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What stood out to me in Episode 4 of ATM, was Mr. Aaron Podolner’s “Racial Memoir” and his discussion with two students to receive feedback.  I felt uncomfortable that a white man was writing a memoir about race and Black experiences.  White cis-men especially tend to feel comfortable speaking for marginalized voices and on behalf of marginalized people’s experiences. White people’s place at the table is to sit and listen to Black stories, not speak on Black people’s experience.  When receiving feedback on his memoir from Jada, he appeared to be defending his work and how he is in the classroom instead of listening to what she was saying and including her notes into his memoir.  It seemed as though he wanted validation instead of constructive criticism.  Additionally, Jada said, “It seemed like you had like a conscious about race in America, but it didn’t reflect how you are in the classroom.”  Jada also said, “When you guys talk about race in class it is not serious. You make jokes and stuff about it and it’s just like, that’s what makes me really angry.  I feel like it’s a sensitive subject that you shouldn’t be…” After making that statement instead of reflecting on his own biases that he is perpetuating in the classroom, he defended his own points.  Jada was honest with him and it was disappointing that he had an opportunity to learn and become a better teacher and work on being Anti-Racist, but instead he dismissed her feedback.  This is just one example of school personnel who try being Anti-Racist, but are not deeply checking their own biases and the impact of their biases and actions on students.

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One of the biggest things that stuck with me from this episodes was the science teacher's interactions with students and the English teacher. It was frustrating to watch how he handled things. I felt like he came off arrogant because he didn't seem willing to listen to others very often and was more concerned about his experience and knowledge than about other's perspectives. He even wanted the students to read the paper he wrote on the topic of race before he would even really discuss it with them. When he was talking to the English teacher he was so caught up with explaining himself that he didn't really listen to what she had to say. The other thing that stood out to me was when Ke'Shawn got suspended for something extremely minor and as he explained as "walking while black". The behavior interventionist's point about how problematic it was that he was being suspended, especially for something that minor, when he was finally excited about theatre was really great and is probably something the administration was thinking about when suspending him. Who knows how many kids this could be happening to. I also really liked the behavior interventionist's point about fostering mutual respect and him taking little steps to do that like standing at the door to greet students in a way that wasn't correcting or demeaning them.

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Mr. Podolner's constant flow of micro aggressions toward his black students and their parents were very hard to watch. It appears that he genuinely believes he is being an ally to his students but it is cringe and uncomfortable to listen to one insensitive comment after the other. The remark that really stuck with me was about "fixing black students" and the shock and disappointment on the students' faces after he continued to expand on his statement. It's so awkward to watch the students trying to explain that he is trying too hard and instead of listening and adapting to their feedback, he pushes back harder. Someone please put this teacher in an intense culturally sensitive training bootcamp! Keshawn's comment about being suspended for "walking while black" was especially heartbreaking.

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A lot of the content in this episode was super upsetting. Watching the science teacher preach about collaborating for racial justice with the English teacher but then not only ignore but gaslight the students, who are key stakeholders when it comes to creating change, was frustrating to watch. It seemed like he was only concerned with making himself look good and not about what the actual needs in his community were. He wasn’t interested in data or interviews or anything else beyond what he thought was best. What I did like about the episode was the slam poetry teacher and his students, and I felt like he did a better job at collaborating with his students than the science teacher did. I really liked the way that they were able to make the girl who didn’t make the slam team a coach so she could still be involved and feel included. It made me think about how important it is to bring students in instead of making them feel left out. This is the same way I feel about suspensions; I don’t think it actually serves students to push them farther away from services when we could be pulling them in. It’s important to build school community and make students feel welcome regardless of their behavior. I think that suspension also puts labels on students in an unfair way, and can affect them throughout the rest of their lives. Students can be held accountable for their actions and work to amend harm without constant punitive punishment. However, it seemed like even the teachers that did agree with this approach weren’t given the space or opportunity to talk to administration about this. The one teacher who was saying that she felt really bad the student wasn’t’t allowed at the showcase didn’t seem to have an outlet to communicate that to anyone, which was really tough.

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Along with many others, behavioral interventionist, Mr. Byars, stood out to me this episode. His efforts and the way he talks about his students seems so genuine. We have observed administration and other teachers speak about student in the school and about race and too often what they are saying seems like something to just satisfy those asking, not a genuine answer. To learn to Ke'shawn got a 3 day suspension was so upsetting to hear. Then to see him still try to attend the showcase just further added to the upset. My. Byars understands the systemic racial issues within the walls of the school. When talking about Ke'Shawn, he said something along the lines of, this is a student that we have been trying to get interested in attending school then when he gets he were suspend him to send him out again. How does that make sense? He also explained that he meet with Ke'Shawn during his study hall to try to help him complete some of his work but the disciplinary team is not on board with them meeting. It really makes you question what the goals and priorities are of those on that team.. do they really want to make a difference and help a student? Or are they trying to get him out of the way so they have one less student to "deal with"?

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Something that resonated with me in this episode is the importance of welcoming and greeting students in the morning. While it might seem like a small gesture, I think positive and respectful greetings can have an impact on the trajectory of a student’s day. Mr. Byars discussed how he greets students with a “good morning” and a smile, which is in contrast to the “take your hat off” and “put your ID on” directives that students get from the school officer. Saying good morning to each and every student is a small way to promote belonging and a sense of caring. I appreciate that Ms. Byars goes out of his way to be a presence to students in the morning.

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Although there were many negative scenes in this episode that were frustrating, yet impactful, I also wanted to note that the way the behavioral interventionist,  Mr. Buyers, spoke about the students (as well as to them) was great. His insight about systemic racial issues going on within the school shows how much he understands and cares for the students who are suffering. One of the most important things I noticed about him is the way in which he interacts with the students. Not only does he make it a point to go into the classrooms to check in with students, but he does so in a way that is inviting, empathetic and respectful. Seeing the student's faces light up when he walked into their classroom was so powerful and demonstrated the connections and relationships he has been able to foster with the students. On the other hand, a negative take away from the episode was the conversation between Jess Stovall and Aaron. Their conversation was particularly difficult for me to watch because I could visibly see the frustration and pain in Jess's face when he claimed to "understand" what its like to be black because he is able to joke with the students and gets along with them. This misconception was further drawn out when Aaron was speaking to some students about the topic as well, to which Jada made it very clear that the issue is serious and not one that should be discussed in a joking manner. I completely agreed with Jada and found her reasoning/explanation to be very valuable information for the teacher to hear from a student, but unfortunately he seemed to be stuck in his own mindset, missing the point entirely.

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Hearing that Ke'Shawn got a 3 day “out of school suspension” for a run in with an OPRF security guard was so upsetting to hear. I really resonated with behavioral interventionist Michael Byars as he tries to change the discipline practices at Oak Park. It was heartbreaking to hear when Ke'shawn was asked by his peers why he wasn’t in school, he stated, “walking while black”. As others have stated, this scene highlights the harsh discipline practices geared towards black students, and the larger systemic racial issue.

Ke'Shawn is a student that has trouble coming to school and participating, so it seems like the discipline practice of suspending him for a few days might even be reinforcing for a student who doesn’t like to attend school in the first place. A lot of research has been done on “the pipeline to prison”, and when we are sending our students for “out of school suspensions” or “expulsions”, in my opinion that is exactly what we are setting them up for, prison. Suspensions and expulsions, push students problems to the side and don’t deal with the problem at hand. Telling students that they did something wrong and broke a rule, then suspending them, teaches the student what they shouldn’t do, but doesn’t teach them what they should do next time. Schools need more resources to be able to teach students about their wrong doings and ways to overcome these challenges for next time, without this, change for that student will not likely happen.

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Behavioral Interventionist Michael Byars's effort to change Oak Park's school discipline practices resonated with me. The scene where Mr. Byar's is greeting students in the morning behind a staff member who is telling students to take out their IDs was particularly symbolic. The scene resonated with me because I have felt like I was working against school administration to implement positive behavior supports. I admire Mr. Byars's commitment to advocate for students like Ke'Shawn who are disciplined with suspention. Michael Byars efforts to greet and console students, in opposition to Oak Park's discipline practices, represents both the difference one staff member can make, and the systematic school practices we are up against.

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Like others have noted, the scenes surrounding Ke’Shawn’s suspension and the support of Mr. Buyers resonated with me. Ke’Shawn describes that he was suspended for 3 days because he was “walking while black”. This scene highlights the systemic racial issue of harshly punitive discipline practices toward black students. Mr. Buyer’s has great insight on the systemic nature of this issue. He notes that the change needs to occur in the building, not just with the individual students. He advocates for more restorative justice practices. He also supports his words with action. He greets students at the front door to help create an environment of respect and welcome and he takes the opportunity to build relationships with students and LISTENS to them. The juxtaposition of the ways in which Mr. Buyer and Mr. Podolner address race in the school is quite jarring.

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I felt so bad for Jada in this episode, as she was giving Aaron such valuable feedback and it was going in one ear and out the other. Pretty much every scene with the physics teacher is strictly infuriating. I think the true motive of him soliciting feedback is for people to tell him that he is so progressive, and a true advocate. Unfortunately, that is not true; but he seems to refuse to hear otherwise.
To touch upon a different part of episode 4, I couldn't believe the school's response to Ke'Shawn's misconduct. I acknowledge that we were not given all of the details, but instructing teachers to "call security" if they see a student feels very unsettling. School is supposed to be a safe environment, with supportive adults and Ke'Shawn is not receiving that treatment. As the behavioral interventionist said, it makes no sense that when a student who struggles with school WANTS to be at school, that you lock him out.

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A moment that resonated with me in Episode 4 was after Ke'Shawn received suspension for, in his words, "walking while black." The behavior interventionist, Michael Buyers, reflected on the irony in how hard we work to help students attend school, while sending them away when they do come. He noted that in order to change students, we need to change the building. Mr. Buyers was doing this- he wasn't focused on changing individual kids, but the context and culture of their school. He greeted students each morning with respect and joy, sending the message "we want you here, we are so happy to see you." He cultivated an office that invited students in, with snacks, openness, and an approach grounded in respect, an understanding for the power of systems and culture, and restorative justice. It would be easy for a behavior interventionist to focus narrowly on individual student behavior, but Mr. Buyers seems to have a more nuanced understanding of behavior and its context within the wider school, community, and culture.

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I thought the same when watching the meeting with Mr. Podolner. It was frustrating to watch how visibly upset Jada was about the situation and was trying to make it clear how serious the situation was. It seems the teacher's intentions are good but it was just uncomfortable to watch him be defensive about Jada's feelings instead of listening and validating her concerns and thoughts. This could definitely be because of what is being discussed with administration but it was clear in this situation that Jada did not feel understood.

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 American to Me Episode 4 -Cassy Carreiro 

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 American to Me Episode 4 -Cassy Carreiro 

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In this episode Kendal's story resonated with me. He begins to explain that he hates math and science because he is bad at math and science. We then see Kendal during his computer keyboard class and his teacher says he has "checked out early", "he is failing himself" and "he is stuck in this teenage life and he thinks he can just breeze by". These statements demonstrate that the computer teacher just assumes that his student does not care about his academics. The teacher does not take into inconsideration other factors such as a learning disability or distractions due to racial inequities in the school that may be getting in the way of the student succeeding in his class. I think this situation is common in schools where teacher's believe that their students are not motivated or do not care about their school work. Instead of giving up on these students or assuming the worst it is important for educators to understand the reasons why the student may not be succeeding. This situation makes me think of implementation science because instead of just focusing on what Kendal says about school and how he hates it. His educators need to determine why the reason is Kendal is struggling and come up with a solution.

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A moment that resonated with me in Episode 4 was during Aaron Podolner's meeting with Jada and Charles about his dissertation. During this conversation, it appeared that Mr. Podolner was using an inside-out approach (student-centered approach - soliciting student input) to discussing race instead of solely relying on what he has been reading in the literature or what he has been discussing with his fellow colleagues. However, when Jada said "you should just see us as your students and not bring race into it" it appeared that Mr. Podolner was having a difficult time buying into this inside-out approach as he seemed to disregard/miss the importance of this statement because he responded with, "racial leaders are saying we should talk about race all the time." I think this situation may occur often in schools because as educators and school psychologists we can sometimes get so caught up in wanting to help our students/making sure we are listening to what the research says, that even when we ask for students input we fail to hear what they have to say about matters that are impacting them.

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Talia this scene also resonated with me! It left me thinking how right now it seems like Oak Park has a program in place for in school and out of school suspensions that needs to be changed because, as Mr. Byars stated, this approach is setting students up for the school to prison pipeline. Additionally, this approach to discipline doesn't sound to be implemented because the research says it will improve student learning, but instead because "some people in the building think suspensions are going to get the students to appreciate their education." Ultimately, after reading about implementation science this week it sounds like Oak Park may benefit from implementing different EBI practices to reduce undesirable student behavior and improve school learning environments, instead of simply resorting to suspensions to "fix" student behavior.