Prospective teachers should try to put themselves in the families and communities that are racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse. Most importantly, they should (1) think about what challenges these families might encounter; (2) come up with what cultural and linguistic resources that they have to resolve issues they are facing; (3) think about what types of journey that immigrants might go through, yet define them with hopes and dreams. All immigrant families and communities go through some level of hardships economically, culturally, linguistically, or even health-wise. It is ok to talk about those hardships but prospective teachers can also point out how these new environments can be a new beginning for different generations and new immigrants contribute to society with their indigenous cultures, languages, perspectives and religions. Their immigrant experiences add richer and more colorful dimensions to the U.S; (4) future teachers will need to emphasize how these families and communities are resilient, tenacious and have strong will power to endure any hardships in life. These are very important human traits that not all of us have. These are the strength of these families and communities.

Prospective teachers should identify any tangible, concrete things they can do when we say “take a stance on becoming lifelong learners alongside families, not as the experts.” They can apply this to parent conferences that take place periodically at schools as a prospective teacher. With a partner (one is a teacher and the other is a parent of English Learners), prospective teachers should create a dialogue that shows that a teacher acts as a collaborator and a partner, not an authority figure. The content of the conversation needs to show empathy, compassion and appreciation for the students and their parents. In this activity, the teacher also needs to practice strength-based language and recognize the student’s assets in the instructional settings. If the student is faced with difficulties e.g., reading or writing, the teacher needs to engage in problem-solving with tangible solutions.

Prospective teachers should identify historical instances in which a certain community is not granted respect, honor, attention, privileges, resources, and benefits based on its members’ status, race and language. They can discuss (1) the history of Juneteenth and the importance of it and (2) Black Lives Matter, what it stands for, and how it became a movement. 

Future teachers should identify how educators can reach out to underserved families and communities to learn more about them and recognize their hopes and dreams for themselves and their children. Prospective teacher, with their peers, should brainstorm ways to showcase the hopes and dreams for the underserved families and communities and/or immigrant families have. For instance they can reach out to Centro Hispano De East Tennessee to identify families and create a school event to create a mural that shows the immigrant families success.

Future teachers should explore and identify what community-based agencies, initiatives, and programs, which promote racial and social justice are available in their community and compare and contrast their missions as organizations. They should create a list of community organizations, highlight their missions, and create a newsletter to be sent home with information regarding the resources that each organization offers for the underserved and immigrant families and communities.