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I might be a bit repetitive, as in repeating my response to Janelle, but there is something I cannot quite put my finger on, that I would say would be in disagreement to this picture if reflected upon by Christopher Emdin in "For White Folks who Teach in the Hood ...." I think it is that people are different.  We  (meaning white people ) do not have to make life or education equitable because it is our understanding of equity, which would be self-centric or white people-centric and might not fit into the needs or values of the non- white community?  Like... why is it, that in the picture on the left , it is only equitable if everyone can see the baseball game?  That is presuming that people want to see a baseball game.  Right?  Maybe people are happier staring at a fence.  Who's to say that baseball is more exciting than a gray fence?  What are "deep seeded racial biases" ?  Janelle mentioned them in her answer and I feel like that is definitely a used term or like label that white people are supposed to be saying that they have.  I know when I was younger i thought that black people had better rhythm than white people, but Once i became older and more experienced , I realized that is not not true.   I find this whole conversation very confusing;

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I have seen this image used as an example of UDL. This image is shown and then a similar image but with a lattice fence that everyone can see through. The idea is that removing the barriers to learning can help all students without having to just give added supports to specific students who need them. For teaching black students, this idea is not enough. Adding visuals, ramps etc. is not going to address the deep seeded racial biases our schools have which put our students of color automatically at a disadvantage. The author talks about reality pedagogy, which is an “approach to teaching and learning that has a primary goal of meeting each student on his or her own cultural and emotional turf.” (p.27) White teachers and black students have racial and cultural differences and trying to ignore that will not help anyone. Teachers instead need to meet each student where they are and that may mean changing the way we think a classroom should look and sound like. I look forward to learning specific ways in which I can do this and improve my teaching pedagogy.

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I found this quote to be very powerful, " The reality is we privelege people who look and act like us and percieve those who don't as different and frequently inferior (PG.19).  I think of the people who aren privelged to sit behind home plate and the people who are forced to look over the wall. What do the privelged people think and treat the people who stand in the outfield.

Also, in Melrose Schools are we promoting equality or equity. I would say we need to do the heavy lifting to provide equity for students in disadvantaged groups ( race, disability, economic status, sexual orientation etc...)

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I too have sen this slide many time but the context in which I view it allows me to see something different every time.
The book I'm reading talks about how people go into teaching with the idea and desire to hep students.  We help people to learn and to grow.  This is rooted in a good place.  However it is important that we do not look at students of color or marginalized people.
In the book it discusses Reality Pedagogy.  Where teachers meet students where that are in their own culture and emotional space.  Just because it is not the same as yours does not mean it is bad or it needs to change or that they need saving.
We all need help and support to grow, but we do not all need to be saved by a superior culture.

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I find it interesting that this image is used to represent equality vs. equity. Depending on who you asked, a different response as to what equity truly is would vary base on a person's identity and life experiences. Some things that could influence this view is race, socioeconomic status, disability, religion, trauma, parental beliefs, etc. For example, when I look at this image, it is not so much the differentiation in the boxes that I focus on between the images, but rather the fact that these individuals, all of color, have to look over a fence in general just to watch the game. Where as, if you look across the field, you see so many people in the stands. Is it really equitable if one group can see over a fence but another group gets to sit in the stands and watch the game that way? Everyone can see the game...fair... right?

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I do think that as society that we need to work on equity. I think part of this book is tough to relate to not teaching in a more urban setting. I did relate to the quote "To be in touch with the community, one has to enter into the physical places where the students live, and work to be invited into the emotional-laden spaces the youth inhabit" and I completely agree. When you know more about the students community and home space it is easier to get a more in depth understanding of them. Even this year as a fifth grade teacher we distributed the yearbooks and grad shirts. It was interesting and telling to see where some of the children lived. Some were super close to the school and able to hit the common quickly to get together, then others were pretty far away and I wondered what it meant for them to be able to easily socialize and see friends.

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This image is problematic for me because these people are outside the fence and being excluded. I think it relates to the ways that our schools are often set up to exclude. Rather than make incremental changes (putting extra boxes in place) I think we need to work to make more significant changes (tearing down the fence and not assigning seats at the game).

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I think this image only skims the surface of equity. Yes, all children should be given the opportunities supports they need to succeed, not just streamlined supports. But we also need to take into account how their lived experiences affect their learning in the classroom. There is so much intersectionality between identities. If we look at equity through the lens of this picture, it is boiled down to the assumption of "oh, they just need a bigger box", rather than recognizing the fact that who they are and the things they've experienced shape who they are and the supports they may need. The reality pedagogy is something that really stood out to me in the 1st chapter. Meeting students where they are in their own culture and emotional space is so important. We need to recognize that what might be right for one student is not right for every student. Rather than looking at students in collective groups, me must meet EACH student where they're at and recognize them as an INDIVIDUAL with UNIQUE lived experiences. with all that being said, I do think this is a good visual to introduce when having conversations with individuals who are not familiar with the concept of equity/inequity, don't understand the difference between equality and equity, and/or don't believe that systemic racism is a problem. By introducing this image, you can start a dialogue and take steps towards helping people understand and be open to change.

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I actually can't decide if I like this version of the picture, or the one that takes away the blocks and puts in a chain link fence better for the idea of equity.  This picture for me, represents the idea of giving people support, whereas the one with the chainlink fence is taking away obstacles. In the spirit of our book, I think that this references the idea that we need to do more to support our neo-indigenous populations. It is especially challenging for us, in Melrose, because a portion of our students of color come from a different neighborhood than where we teach. So, what do we need to do to support those populations? It is not as easy or as simple as experiencing their neighborhood, because the inequities they experience for education are directly tied into the idea that their neighborhood school was not ideal, so they are coming to the suburbs to engage in education. With that in mind, I think to the idea put forth in Chapter 1, are our students experiencing 'soul wounds' because of us? It wasn't until recently that we offered a late Metco bus, so those students were at a direct disadvantage because in order to stay late for extra help, they had to then find their own way back to the city. As for our students of color from Melrose, there is a struggle for many of them as not fitting into the 'either' mentality that Melrose teachers and students have...either you are a white student from Melrose or a student of color from Boston. Teachers need to be even more away of some of the inequities, biases, and assumptions that happen to these students.

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When I look at this picture I see people outside of the fence looking into a place that maybe they cannot enter, for a variety of reasons. This makes me think of students of color going to suburban schools, and how they must feel entering a place that may be very foreign to them.