REMINDER: If YOU have the power to change something you know is wrong, and you CHOOSE not to, you are complicit in perpetuating injustice.
I am fully aware that this blog post is gonna make some people really uncomfortable. I'm ok with that...I've been making people uncomfortable for quite some time. In all likelihood, I am going to continue to make people uncomfortable with all my talk about equity and differentiation, and the issues that arise when we build racist structures in our public school systems. It isn't my intent to make people feel uncomfortable, but I am hard wired to advocate for those at a disadvantage...even when there are consequences for me. (We will get into what that is like at a later date...)
I am nearing my 20th year as a teacher. There is one thing that has remained constant during my career: the disparity between what is provided to white children and children of color. I started my teaching career in the inner-city. I didn't have a single white child during my time there. We also didn't have a library, a gym, transportation, or adequate resources. It was the best four years of my career, and where I learned to teach. I've also worked in a low income district, a district with almost no children of color, and an affluent district with more diversity than you could ever ask for. My own schooling was in a place where I was one of the brownest kids I knew. I had everything I could have ever needed: amazing teachers/principals, well-equipped facilities, safe transportation and updated resources. I know what my world of white privilege has afforded me. It's only recently that I found out that my own privilege is limited. My sister and I talk about our "not-quite-white" status. Most of my life I have lived in the throes of white privilege, but learned recently that it is limited, based on what I can only assume is my status as a brown girl.
Teaching is my passion and I intend to make educational equity my life's work. I have been to two separate events in the recent past regarding the education of African-American children and closing what we call the "achievement gap." One was hosted by African-American kids and the other by African-American parents. BOTH times I was one of maybe three white people in the room. And BOTH times the conversation took a turn to a discussion about what KIDS and PARENTS of color should do differently to get better results for their children in our public schools. And both times I spoke up about who should be doing something differently, and the answer is: EDUCATORS...especially white educators. It's time to flex our white-privileged muscles and make a real difference. If you think there is no such thing as white privilege, get your head out of the proverbial sand. And do it now.
The event hosted by African-American parents was advertised as a "STATE OF EMERGENCY" and yet the room was relatively bare compared to other community events. I was there. I didn't even know it was happening. My BFF called me a week prior. She is a white mother to three white children, but knows it is our COLLECTIVE responsibility to teach all kids and teach them well. She was the only white parent in the room that didn't have black children. There were only two school administrators present, both African-American women. The only classroom teacher in the room was me. This is simply UNACCEPTABLE.
The event hosted by African-American parents was advertised as a "STATE OF EMERGENCY" and yet the room was relatively bare compared to other community events. I was there. I didn't even know it was happening. My BFF called me a week prior. She is a white mother to three white children, but knows it is our COLLECTIVE responsibility to teach all kids and teach them well. She was the only white parent in the room that didn't have black children. There were only two school administrators present, both African-American women. The only classroom teacher in the room was me. This is simply UNACCEPTABLE.
Here are some facts that may help you to decide to get loud about equity:
- U.S News reports that the U.S. Education is still separate and UNEQUAL, even 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education ended legal segregation in schools.
- Because of societal disparities, Black children are more likely to start school already behind their white counterparts. They have a different starting line.
- Characters in children's books are overwhelmingly white.
- Black children are retained at far higher rates than white children.
- The school-to-prison-pipeline is a REAL THING.
- Black children in American schools are disciplined (suspended and expelled) at THREE TIMES the rate of white students.
- Schools serving primarily children of color have less money, more inexperienced teachers, and fewer educational opportunities including STEM, the arts, and other important course offerings
- 94% of public school teachers at the high school level are white.
- Black children are more likely to experience trauma or be the victims of violent crimes.
- Poverty and hunger continue to plague the lives of African-American children in the United States
This is my call to action for other white educators to speak out and be loud about changing a system designed for only a segment of the population. Black educators have been speaking out for a long time, and nobody listens. It is OUR turn. We can do this. We must.
