocating, organizing, and teaching. I’m not certain if B-Rad learned to adjust his curriculum in his preparation programs but, that is truly what made him successful.
I genuinely believe that all teachers pick this profession because they have a predisposition to care. Black and Brown students, just like students of other races need caring adults who are going to pour information and love into them. Marshall (2019) shared that prior to Brown v Board of Education (1954) Black students were successful because their teachers made the curriculum relevant to their experiences, created opportunities for them to practice interdisciplinary engagement and understood of some of the culturally typical behaviors and typical disciplinary practices. Simmons urged us to engage in anti-racist self-reflections to guide us as we lead more empathetic and anti-racist classrooms. Richards, Brown, and Forde (2007) support Marshall (2019) and Simmons in sharing that implementing culturally responsive pedagogy within classrooms should be the focus. Shifting classroom cultures so that they are open to highlighting and embracing differences in race and cultures, practicing empathy, and understanding even during times of unfamiliarity and discomfort and incorporating relevant events and approaches to engage Black and Brown students could begin to really impact the Black and Brown educational experience for current students. If we begin to see this shift in the teaching paradigm, there is no doubt in my mind that my Black brother who is currently in the second grade will have a Black educational experience far different than mine. While each individual Black and Brown journey is different, many of them converge in one aspect or another and with some work and commitment, part of that overlap could be the overwhelming feeling that White teachers aren’t assisting in oppressing but instead aiding in rectifying a fundamentally broken system.
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