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Hines-Datiri and Andrews (2017) argue that Black girls are being punished for behavior outside of the white middle-class definition of femininity and rather should be able to “speak their truths authentically on femaleness and school discipline” (p. 1434). What specific research have you seen that presents these counterstories? How may it contribute to the literature on ZTP’s disproportionate effects?
Personally, I loved the references to Morris's work (Push Out) and also thought of the work being done by Evans Winters. Boveda also recently co edited a book called Racism by Another Name which centered the counterstories of young Black girls and parents in some chapters. Would love to hear your thoughts and other possible reading recommendations.

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Two of the readings this week focused on a program for incarcerated youth called Project RISE. This was intended to support youth as they transitioned back into their communities, and this goal appeared to have been met in most instances. However, I had some misgivings as to the emphasis that this article placed on the juvenile system (as it currently stands). Mathur et al. did not pay as much attention to community investment and how the incarceration of our youth may be prevented to begin with. I'm curious as to your thoughts about how this might happen, as well as whether you all have viewpoints on this issue that agree or disagree with my own. I'm always open to new perspectives. -Nate

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This week, the Hines-Datiri article stood out the most for me given my position as a Black woman. When conversations bout STTP or disproportionality arise, the conversation tends to center on black males.  In considering the intersection of race and gender, Black women and their stories are rarely told. I would like to to see more research as it relates to the "adultification" of young black girls and the comparison to White standards of femininity as the authors mention. One thing that I wanted to see more of in this article is connections to historical references that led these phenomena (e.g., slavery, domestic workers post-slavery). I think these historical references are important to furthering the work in this area, allow for deeper understanding, and allow for the stories to be told.

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How do we adopt social model of disability in schools when the institution itself relies on a medical model? Can we transform our praxis in the classroom alone to solicit change or do we transform systems to alter practice? How do we apply what the authors term an “education of solidarity” (p.1136)?

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Ladson Billings (2021) Three Decades.... 

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Ladson Billings (2021) Three Decades.... 

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Ladson Billings’s words spoke to me in a special education context, although she is speaking about education more generally, when stating, “Instead of relentlessly sorting, separating, and ranking students these pedagogies seek to open up worlds of possibilities for each student to bring his or her whole self into the classroom and into the world” (p.353). How can we begin to remove the incessant ranking, sorting and separating of students in special education?

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Matthews (2018) exposed how segregated schools are permissible under the regulations of FAPE and LRE, and I find this phenomenon to be quite shocking. It seems to me that, under the law, the classrooms are what make a placement Free and Appropriate and in the Least Restrictive Environment, and not the school itself. I wonder why this is - specifically, why does FAPE/LRE not necessarily consider the physical location of a school? - Nate

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Gay (2015) talks about how it's important that all students learn from a culturally sustaining curriculum, as demographics tend to change rapidly and students will need to interact with a variety of people as they leave school and enter adulthood - the "demographic imperative" (p. 129). I wonder if there is a way to openly discuss the importance of cultural knowledge with students - in other words, telling them that it is necessary for their adult lives. This could easily happen in a history or current events class but I sometimes feel that high school students should take a required class on transitioning into adulthood. Transition is often emphasized for disabled students as they prepare to graduate but there are also many students without IEPs who kind of fall through the cracks in that way. These conversations about diversity and cultural competency could happen in such a class, where students would be able to focus on community skills. - NH

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Though the purpose of Whitford's article was to introduce the reader to the intersectionality of ethnicity, gender, and disability with disciplinary practices that have been used with indigenous students, I found quite a few points made throughout that were personally impactful to me as a person belonging to the Latinx community. There was a particular point made to remind the reader (or introduce for the first time) of the many complexities of diversity that exist among Native American students - with respect to language, culture, land, sacred beliefs/histories - too often the group is generalized as a monolithic culture in educational practice. This factor was tied in with the need for pre-service educators to be provided with appropriate lessons and guidance relating to culturally responsive/sustaining pedagogy. I found this to be very interesting - we teach pre-service teachers to learn about and be respectful of a variety of cultures that may be represented in their classrooms, but are we really encouraging a working knowledge or true understanding of various student cultures? Are educators aware that many of the cultures we try to generalize are, in fact, filled with "sub-cultures"? Personally I can speak from the latin/hispanic experience... we have different dialects, traditions, beliefs, histories, foods, etc. I often think of this when I am asked if I belong to the Latinx culture -sure I do, ONE of the Latinx groups to be exact. N.U.

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Hi Chauntea... I was reading your post and want to say that, sadly, the "adultification" of young black girls continues to be a regular occurrence, even in spaces or environments were they are not necessarily in the "minority". My daughter attends a middle school that would fit this description and I have witnessed this often - I struggle with it and agree with the notion that it would be interesting to have research done focusing on this particular phenomenon. I question what specific societal variables continue to press this phenomenon forward and are there ways that we may counter-affect them? Elizabeth mentioned the use of counterstories (Boveda), which really does allow for a very personal perspective to shine a possible light on the issue. There is a definite need for more research on this topic... so much of black women's history, strength, and resilience is an amazing example of positive aspects belonging to this particular group, why has it been painted as such a negative for so long? N.U. *** I tried 3 times to add comments and every time I came back in the comments were gone! N.U.

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I just realized that I must have been doing something WRONG because any comments I made regarding any posts have been deleted - so I'm going to try this again (maybe I can remember some of this...)
Before beginning a discussion about how to adopt a new model for our schools, it is important (as Chauntea commented) to have a clear notion of what disability entails and, for that matter, what "normal" is as well. From the time people are born, we are measured for developmental benchmarks (Apgar scores) - this will place us on a lifetime path for comparative measures and scores. Have we questioned however, who created theses boundaries of "normal"? Do we question the reasons why these measures were ever created to begin with? Who gains, who looses? And WHY do we continue to rely on these boundaries? To Nate's point, the answers to these questions may provide some resistance to the current existing "rules" society has established.  N.U.

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Jumping right in - from Chauntea's last comment, if a school is segregated, the classroom is also segregated - it is that simple. But, yes the whole physicality of schools should be examined carefully... Elizabeth made a comment about the classrooms for her students being in portables or physically separated from the rest of the school buildings - this is such a common occurrence and I wonder why it has not been questioned more. Self-contained units within neighborhood schools are always located separately (wings or actual buildings). It makes me angry each time I visit a school to have to make the LONG walk to get to the students in the special education programs. The harsh reality is that the classrooms are segregated completely, this also includes scheduling of possible integrated experiences. For instance physical education, art, music, and even lunch times are scheduled so as to have the special education students excluded from the rest of the school population. I often wonder why these details are not clearly explained to parents during IEP meetings, parents do not know this is something they should ask about. N.U.

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I was surprised to learn that there have only been 2 cases where Olmstead and the ADA have been applied to public schools (Matthews, p. 1433). Actually, though we know the ADA exists obviously and are well aware of its provisions, it is not highly used or mentioned in education environments. We also rely heavily on the assumption that IDEA is being followed as we believe it should be, including LRE and FAPE. Clearly, involved professionals and advocates need to be more aware and watchful for implementation and details.
Something that also struck me (specially as a parent) was that students (and families) are more likely to settle, move away, or move to a charter or private school than reach the end of the long, drawn-out legal process that often ensues with these discrimination cases. I wonder if the public school settings are not "quietly satisfied" by this fact, as if pushing these children out of their environments during this process. N.U.

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This week’s readings on disparate environments invariably made me think of intersectionality between race, poverty, and disability.  Matthews (2018) discussion of case law challenging the existence of “separate but equal” schools highlights that those who are already disenfranchised become the targets of institutionalization, and in essence segregation. It struck me that this is a civil rights movement by a different name. I have also been thinking about we can go about communicating the need for inclusion in a more effective way. I thought Brantlinger’s (1997) critiques of the arguments against inclusion were provocative, but I don’t know about how much it does in the way of furthering the cause. I appreciate the points that this author uses to dispel the misunderstanding of inclusion as a proposal to do away with special education and include children of varying needs in a single classroom without the appropriate supports.  In critiquing those that critique inclusion, I think we must be mindful of the approach used to support inclusion as well. I think too often, arguments rooted in passion and upset and anti-medical model, miss opportunities to enter into discourse about problem-solving and alternative solutions to meeting the needs of children with disabilities. Both Gallagher et al (2014) and Andrews et al (2000) make the points that the opposing views do not begin at how children with special needs are serviced, but by how we conceptualize what it means to have a disability.  If you have a notion of disability as a defect that must be fixed as opposed to a differences perspective, you will automatically have a different lens on how to improve skills and abilities. I think the conversation about disability needs to start in spaces outside of education. The need to cure those who are “less than” approach permeates many facets of this country. We have to address how “different” isn’t inherently bad and shift the notion that the dominant White perspective does have to be the standard. What I have learned in my experiences thus far is that inclusion of narratives of those who are directly impacted have a powerful ability to humanize and transform.  We need more first person accounts of what works and what doesn’t and what it could actually look like when inclusion is employed well. I think this is where we stand to make our largest impact.

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I think what makes many uncomfortable about Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) is that these practices force teachers to acknowledge their own biases and how they may have done harm in their past approaches to students and learning. I actually understand how to some it feels like persecution because they are a part of the status quo that is being challenged. CRP allows for opportunities to “re-examine and rethink” their practices (Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 473). The failure here is that they make it about themselves rather than the children they educate. Vasquez (2021) discusses the issue of teachers’ (mis)interpretation of CRP through a colorblind approach and calls this out as not only ineffective, but harmful as it only asserts one standard that aligns with White dominant culture. When the White, hegemonic standard is consistently applied in schools and other spaces, anyone that differs from the standard is seen as having a deficit. Both Vasquez (2021) and Ladson-Billings (1995) discuss the priority  within CRP of teacher-student relationships. I think teacher education programs need to be intentional about a focus on relationship building, not only between teachers and their students, but with the students’ families as well. How do we give students the tools to recognize themselves as experts in their own experiences and empower them to share their stories, affirm their identities, and allow them to question when they recognize oppressive structure?

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There really was so much "packed" into this article that was so thought provoking! I wish I could have an easy answer to your question regarding the continuous sorting and separating, and ranking of special education students... I hope actually that the more we learn about alternative possibilities, the more of a chance we have in this professional environment to crate a wave to begin that movement. One thing I've thought of is how valuable it is to have the varying perspectives of you all from the different regions in our own country. This experience has made it clear that we really do live in an ignorant state when it comes to understanding how wide the range of practices and policies are. Programs like the one we are currently in should be more available to future educators, if only to assist in "opening their minds" to the realities that exist "beyond our borders" and maybe entertain the idea of larger collaborations between colleagues.  N.U.

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Absolutely not, we do not empower our students to share their stories, much less do we allow them to question oppressive structures. What is an even sadder state of affairs lately is that we are actually passing laws against these recommendations and actions. Our students will be expected to be even quieter in their observations of injustices and expected to fit into even "tighter boxes" of normalcy, if that is even possible. N.U.

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The findings in Vasquez' study shouldn't have been surprising, yet they somehow were. The fact that this study is so current "lit" me even more. It is sad that the predominant thought pertaining to students who teachers cannot identify with personally remains that they are different, less than. Referring to these students as the "others" and trying to bridge the gap in order to have them catch up to the normal students should not continue to be the goal in 2021. It was even more disheartening to learn that 5 of the 8 teachers who participated in this study have been mentoring future teachers for the past 4 years. So are we just perpetuating the misunderstandings of CRP? Even at the collegiate level are concepts such as CRP being taught correctly? All the participants were educated in the midwest and they all thought they had a strong hold of CRP, yet the findings of the study would prove otherwise. N.U.

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The authors offer us a pretty well-grounded theory for recruitment and retention of Black male teachers (BMTs) with their study's findings. Among the suggested strategies for recruitment and retention are competitive salaries and advancement opportunities. Although the authors give a couple of possible solutions regarding these suggested strategies, what kind of support systems would need to be in place within our current systems of education to realistically accomplish this? What kind of solutions can we each possibly offer within our own districts? Do we even have any say in these decisions? N.U.

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Paris and Alim argue that "CSP seeks to perpetuate and foster—to sustain—linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of the democratic project of schooling and as a needed response to demographic and social change" (p. 88). As researchers or teachers, how can we identify, communicate and celebrate the multiple intersectional identities of participants? Why do you believe this is important?
For me, I appreciated the examples used by Paris and Alim. Regardless of students' personal identity or culture, their experiences shape who they are including their interactions with others and their community. This also reminds me of Bal's (2009) dissertation research about refugee students evolving identities not only based on their familial culture but also that of their school and community.

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This article was quite interesting to me because it shows how formative education can play a substantial role in the attitudes that teacher candidates bring into the university setting. Ronald, for example, entered the program wanting to do transformative work due to his experiences with bigotry both in and out of the classroom, while Carla did not see racism as playing a substantial role in her past educational experiences and so she initially did not see the need for Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy. Both students benefited from instruction in CSP, with Carla in particular beginning to recognize how racism and other forms of oppression continue to affect the outcomes of students. I cannot help but wonder if similar case studies have been completed in regard to children and teenagers' changing views on racism, ableism, sexism etc., especially as it relates to the classroom.  What would something like this look like? - Nate Hughes

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Across this week’s readings, it occurred to me that teachers cannot be prepared to teach a culturally responsive curriculum to an increasingly diverse student population unless they internalize and value the practices themselves. This will require self-reflection on their own belief systems and intentionality about changing course. Chang & Viesca (2022) point out that the implementation of CRP is problematic within the context of racialized structures, and discriminatory practices, as well as White supremacist ideologies. Additionally, while preservice teachers may have changed their professional ideologies, this did not always translate to their personal ideologies.  The same is true for preparing preservice teachers to work with multiply marginalized students, particularly those with disabilities. Waitoller et al. (2021) point out the invisibility of disability in teacher education programs and the inconsistency in critical, culturally responsive curriculum within these programs.  In other words, the commitment and investment appears to be superficial. In thinking about how we prepare preservice and in-service teachers to teach through a culturally responsive lens and internalize the crucial components, what specific changes need to be made at the university, community, governmental, and especially the individual level to help make this shift for future educators?