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Making Black Girls Count in Math EducationA Black Feminist Vision for Transformative TeachingNicole M. Joseph, Foreword by Erica N. Walker

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Making Black Girls Count in Math EducationA Black Feminist Vision for Transformative TeachingNicole M. Joseph, Foreword by Erica N. Walker

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"Let's go around and share our names, pronouns, years, Houses, and concentrations!" It's the Harvard Introduction™, and as a first-year student, I've been giving these out left and right. Name, year, House, concentration: these may be boring, but they're all generally good introductory facts for people to know about you. With regard to pronouns, however, insisting that people introduce themselves with their pronouns, fill out forms with them, or append them to their Zoom names can actually harm the community it intends to support.

I will preface my argument by saying that I fully support the usage of preferred gender pronouns. Stating PGPs can reduce the chance of accidental but still hurtful misgendering, and the normalization of sharing pronouns emphasizes the fact that everyone has preferred pronouns, not just trans and non-binary folks. So this is not a piece arguing "we don't need pronouns because you can tell someone's gender from their physical appearance, so you never need to ask" - that's bigotry. This is a piece about the complexities that arise from requiring everyone to state their PGPs.

One such complexity relates to the inherent complexity of outness. While in my experience Harvard's community is generally welcoming to various gender and sexual identities, outness is intricate and personal. For those who are closeted with respect to gender identity, mandatory PGPs can force people into an uncomfortable lose-lose of either outing themselves before they're ready or lying and feeling incredibly dysphoric. And while withholding PGPs can lead to others unintentionally misgendering you, self-inflicted dysphoria is a whole other beast, which, depending on the person, may be more painful than being misgendered.

Outness can also be situational. Not everyone is comfortable with their entire entryway or CS section or breakout room knowing how they truly identify. Just like preferred names, some people's preferred pronouns depend on context. We might want our closest friends to call us Ty instead of Tyler, but would feel uncomfortable if strangers or distant acquaintances called us Ty. Similarly, we might want our close friends to use our true preferred pronouns of they/them with us, but pass as she/her in a less accepting, larger world. Requiring someone whose PGPs are situational to state definitive PGPs in front of a wider group than they are comfortable with only worsens the aforementioned lose-lose situation. Some people may not want to share their true PGPs with a crowd of people they don't know yet, but would also like to avoid the dysphoria of misgendering themselves in their introduction.

Furthermore, some people just don't have an answer to the question of pronouns at the moment. For gender-questioning folks, what may seem like a simple question is just the tip of an iceberg of deep personal contemplation. Unfortunately, the expectation when asked for your pronouns is not a rumination on the social constructions of gender. PGP-askers expect a she/her, a he/him, or occasionally a they/them, solely for the purpose of knowing how best to refer to you in third person. Saying "I'm not sure yet" when asked for your PGPs is valid, but maybe you don't want everyone to know that, since it won't help the people trying to refer to you anyways.

In a similar vein, sometimes the pronouns themselves are complex. PGPs are expected to be a word or two long, but sometimes they require a footnote or addendum. I personally take any pronouns. But people by and large are uncomfortable with that idea, even though "any" literally means you can't get it wrong. So I often need to qualify my PGPs as "any pronouns - people generally use she/her," since I have a woman's body and a woman's face and I know people are most comfortable using she/her to refer to me. As you might imagine, that's a little long to fit on the end of my display name in Zoom.

There is no clear-cut solution here. A common suggestion is stating pronouns if comfortable, but PGPs are not yet ingrained enough in our culture for people to state them unprompted. Any proposed solution to this balancing act of a problem will put some portion of the trans and non-binary community in uncomfortable situations. So while we might mandate PGPs with the best intentions towards our trans and non-binary friends, we need to remember that sharing preferred gender pronouns is not an unequivocal good. In our Harvard introductions, Google forms, and Zoom names, sometimes discretion is best.

Christina M. Xiao '24 is a Crimson Editorial comper in Mather House.

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The Case Against Mandatory Preferred Gender Pronouns | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

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"Let's go around and share our names, pronouns, years, Houses, and concentrations!" It's the Harvard Introduction™, and as a first-year student, I've been giving these out left and right. Name, year, House, concentration: these may be boring, but they're all generally good introductory facts for people to know about you.

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A Framework for Anti-Bias Education

The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K-12 instruction. Comprised of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes, the standards provide a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable.

Divided into four domains-identity, diversity, justice and action (IDJA)-the standards recognize that, in today's diverse classrooms, students need knowledge and skills related to both prejudice-reduction and collective action. Together, these domains represent a continuum of engagement in anti-bias, multicultural and social justice education. The IDJA domains are based on Louise Derman-Sparks' four goals for anti-bias education in early childhood.

Each of the IDJA domains has learning outcomes and school-based scenarios organized by grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

Download the Standards

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The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K-12 instruction, providing a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Gender-exploratory therapy is a key step. Why aren't therapists providing it?

A previous version of this essay said that a quarter of study subjects who reversed their gender transitions did not report this change to their doctors. In fact, three-quarters did not share the information.

At 13, Patricia told her parents she was a transgender boy. She had never experienced any gender dysphoria - distress at a disconnect between gender identity and the sex assigned at birth - she said. But a year earlier, she'd been sexually assaulted by an older girl. Soon after this trauma, she met another older girl who used they/them pronouns and introduced her to drugs, violent pornography and the notion of dissociation from her body. Her lingering psychic wounds, coinciding with a raft of new and unsettling ideas, plunged her into depression and anxiety. Patricia's parents took her to a therapist so she could talk through her shifting identity and acute mood swings.

The job of a mental health provider here should have been clear: Perform an assessment, ask how long she'd experienced dysphoria and investigate how mental health issues and any other changes in her life might be contributing to it. Instead, on first meeting, the therapist simply affirmed her new identity, a step that can lead to hormonal and eventually surgical treatments. Was Patricia ready for these next steps - or, her parents wondered, was this a normal bout of teenage confusion stemming from a recent trauma? The therapist instructed them to "support" their child's trans self-diagnosis and to socially transition her. If they didn't, Patricia might end her own life: 41 percent of unsupported children commit suicide, they were told. Would Patricia's parents rather have a dead child or a trans one?

They sought another therapist, one who was more curious and less certain, one who listened closely. After a year of exploring who she was, Patricia no longer felt she was a boy. She decided to stop binding her breasts and wearing boys' clothes.

We are both psychologists who have dedicated our careers to serving transgender patients with ethical, evidence-based treatment. But we see a surge of gender dysphoria cases like Patricia's - cases that are handled poorly. One of us was the founding psychologist in 2007 of the first pediatric gender clinic in the United States; the other is a transgender woman. We've held recent leadership positions in the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which writes the standards of care for transgender people worldwide. Together, across decades of doing this work, we've helped hundreds of people transition their genders. This is an era of ugly moral panic about bathrooms, woke indoctrination and identity politics in general. In response, we enthusiastically support the appropriate gender-affirming medical care for trans youth, and we are disgusted by the legislation trying to ban it.

But the number of adolescents requesting medical care is skyrocketing: Now 1.8 percent of people under 18 identify as transgender, double the figure from five years earlier, according to the Trevor Project. A flood of referrals to mental health providers and gender medical clinics, combined with a political climate that sees the treatment of each individual patient as a litmus test of social tolerance, is spurring many providers into sloppy, dangerous care. Often from a place of genuine concern, they are hastily dispensing medicine or recommending medical doctors prescribe it - without following the strict guidelines that govern this treatment. Canada, too, is following our lead: A study of 10 pediatric gender clinics there found that half do not require psychological assessment before initiating puberty blockers or hormones.

The standards of care recommend mental health support and comprehensive assessment for all dysphoric youth before starting medical interventions. The process, done conscientiously, can take a few months (when a young person's gender has been persistent and there are no simultaneous mental health issues) or up to several years in complicated cases. But few are trained to do it properly, and some clinicians don't even believe in it, contending without evidence that treating dysphoria medically will resolve other mental health issues. Providers and their behavior haven't been closely studied, but we find evidence every single day, from our peers across the country and concerned parents who reach out, that the field has moved from a more nuanced, individualized and developmentally appropriate assessment process to one where every problem looks like a medical one that can be solved quickly with medication or, ultimately, surgery. As a result, we may be harming some of the young people we strive to support - people who may not be prepared for the gender transitions they are being rushed into.

American opinions about transgender youth have shifted dramatically in the past 15 years. The pendulum has swung from a vile fear and skepticism around ever treating adolescents medically to what must be described, in some quarters, as an overcorrection. Now the treatment pushed by activists, recommended by some providers and taught in many training workshops is to affirm without question. "We don't actually have data on whether psychological assessments lower regret rates," Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles who is skeptical of therapy requirements and gives hormones to children as young as 12 (despite a lack of science supporting this practice, as well), told the Atlantic. "I don't send someone to a therapist when I'm going to start them on insulin." This perspective writes off questions about behavioral and mental health, seeing them as a delaying tactic or a dodge, a way of depriving desperate people of the urgent care they clearly need.

But comprehensive assessment and gender-exploratory therapy is themostcritical part of the transition process. It helps a young person peel back the layers of their developing adolescent identity and examine the factors that contribute to their dysphoria. In this stage, patients reflect on the duration of the dysphoria they feel; the continuum of gender; the intersection with sexual orientation; what medical interventions might realistically entail; social media, Internet and peer influences; how other factors (e.g., autism, trauma, eating disorders/body image concerns, self-esteem, depression, anxiety) may help drive dysphoria, rather than assuming that they are always a result of dysphoria; family dynamics and social/peer relationships; and school/academic challenges. The messages that teens get from TikTok and other sources may not be very productive for understanding this constellation of issues.

There are several reasons the process can move too quickly and hurtle toward medical treatment. For one, the stigma around mental health in general, along with the trauma caused to transgender adults by the health-care field in the past (yes, including conversion therapy), has made our peers extremely skeptical of becoming "gatekeepers" - experts who deny the needed help because they supposedly know best. Slowing down the process and encouraging deeper, thoughtful exploration is considered, many tell us, unnecessary and unaffirming. Providers may also be afraid of being cast as transphobic bigots by their local colleagues and referral sources if they engage in gender exploring therapy with patients, as some have equated this with conversion therapy. We've personally experienced this backlash at professional conferences.

All this means only that the purpose of assessment is improperly understood. The approach WPATH recommends is collaborative and aims to provide a developmentally appropriate process that involves the parents and takes the complexities of adolescence into consideration. (The constituency of agitated parents who feel excluded is also growing rapidly. These are not conservative evangelicals who don't believe trans people exist or deserve treatment. They're usually progressive, educated, loving people who all say, If our kid is really trans, we'll fully support them. We just want to be as sure as possible, and we can't find a provider who will actually engage in gender exploring therapy. Instead, doctors and psychologists and social workers are ready to start hormones after one short visit.)

Another reason that teens can receive substandard mental health care is that gender clinics are disastrously overwhelmed. Most have a single social worker who completes a brief "intake," relying instead on other mental health clinicians in the community to assess patients and offer their conclusions. Frequently, those community clinicians, just like the parents, assume that a more comprehensive assessment will occur in the gender specialty clinic. But in our experience, and based on what our colleagues share, this is rarely the case. Most clinics appear to assume that a referral means a mental health provider in the community has diagnosed gender dysphoria and thereby given the green light for medical intervention.

When working in gender clinics, we've also both received letters from therapists who had "assessed" patients they were referring to us. An astonishing number of these were nothing but a paragraph that stated the youth identified as trans, had dysphoria and wanted hormones, so that course was recommended. There are nearly 200,000 members of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association. Add to that the clinical social workers, marriage counselors and family therapists. The overwhelming majority of those well-intentioned professionals receive limited or no training in the assessment of gender-diverse youth. (We receive requests frequently from people eager for more comprehensive, nuanced trainings, which we both deliver.) In simple terms, the demand for competent care has outstripped the supply of competent providers.

In professional circles, we hear from pediatric endocrinologists and others who prescribe hormones for trans youth. Many openly discuss how they use the adult informed-consent model of care with their teen patients, which almost always means no mental health involvement and sometimes no parent input, either. "If you are trans, I believe you," says A.J. Eckert, the medical director of Anchor Health Initiative in Connecticut. Eckert is wary of psychologists who follow the guidelines by completing a comprehensive assessment before recommending medical intervention for youths. "Gender-affirming medicine," Eckert holds, means that "you are best equipped to make decisions about your own body," full stop. These providers do not always realize they've confessed to ignoring the standards of care. (Contacted by The Post for comment on this essay, Eckert said that "no medical or surgical interventions are provided to anyone who has not started puberty" but added that, as Anchor Health sees it, "Therapy is not a requirement in this approach because being trans is not a pathology.")

Some providers may move quickly because they believe that an adolescent's clarity around their gender identity is no different than that of transgender adults, whose care is now typically based on simple informed consent. Some assume that a person with gender dysphoria who declares they are transgender is transgender and needs medical interventions immediately. Yet we know this is not always true. In a recent study of 100 detransitioners, for instance, 38 percent reported that they believed their original dysphoria had been caused by "something specific, such as trauma, abuse, or a mental health condition." Fifty-five percent said they "did not receive an adequate evaluation from a doctor or mental health professional before starting transition."

A handful of studies supposedly showing the suicide risk of gender minority youth who are not supported are also not entirely conclusive. The term "support," for instance, is defined differently across studies, and it is never defined as "starting medical interventions." Supporting trans youth may include using the correct name/pronouns or allowing the young person to present in a way that aligns with their affirmed gender (e.g., clothing, hairstyle). These studies also show correlations between teen-transition hurdles and suicidality, but not causal relationships. Suicide is a horrifying outcome for too many gender-diverse youth, but its specter should not be used to push forward unrelated medical treatment without professional care or attention for each patient.

Longer-term longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the role of medical interventions on lifetime psychological health, particularly with the newer subset of adolescents presenting with no childhood dysphoria and significant mental health concerns. Research is needed to help determine whether quick medical treatment or a more cautious approach is best in these cases. Based on our experience with patients, we suspect that there will be variability based on age, when gender identity questions first emerged and other factors - which is why an individualized approach with careful assessment is so critical.

Trans youth, more than most patients in the health-care system, require an interdisciplinary approach: Their doctors rely on mental health colleagues for direction, and it is crucial that those therapists take the reins. Without proper assessment, many youths are being rushed toward the medical model, and we don't know if they will be liberated or restrained by it. National figures do not yet exist, but the rising number of detransitioners that clinicians report seeing (they are forming support groups online) indicates that this approach can backfire. This is not the most common outcome of a transition process, but it is hardly unheard of, either. These are typically youth who experienced gender dysphoria and other complex mental health issues, rushed to medicalize their bodies and regretted it later. Only a quarter of them told their doctors they had reversed their transitions, making this population especially hard to track.

Many trans activists want to silence detransitioners or deny their existence, because those cases do add fuel to the conservative agenda that is pushing to deny medical treatment to all transgender young people. (Those conservative views are unacceptable, and medically unsound.) Instead, we should be learning from them and returning to the empirically supported careful assessment model recommended by WPATH. And none of this means that we shouldn't be listening to the views of gender-diverse teens; it only means that we should listen in the fullest and most probing way possible.

The pressure by activist medical and mental health providers, along with some national LGBT organizations to silence the voices of detransitioners and sabotage the discussion around what is occurring in the field is unconscionable. Not only is it harmful to detransitioned young people - to be made to feel as if their lived experiences are not valid, the very idea that the gender-transition treatment is meant to remedy - but it will undoubtedly raise questions regarding the objectivity of our field and our commitment to help trans people. The fact that some people detransition does not mean that transgender people should not receive the services they need.

The energy currently spent fighting this political battle would be much better directed toward improving care for all gender-diverse young people. They deserve nothing less.

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Perspective | The mental health establishment is failing trans kids

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Gender-exploratory therapy is a key step. Why aren't therapists providing it? A previous version of this essay said that a quarter of study subjects who reversed their gender transitions did not report this change to their doctors. In fact, three-quarters did not share the information.

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Kiva is the world's first online lending platform. For as little as $25 you can lend to an entrepreneur around the world. Learn more here.

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Ask teachers to describe the impact they hope to have on their students, and most will eventually say something along these lines: I want my students to grow into responsible citizens. I want my students to participate in society in an active, productive way.

And maybe: I want my students to change the world.

But how many of us know how to make that happen, really? Can we explicitly teach students how to change the world? If this question has been whispering in the back of your mind, the resources in this collection will help.

What is social justice, and how does it fit into the curriculum?

The National Association of Social Workers defines social justice as "the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities." To study social justice is to learn about the problems that dramatically impact quality of life for certain populations, and how people have worked to solve those problems.

If you teach social studies, you'll have no trouble finding direct curricular links to social justice. The National Curriculum Standards for the Social Studies includes Civic Ideals and Practices as one of its 10 Themes of Social Studies, and this includes an emphasis on learning how to get involved in influencing public policy. In history and social studies class, social justice teaching is a natural fit.

In other content areas, teachers disagree over whether social justice has a place. We put ourselves in a vulnerable position by exploring issues that are seen as more controversial than others (a topic I will get into in the next section), and some teachers prefer to completely steer clear of those kinds of complications. For others, social justice was a driving force in why they became teachers, and they weave it into whatever content they are teaching. If you choose to address some or all of these issues in your classroom, the next section offers some tips for doing it effectively.

Some Advice for Teaching Social Justice

As an undergraduate, I served as a student counselor for three years and a resident assistant (RA) for one. I regularly delivered workshops on social justice topics, and I learned a few important lessons along the way. Here are some things to keep in mind when studying social justice issues with your students:

Make getting to know students a key component of any social justice teaching. If you and your students don't spend time examining your own backgrounds, biases, and beliefs, you will be missing an essential component of any social justice curriculum. We all view every social justice issue through the lens of our own experience, and these different lenses can block our growth and learning if we aren't aware of them. If we fine-tune our self-awareness, our individual lenses can richly inform classroom conversations and help us understand issues on a much deeper level, directly from each other.

Know that not all students feel the same way about these issues. Most, if not all, of these resources have been created from a pretty liberal, progressive viewpoint. For example, one of the lessons in the Learning for Justice (formerly known as Teaching Tolerance) series described below is on Confronting Unjust Laws. The lesson uses California's Proposition 8 as an example of an unjust law. But not all of your students (or their families) will see a law like Prop 8 as unjust. In fact, some may strongly oppose same-sex marriage. That doesn't mean you can't talk about controversial issues; in fact, teaching students how to respectfully discuss an issue with people who don't see things the same way is a lesson that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

Familiarize yourself with the material before teaching. Sometimes we just skim materials before we teach. With social justice topics, this would be a mistake. Not knowing exactly what's in all of your teaching materials, including the texts or videos you and your students will be looking at, can leave you vulnerable to problems when unexpected content pops up.

Keep your administrator in the loop. As with any potentially controversial lesson, it is essential that you talk to your administrator about it ahead of time. Show the curricular connections between your planned lessons and the standards you're teaching. Talk about potential problems or objections that may come up and how you both plan to address them. That way, if your administrator gets a phone call from a concerned parent, she or he won't be blindsided.

Featured Resources

When I set out to find good resources for social justice teaching, I was looking for classroom-ready materials, lesson plans with supplementary texts or videos that would prompt students to learn about, think about, and talk about social justice issues. I also hoped to find some that would actually teach students about activism, about how a citizen zeroes in on a problem, formulates a solution, then does the grassroots work necessary to see that solution come to life.

Some of these resources fit the bill perfectly, especially the first one on the list. Others do not include lesson plans at all, but serve such an important and innovative role in social justice education, I thought they were essential to include here.

Learning for Justice

This award-winning organization (formerly known as Teaching Tolerance) comes up most often any time social justice teaching is discussed. There's lots to explore on their site, including the Classroom Resources section, which is loaded with lesson plans and other resources teachers can use for free in their classrooms. One of these lessons is Confronting Unjust Practices, where students learn about the anti-segregation actions taken by the Freedom Riders and the attack on one of these buses in Anniston, Alabama (pictured above).

Other lessons from this library include What is Ageism?, Unequal Unemployment, and What Makes a Family? Lessons are available for elementary, middle, and high school students.

DoSomething.org

No lesson plans here: DoSomething.org is an outstanding organization whose goal is to support the work of young people who want to make a difference in their world. Students browse through a big list of campaigns, public education and activism projects students can launch right in their own communities, and choose one or more that they'd like to participate in. Once they have finished a campaign, students submit a photo or video to prove they completed the required steps. This entry makes them eligible to win prizes, including scholarships. Currently, only U.S. students are eligible for these scholarships, but DoSomething.org is expanding into other countries as well.

Although this site will not help you do any direct instruction about social justice, it provides incredible opportunities for students to actively participate in social justice projects. Most campaigns are just right for high school students, and some would be appropriate for middle schoolers as well. Some topics may be considered risque, so review the content before introducing it to students.

On a related note, DoSomething.org is the organization where Katia Gomez, the college student who started her own school in Honduras (featured in the first Cult of Pedagogy documentary last year), got her start. One more bit of trivia that totally doesn't matter but might if you are a Melrose Place fan: DoSomething.org was co-founded by 90's heartthrob Andrew Shue. Squeee!!

The Global Oneness Project

The Global Oneness Project offers a beautiful collection of multicultural films, photo essays, and articles that "explore cultural, social, and environmental issues with a humanistic lens." Many of the featured stories are paired with a lesson plan for high school or college classrooms, aligned with Common Core and national standards.

One such pairing starts with the film Amar, which follows a young Indian boy living in a high-poverty neighborhood through a typical day that includes rising before dawn to do one of his two jobs and attending school. The accompanying lesson plan is called A Day in the Life, which has students examine the film and other resources related to the economic situation in India.

The films are truly stunning. This collection doesn't include explicit teachings in any kind of civics or grassroots activism, but it will provide students with a deep understanding of lives completely unlike their own. And that kind of empathy is one of the most important building blocks for any kind of social justice action.

Pushing the Edge: Social Justice Resources Collection

Educator Greg Curran's podcast covers a range of educational topics, but quite a few episodes circle around issues of social justice. Recently, he curated these resources into a Social Justice Resources Collection. These episodes will be mainly useful for teachers to educate themselves about social justice education: what complications and questions come up, helpful do's and don'ts, and why it's worth it. He interviews practicing teachers and administrators who are walking the walk with social justice teaching. Listening to them will give you a template from which to build your own practice.

Here's an example of one episode, where Curran interviews Nakisha Hobbs, principal of the Village Leadership Academy, a k-8 social justice school in Chicago.

GLSEN: Educator Resources

For teachers who want to include consideration of LGBT issues in their study of social justice, a great source for materials is GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. offers a nice collection of educator guides and lesson plans.

Here are a few examples: The ThinkB4YouSpeak Guide for Educators includes lesson plans, resources, and tips for teachers for addressing anti-LGBT language in the 6-12 classroom. Unheard Voices is a collection of audio interviews with "individuals who bore witness to or helped shape LGBT history in some way." And the Day of Silence Guide shows educators how to run a Day of Silence awareness campaign in their schools.

Educational Video Center

I love this idea: The Educational Video Center teaches students the skills of documentary filmmaking, telling important stories in the name of social justice. Although the EVC holds after-school workshops only for students in New York City, they do offer professional development for teachers anywhere who want to learn how to teach these skills to their own students.

Alumni of the EVC have created documentaries on everything from criminal justice to domestic violence to mental health. You can view a collection of trailers for student-created documentaries here.

The Two Dollar Challenge

The Two Dollar Challenge is a challenge issued to people who want to make an impact on poverty. The challenge is simple: For 5 days, live on just $2 per day, publicizing the complexities of global poverty and helping to raise funds for a partner organization.

What's most striking about this organization is their emphasis on cultivating a deep respect for people affected by poverty and raising participants' awareness of their own privilege. One look at the project's code of conduct shows just how serious they are about that mission: "At all times participants must respect those nearby who are truly in need. If at any time those taking the Challenge are using resources which are valuable for indigent residents in the area this action must be re-evaluated."

Anti-Defamation League

The ADL's collection of lesson plans explore topics in categories like gender issues, sexism, ableism, religious bigotry, and racism. For example, What is the School-to-Prison Pipeline?, a lesson for high school students, has students study and discuss the impact of zero-tolerance policies in schools, statistics on the connection between school suspensions and the juvenile justice system, and their own school discipline policy. The end of the lesson offers students a choice of next steps for taking action on this issue. Lessons are available for preschool through high school.

Update: Since publishing this post, a few readers have pointed out that some of ADL's other website content (separate from this curriculum) takes a strong stance on issues relating to Israel and may offend some users. I still feel that this curriculum contains incredibly valuable lessons on very recent events that you won't find anywhere else, but this reinforces my second and third points above: Know your audience, and read through the materials carefully. For more details on this issue, please read the comments below. This article may also shed some light on the topic.

Further Reading

Stirring Up Justice
Laurel Schmidt, Education Leadership, May 2009
Explores the value and process of teaching students about activism. Offers a template for how to engage students in authentic conversations about difficult issues, ask themselves what they can do about social justice issues, consider ways they have already acted in the past, study how other kids and young adults have successfully solved problems, and participate in their own social justice projects.

Turning Current Events Into Social Justice Teaching
Jinnie Spiegler, Edutopia, January 6, 2016
Spiegler, the curriculum director for the Anti-Defamation League (the first resource in this post) offers advice on teaching social justice topics in a way that's both sensitive and productive.

Educolor Resources
Educolor, an organization dedicated to an equitable, just education for everyone, maintains this list of books, movies, articles, and websites that will educate teachers and students on issues of social justice, especially as it pertains to educational equity.

The Best Teacher Resources Sites for Social Justice
Larry Ferlazzo, Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day, July 1, 2008
A big list of resources related to social justice education.
What Are Your Favorite Social Justice Resources?
This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have a resource you like to use for teaching about social justice, please share it in the comments below. ♦

Keep in touch.
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. To thank you, I'll send you a free copy of my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, which has helped thousands of teachers spend less time grading!

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A Collection of Resources for Teaching Social Justice

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Want your students to actively engage in addressing inequality? Explore this annotated bibliography of resources for teaching students about social justice.

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Many new teachers are inspired by the social justice and multicultural theory presented in some teacher education programs, but need to see examples of it in action. Some people believe that younger students are not capable of discussing difficult or controversial topics. This site counters that notion by showing teachers and students engaged in social action on complex topics. It provides a multimedia space to see social justice projects in action.

All the units housed on this site:

were designed and implemented by elementary school teachers and student teachers

focus on social justice issues such as racism, gentrification, fairness, child labor etc.

help students ask difficult questions about the world

are designed to engage children in social action to change the conditions of their worlds

have been integrated with standards or mandated curricular program

About the Site

This site features the work of Dr. Bree Picower and her students.

Dr. Bree Picower is a Professor at Montclair State University in the College of Education and Human Development. She is the Co-Director of the Urban Teacher Residency, Newark Teacher Project and the Critical Urban Education Speaker Series with Dr. Tanya Maloney at MSU. Her newest book, Reading, Writing and Racism, is an unflinching examination of recent examples of viral racist curriculum and what it means for our educational institutions to take responsibility for addressing teachers' understandings of race. Her previous co-edited book with Rita Kohli, Confronting Racism in Teacher Education: Counternarratives of Critical Practice examines patterns of institutional racism by amplifying the voices of non-dominant teacher educators. She also co-edited a collection of essays with Edwin Mayorga and Ujju Aggarwal called What's Race Got To Do With It? How current school reform maintains racial and economic inequality . She is also the author of Practice What You Teach: Social Justice Education in the Classroom and the Streets explores a developmental continuum toward teacher activism. Bree works to create spaces for educators to sharpen their political analysis and act for educational justice. She has taught in public elementary schools in Oakland, California and New York City.

This site features blogs from Bree's students as they engage in teaching about social issues and engage their students in social action. It also includes an extensive annotated bibliography (click children's literature) maintained by her students of social justice books for elementary students.
View Additional Publications
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Many new teachers are inspired by the social justice and multicultural theory presented in some teacher education programs, but need to see examples of it in action. Some people believe that younger students are not capable of discussing difficult or controversial topics.

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Teaching for Change and Rethinking Schools collaborate to bring people's history to the classroom.

A dedicated website to encourage and support teaching about Central American history.

The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators.

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Building social justice starting in the classroom.

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Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

Sponsored by PowerSchool and ViewSonic

These last few weeks have been especially difficult for me as the news continues to reflect that racism still exists in 2020. I've witnessed video footage of Ahmaud Arbery shot and killed while jogging, George Floyd murdered by the police, and Christian Cooper harassed while bird watching in Central Park. As we think about the next generation of adults we are influencing, particularly our White students, now more than ever, we need to teach more than kindness.

As an equity advocate, I have lots of conversations about culturally responsive teaching and multicultural education. Not too long ago while I was consulting with an elementary school principal she said, "Multicultural Education is nice, but we are well over 90% White at my school."

A common myth regarding multicultural education is that it is about helping students of color see themselves within the content. But multicultural education is about more than just race: It refers to any form of learning or teaching that incorporates the histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives of people from different cultural backgrounds ( Glossary of Education Reform). And even if the majority of your students are White, it doesn't mean we shouldn't teach from a multicultural perspective.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating for a bunch of Kumbaya moments in the classroom. This is not a post about how we need to teach students to embrace diversity and love each other. It's about the influence we can and should have on our students. Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings taught us that we teach what we value. Therefore, we are part of the problem if we refuse to teach about antiracism and speak out against police brutality. Our students look up to us as adults, and many of our students mimic our behavior. If we are silent around social justice matters, we send a loud message to our students about where we stand as these issues impact many of the communities we serve.

In fact, we need to go beyond multicultural education. In this 2017 interview, Zaretta Hammond differentiates between multicultural education and social justice education, which provides "a lens for the student, really being able to look at the world and seeing where things aren't fair or where injustice exists." To ensure the changes our society is hurting for, we need to give our White students both multicultural and social justice education. Additionally, Dr. James Banks, the father of multicultural education, advocates for educators to teach our students about social and civic action. Ensuring that students engage in multiple perspectives without coupling their learning with civic engagement does not complete the process of developing socially just citizens who are willing to take a stance against the mistreatment of others. We need to help our students find ways they can take action in response to what they have learned.

Going back to the principal I was speaking with about whether there was a need for multicultural education at her school, I was thinking, "This is why multicultural and social justice education is so important!" Even with her assumptions that because there wasn't a lot of racial representation at her school, does that mean the small percentage of students of color don't matter to her? If that's the case, what would her teachers say? Would they support her sentiments?

Why Multicultural Education is 100% Relevant in All-White Schools

"Whiteness" is Complex

When someone asks why multicultural education is needed at a predominately White school, an assumption is being made that White people are a homogenous group. But White people are as heterogeneous as other racial and ethnic groups: there's socioeconomic status, gender and sexual orientation, identity, religion, language, age, and disability, to name a few. All of those represent different cultures. Sometimes, when you're in a dominant culture and used to things being a certain way, you don't necessarily think about your ancestry or heritage and how things have changed over time. And because conditions have changed over time, it may appear that Whiteness is Whiteness, but there are so many different cultures embedded within that broad category.

I think it's essential that we help teach our White students about their ancestors and the origins of when their families first arrived in the United States. The languages, the cultures, the traditions, all those things don't necessarily have to be lost. They can be retrieved.

Let's go back to the 1790s, where the first census was started. With the first US Census, they classified race. The classifying of race allowed those in power to determine or allow a few rights: Who gets the right to get jobs? Who gets the right to marry? Who gets the right to own property? That's how the social construct of race started.

Above is a view of Europeans, or some of the first immigrants, who were coming from various countries. And if you look at the picture, they're White people, right? But they're coming from multiple countries. At this time, there were several languages represented. You had folks that came from Italy, Germany, Russia, England, and so on. There were all types of cultures coming into the United States.

There were also various forms of religions represented when the Europeans began to arrive in the US. In Russia, you had the Orthodox church. In England, you had the Anglican church. When they first came, they weren't willing to give up their culture and become this one White race. They held onto their traditions, values, and beliefs. But we see that over time, things have changed to where White supremacy and racial hierarchies began to form. Today, there are a lot of families who have European origins that may not necessarily speak the language from their original land of ancestry because those things might have been lost over generations.

Multicultural Literacy Is a Separate and Necessary Literacy

The concept of "literacy" is broad. Still, it can be divided into many different sub-categories. One of these is multicultural literacy, the ability to uncover biases relating to culture, and the skills to view the world through different cultural perspectives.

Dr. Robin DiAngelo says, "Historically reinforced ideologies such as individualism and color-blindness have left many White people racially illiterate but racially conscious when perceiving other racialized groups." So because they're in the dominant culture, they don't necessarily have to think about race, but they'll maybe notice racial issues that are not related to Whiteness.

In other words, maybe they might notice police brutality in a Black community. Perhaps they might see issues of race with Islamophobia and discrimination. But we want our students to do more than notice; responding to issues of racism, prejudice, and discrimination is essential.

Having literacy in this area is also key for equipping White students to participate more actively in conversations about racial justice. If they are not regularly exposed to these conversations, they are less likely to speak up on this topic. White friends and colleagues tell me all the time that they want to say something when racism and equity come up, but they often hold back because they don't know what to say or are afraid to say the wrong thing. With a higher level of multicultural literacy, our students will build more confidence.

What We've Been Doing Isn't Enough

Although multicultural education certainly isn't new, it's clear that what we've been doing up to this point hasn't been enough.

As recently as a few weeks ago, there have been instances of White people utilizing the police as a means to address their encounters with people of color. The underlying issue of racism is apparent in many of these instances. Discussing current events and helping White students understand why they should also be upset at discrimination and racism may prevent a continuous cycle of White people remaining silent and complicit when issues happen that do not directly impact them.

These conversations are essential to have. It's also critical to teach students about becoming allies and co-conspirators, especially at the middle and high school levels. It might be a little bit difficult with your first and second graders, and maybe your kindergartners, but I think there are some messages you could still portray to your students even at that age.

What Can Multicultural Education Teach Our White Students?

We've already established multicultural education goes beyond race. There's so much within the concept of "culture," and we must help our White students understand how race can impact them and how they can actively use whatever privilege they have to reduce issues of racism, discrimination, and bigotry.

1. Understanding Their Own Cultural and Ethnic Background

It's not uncommon for White people to say, Oh, I'm just White. I don't have a culture. We need to teach our White students about what their cultural background is and their ethnic backgrounds so they can understand and think about their language and religions going back to their ancestry. Lessons on their culture may help them start to understand how privilege and White supremacy began. So begin with going back and taking some time to help your students understand that. You can also work with students by exploring community history and cultural influence.

One of the things you can teach your students, your White students, is in history. Many White immigrants have been accused of marginalizing other White immigrants. For example, the Irish and Italians were mistreated, discriminated, and marginalized against by other White immigrants. If we can teach our White students how their ancestors might have perpetuated that oppression or perhaps were part of that oppression against each other, maybe that will help them understand a little bit how in 2020, oppression continues to exist to those who are not included in the dominant culture. They can kind of see how the "haves" and the "have nots" happened back then. One of the things we want to do is help students relate items from their background knowledge and be able to bring those to light.

2. Studying Implicit Bias in Everyday Language

Another thing we can do is discuss everyday language. How are words associated with white and black used? Words such as blackmail, blackballed, or blacklisted have different connotations than words like white labeled or whitelisted. We can have students examine how these words may spark negative perceptions based on their meanings and associations.

Consider how words such as "alien" or "immigrant" may trigger the thoughts of someone of Mexican descent. These types of stereotypes in our language may trigger our Latinx community. The same rule applies to phrases like "You should speak up more, you're so quiet" to an Asian student.

The language we use every day may not seem significant because of the implicit biases we have developed in our lives. The words we use daily are influenced by how we were raised, our social circle, and the media. We may not notice how some of the words we use may have adverse effects on particular groups of people (stereotypes, derogatory language, etc.). We can teach students about implicit bias and how to overcome bias in our language usage.

3. Examining Representation in Curriculum and Beyond

Let's take a look at our school curriculum. Have your students investigate how various cultural groups are represented in the school's curriculum. Lead these discussions with your students and have them understand it because a lot of times, that's not a thing we think about. When we are discussing representation in the school's curriculum, allow opportunities for a dialogue beyond heterosexual, cisgender, Christian-based educational norms. Instead, talk about subjects that aren't reflected, such as disabilities, and how they are depicted in the curriculum. How are people from the LGBTQ community portrayed or even acknowledged in the content? Chimamanda Adichie talks about the danger of a single story. We need to make sure that we can bring in various perspectives in our curriculum and instruction.

If students find minimal to no representation of certain groups in the curriculum, discuss ways to bring in a variety of multicultural perspectives. The website We Need Diverse Books is an excellent resource for building a more inclusive classroom library, and Milner published an article that discusses developing a multicultural curriculum for an all-White classroom.

From there, you can expand your communications by discussing popular culture and how various groups are represented in multiple media outlets such as the news, music, movies, and social media. Have them study or research certain groups and how the articles that come up and the titles of those articles. What do the reports say versus other articles about various groups?

4. Understanding and Recognizing Privilege

A combination of multicultural and social justice education can help students see the trouble with implicit racism and how even though they are not doing anything actively racist, they are still benefiting from a legacy of racism. Calling the cops to say that "an African American man is threatening me and my dog" is a result of White privilege. Knowing that Black people have historically been mistreated by law enforcement and using that knowledge to one's advantage is inhumane.

Teaching White students about power and privilege may be a touchy subject for some as White guilt and fragility may seep into the mindset of White teachers and students. However, we must learn to "disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed." Starting at a young age, we can help our students learn to understand that not everyone has access and the same opportunities as others. Students as young as six years old can learn about race and class. And this work doesn't have to be limited to social studies class. We can embed these principles in all subjects, including mathematics.

5. Dismantling Racism

It is not enough to teach White children to embrace racial and cultural diversity. We've got to go beyond cultural competency. "Children must also develop individual and group identities that will recognize and resist the false notions of superiority and racial entitlement" (Derman-Sparks, Ramsey, and Edwards, 2011). Because today we have to teach our students how to be antiracist and how to work to dismantle racism actively.

Invest in meaningful dialogue that brings awareness to issues impacting both local and global communities. Additionally, a social justice-minded educator teaches their students to develop their own socio-cultural consciousness and advocacy skills so they can advocate for themselves and others.

For elementary students, that action may include students committing to do more than not bully or laugh at each other. They may also commit to bystander intervention by stepping in and helping their peers who they see are being mistreated. We can help our students take a stance instead of just teaching them to be kind to each other and not engage in activities that include mistreating others.

For secondary students, action may include writing their school board about their concerns and calls for change. A strong student group organized with a mission and objectives goes a long way toward challenging institutional practices that are unjust toward certain groups. On local and national scales, have students engage in lessons that address mass incarceration, police brutality, civil rights, immigration, racism, healthcare disparities, unequal pay issues, trauma, suicide, drug abuse, and women's rights, and privilege.

Sometimes we teach our students how to be kind to others, embrace diversity, and respect differences. We can go beyond that by teaching our White students how to be antiracist actively and do their part to support advocacy towards social justice and reform. The foundation for teaching our students how to engage in these practices actively is by helping students understand their White racial identity and positionality in society. From there, students may have a better understanding of the need for a multicultural approach in education and what they can do to find their voice and role in creating a socially just society.

Additional Resources
Framing Brave Conversations About Race and Ethnicity 8 Ways Teachers Can Address White Supremacy in the Classroom Teaching About Racism, Antisemitism and White Supremacy How Does Race Affect a Student's Math Education? Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activity for Project Based Learning Racism No Way: Anti-racism Activities, Years 3-12 How Should I Talk About Race in My Mostly White Classroom?
Learn more from Sheldon Eakins on his website, the Leading Equity Center, where he offers resources, courses, and his podcast, the Leading Equity Podcast.

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Why White Students Need Multicultural and Social Justice Education

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Sponsored by PowerSchool and ViewSonic These last few weeks have been especially difficult for me as the news continues to reflect that racism still exists in 2020. I've witnessed video footage of Ahmaud Arbery shot and killed while jogging, George Floyd murdered by the police, and Christian Cooper harassed while bird watching in Central Park.

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For many faculty members, the semester begins with the now-familiar call to students to "introduce yourself with your name and pronoun." Some of the more adventurous of us add a request for a personal fun fact, favorite flavor of ice cream or some other icebreaker. Our intention in asking about pronouns is to signal an inclusive, safe classroom where everyone is respected. In my experience, however, this practice is becoming more problematic than useful.

For a time, the pronoun question seemed like a step forward. When I first started teaching, professors were provided with a list that included the legal names of each student that had registered for class. We were expected to stumble through it on the first day of class in order to begin learning names, to ensure that everyone who needed to be on the list was, indeed, registered, and to identify students who had dropped the class. Invariably, that process was followed by a number of corrections: "just call me Amy" or "I go by Taylor."

Eventually, registrars caught on, and class lists began to include nicknames or preferred names alongside the legal name of each student. At least at my institution, those names had secondary status and did not appear on Blackboard, email or other commonly used class resources. Now, thanks to work on behalf of transgender students by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Transgender Law Center and others, we know that student legal names need not even appear on class lists since those lists are neither official nor legal documents. Once our institutions modify their practices to reflect this, Amy and Taylor can relax. But what about pronouns?

Every two or three years, I teach a nonmajors science class on how scientists study gender identity and sexuality, and how science influences, and is influenced by, society. Given the speed at which our understanding of gender identity is evolving, every time I offer this class, best practices have changed. We started with no awareness of a need for discussing pronouns and then moved, a few years later, to discussing "PGPs" -- preferred gender pronouns. In the last few years, we realized that pronouns aren't "preferred" but simply correct or incorrect for someone's identity. My most recent experiences in the classroom, coupled with my experiences while conducting research within the transgender community, however, have convinced me that our current practice of asking that everyone state their personal pronoun is not a good idea. My position is perhaps best explained by sharing two experiences.

In my gender class, as it has come to be known, I ask that students journal in response to readings, class discussions or a prompt on a controversial issue. Occasionally, those entries get personal. In a recent year, a student revealed in an entry that they thought they might be transgender. The next time I spoke with the student alone, with the best of intentions, I asked what pronoun they wanted me to use. Their eyes filled with tears as they answered, "I don't know." At about the same time, I asked someone at a conference what pronoun to use, and she burst into tears. She later explained that she had hoped that she "passed" and that my question made her feel like she did not.

Those incidents taught me that questions about pronoun use can be painful to the very people to whom we are trying to signal support. So why do many institutions and their faculty members persist in the wholesale practice of requesting pronouns on the first day of class, especially with young adults who are in the process of figuring out who they are? The result of this practice is that students whose gender presentation may not match their gender identity are forced to lie or to out themselves in a new and possibly unsafe environment, while those who are unsure of their gender identity are made to feel uncomfortable and forced to choose a pronoun.

There must be other ways to signal awareness and inclusion to our students. In recent years, I have started emailing my students before class starts, giving them the names of required texts and information about class, as well as asking them to communicate with me if they want to be sure that I know their correct name and/or pronoun on the first day that class meets. I also encourage them to let me know of any questions or concerns that they have about the class. That solves one issue, but it doesn't help ensure that every student understands the importance of pronouns, privacy and not making assumptions about anyone's identity. Thus, I also try to include a discussion of those issues on the first day of class and return to them throughout the semester as appropriate. My hope is to create an environment in which students can choose to share what they want about themselves in whatever way and at whatever time is best for them. So far, it seems to have worked.

Some people will argue with my position, and there are certainly other ways to make sure that each student is addressed in the way in which they are most comfortable. For those who have jumped onboard the state-your-pronouns bandwagon, I would ask that you ask yourself for whom you are doing this. Is this the best way to support your students? Is it the best way to signal your allyship and desire to create a safe classroom?

Ask your students for their ideas. Be prepared to make mistakes. When you come to a decision on what works for your class in your institutional context, share it with your colleagues -- and then be prepared for whatever seems best to change in the semesters to come.

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Why asking students their preferred pronoun is not a good idea (opinion)

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For many faculty members, the semester begins with the now-familiar call to students to "introduce yourself with your name and pronoun." Some of the more adventurous of us add a request for a personal fun fact, favorite flavor of ice cream or some other icebreaker.

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Enjoy this incredible list of extension activities and resources curated during our Book Club discussion on August 27, 2020.

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About this Course

Learners will deepen their understanding and appreciation of ways in which race, ethnicity and cultural diversity have shaped American institutions, ideology, law, and social relationships from the colonial era to the present. Race and ethnicity are ideological and cultural categories that include all groups and individuals. Hence, this course is designed in significant part to take a broad look at the ideology of race and cultural diversity in America's past and present. The primary focus is on the historical and social relationships among European Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, Latino/as, and Asian/Pacific Americans. Issues of race and ethnicity are examined across different ethno-cultural traditions in order to interweave diverse experiences into a larger synthesis of the meaning of race and ethnicity in American life. In this course, we conceive of "race" and "diversity" as references to the entire American population, even as we recognize that different groups have unique historical experiences resulting in distinctive and even fundamental cultural differences. We treat race and ethnicity as dynamic, complex ideological and cultural processes that shape all social institutions, belief systems, inter-group relationships, and individual experiences.

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Approx. 8 hours to complete

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, Turkish, English, Spanish, Romanian

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Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 8 hours to complete

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, Turkish, English, Spanish, Romanian

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty and alumni. Illinois serves the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and finding solutions to critical societal needs.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

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Race and Cultural Diversity in American Life and History

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Learners will deepen their understanding and appreciation of ways in which race, ethnicity and cultural diversity have shaped American institutions, ideology, law, and social relationships from the colonial era to the present. Race and ethnicity are ideological and cultural categories that include all groups and individuals.

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Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors

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Developed its Equity Audit to offer districts, schools, and teachers a way to develop a more concrete understanding of what it means to practice equity.

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Easthampton Public Schools | A Great Place To Learn And Grow

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Equity and Inclusion | Easthampton Public Schools

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Easthampton Public Schools > For Families > Curriculum and Grants > Equity and Inclusion

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Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard - EJ-ROC

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The Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard was designed to help parents, teachers, students, and community members determine the extent to which their schools’ English Language Arts curricula are culturally responsive.

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MacTutor is a free online resource containing biographies of more than 3000 mathematicians and over 2000 pages of essays and supporting materials. MacTutor is constantly expanding and developing. Recent changes to the archive (Up to SEPTEMBER 2023) include 14 New Biographies including sever…

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With over 400 students from all over the world, the assortment of places from which our students come does not tell the full story of diversity at Govs.

We strive to create a diverse community that is reflective of the world that our students will go on to live in; one with differences of gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, political viewpoints, religion, and cultural background. As part of our Seven Essential Skills, Govs students learn to understand their roles in the large community and act within a moral and ethical framework, which includes finding and using their voices to share their beliefs and what is important to them. We work hard to create and sustain an inclusive community at all times and in all places- in the classroom, on the stage, on the field, in the dorm, and in the dining hall.

Every Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we step away from classes and gather as a community to hear from a guest speaker and reflect together on their message. In 2020, Reverend Sharon Risher, a reverend, author, and speaker, came to Govs to deliver a message of forgiveness and faith.

Reverend Risher was catapulted into the limelight after the Charleston, S.C. shooting at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015. Her beloved mother, the church's sexton, was killed along with eight others, including two cousins and a childhood friend. Since that horrific tragedy, Risher has been very outspoken about the nation's gun laws and is one of the national spokespersons for the grassroots advocacy groups Everytown and Moms Demand Gun Sense.

She shared how the tragedy of losing family members in a horrific way paved the way for her to be involved in politics now. She spoke of turning a tragedy into a call for positive change.

In the past three years, ten faculty members have attended the Diversity Directions Independent School Seminar. The week-long seminar is designed to help schools develop a common language and strategic methods to examine and address the personal, interpersonal, and institutional factors that can advance or impede a school's inclusion initiative. For students, we boast a global education program, including formal exchange partnerships with schools in Germany and China, and with the Navajo Preparatory School in Arizona.

Our Student Diversity Steering Committee is intended to be the driving force behind diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Govs. Students who serve on this committee:

Advocate for initiatives and programs that advance the school toward its vision

Suggest modifications based on feedback

Participate in facilitation training on a wide array of diversity initiatives

Engage the student community in the areas of equity and inclusion

Our Diversity Steering Committee works collaboratively to advance, advocate, and support the Dean of Multicultural Education. The committee makes recommendations to address current initiatives and policies toward promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion by:

Evaluating current practices and trends regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion policies

Promoting programs that encourage students, faculty, and staff to explore their identity, but also the identities of others

Providing professional development opportunities for faculty and staff

Assessing community growth from the 2012 climate survey

Asian American Affinity Group (AAAG) is for students who identify as Asian Americans. The goal of this affinity group, which meets once per month, is to give Asian American students opportunities to talk about shared experiences and about issues that are relevant and important to them as a group. The AAAG sessions are not supposed to be isolated stand-alone sessions, but are designed to add to the community-wide conversations to promote community change into greater inclusiveness.

Womxn of Color Non-binary Association (WOCA) brings together cisgender women, transgender women, non-binary and genderqueer people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and LatinX to provide a safe and inclusive space, creating community beyond itsweekly meetings. WOCA promotes resisting and healing through collective care, popular education, intersectional organizing, and support. As the group's needs begin to be met, WOCA will collaborate with other spaces on campus, including SWAGA, Spectrum, Asian American Affinity, and Black LatinX Affinity. As WOCA outreaches and organizes, they work towards their goal of intersectional equity and inclusion by working towards dismantling (racist, anti-Black, classist, ableist, cissexist, and heterosexist) systems of oppression at Govs and beyond.

Meet the Team

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Dean of Multicultural Education; History Teacher

Language Department Chair; Director of GovsPLUS

DIVERSITY MISSION STATEMENT
adopted in June 2012 by the full faculty

At The Governor's Academy, we welcome individuals who embrace difference. We believe that our personal experiences are the threads that define and connect us, and we foster a climate of appreciation in which each person's story can weave itself into the evolving fabric of our community. Recognizing that diversity is an ongoing commitment, we purposefully reexamine our behaviors and beliefs to create community.

PAST SPEAKERS

Professors Jennifer Kirsch and Shamus Khan
College professors and co-authors of Sexual Citizens

Sylvia Swayne
Transgender rights activist & educator

Arno Michaelis
Author of My Life After Hate

Reverend Sharon Risher
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Keynote Speaker

Alex Myers
"American Masculinity"
Teacher, speaker, writer, and advocate for transgender rights

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - The Governor's Academy

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With over 400 students from all over the world, the assortment of places from which our students come does not tell the full story of diversity at Govs. We strive to create a diverse community that is reflective of the world that our students will go on to live in; one with differences of gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, political viewpoints, religion, and cultural background.

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GLSEN:  Pronoun Guide

Gender Spectrum:  Educator Resources

TYEF:  Resources for Educators

Advocates for Youth:  I’m Muslim and my Gender Doesn’t Fit Me

Gender Spectrum:  Understand Gender

Institute for Anti-Racist Education: Decolonizing Gender - for Elem teachers

Genderfluid activist: Jeffrey Marsh

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Listen to the interview with Katie Novak and Mirko Chardin:
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As a teacher, I loved the annual PTO teacher appreciation breakfast: tablecloths featuring pencils, hearts, and shiny red apples, bouquets of pink mini carnations, and a coffee and tea cart fit for a barista. And the buffet! Like mead halls of yore, long banquet tables were lined with fruit salad, homemade quiches, scrambled eggs, miso soup, and gallo pinto. Bagels, croissants, chapattis, and churros sat atop a bread table. Little folded cards identified casseroles that were gluten-free or vegan. Options for everyone! I wanted to sample every single one.

A school down the street didn't have it so good. Their breakfast served a single option-a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a biscuit. No substitutions.

Now, I personally love a good ol' brekkie sammy, but it certainly won't meet everyone's needs. Some staff members may be vegetarian, lactose-intolerant, or gluten-free. Some may be watching their waistlines. And some will just think that the sandwich is G.R.O.S.S. We all can predict the outcome. Many will leave hungry, frustrated, and needless to say- un appreciated.

The bacon/egg/cheese saga represents the one-size-fits-all scenarios we often see in our classrooms: Every student is expected to read the same book at the same pace, listen to the same lectures, and complete the same math problems using the same materials. These inflexible solutions expect compliance and favor students who don't face significant barriers to traditional learning. Many of the "tried and true" techniques and curriculum in classrooms perpetuate privilege rather than focusing on learning, autonomy, and empowerment.

When we design the same learning pathways for all learners, we might tell ourselves we are being fair, but in fact, single pathways are exclusionary. Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of the critically acclaimed book, Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race, challenges us to focus on impact over intentions. It may not be our intent to exclude our learners, but the reality is that many students do not have opportunities to learn at high levels or to access curriculum and instruction that is accessible, engaging, culturally sustaining, and linguistically appropriate.

Luckily, there is a framework that rejects these one-size-fits-all solutions and empowers educators to proactively design learning experiences so all students can increase their brainpower and accelerate and own their learning. The framework is Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

UDL is a framework for designing learning experiences so students have options for how they learn, what materials they use, and how they demonstrate their learning. When implemented with a lens of equity, the framework has the potential to eliminate opportunity gaps that exclude many learners, especially those who have been historically marginalized. If we want all students to have equal opportunities to learn, we have to be incredibly purposeful, proactive, and flexible. UDL creates a learning environment that is the least restrictive and most culturally responsive, trauma-informed environment for all students.

CORE BELIEFS OF UDL

This work begins with asset-based beliefs about students and the power of design to eliminate barriers. A UDL Practitioner believes:

Variability is the rule, not the exception. Students may need to learn in different ways, using different materials, and share what they have learned in different ways to reach the same goals.

All students can work toward the same firm goals and grade-level standards when provided with adequate challenge and support.

All students will become expert learners if barriers are removed and they are given opportunities to self-differentiate.

Belief 1: Variability

Variability is the unique mix of skills, interests, needs, and preferences each and every learner brings to the classroom. Variability goes beyond differences between students and explores differences within students, based on context. Because of variability, what students need is ever-changing and evolving. So providing options for students to reflect on the barriers they are facing and choose pathways that best meet their needs is critical to build self-awareness and expert learning.

In traditional instruction, many educators attempt to define how students learn with one-dimensional labels. For example, many educators will ask me, "What does UDL look like for English language learners/black and brown students/students with disabilities?" My answer is always the same, "The students in those groups are not the same and they don't need one-size-fits-all solutions."

Let's connect back to the breakfast buffet. Imagine you are labeled as a member of the "vegan group." As a result, every day you and the other vegans have plates set aside for you with sliced tomatoes and plain oatmeal. Here's the thing-not all vegans like or eat the same thing. You will want choices too and you will likely make different decisions depending on the day, your mood, and how your tummy feels. Intrapersonal variability matters just as much as interpersonal variability. And if none of the foods work for you, you will definitely need an opportunity to share what you need.

Belief 2: Firm Goals, Flexible Means

Every student can learn at high levels. When creating a universally designed learning experience, educators should ask themselves: "At the end of this lesson, unit, or professional development series, what do my learners have to know or what do they need to be able to do?" Once you identify the firm goal, ask yourself, "Based on the variability in my class, what barriers may prevent learners from working toward that goal and how can I eliminate those barriers through design?"

For example, if the firm goal is "Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence," you may predict that some students will struggle with organization. Worry not! You can create a buffet with flexible means to support learners. If you proactively provide a graphic organizer, an annotated exemplar with notes about organization, a resource that includes words, phrases, and clauses to help clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons, and the opportunity to sign up for small group instruction on organization, you can empower students to choose what they need to organize their writing.

Belief 3: Expert Learning

In his book, Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn, author Mike Anderson discusses the concept of incorporating student choice into every lesson. Many educators are afraid of handing over the reins to their students, believing they won't make the best choices. The truth is they are right to be afraid; students may make poor choices about their learning, particularly when they are first given this power.

For example, a student may choose to work in a group with his friends in which he becomes distracted instead of working alongside the teacher, where he would have been more successful. But the evaluation of that choice is where the real teaching moment comes into play. Through Anderson's "choose, do, review" method, teachers transition their roles to the facilitator and can provide feedback that guides students to understand and self-evaluate their choices, determine what works for them and what doesn't, and give them opportunities to make better choices in the future and provide feedback about learning design.

If students don't have these opportunities to "choose, do, review" their way to expert learning, they will become what Zaretta Hammond has coined as "dependent learners." Dependent learners are overly reliant on the teacher to carry the load of cognitive tasks and are unsure of how to tackle new tasks because they aren't given opportunities to learn how to be expert learners.

UDL IN ACTION

Imagine this scene in a 6th-grade health classroom: Students are sitting quietly at their desks. The learning target written on the board notes that students will identify ways to reduce their risk of spreading or contracting communicable disease. The agenda outlines classroom activities: (1) watch a CDC video and (2) write an essay on how to reduce the risk of spreading and contracting COVID-19. The lesson is aligned to grade-level standards and features a high quality resource, so what is the problem? The learning experience will not meet the needs of all students because it is one-size-fits-all, so let's give it the UDL treatment. For a lesson to truly be "universally designed," it must meet the following criteria:

Provide Multiple Means of Engagement

Learners differ in the ways they can be engaged or motivated to learn. Because there is not one means of engagement that will be optimal for all learners; providing options to build interest and commitment is essential. At the beginning of the class, the teacher projects a list of communicable diseases including the common cold, strep throat, COVID-19, and Influenza A (the flu). Each disease is paired with a visual. Some learners take out their phones to look at their throats and ask their friends, "Does my throat look like that?" The teacher asks if anyone wants to add a communicable, or spreadable, disease to the list. One student offers, "mono," so she writes it down.

For the next 10 minutes, students have the option to work independently, with a partner, or in a small group with the teacher to list as many symptoms as they can for at least one of the diseases. Students have the option to write words or draw images to represent symptoms on a provided graphic organizer. As they work, they are encouraged to use their devices for research and to find a place conducive to their learning. Two students work at a standing desk while others grab clip boards and gather on the floor with their devices.

Provide Multiple Means of Representation

The second principle of UDL reminds educators to provide multiple means of representation to build knowledge and comprehension in all learners. Not all learners comprehend information in the same way, have the same background information or funds of knowledge, or have access to the same language. When teachers present information, they often use a single representation. This is often done in a lecture, by playing a video, assigning text, or teaching vocabulary, etc. Because there is significant variability in students, they differ in the information they need to learn.

In the health lesson, after students complete the activator, there is a mini-lesson unpacking target vocabulary: risk, communicable disease, and community spread. One student's father is a nurse, so the teacher arranges for a short Zoom call where Dad talks about the importance of washing hands and wearing masks. The closed caption feature is used and students are encouraged to ask questions.

After a short discussion, the teacher provides options for students to learn more about how to prevent the spread of communicable disease: watch the CDC video in English or Spanish, read an article on Newsela, review pamphlets from the nurse's office, or explore a combination of these resources. They are provided with essential questions to support their learning. As students work, the teacher checks in with each of them, asks questions, and provides feedback.

Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression

It is devastating when students aren't able to express their understanding because of inflexible assessments. Traditionally, students have been asked to share their understanding using only a single pathway, like a multiple-choice test, essay prompt, and/or project without any flexible scaffolds or supports. When teachers provide students with multiple options that are authentic and personalized, learners are able to practice executive functioning skills as they analyze the task and choose the best option to demonstrate that they met the intended outcome.

After learning about how to reduce their risk of spreading or contracting communicable disease, students are provided with numerous options to share what they have learned. They can write a response, record a video or podcast, create a pamphlet or infographic, or suggest an alternative. The teacher provides a word bank with the target vocabulary, a single-point rubric, and a checklist so students can self-assess their work before submitting it. One student asks if he can write and produce a rap as long as it meets the rubric. "Absolutely," the teacher replies. "I can't wait to hear it."

ARE UDL AND DIFFERENTIATION THE SAME?

You may be reading this and thinking, "This sounds a lot like differentiated instruction." The frameworks are similar, and complementary, but they are not the same.

Carol Tomlinson leads the field of differentiated instruction, As Tomlinson shares in her book The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, teachers in a differentiated classroom begin with their current curriculum and engaging instruction and then adapt the content, process, product, and environment to ensure that students receive the targeted intervention, support, and enrichment they need. This responsiveness is incredibly important, but may not set students up to reflect on their learning and make choices for themselves.

In the breakfast buffet analogy, you don't want to be a part of the "vegan group" where decisions are made for you. Even with the buffet, hosts need to be responsive and reflective, noting when some people aren't eating and figuring out how the buffet could be designed differently the next time. When differentiation is combined with the practices and principles of UDL, students have opportunities to reflect, make choices, and build ownership of their learning; they also benefit from more explicit support when necessary.

Unlike differentiation alone, UDL empowers students to self-differentiate their learning and build autonomy and independence; this sends a powerful message. In her book Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning, Andratesha Fritzgerald notes that this kind of design honors our students, that when we provide them with choice and voice, we communicate these things:

You are more important than the systems we serve.

You are more important than my personal preferences.

You are more important than the way the content is packaged.

I am willing to learn about you to help you reach your life goals.

You are important and I will honor you with instruction that holds you accountable and empowers you to take ownership of your own learning.

Proactively designing curriculum and instruction through the lens of UDL, and supplementing that design with differentiated instruction, is a pathway to equity-one that will have an incredible impact on learners.

As Mirko Chardin and I shared in Equity by Design: Delivering on the Power and Promise of UDL, "Educators hold incredible power: power to design learning experiences, power to set expectations for students, power to elevate and celebrate student voices, power to inspire and motivate students, the power to create consequences, and the power to allow for choice and personalization. We have to understand that all of us carry that power and privilege and we must use it as a tool to confront and dismantle inequities so all students have equal opportunities to learn."

Universal design is one path toward dismantling those inequities. Start your UDL journey now.

Learn More

As a next step, here is a buffet of high-quality resources to learn more about UDL and educational equity. Just like the Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts that I loved so much, check out your options, and choose what's best for you. And if you're like me and you want to try a little bit of everything, treat yourself!

Read It

Read this blog, written by Mirko Chardin and I, that shares that the time for equity (and UDL!) is now.

Read Chapter 1 in UDL Theory and Practice: Re-Envisioning Education through UDL (free with free login). The book is a universally designed text book, so you can read, have it read to you, or watch videos that explore concepts more deeply.

View a PDF copy of the UDL Flowchart, which is a tool to think about UDL lesson design. If you'd like to read a blog that introduces the flow chart, you can access it here.

View the UDL Progression Rubric to determine what UDL looks like at each phase of implementation.

Use the UDL Implementation Rubric to consider where your current practices are within UDL. There are no right or wrong answers. This is simply an opportunity to reflect on your current implementation. Choose the descriptor that best meets your practice and consider how you can continue to grow in UDL to create more equitable, personalized learning experiences for your students.

Read "Equity in Our Schools: A Pretty Little Lie" an article co-written with Andratesha Fritzgerald, the author of Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning.

Listen to It

Listen to this podcast on Cult of Pedagogy, Ten Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity, featuring Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA.

Listen to this podcast from Paula Martin Johnson, where she shares concrete strategies for how educators can create a climate and curriculum that reflects students' racial and economic backgrounds, languages, religions, funds of knowledge and family structures.

Watch It

Come back for more.
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This framework rejects one-size-fits-all teaching and offers options for how to engage, what materials to use, and how to demonstrate learning.

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I think I have been asked "Where am I from?" a lot since I was a child. It was a question that always felt a little uncomfortable, even if the person expressed a genuine curiosity. If I deflected from the implied question and answered that I was from California, or Southern California, or Seal Beach as the questioning progressed, it would inevitably lead to "but where are you from from?"

This was before I had the tools to recognize that this question is a microaggression. It was always confusing if this was a racist question or genuine curiosity as I am of mixed race of Asian descent, thus hard to pinpoint from a geographic perspective. I wish that I had known that an appropriate response would have been to say, "My grandparents came from Japan in the early 1900s and my father came from China for his Ph.D. at UCLA." Or even, "Do you realize that's kind of a racist question?" Context is everything, but it's also hard to judge on the fly when you are in a conversation with a stranger.

And that's not to say that I'm not guilty of asking questions either. I asked my daughter's friend in college where he learned to speak such perfect English because I knew he was from Thailand and I thought that maybe he went to an American School there (he did). She called me out that my question was racist and I simultaneously both chastened by my question and proud of my daughter's willingness to intervene.

From my point of view, I had met a bunch of kids from The American School when I lived in Tokyo for a summer and it blew me away how these kids who had never left Japan spoke such perfect English, down to American slang! It always impresses me ... not just fluent English but "English as if you grew up here."

I wish that my public school system taught about racism as part of the curriculum. They teach about bullying, suicide prevention, and stranger danger. Perhaps racism was left off because it didn't seem like an issue. But, of course, it's clear these days that racism is the elephant in the room. Microaggressions might be a good place to start!

How about you? What books, videos, or materials would suggest for a unit on teaching kids about microaggressions? Thanks so much for sharing!

A Unit to Teach Kids About Microaggressions

Microaggression is a term used for brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative prejudicial slights and insults toward any group, particularly culturally marginalized groups. from Wikipedia

From Edutopia:

"In a 2007 article for American Psychologist, Sue and six other researchers identified three categories of racial microaggressions:

A microassault is a "verbal or nonverbal attack meant to hurt the intended victim through name-calling, avoidant behavior, or purposeful discriminatory actions." Example: Students wear Confederate flag clothing.

A microinsult is an insensitive communication that demeans someone's racial identity, signaling to people of color that "their contributions are unimportant." Example: A teacher corrects the grammar only of Hispanic children.

A microinvalidation involves negating or ignoring the "psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person of color." Example: An Asian American student from the U.S. is asked where she was born, which conveys the message that she is not really an American."

Let's start with this humorous video that makes the point of how the question, "Where are you from?", is a microaggression.
(The creator of the video notes that ff you'd like to use this video for your company, school or other organization please email KenTanakaLA (at) gmail (dot) com for licensing information.)
Examples of microaggressions in the classroom from Southern Illinois University:
Some examples of microaggression (DU CME):

Setting low expectations for a student from particular groups, neighborhoods, or feeder patterns.

Using inappropriate humor in class that degrades students from different groups.

Singling students out in class because of their backgrounds.

Complimenting non-white students on their use of 'good English.'

Ways of responding to microaggressions when we witness others doing them:

Recognize that it happened.

Acknowledge that it happened (at the time or later) to the person affected.

Be an active bystander: not just someone who thinks of themselves as an ally or knows what oppression looks like, but actually does something about it.

Calling in vs. calling out. Calling someone out on their inappropriate behavior may help them recognize their mistake, but calling someone in is a more compassionate alternative. Calling someone in on their hurtful or oppressive behavior means to assume that the person did not intend to be hurtful or oppressive and did not fully understand the impact of their actions. Calling someone in is to communicate with that person, using an appropriate communication channel, to let them know what the specific hurtful or oppressive behavior was and explain why it was inappropriate. The goal of calling in is not to shame the person, but to compassionately educate that person and encourage behavior change (http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/guide-to-calling-in/)."

Examples of Ways to Respond to Microaggressions (Creating a Positive Classroom Climate for Diversity)
Example 1: Inquire

When one student suggests that a statement made by a character in a book is offensive to Asian women, another student says 'That's not offensive. That's reality.'

Response: 'I understand that you disagree. Can you tell me what you mean?'

Example 2: Paraphrasing as a means of reflection

A white student says, 'I don't understand why we always have to talk about race. It's not always about race.'

Response: 'It sounds like you are concerned and frustrated about the focus of discussion. What is it that concerns you most?'

Example 3: Use an 'I' statement

A male student responds to a comment with a joke, 'Does your mom know you're gay?'

Response: 'I didn't find that joke funny. Please remember our class ground rules and be respectful of each other.'

Example 4: Redirect and Reframe

When asked a question about terrorism, a student suggests that another hijab-wearing student would be better able to answer the question.

Response: 'She can decide if she would like to comment. I'm interested in the perspectives of all the students in this class so that we can think about this topic together. Over the years, many groups have engaged in terrorism. Can anyone give me some examples?'

Teach Microaggressions through Children's Books

Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Mendez, illustrated by Jaime Kim

This picture book comes both in an English and a Spanish version and has lyrical text to reply to the microaggression question of "Where are you from?" It is the perfect picture book to introduce a unit on microaggressions to kids of all ages. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Farah Rocks Fifth Grade by Susan Muaddi Darraj, illustrated by Ruaida Mannaa

Farah and her younger brother endure straight-up bullying by the new girl, Dana, but I include this book because the type of bullying is subtle enough for the adults to ignore it. In the first instance, Dana makes fun of Farah's name by comparing it to "pharaoh." Dana also walks with a fake limp makes fun of Ana who has cerebral palsy. This book can be used as an example of comparing quiet bullying to microaggressions - where is the line between them? Allies also figure into this story and can be another point of discussion. How should an ally get involved? How can you be an ally during a conflict? [early middle grade, ages 8 and up]

New Kid is the first graphic novel to be awarded the Newbery prize and it's easy to see why! Embedded in a coming of age story of being the new kid at a New York City private prep school is the friction of racism in the form of microaggressions. There's the obnoxious kid Andy who doesn't seem to realize that Ramon is Nicaraguan, not Mexican. It's not just the kids but the adults at Jordan's school commit microaggressions. A white adult assumes that Mr. Gardner coaches a sport because he's black. The librarian at the book fair picks "urban grit" books for Jordan and Drew. And my favorite, Mrs. Rawle, who is the worst kind: she thinks she's "woke" but she's actually racist. Jordan's year at Riverdale Academy Day School also depicts kids of all different backgrounds struggling to fit in, and, in learning about each other, they triumph in the end by not just getting through the year, but by forging bonds that connect them to each other. Jerry Craft's graphic novel points out our racist blind spots. It's a book that is both empowering and uplifting, making us, the reader, better people for having read this book. [middle grade graphic novel, ages 8 and up]

Jerry Craft on experiencing microaggressions and including this material in New Kid:

Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire by Susan Tan

Cilla Lee-Jenkins is not excited about the new addition coming to her family. She refers to the new baby as "the Blob." The new baby is also bringing out tensions on both sides of her family, with hints that it could be related to race. Cilla is bi-racial. Her father is Chinese American and her mother is white. When she's with the white side of her family, she experiences microaggressions but doesn't quite know what to make of them. When adults ask her questions such as "Where are you from?" and "What are you exactly?", Cilla answers with an innocence that she's a future author extraordinaire. Susan Tan treats microaggressions in an age-appropriate way to call it out quietly without having it damage her protagonist's spirit.

Pair this book with picture book, Where Are You From? [middle grade, ages 8 and up]
White Fragility Books for Kids Rethinking & Examining Dr. Seuss' Racism The Racist Side of Dr. Seuss You Didn't Know About Japanese Internment Books for Kids & My Family's Story SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response Racism and White Fragility at #ALAMW19 To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
p.s. Related posts:

My books:

BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN'S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.

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A Unit to Teach Kids About Microaggressions

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I think I have been asked "Where am I from?" a lot since I was a child. It was a question that always felt a little uncomfortable, even if the person expressed a genuine curiosity.

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Educator Self-Reflection Tool_ Reduce Harm in Classrooms, Interrupt Microaggressions (1).pdf

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Disarming Racial Microaggressions_ Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders.pdf

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How are microaggressions like mosquitoes?

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Greta Bauer, Ph.D., is a Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University and a CIHR Sex and Gender Science Chair studying epidemiological methods for advancing intersectional sex and gender science. In part 1 of this two-part series, we spoke with Greta Bauer about intersectional approaches to quantitative health research and her preferred methods for study design and data collection. Stay tuned for part 2, where she will share methods for intersectional analyses.

Greta Bauer, PhD.

What is intersectionality and why does it matter in quantitative health research?

Intersectionality is a Black feminist theoretical framework with origins as early as the 1850sFootnote 1. The term was first coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to name the experiences of Black women who face intersecting and cumulative forms of oppression and discrimination (racism and sexism)Footnote 2. An intersectional framework assumes that an individual's experiences are not simply equal to the sum of their parts but represent intersections of axes of social power. For example, the health-related experiences of immigrant women may be different from those of immigrant men and non-immigrant women. In Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (SGBA+), we discuss intersectionality as an extension of sex and gender analysis, but intersectionality also originates in critical race theory and can be applied across other social identities or positions in society (social positions).

While qualitative intersectional approaches are well-developed, quantitative approaches are less so, because of the challenges inherent in capturing and analysing intersections of social power and their causal effects on outcomes in discrete, categorical data points. A key question in quantitative intersectional research is whose experiences, outcomes, or processes need to be examined or made visible. By investigating population heterogeneity in the context of social power and studying processes of oppression, discrimination and privilege, we can develop interventions that are directly relevant to specific communities. Learn more Footnote 3.

When should quantitative researchers be incorporating intersectional analyses in their studies?

It should be standard practice to include the 'plus' in SGBA+. It's critical that intersectional factors not be retrofitted after a study has been completed.

Here are a few examples of identity and social position variables and dimensions, as well as processes of oppression, discrimination, privilege, and power that can be included in intersectional analyses. These examples are based on a Canadian context. What constitutes a position of power may play out differently at different intersections, and in different contexts, as will the variables and dimensions that you choose to include in your research.

Long description

A colorful circle indicates social identities and positions, relationships of power and marginalization, and social processes of discrimination, oppression, privilege and power.

Around the edge of the circle, there is a list of social processes. These include ageism, ableism, ethnocentrism, transphobia, xenophobia, classism, colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and heterosexism. Within the circle, social identities and positions are arranged in three concentric rings.

The outermost ring lists sixteen social identities and positions. These include age, culture, disability, education, ethnicity, geography, gender, immigration status, income, indigeneity, language, marital status, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

Moving inwards, the second ring lists sixteen categories that fall under the social identities and positions described in the outermost ring. These categories are typically more marginalized in society. A text box along the edge of this second ring reads "Marginalized."

The innermost ring lists sixteen categories that again fall under the social identities and positions described in the outermost ring. This time, the categories listed are ones typically associated with power in society. At the center of the circle, a text box reads "Power."

Thus, the sixteen portions of the circle can be broken down as follows:

Age: Older adults, youth (marginalized ring), middle-aged (power ring)

Culture: Non-Western (marginalized ring), Western (power ring)

Disability: Disabled (marginalized ring), able-bodied (power ring)

Education: No formal education (marginalized ring), post-secondary (power ring)

Geography: Rural (marginalized ring), urban (power ring)

Gender: Trans and nonbinary (marginalized ring), cis-woman (middle ring), cis-man (power ring)

Immigration status: Immigrant (marginalized ring), citizen (power ring)

Income: Low (marginalized ring), high (power ring)

Indigeneity: Indigenous Peoples (marginalized ring), settler (power ring)

Language: English and French (marginalized ring), Other languages (power ring)

Marital status: Widowed, divorced, single (marginalized ring), married (power ring)

Race: Racialized (marginalized ring), white (power ring)

Religion: Non-Christian (marginalized ring), Christian (power ring)

Sex: Intersex (marginalized ring), female (middle ring), male (power ring)

Sexual orientation: LGBTQ+ (marginalized ring), straight (power ring)

Below the circle, an arrow goes from the "Trans and nonbinary" text in the gender portion to a text box that reads: "Some gender identity terms include: agender, bigender, genderfluid, genderqueer, gender neutral, non-binary, transgender man, transgender woman."

Adapted from Sylvia Duckworth's Wheel of Power/Privilege.

Tip: Cisgender (or "cis") is a term used to describe people whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth, while transgender (or "trans") is used to describe people whose gender identity and sex assigned at birth do not align. Two-Spirit identity, which is sometimes described as a gender identity, transcends Western notions of sex, gender and sexual orientation. Find out more in Issue 2 of our Meet the Methods series: "What and who is Two-Spirit?" in Health Research Footnote 4.

What steps should researchers take to conduct intersectional research?

First decide if a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods approach is most appropriate to answer your research question. If quantitative data will be used, then follow these steps to conduct the research.

1. Decide which intersections should be the focus of research.

Look for existing qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods research that suggests that sex, gender, age, race/ethnicity or other identity characteristics impact different groups in different ways. Questions can also be generated through community knowledge, by engaging with community stakeholders. In the absence of evidence reported in the literature or by communities, be open to conducting exploratory analyses. Data-driven explorations can be used to highlight heterogeneity in existing data that you may not have thought to look for. Regardless of the approach, it is crucial that you identify your intersections of interest in advance.

2. Engage with communities.

Include representative voices on the methods design team. Seek out additional community knowledge where needed to better understand the role of social power in shaping the research and its findings.

3. Design a sampling strategy that ensures results can be produced for all intersections of primary interest.

To avoid underpowered analyses, take an intersectional lens from the beginning with regard to sampling strategy. If some intersections of primary interest are unlikely to be sampled in sufficient numbers under a general strategy, plan to include stratified sampling with oversampling of certain groups. An increase in sample size may be required depending on which intersections are of interest to your study.

4. Consider multidimensionality.

Multidimensionality refers to the multiple dimensions of identity, social position and processes of oppression, discrimination and privilege. Specifically define intersections of interest and how you will measure research participants' identities within each dimension. For example, if you are interested in race and ethnicity, participants may respond differently based on whether you are measuring ethnoracial identity, how they are perceived by others or their experiences of racism. If you are interested in gender, some possible dimensions to investigate are gender identity, gender roles and/or norms, gender relations and institutionalized gender.

Tip: Cisnormativity is when we erroneously assume that we know all dimensions of sex and gender when we only know one dimension. For example, in a study on uterine cancer, uterine status could be used as an inclusion criterion instead of sex assigned at birth. This would correctly classify both cis women and trans men who have had hysterectomies.

5. Ensure that study measures are appropriate and valid across all intersections.

Consider whether measures specific to particular intersections should be included. Formulating survey questions will vary depending on the type of study you are conducting and the intersections of interest for your research. First, consider whether you are developing a general population survey or one that is tailored to a specific community. This will help determine which response choices to include, and the level of familiarity your audience will have with the language used in the survey. Then, workshop the questions through focus groups and pre-tests with your target audience to make sure your questions are clear, inclusive and comprehensive. In population surveys, if majority groups misunderstand a question, this can overwhelm responses from numerically small groups and bias your measure. On the other hand, people with multiple and/or minoritized identities may not be accurately captured by improperly designed study measures.

Consider asking an open-ended question before a fixed-choice question. This allows participants to describe how they self-identify. Then ask: "If you had to choose one of the following for the purposes of this survey, which best describes you?" This approach helps understand how people make decisions as to which box to put themselves in. If only open-ended questions are used, ethical concerns arise for researchers trying to subsequently guess what box to put somebody in for quantitative analyses, so it is preferable to just ask them what they would choose. This approach permits the description of the heterogeneity within each category and the acknowledgement of how the provided response options may not fully encompass or reflect respondents' identities. Learn more Footnote 5.

6. Analyze data in ways that make the outcomes and effects clear at different intersections.

Find out more in part 2 of this series!

7. Ensure interpretation of research results is intersectional.

For example, it's important to acknowledge heterogeneity within an intersection in order to avoid attaching stigma to a group.

The views expressed in this document are those of Greta Bauer and do not necessarily reflect those of the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health or the Government of Canada.
Footnotes

Footnote 1

Michals, Debra. " Sojourner Truth." National Women's History Museum, 2015. Accessed on November 27, 2020.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1989) " Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics," University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989, Article 8.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Bauer, G. R. (2014). Incorporating intersectionality theory into population health research methodology: challenges and the potential to advance health equity. Social Science & Medicine, 110, 10-17.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

CIHR Institute of Gender and Health. " Meet the methods series: 'What and who is Two-Spirit in health research'." CIHR, 2020. Accessed on February 2, 2021.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Bauer, G. R. et al. (2017). Transgender-inclusive measures of sex/gender for population surveys: Mixed-methods evaluation and recommendations. PLOS ONE, 12(5), e0178043.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

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Meet the Methods Series: Quantitative intersectional study design and primary data collection

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Greta Bauer, Ph.D., is a Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University and a CIHR Sex and Gender Science Chair studying epidemiological methods for advancing intersectional sex and gender science. In part 1 of this two-part series, we spoke with Greta Bauer about intersectional approaches to quantitative health research and her preferred methods for study design and data collection.

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Speak Up! Responding to Everyday Bigotry.pdf

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Who doesn't love a good book series? I still remember the excitement every time a new book in one of my favourite children's book series came out. Book series are also great for reluctant readers, once you get them hooked on an exciting series with a main character they can identify with, be it one of the same or the opposite gender.

On this list of multicultural book series for girls and boys, there should be something for every young reader, from picture book to chapter book series, from age 2 to 12.

And it should go without saying that of course girls can read books about boys and boys can read books about girls!

40+ Multicultural Book Series for Girls & Boys

Picture Book Series about Girls

The Lola series follows an adorable little girl on her library and reading adventures, from story time and singing, to choosing new books and reading them with her mum and dad, or to her little brother. Lola's imagination and her enthusiasm for books are reflected in the bright illustrations of this wonderful series. ~ African - Babies & Toddlers

These vibrant picture books are a spin-off of the Anna Hibiscus Early Chapter Book series (featured below). Anna lives in Nigeria with her Canadian mother, African father, twin brother and extended African family. Not often do picture books set in Africa feature a modern, middle-class family, so these books are real gems! ~ African - Preschool

Follow little Yoon, starting with her arrival from Korea, to experiencing Christmas and her birthday in a new country. With simple text and stunning illustrations of subtle grace, the Yoon series tells the story of a young girl and her family's adjustment to life in the U.S. whilst honouring their own culture and traditions. ~ Asian - Elementary School

Amazing Grace, the book that started it all, is a modern classic! The Grace series follows the life of a determined and creative girl who is supported by the love of her mother and grandmother. Brought to life by expressive watercolour illustrations, this picture book series portrays loving family interactions and positive messages of self-affirmation. The Grace series was extended with three chapter book (see below). ~ African - Preschool, Elementary School

Picture Book Series about Boys

Lola's baby brother gets his own mini-series! Leo loves baby time at the library and loves to swim! And little black boys will love seeing themselves reflected in this cute baby boy and his little adventures! ~ African - Babies & Toddlers

Another award-winning mini-series that boys will love! Pretend lucha libre competitor Niño wrestles with imaginary monsters and other adversaries, most of all his younger sisters. These fun stories about imagination, play, and siblings are brought to life by Morales' dynamic cartoon-style illustrations. ~ Hispanic - Preschool

The Joshua series depicts small moments in the life of a young black boy, from having fun in the rain to finding a nest of baby birds, from seeking comfort from his father when he wakes up in the middle of the night to enjoying a day at the beach with his family. The rhythmic text coupled with soft water colour illustrations give this series a soothing feel. ~ African - Preschool

Mo Jackson is a little boy with a big passion for sports. He may not be the biggest, strongest, or fastest player, but he won't let that stop him from playing! With colourful cartoon illustrations, this award-winning new series will be hit with sports-loving boys. ~ African - Elementary School

Chapter Book Series about Girls

The Jackson Friends early chapter book series features a diverse bunch of school friends. Each book focuses on a different main character, from an Asian American girl's first day at Jackson Magnet School, to a white girl's worries around Grandparents Day, a black girl overcoming stage fright, and all three friends coming to terms with the class bully's sudden death. A sensitive and engaging series full of warmth and humour. ~ Diverse - Elementary School

Anna Hibiscus lives in amazing Africa with her Canadian mother, African father, twin brothers Double and Trouble, and her extended African family. Join her as she splashes in the sea, prepares for a party, sells oranges, hopes to see snow, and more in these charmingly illustrated Early Chapter Books! ~ African - Elementary School

Complete Anna Hibiscus Early Chapter Book Collection: Anna Hibiscus Complete Collection

Most of the time Ruby Lu loves being Ruby Lu: When she is the star of her own magic show, gives talks at assembly, or rides the bus to Chinatown. But sometimes she finds it hard to be Ruby Lu: When she has to go to Chinese school, her father loses her job, or her deaf cousin from China comes to live with her family. A delightful early chapter book series following the adventures of a spunky, resourceful Asian American girl. ~ Asian - Elementary School

Lola Levine likes writing in her diario, sipping her mom's cafe con leche, eating her dad's matzo ball soup, and playing soccer with her team, the Orange Smoothies. So what if she doesn't always fit in? Young readers will be inspired by the Peruvian-Jewish girl's big heart and creative spirit as she navigates second grade, friendship and more in true Lola style. ~ Hispanic - Elementary School

Meet 8-year-old fabulous Ruby Marigold, baby sister of the popular Booker boys! She's sweet and sassy and every bit as tough as her older siblings. She sings like nobody's business, has a pet iguana named Lady Love, and when she grows up, she's going to be the most famous woman animal doctor on the planet. ~ African - Elementary School

For Katie Woo, life is one big adventure. Join the energetic Asian American girl as she learns how to be a great classmate and friend. With an authentic and fun heroine, the Katie Woo early chapter book series will appeal to young readers everywhere. The series includes over forty books. ~ Asian - Elementary School

Following on from the bestselling Grace picture books series, these are chapter books about spirited young Grace and her big imagination. The fast-paced books follow Grace on her summer vacation and through some big changes in her life: The death of a family friend, a school bully, her mother's new husband, a move to a new house and a baby on the way! ~ African - Elementary School

The bestselling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series with Botswana's premier lady detective, Precious Ramotswe, as a prequel for young readers! Follow young Precious as she navigates her first cases and learns how to be a detective whilst solving the mysteries of the cake, meerkat hill and the missing lion. ~ African - Elementary School

Lively 7-year-old Sofia Martinez loves getting attention - even if it gets her into trouble! Follow Sofia and her big family on her adventures in this fun early chapter book series! The stories stand alone and don't need to be read in a particular order. The books are sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases and include discussion questions and writing prompts. ~ Hispanic - Elementary School

After her parents' divorce Dyamonde Daniel moves to a new neighbourhood. The smart and confident third grader with "wild-crazy hair" and "skinnier than half a toothpick" has to navigate a new school, new friends and more. Dyamonde's spitfire personality, the energetic storytelling and relatable situations will have young readers hooked on this early chapter book series in no time! ~ African - Elementary School

Biracial Lulu loves every kind of animal, from polar bears to the hairiest spider. Vividly written, this warm-hearted chapter book series is perfect for readers who are moving on from early chapter books. The well-drawn multicultural characters, the humour and the kid-friendly drama will appeal to young animal lovers everywhere. ~ African - Elementary School

Complete Collection: Lulu Boxed Set #1-6

Audiobooks: The Duck in the Park and Other Stories // The Rabbit Next Door and Other Stories

No case too difficult to solve for young detective duo Milo and Jazz! Girls and Boys alike will easily identify with the clever detectives and will enjoy using their own detective skills in these fun, easy-to-solve early reader mysteries. ~ Diverse - Elementary School

More from Milo an Jazz: The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk // The Case of the Crooked Campaign // The Case of the Superstar Scam // The Case of the Locked Box // The Case of the Buried Bones

Another spunky little detective! Katie Fry may be little, but she's got a big brain, and she uses it to solve mysteries. Beginning readers will love hunting for clues in the pictures right along with Katie and Sherlock. Hopefully there'll be more books to come in this fun series! ~ African - Elementary School

Spirited Keena lives in Washington, D.C. with her mom and older brother. She doesn't mean to be a troublemaker, but somehow trouble always finds her, for example when her teacher thinks it's her birthday and she doesn't tell her that it isn't, or when Tiffany tries to blackmail Keena with her journal. ~ African - Elementary School

Meet neighbours and best friends Nikki and Deja. The two girls do everything together, from watching Saturday morning cartoons, and playing jacks, to jumping double Dutch at recess, and helping each other with their homework. This warm, easy-to-read chapter book series captures the joys and complexities of elementary school life, particularly friendships, with finesse and humour. ~ African - Elementary School

Each of the books in this series focuses on a different main character: From reluctant ballerina Alexandrea who'd rather be a speed skater, to logical Brenda who studies anatomy books, and perfectionistic Jerzey who desperately wants to be a ballet dancer but lacks talent. With an endearing multicultural cast of characters, Sugar Plum Ballerinas is a fun easy chapter book series about friendship and staying true to yourself. ~ African - Elementary School

Complete collection: Sugar Plum Ballerinas Box Set

Drawing from the author's own childhood experiences, this series follows a young Taiwanese-American girl as she navigates living with two very different cultures. Pacy Lin encounters prejudice, struggles with acceptance, and has to learn to deal with change. Universal themes of friendship, family, and finding one's passion in life make this light-hearted series appealing to readers of all backgrounds. ~ Asian - Elementary School, Middle School

This series follows Anna Wang year by year from Grade 4 to 7. One year she learns about the ups and downs of friendships, the next is all about the adoption of a baby sibling from China, the following about identity and going on a trip to China, and in the last one Anna learns about family values in today's Chinese culture. ~ Asian - Elementary School, Middle School

Brianna is determined to become president of her class, just like her hero, famous celebrity chef Miss Delicious. But being president is much more challenging than she thought! Brianna faces friendship issues, fundraising failures, and a lot of self-doubt along the way. A fast-paced mini-series that realistically captures the ups and downs of the middle school years.~ African - Middle School

Williams-Garcia's award-winning trilogy about three resilient sisters in the late 60's is heartfelt, funny and thought-provoking. It follows Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern as they spend the summer of 1968 in Oakland with their mother who abandoned them seven years earlier, deal with their father's new girlfriend and their uncle who was traumatized serving in Vietnam, and learn surprising things about their family history. ~ African - Middle School

Seeds of America is a bestselling historical trilogy that follows the life of 13-year-old slave Isabel during the American Revolution as she fights for her and her little sister's freedom. Though fictional, it is based on actual events, such as the failed assassination of George Washington and the capture of Fort Washington. This multi-award-winning trilogy is a compelling read that addresses racism and the ethics of war. ~ African - Middle School

Chapter Book Series about Boys

Jaden Toussaint is a 5 year-old scientist with a giant afro and an even bigger brain. Whether he is on a mission to convince his parents that he needs more screen time, saves his school from a (possible) alien invasion, or finally meets his match in the form of his cousin, young boys will love this all around cool dude and his hilarious adventures. ~ African - Preschool , Elementary School

Each of the four books focus on a different at Carver Elementary. The first two books follow skateboard-loving friends Gavin and Richard who sometimes end up in trouble, the third one tells of Carlos who gets annoyed with his cousin for feeding his pet geckos, and in the last one Calvin is dealing with his next door neighbors moving away - and the school bully moving in. ~ Diverse - Elementary School

This series follows Miami Jackson's third-going-on-fourth-grade life: From getting through the last few days of school before summer vacation, finding his place in summer baseball camp, to dealing with a no-nonsense new teacher with humour and irrepressible attitude. ~ African - Elementary School

One day Freddie Ramos comes home from school and finds a strange box just for him. Inside he finds Zapato Power-shoes that change his life by giving him super speed! With breezy text, infused with a few Spanish words, and cartoon-style illustrations, this is an appealing early chapter book series for boys. ~ Hispanic - Elementary School

9-year-old Bobby Ellis-Chan's biggest problems in life are girls, dancing on stage in the school musical, and not living up to his retired football star father's expectations. Young boys will love Bobby's wild and out of control dilemmas and adventures in this smart and funny chapter books series. ~ Asian - Elementary School

Calvin Coconut lives near the beach in Hawaii, with his mom and his little sister. Mom says: "You're the man of the house, Cal." Which means: Be responsible. Calvin tries, but fun and trouble always get in the way. A light-hearted and lively chapter book series about a fourth-grader, full of the fun of growing up in Hawaii. ~ Diverse - Elementary School

Ziggy and his friends Rico, Rashawn, and Jerome call themselves The Black Dinosaurs, and share exciting adventures. They uncover a box of bones, discover an old railroad tunnel, blast off to space camp, and more. With humour and a touch of mystery, this chapter book series puts an emphasis on cooperation and respect. ~ African - Elementary School

Complete Collection: Clubhouse Mysteries Super Sleuth Collection

Alvin, an Asian American second grader, is afraid of everything - girls, camping, birthday parties, babies, and, most of all, school. He's so afraid of school that, while he' s there, he never, ever, says a word. But at home he's a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man. A drop-dead-funny and touching series with a truly unforgettable character, perfect for both beginning and reluctant readers. ~ Asian - Elementary School

Follow twins Jada and Jamal Perkins and their friends Carlita Garcia and Josh Cornell on their adventures in their multicultural neighbourhood! They enjoy a backyard campout, have fun at the neighbourhood block party, and beautify the schoolyard for Earth Day. With short chapters and beautiful illustrations, the Bradford Street Buddies series is perfect for newly independent readers (boys and girls). ~ Diverse - Elementary School

Ten-year-old Akimbo lives on a game reserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo helps him whenever he can - even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations, like protecting elephants from poachers, saving a lion cub from a trap, and rescueing a man from a crocodile. Adventure- and wildlife-loving boys will adore this series! ~ African - Elementary School

First 3 of the series available in a box set: The Akimbo Adventures

EllRay Jakes is the shortest kid in his class, and he gets into trouble from time to time. The Ellray Jakes early chapter book series features short authentic stories about school life and peers. Ellray's often hilarious antics are sure to keep the attention of young readers! ~ African - Elementary School

STAT (Standing Tall And Talented) is a slam-dunk chapter book series by NBA superstar Amar'e Stoudemire. Eleven-year-old Amar'e loves skateboarding and playing basketball. He takes his school work very seriously and helps out with his dad's landscaping company. Based on the author's life, this is a heartfelt, accessible middle-grade series about following your passion and overcoming obstacles. ~ African - Middle School

*You can buy any of the multicultural book series from Amazon USA, CAN or UK by clicking on the book titles or images*

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40+ Multicultural Book Series for Girls & Boys - Colours of Us

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Who doesn't love a good book series? I still remember the excitement every time a new book in one of my favourite children's book series came out. Book series are also great for reluctant readers, once you get them hooked on an exciting series with a main character they can identify with, be it one of the same or the opposite gender.

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Try these fantastic beginning chapter books with main characters of color for your growing readers, ages six to nine.

It's important for books to reflect the diversity in our world. First, because when kids read stories with characters that look like them, it feels affirming. Second, because all kids need to read about the diversity in the world around them. This builds empathy and understanding.

Which is why we need quality books with culturally and racially diverse main characters! (Note to publishers: keep publishing more books like these!!)

Please know that I value all kind of diversity (neurodiversity, physical diversity, and so forth) but this list focuses on books featuring with non-white, BIPoC characters.

If your child is learning to read or struggling with reading, or you're a teacher, I highly recommend Reading Simplified's resources and membership site. Dr. Ginsberg streamlines the reading research into understandable activities that get results!

You Might Also Like: DIVERSE MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS.

Beginning Chapter Books with Diverse Main Characters

by Vicky Fang, illustrated by Christine Nishiyama
Layla wants to help her amusement park owner friend keep the park open. She investigates the problem then figures out a solution...people want to bring their dogs. She brainstorms ideas and invents new rides that help solve the problem. An entertaining, STEM-focused story.

by Saadia Faruqui, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Yasmin is an exuberant girl who is interested in everything from exploring to building to fashion. This book tells four short stories from Yasmin's life, all in chapters with lively, full-color illustrations. Each story shows Yasmin as a creative problem solver even when things get hard. Her Pakistani American culture is embedded throughout the story such as the foods Yasmin's family eats like naan or how she calls her father Baba.

by Kara West, illustrated by Leeza Hernandez
FANTASY
When Mia gets accepted into the Superhero training program, she learns that she is SUPER. She even learns that her parents are, also. After school at her new superhero training, she has a disastrous first day and learns that it takes work to become a superhero. Black and white illustrations, bigger print, and an exciting story make this a winning series for growing readers.

by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Laura Zarrin
Short stories about cheerful, positive Katie, a girl who visits the dentist, bakes cupcakes, visits a farm, and rescues a kitten.

King and Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers
King is Kayla's beloved dog. He's not just her best friend but in this story, he also helps her find her missing lost tooth.

Playful writing, whimsical illustrations, and rich Pakistani-American culture... One of the best things about Omar is his HUGE imagination! He uses his imagination to deal with moving, starting a new school, bullying, and racism.

The Year of the Book by Andrea Chang
Growing up is challenging and in the first novel, The Year of the Book, Anna turns to books for company while she learns how to make friendships in real life. The subsequent books in the series are just as realistic and well-written. I highly recommend them.

Zoey and Sassafras Dragons and Marshmallows #1 by Asia Citro, illustrated by Marion Lindsay
This is an entertaining and well-written story with the coolest mix of science and magic, a diverse main character, and fantastic illustrations that will get kids reading and learning. Zoey, like her mom, can see magical creatures and is tasked to care for any injured creatures that might need help. In this story, she uses her science skills (including research and the scientific method) to figure out how to care for a sick baby dragon.

by Siman Nuurali, illustrated by Anjan Sarkar
Not only is this a great STEM story about a young boy who finds the stars to be fascinating, but it's also a story with diversity because Sadiq's Muslim family is originally from Somalia. The story is also about how after a field trip to the planetarium, Sadiq and his friends start a space club and work together to raise money for a DIY telescope. Growing readers will enjoy the friendship, teamwork, STEM topics, and diversity found in this first book of the Sadiq series from Capstone Publishing's Picture Window Books.

Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest Episode 1: The Quest for Screen Time by Marti Dumas
What kid doesn't want more screen time? Jaden has a plan for convincing his parents that he needs more time - and he's going to use his big brain and his fellow kindergarteners to help. So happy to see a GOOD story with a diverse main character and family!

by Deborah Zemke
Sadly, Bea's best friend and next-door neighbor moves away. When a new, mean boy named Bert moves in, Bea survives by drawing pictures of her life and her hopes for the future - including imagining Bert in various horrible geographic places. When her teacher finds Bea's drawings, instead of getting in trouble, Bea's artistry is celebrated. I like the diverse main character and the relatable topic.

by Jake Maddox
What an exciting adventure with great pacing. Jasmine and Arjun are siblings with scientist parents who are helping explore and clean up a coral reef. Arjun misbehaves while diving, putting himself and his sister in danger from a shark. It's up to Jasmine to save his life and help him do better. In addition to a great adventure, you'll also learn about ocean pollution and coral reefs.

Emma and her friends are excited for the costume contest. When Sophia's costume disappears mysteriously, the friends must investigate clues and interviews witnesses to discover what happened.

by Hilary McKay
This is one of my favorite early chapter books! Lulu and her cousin help their neighbor Arthur learn to love and care for his (neglected) rabbit. She doesn't want her neighbor to feel bad so she writes George the rabbit notes and gives him gifts from her pet rabbit named Thumper.

Ellray Jakes Walks the Plank by Sally Warner, illustrated by Jamie Harper
I bet a lot of kids will relate to this story about Ellray and his little sister. Little sister overfeeds Ellray's class fish and kills it. Ellray takes the blame to protect his sister, after all family is family, and gets to help find a new class pet.

Sofia Martinez My Vida Loca by Jacquline Jules
Perfecto! My Vida Loca is a warm-hearted beginning chapter book about the adventures of a spunky girl named Sophia - from her singing (that annoys everyone except abuela) to a cooking mishap of arroz con leche that her familia helps her fix. I love the bright pink text that indicates the Spanish words (maybe 1 or 2 a page). Illustrations are fun, capturing the emotions and action perfectamente.

by Paula Yoo, illustrated by Dom Lee
Don't miss this interesting biography about a Korean American diver, Sammy Lee. Growing up, Sammy could only use the swimming pool one day a week, the day it was for people of color. During the rest of the week, he used a sand pit in his coach's backyard. Gack! His hard work paid off and you'll read all about his many challenges leading to eventually competing in the Olympics. He was the first Korean American to win gold for the United States. This biographical book is an amazing example of growth mindset.

Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular School Fair by Alice Kulpers, illustrated by Diana Toledano
Book-loving Polly Diamond has a magic journal. Whatever she writes in it comes true - which she learned the hard way in the first book, can have a way of backfiring. Now Polly's planning for her school fair. Only maybe she didn't quite remember what can happen when she writes everything in her magic book. Because this school fair is about to be a magic-carpet-ride, dragon- and fairy-filled event to remember! What's even worse is that Polly can't find her book to write everything back to normal.

by Elizabeth Eulberg
What a lovely surprise this Sherlock inspired book is- it's so well, written and tells a great story that kids will enjoy as much as me. John Watson moves with his mom who has recently left both the military and John's dad to Harlem. There, he meets a very unique girl named Shelby Holmes who reluctantly allows him to tag along with her as she solves her latest crime which is to figure out who took a posh, show-dog from a classmate's secure house.

by Debbi Michiko Florence, illustrated by Melanie Demmer
Introduce readers to fostering pets until they find a forever home. This story shows the tentative beginnings followed by bonding and a growing relationship, then the feelings that come when the pet finds a forever home. Kaita's experience helping a labrador named Truman feels true-to-life and might just inspire you to become a foster family for a pet, too.

Danger! Tiger Crossing #1 by Lin Oliver
When 10-year old Tiger and his friend, Luna, investigate an unusual neighbor woman's house, they discover a magical golden frame that transports them into famous paintings. They get stuck in a Henri Rousseau painting where they meet a boy who was trapped there 50 years prior. Will they be able to escape the painting before they're trapped forever?

Princess Pink and the Land of Fake-Believe by Norah Z. Jones
This is a funny series that messes up familiar fairy tale stories. The cartoon-like illustrations and speech bubbles make it especially fun to read.

by A.J. Low
Set in Singapore, Sherlock Sam and his friends use their brains to solve mysteries. In this case, they're determined to discover the cause of the ghostly sounds from an abandoned military fort. Could it be a ghost? Their adventures are funny and exciting; this is a well-written chapter book in a new series. (See also:Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong.)

Loosely based on the author's own childhood, 3rd grader Stella is very, very quiet in both Spanish and English.

She feels separate, just like the word alien that describes her green card status being born in Mexico and moving to Chicago as a baby. A big fish research project for school helps Stella find her voice and overcome her fears, including making a new friend. Many children will be able to relate to Stella's fears and feelings of differentness.

by Jen Johnson, illustrated by Wellington Sadler
Absolutely inspiring with beautiful African-inspired illustrations, this exceptional narrative biography story is about a woman named Wangari who studied biology in her native Kenya and later in the United States. When she returned to Kenya, she realized that the deforestation was ruining farmer's ability to grow crops so she started a tree-planing movement. Facing lots of opposition, Wangari was arrested and jailed. Once released, she continued her work of planting trees and eventually won the Nobel Peace Prize. Helpful informational insets detail facts about deforestation, school in Kenya, and more.

by Veeda Bybee
In the early 1900s in San Francisco, California if you were of Chinese descent, it was illegal to live anywhere else except for Chinatown. When a huge earthquake hits California, its destruction caused fires to burn Chinatown to the ground. The earthquake's destruction forces young Lily and her family to leave Chinatown for Oakland amidst the chaos. Throughout her story of life in Chinatown and evacuating during the fires, we see the prejudice she faces due to her looks and culture. Very well done.

Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! by Atinuke
Anna Hibiscus lives in amazing Africa but in this story, she goes by herself to visit her Granny Canada in Canada where it's snowy and cold. Anna gets to wear warm clothes and eat new foods. She even gets comfortable with Granny Canada's dog and makes new friends. This is a delightful story of a sweet girl on an exciting new adventure.

This story features many cultures starting with the main character, Amirah who lives in Mexico with Arabic heritage. Amirah loves cooking and baking and when her neighbor gives her an old cookbook titled The Power of Sprinkles, Amirah knows it's the perfect cookbook for her upcoming birthday cake. Strangely enough, there's a recipe inside called Amirah's Birthday Cake! Even stranger, that night, she's transported to the Magical Land of Birthdays where she meets other kids with her exact same birthdate as her who are from different areas of the world. Together they have an exciting, magical adventure that includes finding a missing B-Bud girl, parties, unicorns, and of course, cake.

by Ruth Stiles Gannett
This is one of the classic adventure/fantasy stories for beginning readers. The first story is about a boy (now a father retelling the stories to his son) who rescues a dragon held hostage on a wild island.

by Nikki Shannon Smith, illustrated by Mari Lobo
8-year-old Azaleah helps her little sister find her favorite stuffed animal even though she needs to work on her diorama for the upcoming zoo field trip. It's a sweet story about mysteries, family dynamics, and life.

(Key Hunters #1) by Eric Luper
Have you seen this fantastic new easy mystery series for early elementary students yet? In this first book, two friends discover a letter from their favorite librarian saying she's trapped in a book. They decide to go into a book to rescue her. They arrive in 19th century England to help a detective find a stolen gem. Here the story starts racing along with perfect pacing and entertainment value. If you like this story, there are already five more books in the series to keep you reading.

Star in the Forest by Laura Resau Star in the Forest is a good introduction to the situation of Mexican children illegally in the U.S., who are fearful and sometimes separated from their family members. We learn that friendship comes from the most unlikely of friends, even someone like Crystal who despite her lies, is a loyal friend. And, we find that Zitlally's love for her father helps her do courageous things.

The Buried Bones Mystery by Sharon M. Draper, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson
In this book, the group of diverse best friends, aka. the Black Dinosaurs, find a box of bones that leads them to a mystery to solve.

Ruby and the Booker Boys #1: Brand New School, Brave New Ruby by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
Ruby, age 8, is the youngest of four kids. Her life is full of brothers, third grade, and a best friend named Theresa.

Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by R. Gregory Gregory Christie
She's the new girl but Dyamonde is determined to make friends, even with the boy she calls "Rude Boy."

by Ben Hatke
This is a lovely, heart-warming story about the friendship between a little girl and a robot. The little girl takes good care of the robot she finds and even makes him robot friends. As always, Ben Hatke's artwork is gorgeous.

by Liam O'Donnell, illustrated by Aurelie Grand
Myron's new school isn't too bad because there's a mystery - who is stealing the snacks every morning? He and his new friend, Hajrah, both in a special class for half the day, determine to get to the bottom of this mystery. I liked the diversity of students in this well-paced and interesting story.

by Ryan Howard and Krystle Howard
You'll find the themes about making friends and dealing with bullies to be both realistic and helpful. Little Rhino joins a little league baseball team only to discover that the boy who bullies him is on his same team. His wise grandfather and daily lunch at the dinosaur table help Rhino and his shy friend gain new social skills and the confidence to deal with the bully.

Max Loves Muñecas by Zetta Elliott
Muñecas means dolls in Spanish. Max is fascinated by the dolls made in Señor Pepe's shop and learns the story of how Pepe grew up and learned to sew for dolls. Soon Max doesn't feel ashamed that he also wants to work with his hands to make dolls anymore. Great writing.

by N. Griffin, illustrated by Kate Hindley
Falsely accused of stealing the class 11 hamster, who she admittedly doesn't like, third-grader Smashie decides to find the real thief and clear her name. She and her friend Dontel look for clues and try to put them together to solve the crime.

by Karen English, illustrated by Laura Freeman
It's tough being the new kid at Carver Elementary. Gavin had lots of friends at his old school, but the kids here don't even know that he's pretty good at skateboarding, or how awesome he is at soccer. And when his classmate Richard comes over and the boys end up in trouble, not only does Gavin risk losing his one new friend, he has to take care of his great aunt Myrtle's horrible little dog as punishment.

STAT: Standing Tall and Talented: Home Court by Amar'e Stoudemir, illustrated by Tim Jessell
Based on the real story of Amar'e Stoudemire, this is the story of when he was 11, a skateboarder, a basketball player, and a worker with his dad's landscape company. When other kids start trash talking his friends, he uses his intelligence and basketball skills to find a solution.

by Fran Manushkin
Four short stories tell all about the adventures of Pedro, a diverse bug-loving, soccer player with great friends from first grade. This is a fun, easy and light-hearted chapter books with colorful illustrations.

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Beginning Chapter Books with Diverse Main Characters

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Try these fantastic beginning chapter books with main characters of color for your growing readers, ages six to nine. It's important for books to reflect the diversity in our world. First, because when kids read stories with characters that look like them, it feels affirming.

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I always had a hard time finding early reader chapter books for my kids. I wanted something that wasn't too hard, but also wasn't too easy. And it also had to be engaging enough to hold their attention.

On top of that, I am always concerned with diversity. I want my boys to read books that represent all kinds of kids, with both male and female protagonists. Did books like this even exist?

The answer is: YES! There are some fantastic early chapter books out there that have a diverse cast of characters, interesting stories, and fun illustrations. These books feature both girls and boys solving mysteries, competing in sports, and making new friends. If you're looking for diverse early chapter books, here are 21 books and series that our family loved.

21 Diverse Early Chapter Books

Book links are referral links. We may earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase.

Zooey and her cat Sassafras have an amazing ability: they can help magical animals in their backyard barn. In the first book of the series, Zooey must help a sick dragon who comes to her to figure out what's wrong. I love this series because it features a strong and smart young girl who uses science to solve problems. They're a great combination of reading and STEM!

Second-grader Alvin is afraid of everything! In the first book of this series, Alvin is terrified of school. He's so scared that he doesn't speak while he's there, even though at home he's outgoing and loud. Can Alvin overcome his fears and engage with his classmates? Kids who struggle with anxiety will find much to relate to in Alvin. Fans of Alvin may also enjoy Lenore Look's Ruby Lu series.

Jasmine Toguchi is a spunky eight-year-old who loves flamingoes. In the first book of the series, Jasmine is excited to celebrate the new year, but upset that her sister Sophie gets to help make the mochi, while Jasmine is forced to hang out with her younger cousins. Jasmine hatches a plan to involve herself in the celebration in a special way that no girl has tried before! Read a full review here.

Julian has a big imagination, and he tells the most amazing stories. However, those stories can sometimes lead to crazy situations. In the first book of this series, Julian's story-telling gets him and his brother Huey into a sticky situation. Later books in the series feature Huey and also Julian's neighbor, Gloria.

Dymonde Daniel has "wild-crazy" hair and an outgoing personality. In the first book of this series, Dymonde is trying to figure out the new boy in her class. He's quiet and grumpy, and Dymonde thinks he's kind of rude. But when she digs deeper, she finds the opportunity to be a friend to someone who needs one.

This collection of stories captures the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather. Ray Halfmoon goes to live with his Grampa Halfmoon in Chicago after his parents are killed in a tornado. Ray seems to find his way into crazy situations, but his Grampa is always there to help him out. The two share a special bond, and Ray gets to learn more about his family and his heritage through his Grampa's stories.

Juana is a young girl living in Bogotá, Colombia. She's frustrated because she has to learn English in school; she'd much rather be playing with her dog Lucas or drawing pictures. However, when Juana learns her family is traveling to an amazing theme park in the United States, Juana starts to think that learning English might not be so bad. There are lots of Spanish phrases sprinkled through this book, and my boys loved showing off their newfound knowledge after reading it.

EllRay Jakes is a boy who is just trying to make it through elementary school. It's not as easy as it sounds! In the first book of this series, EllRay's parents tell him if he can stay out of trouble for one week, they will take him to Disneyland. However, EllRay is trying to navigate a tough situation with a bully at school. Will EllRay be able to keep up his end of the deal?

Izzy Bar loves sports, and more than anything she loves to run. However, it seems that her father is never at her sporting events, but he always makes time for her half-brother's games. Izzy acts like it doesn't bother her, but inside she hopes her dad will turn up to watch her at her class field day. This book is a sweet tale about navigating a blended family and sharing how you feel with the people you love.

More than anything, Max wants to explore Señor Pepe's doll shop, and examine the craftsmanship that has gone into each of the dolls and their beautiful clothes. However, Max is worried he will be teased by other kids, because boys aren't supposed to like things like dolls and sewing. When Max finally summons the courage to go in, Señor Pepe shares with him his own story, and how no one should ever ashamed of creating something beautiful.

First name: Princess. Last name: Pink. Princess Pink doesn't like pink or princesses, but she does like mud puddles, bugs, and monster trucks. Kids will love her crazy adventures in the Land of Fake-Believe!

Yasmin is a nine-year-old girl living in India. Every day, she stops to borrow a book from Book Uncle and his free lending library he's set up next to her apartment building. But one day, Book Uncle has to pack up the library. The mayor says Book Uncle must have a permit to run his library, and Book Uncle cannot afford it. Yasmin teams up with people in her community to help save Book Uncle's Lending Library, and she learns what it means to be an activist, and how regular people can change a community for good. This is one of my favorite early chapter books!

Lola Levine is a fierce and fun girl from a bicultural family - her mother is Peruvian and her father is Jewish. The first book in the series introduces us to Lola and her passions. Lola loves soccer, is fiercely competitive and she plays hard. In one game, she plays so hard she accidentally injures her classmate, Juan. Now everyone at school is calling her Mean Lola Levine! How can she show everyone that she really isn't as mean as they say?

This series follows Freddy Ramos, a regular boy with some powerful shoes! In the first book of this series, Freddy comes home to find a strange package on his doorstep. What's inside? Magical shoes that give him super speed! The shoes allow Freddy to do heroic things and help others in his community.

This fun series follows the adventures of Yasmin, a second-grade girl from a multi-generational Pakistani-American family. Yasmin loves exploring her creative side, through fashion, art, building, and exploring. She uses her imagination to find creative solutions to the challenges she faces.

Ziggy, Rashawn, Rico, and Jerome love playing in their clubhouse and solving mysteries. The four boys call themselves the Black Dinosaurs. In the first book of this series, the boys investigate a box of bones they find buried behind their clubhouse. Who buried the bones, and why? The Black Dinosaurs are determined to find out.

Jada Jones is a smart and fun girl who loves learning about science. In the first book of the series, Jada is excited when her teacher announces they will be doing a project about rocks and minerals. Finding cool rocks is one of Jada's favorite things to do! But one of the girl's in Jada's group shoots down all of Jada's ideas. In fact, she doesn't seem to like Jada much at all. Can Jada ace the project and make a new friend in the process?

Jaden Toussaint is a super smart boy who is pretty sure he knows just about everything. However, the adults in his life don't seem to agree. In the first book of this series, Jaden sets out to convince his parents that he needs more screen time. He knows that if he makes a great argument, the grown-ups will have to agree with him...right?

In the Critter Club series, a diverse group of girlfriends work together to care for the animals in their community. In the first book of this series, Amy is sad because her friends are all going away for Spring Break, while she's stuck at home. She decides to help out at her mom veterinary clinic, and she ends up in the middle of a dog-related mystery!

Sofia Martinez is a seven-year-old girl who loves her family and having fun! She's always getting into crazy adventures, but her life is never boring. The first book in the series follows Sofia as she navigates school picture day, making a piñata for her Abuela's birthday, and locating a lost school pet.

Nikki and Deja are two best friends who live next door to each other and do everything together. In the first book of this series, a new girl comes to their class, and Nikki and Deja decide they don't like her. They end up forming a club to exclude her, because they think she seems snobby and arrogant. However, they learn that they might have been wrong about their new classmate.
If you enjoyed this list of diverse early chapter books, you'll love our newsletter! Sign up below:

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21 Diverse Early Chapter Books | Feminist Books for Kids

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I always had a hard time finding early reader chapter books for my kids. I wanted something that wasn't too hard, but also wasn't too easy. And it also had to be engaging enough to hold their attention. On top of that, I am always concerned with diversity.

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8 diverse chapter book series for early readers - Rebekah Gienapp

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It’s not as easy as it should be to find chapter book series with diverse characters. Here are 8 series my family loves, perfect for early readers!

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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html

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American slavery began 400 years ago this month. This is referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the country’s true origin.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbmyxZaBnhI

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Cultural Pedagogy: Educational Equality for Our Youth | Isael Torres | TEDxSaltLakeCity

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https://youtu.be/kKHSJHkPeLY

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We all have implicit biases. So what can we do about it? | Dushaw Hockett | TEDxMidAtlanticSalon

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https://medium.com/identity-education-and-power/who-we-are-where-we-sit-and-why-it-matters-719ef245fda7

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Somewhere inside me there's a real desire to shout: STOP!

It appears at the sight of a new webinar/workshop/professional development opportunity in my Twitter feed. It's there when I notice my inbox filling up with requests to register for, attend, listen to, or watch a broadcast, conference or retreat. So many ways to bolster my practice, increase my awareness, sharpen my skills, deepen my understanding, restore my confidence. All these offers to help me improve my teaching, respond to student needs, collaborate with colleagues, find joy in my work! Surely it must be a sign of overwhelm. It's a me problem. Certainly it is.

In my ears, I hear Dionne Farris singing "Don't go near the water if you don't like to swim." But this is not that. I like the water of education. I stay immersed in it - reading, writing, speaking, thinking. I'm an education swimmer; each stroke is a new question: What is it good for? How does it work and for whom? Learning and teaching - how are these related/connected/separate/ two sides of the same coin? Where does power enter in and who can name it? What could we do to make education worse? (counterintuitive but very useful question, by the way.) What is keeping education afloat in society and how is that happening? Given all this, how on earth do I arrive at STOP?!

I think it has to do with capitalism and us. It has to do with our deeply cultivated tendency to seek solutions and resolutions by buying something; adding products to our cart, tools to our toolkit, strategies to our playbook. The main thing is that we consume. We go (out) and get a thing (a book, a course, a conversation, a speaker) and we are better for it. Right? We're inspired, motivated, enlightened, challenged, determined, ready. We've got new resources, allies, co-conspirators, guidance, consulting, a timeline, action items. We draw up plans, units, schedules that will help us chart progress. We will work with an expert, adopt a framework, form a committee to ensure accountability. We're going to change. Just watch.

I really want to yell STOP! because in our eagerness to be seen 'doing the work' it seems to me that we almost never take time to notice who we are (layers of identity), where we sit/stand in the given context (position) AND to ask ourselves based on the first two responses, what is my contribution going to be? By now it's common for our go-to experts to encourage us to look inward before we embark on a significant change in practice or content. How often do we actually do it though?

We know that telling is not teaching; hearing does not equate with learning. I bet that most of us do not necessarily consult a physician before we begin a new fitness regime as we are advised to. We assume we know if we're good to go or not. When it comes to shifting our educational practice to more intentionally inclusive and culturally responsive practices, I think it's easy to overestimate our preparedness and that concerns me.

In her book, How We Show Up, writer and activist, Mia Birdsong, writes

"... the harm experienced by the oppressors is not equivalent to the harm experienced by the oppressed. Capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy are not good for anyone, but the the work that needs to be done by those who exert oppression and those who are the targets is markedly different." (p. 28)

It sounds radical but we may not all have the same assignment when it comes to building more equitable structures and communities. Not every staff member is at the same starting position when it comes to anti-bias/anti-racism work. What's also true is that every single person in the community has biases and areas where their knowledge and experience are limited. In my own institution, I am a 25 year veteran and local hire. If we're having a conversation about new international hires and their experiences being welcomed into the community, then my focus must be on listening with the intent to understand. When I consider my contribution to the conversation, I need to ask myself, where am I in a position to push for better outcomes or to improve someone's experience? My approach is directly informed by my relative positionality.

Author Clint Smith provides a really helpful explanation of what positionality is and how it serves researchers investigating human endeavors. At the end of How The Word Is Passed, in a three-page summary, "About This Project," he tells readers

As a graduate student I was trained largely by sociologists, and part of what that discipline demands is an engagement and interrogation of one's own positionality relative to the subject matter one is studying. So I am mindful that my experiences at each of these places, and my conversations with all the people who appear in these pages, are tied to various parts of my identity: being Black, being born and raised in the South, being a straight cisgendered man, and at the time this book was being written and reported, being a doctoral student at an Ivy League university. Each of these realities creates dynamics that shape and alter the way strangers, scholars, tour guides, and museum officials interact with me, and it is likely that someone with a different racial, geographic and educational background would have experiences at each of these places that are different from my own. From How The Word Is Passed (2021), p. 291.

It's a clear definition of positionality that is at once accessible and succinct.

When we undertake our grand efforts to shift the culture in fundamental ways, our attempts will flounder and flop if we fail to provide time and space for community members to recognize how positionality shapes our visioning and decision-making.

In an interview with School Library Journal, literacy scholar, Dr. Kim Parker highlights the need for teachers to first look at themselves and their motivations before implementing curricular changes:

[SLJ]: Thanks in part to the work of #DisruptTexts, educators are increasingly thinking about how to look beyond the classics in their curriculum and broaden the texts they teach. Where should teachers start?
[KP]: People are really thinking about, what does it mean to diversify one's curriculum? I think that first, before we do that, we have to think about, what's the internal work that we have to do? Because if we don't do that work, even the most diverse texts can be damaging for kids. We have to start with ourselves. "What's the work that I have to do? Why do I really want to put different books in kids' hands? Am I ready? What's the preparation I need?"

"What's the preparation [we] need?" is the question too rarely posed before school communities make a visible push for equity. For sustained and sustainable equity and justice work I don't see any way around taking the time to acknowledge our unique positionalities in the planning and implementation processes we adopt. In my own practice, I've had to think about how I ensure that my classroom is as gender-inclusive as possible. I recognized that as a straight cisgender woman I had to do a bit of research and foreground queer voices in the materials I sought out. As a result I use gender neutral language when addressing students, I say, friends, folks or ask them to make all-gender groups.

Particularly in education environments talking about change (which feels like every institution everywhere), we often hear the language of unity: Everyone on the same page, all hands on deck, we're all in this together. Meanwhile, the specific forms or hierarchy, organizational culture, in-groups and out-groups, still shape the experiences of individuals within the institution. We need to become more astute observers of our tendencies flatten differences and apply primarily cosmetic diversity. Developing a habit of folks acknowledging their own relative positionalities enhances our awareness of who is in the room and who may be missing when we are discussing topics of community concern.

How we can authentically engage each other and the goals before us if we are not honest about who we are, where we sit and in what ways we may be particularly well equipped to contribute to the desired changes? Positionality requires us to do more than name our layers of identity. It compels us to acknowledge that we possess varied and varying levels of influence within specific contexts.

Which might well explain why more folks in more institutions don't do it. Or have not yet made it a habit. It involves being transparent about power differentials. That makes plenty of folks uncomfortable. Especially the ones who hold the most power.

If we and our institutions dive into plans to rethink and adjust our practices in the classroom, in the business office, or at the board level, I have a deep, deep wish for all of us to pause and based on our positionalities consider how we are each best poised to contribute. Particularly when it comes to identity-focused shifts in whichever policy or procedure the institution deems a priority, real thought must be given to which voices and perspectives are being centered and whether that centering reflects movement towards or away from increased equity.

I dream of education spaces where recognizing our positionality with respect to specific topics or concerns exists as a professional habit and standard courtesy. I'm sad that this sounds radical in some ears. Institutional equity is not something we can buy online. It takes our individual, collective and differentiated contributions to build and sustain. When you show up at your next PD event, look around. Notice if and when space is made to acknowledge positionality of participants and/or presenters. How does it show up in case studies and examples? These are baby steps towards true equity. We can't afford not to take them.

References:

Mia Birdsong, How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community, Hachette Books, 2020.

Clint Smith, How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History of Slavery Across America. Little, Brown and Co., 2021.

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Who We Are, Where We Sit and Why It Matters

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It appears at the sight of a new webinar/workshop/professional development opportunity in my Twitter feed. It's there when I notice my inbox filling up with requests to register for, attend, listen...

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http://aieloc.org/international-educator-equity-statement/

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Association for International Educators and Leaders of Color

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International education prides itself on being cross-cultural, linguistically versatile, and a bridge between nations. Unfortunately, not only are the voices of ethnically and culturally diverse educators often ignored or silenced (Gozali, Claassen Thrush, Soto-Peña, Whang, & Luschei, 2017), they're too often not even given a chance to interview for positions and speak or publish in the international school community. International education was, in some regions, birthed out of a post-colonial mentality (Burke, 2017; Khalifa, Bashir-Ali, Abdi, & Arnold, 2014), fitting the needs of white, western expatriate families who frequently misunderstood, mischaracterized, didn't engage, or even harmed host cultures and communities. While this has not always been the case-the more recent international education market exists due in part to the boom of globalized economies and the internationalization of education more generally- more than just small remnants of postcolonial racism, native-speakerism (Moussu & Llurda, 2008), exploitation, and cultural appropriation remain.

More than just relics, whiteness and western ideals continue to perpetuate longstanding eras of oppression in more socially "accepted" forms that often suppress differences. The veneer of 21st century skills, visa restrictions, and market demands; the sense of control or power some are unwilling to release; fear of change and the unknown; lack of awareness regarding our intersectional identities: these camouflaging-mentalities stifle the essence of international education, suppress many in the international community of educators, and reinforce untrue or stereotypical lens through which consumers of international education-students and their families-view the world. International education, however, is hardwired to disavow most of these mentalities and the institutions that perpetuate them.

As concerned international educators, instead we vow to create conversations, model what our school missions and visions promote, and take action to disrupt inequitable practices.

We acknowledge the important work that other equity-centered educators have been doing for years. The idea for this pledge takes its cue from CleartheAir, CleartheAirUK, BAMEed, DiverseEd, and EduColor. The #EducatorEquity Pledge inspired this new pledge. International groups and forums such as KDSL Global, EDspired, The Global Sleepover, Live.Love.Teach!, LLC, Women of Color in ELT, Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color, International Educator Equity Forum, the Diversity Collaborative of International Schools Services, and other individuals and groups inspire us to keep working together, to keep (un-)learning, and to keep moving forward.
We Pledge To:
Not wait any longer, but to speak up now about racism and all forms of discrimination in international education.

Be students of our host cultures and to actively work toward understanding and engaging our local communities.

Counter xenophobia and long-standing cultural biases that place certain countries or cultures above others.

At all levels (boards, recruitment, accreditation, graduate programs, schools, parents, associations) become aware of our racial and cultural blind-spots by reading about, listening to, and collaborating with racially and ethnically diverse educators. Focus on anti-racism work.

Challenge Whiteness, and even White Supremacy, in all its subtle and overt forms. For white educators, we acknowledge benefiting from privilege and structures of oppression against people of color, and we stand now to become part of the solution.

Actively ally with, amplify, and mentor educators of color who come from all parts of the globe.

Seek out and listen to diverse leaders and their opinions in our schools, organizations, and research because, through the inclusion of diverse ideas, we will come to better solutions for today's educational needs across the world.

Work with schools to facilitate ongoing awareness, workshops, policies, and publications leading to greater equity for diverse educators.

Educate our students and parents about the value of racial and ethnic diversity through our conversations, curriculum, and school-community workshops.

Network with recruiters and their organizations to advocate for qualified, racially and ethnically diverse educators. If they cannot meet these needs, then we will seek alternative organizations.

Recognize that the English language-the medium of instruction in most international schools-can be learned and taught by any educator whose credentials indicate proficiency, experience, and instructional quality suitable for any international school setting.

Support those international education organizations committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to create new pipelines for educators of color leading to greater employment opportunities and representation in conference presenters and organizers.

We believe that many international educators are already having conversations and taking action on these important issues. We also believe that far too few people are doing just these things. Waiting is a privilege that educators of color do not have. We are hopeful that the tide is turning,and urge that our eyes be fixed on international educator equity.
Join us #IntlEducatorEquity
References

Allen, R. L. (2001). The globalization of white supremacy: Toward a critical discourse on the racialization of the world. Educational Theory, 51(4), 467. Retrieved from https://wilkes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest- com.wilkes.idm.oclc.org/docview/214143621?accountid=62703

Burke, L. E C. A. (2017). Casting a critical eye on the positioning of the western expatriate teacher. Journal of Research in International Education, 16(3), 213-224.

DOI: 10.177/1475240917743428

Gozali, C., Claassen Thrush, E., Soto-Peña, M., Whang, C., & Luschei, T. F. (2017). Teacher voice in global conversations around education access, equity, and quality. FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education, 4(1), 32-51. Retrieved from http://preserve.lehigh.edu/fire/vol4/iss1/2

Khalifa, M. A., Bashir-Ali, K., Abdi, N., & Arnold, N. W. (2014). From post-colonial to neoliberal schooling in Somalia: The need for culturally relevant school leadership among Somaliland principals. Planning and Changing, 45(3), 235-260. Retrieved from https://wilkes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest- com.wilkes.idm.oclc.org/docview/1719405442?accountid=62703

Moussu, L., & Llurda, E. (2008). Non-native english-speaking english language teachers: History and research. Language Teaching, 41(3), 315-348. doi:http://dx.doi.org.wilkes.idm.oclc.org/10.1017/S0261444808005028

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International Educator Equity Statement - Association for International Educators and Leaders of Color

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International education prides itself on being cross-cultural, linguistically versatile, and a bridge between nations. Unfortunately, not only are the voices of ethnically and culturally diverse educators often ignored or silenced (Gozali, Claassen Thrush, Soto-Peña, Whang, & Luschei, 2017), they're too often not even given a chance to interview for positions and speak or publish in the international school community.

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DisCrit―Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education (Disability, Culture, and Equity Series)

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DisCrit―Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education (Disability, Culture, and Equity Series) [Connor, David J., Ferri, Beth A., Annamma, Subini A., Artiles, Alfredo J., Kozleski, Elizabeth B.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. DisCrit―Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education (Disability, Culture, and Equity Series)

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Poor Kids (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

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When we design for disability, we all benefit

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“I believe that losing my hearing was one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received,” says Elise Roy. As a disability rights lawyer and design thinker, she knows that being Deaf gives her a unique way of experiencing and reframing the world -- a perspective that could solve some of our largest problems. As she says: “When we design for disability first, you often stumble upon solutions that are better than those when we design for the norm.”

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from 2015 though

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I identify as a queer, non-binary, biracial, Japanese American graduate student in counseling psychology. My inspiration for this article started with an idea to create a webinar that highlighted the experiences of non-binary graduate students in psychology. In working on this project with the Div. 35, Section IV graduate student committee, we put out a call for potential panelists. I crossed my fingers to find one or two students, so when I saw my inbox with over 15 students expressing interest, I was brought to tears. I didn't recognize the full impact of my feelings of isolation related to my identity until I experienced the feeling of connection to these other students. Many of the students who contacted me for the webinar similarly expressed feeling isolated and were often the only trans or non-binary student in their programs. After experiencing the elation of finding others like me, I decided to start an online community for trans and non-binary graduate students in psychology through a closed Facebook group. I'm proud to say that after one month, the group already has 95 members. I feel the uprising coming.

My hope is that this article can increase awareness of the challenges that trans and gender diverse (TGD) graduate students face in psychology and provide concrete steps that professors, supervisors, students and colleagues can employ to support TGD students. The following are based on my personal experience, talking to other TGD graduate students and the psychological literature. These do not represent all TGD student experiences and more research is needed on this topic, but it's a place to start.

Challenge 1: The labor of educating others

One of the most common challenges for TGD students is the burden and responsibility of educating others, often without acknowledgement of the extra labor involved. Frequently, TGD students are asked to explain their identity or pronouns and educate their departments on trans issues which can feel daunting and emotionally draining.

Allyship in action 1: Educate yourself and educate others

It's important for faculty, staff and students to be trained in TGD issues and ways to be supportive. Local organizations can often help with training. If a TGD student wants to help with training, that's great. It's critical to pay them for their labor and make sure that they don't feel like it's expected or demanded of them to fill the educator role. Allies can help educate others and be proactive in advocating for TGD affirming policies (e.g., changing demographic forms) rather than waiting for a TGD student to say something. Resources that may help are the Div. 44 Fact Sheets, the APA Guidelines on working with TGNC clients and the upcoming webinar on non-binary graduate student experiences.

Challenge 2: Being tokenized and pigeonholed

TGD students are often assumed to be experts in TGD issues. This can be awkward and humiliating when TGD students feel put on the spot to represent or explain something related to gender diversity. Some students may feel limited to only specializing in TGD issues and may not be recognized for their other areas of expertise. Sometimes TGD students may feel like a diversity checkbox and that they aren't seen or valued for other aspects of themselves.

Allyship in action 2: Avoid assumptions and see the whole person

Many TGD students, including myself, are working towards becoming experts and leaders in TGD psychology. It's okay to make space for them and respect their perspectives. However, be careful about assuming that a TGD person has all the answers or wants the role of expert. TGD students have multiple intersecting identities and may be marginalized in other ways based on sexual orientation, race, disability status, socioeconomic status (SES), etc. It's supportive to recognize and value TGD students for all their identities, perspectives and strengths.

Challenge 3: Being mis-gendered or outed

A non-binary student recently told me that being mis-gendered in front of the entire class felt like "a punch in the gut." TGD students often feel humiliated, self-conscious or unsafe when others address them with the wrong name or pronouns or out them in other ways (e.g., sending a mass email with someone's birth name). It can be hard for TGD students to constantly correct others, especially someone with more power.

Allyship in action 3: Listen and make the effort

One way to show support is by listening to their concerns and making an active effort to use the correct name and pronouns in all settings, not just in front of the student. Mistakes are inevitable, but TGD students can tell when an effort is being made. Practicing they/them pronouns can make saying them feel like any other pronoun. When mistakes do happen, it's helpful to apologize and move on in the conversation rather than over apologizing or discussing your own discomfort. This can make the student feel guilty or like a burden. It can feel affirming to include pronouns as an option during introductions so that TGD students have the opportunity to state their pronouns if they feel safe enough to do so.

Challenge 4. Feeling invalidated or unsafe

Students may also feel invalidated or unsafe by structural systems such as gendered restrooms, using gendered language or gendered dress codes. Designating gendered spaces or attire puts TGD students in a vulnerable position and can put them at risk for experiencing harassment or confrontations. Worries about safety can significantly disrupt a TGD students' ability to actively participate and learn.

Allyship in action 4: Create affirming environments

In addition to attending to names and pronouns, using gender neutral language generally is an easy way to help TGD students feel included and supported. Advocating for gender inclusive restrooms, dress codes, paperwork and including TGD issues in course curriculum are all ways to create more affirming environments.

My hope is that these small steps can support TGD students to be successful in our field and to continue breaking barriers, expanding knowledge and fighting for the well-being of the TGD community.

There are many terms to describe those who identify as transgender, non-binary or other gender expansive identities such as: TGNC, trans, gender minorities, gender diverse, gender variant, etc. For this article, I use the acronym TGD diverse to refer to this population.

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I identify as a queer, non-binary, biracial, Japanese American graduate student in counseling psychology. My inspiration for this article started with an idea to create a webinar that highlighted the experiences of non-binary graduate students in psychology. In working on this project with the Div.

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Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory posits that an individual's development is influenced by a series of interconnected environmental systems, ranging from the immediate surroundings (e.g., family) to broad societal structures (e.g., culture).

These systems include the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem, each representing different levels of environmental influences on an individual's growth and behavior.

Background

American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner was critical of previous theories of child development.

He argued that studies of children in unfamiliar laboratory environments with one other person, usually a stranger, were ecologically invalid (See Mary Ainsworth's 1970 experiment of the ' Strange Situation ').

Bronfenbrenner (1974) claimed most earlier studies were 'unidirectional,' meaning that the laboratory studies observed the influence of A on B (e.g., a stranger/mother with a child) rather than looking at the possible influence of the child on the stranger/mother, or any other third party's influence.

Bronfenbrenner maintained that these laboratory features of research are not characteristic of environments that children actually live and develop in.

Bronfenbrenner recognized multiple aspects of a developing child's life interact with and affects the child. His work looked beyond individual development, taking into account wider influencing factors and the context (or ecology) of development.

He proposed the 'Ecological Systems Theory' based on these dynamic interactions that the environments have on the developing child.

Bronfenbrenner's (1974) perspective has some resemblance to the works of Albert Bandura's social learning theory and Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory in which the environment is explicitly or implicitly considered as a crucial mechanism in development.

The Five Ecological Systems

Bronfenbrenner (1977) suggested that the child's environment is a nested arrangement of structures, each contained within the next. He organized them in order of how much of an impact they have on a child.

He named these structures the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and the chronosystem.

Because the five systems are interrelated, the influence of one system on a child's development depends on its relationship with the others.

The Microsystem

The microsystem is the ﬁrst level of Bronfenbrenner's theory and are the things that have direct contact with the child in their immediate environment, such as parents, siblings, teachers, and school peers.

Relationships in a microsystem are bi-directional, meaning other people can influence the child in their environment and change other people's beliefs and actions.

Furthermore, the child's reactions to individuals in their microsystem can influence how they treat them in return.

The interactions within microsystems are often very personal and are crucial for fostering and supporting the child's development.

If a child has a strong nurturing relationship with their parents, this is said to positively affect the child. Whereas distant and unaffectionate parents may hurt the child.

The Mesosystem

The mesosystem encompasses the interactions between the child's microsystems, such as the interactions between the child's parents and teachers or between school peers and siblings.

The mesosystem is where a person's individual microsystems do not function independently, but are interconnected and assert inﬂuence upon one another.

For instance, if a child's parents communicate with the child's teachers, this interaction may influence the child's development. Essentially, a mesosystem is a system of microsystems.

According to the ecological systems theory, if the child's parents and teachers get along and have a good relationship, this should have positive effects on the child's development, compared to negative effects on development if the teachers and parents do not get along.

The Exosystem

The exosystem is a component of the ecological systems theory developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner in the 1970s.

It incorporates other formal and informal social structures, which do not themselves contain the child but indirectly influence them as these social structures affect one of the microsystems.

Examples of exosystems include the neighborhood, parents' workplaces, parents' friends, and the mass media. These are environments in which the child is not involved and are external to their experience but nonetheless affect them anyway.

An instance of exosystems affecting the child's development could be if one of the parents had a dispute with their boss at work.

The parent may come home and have a short temper with the child as a result of something which happened in the workplace, which may result in a negative effect on development.

The Macrosystem

The macrosystem is a component of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory that focuses on how cultural elements affect a child's development, such as socioeconomic status, wealth, poverty, and ethnicity.

Thus, the culture that individuals are immersed within may influence their beliefs and perceptions about events that transpire in life.

The macrosystem differs from the previous ecosystems as it does not refer to the specific environments of one developing child, but the already established society and culture in which the child is developing in.

This can also include the socioeconomic status, ethnicity, geographic location, and ideologies of the culture.

For example, a child living in a third-world country would experience a different development than a child living in a wealthier country.

The Chronosystem

The fifth and final level of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is known as the chronosystem.

This system consists of all the environmental changes that influence development over the lifetime, including major life transitions and historical events.

These can include normal life transitions, such as starting school, and non-normative life transitions, such as parents getting divorced or having to move to a new house.

The Bioecological Model

It is important to note that Bronfenbrenner (1994) later revised his theory and instead named it the 'Bioecological model'.

Bronfenbrenner became more concerned with the proximal development processes, meaning the enduring and persistent forms of interaction in the immediate environment.

His focus shifted from environmental influences to developmental processes individuals experience over time.

'...development takes place through the process of progressively more complex reciprocal interactions between an active, evolving biopsychological human organism and the persons, objects, and symbols in its immediate external environment.' (Bronfenbrenner, 1995).

Bronfenbrenner also suggested that to understand the effect of these proximal processes on development, we have to focus on the person, context, and developmental outcome, as these processes vary and affect people differently (Bronfenbrenner & Evans, 2000).

Critical Evaluation

Bronfenbrenner's model quickly became very appealing and accepted as a useful framework for psychologists, sociologists, and teachers studying child development.

The Ecological Systems Theory provides a holistic approach that is inclusive of all the systems children and their families are involved in, accurately reflecting the dynamic nature of actual family relationships (Hayes & O'Toole, 2017).

Paat (2013) considers how Bronfenbrenner's theory is useful when it comes to the development of immigrant children. They suggest that immigrant children's experiences in the various ecological systems are likely to be shaped by their cultural differences. Understanding these children's ecology can aid in strengthening social work service delivery for these children.

A limitation of the Ecological Systems Theory is that there is limited research examining the mesosystems, mainly the interactions between neighborhoods and the family of the child (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Therefore, the extent to which these systems can shape child development is unclear.

Another limitation of Bronfenbrenner's theory is that it is difficult to empirically test the theory. The studies investigating the ecological systems may establish an effect, but they cannot establish whether the systems directly cause such effects.

Furthermore, this theory can lead to assumptions that those who do not have strong and positive ecological systems lack in development. Whilst this may be true in some cases, many people can still develop into well-rounded individuals without positive influences from their ecological systems.

For instance, it is not true to say that all people who grow up in poverty-stricken areas of the world will develop negatively. Similarly, if a child's teachers and parents do not get along, some children may not experience any negative effects if it does not concern them.

As a result, people need to avoid making broad assumptions about individuals using this theory.

Bronfenbrenner's Theory in the 21st Century

The world has greatly changed since this theory was introduced regarding technological developments.

The exosystem of a child could be expanded to consider influences from social media, video gaming, and other modern-day interactions within the ecological system.

This could suggest that the ecological systems are still valid but may expand over time to include new modern developments.

Kelly and Coughlan (2019) used constructivist grounded theory analysis to develop a theoretical framework for youth mental health recovery and found that there were many links to Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory in their own more recent theory.

Their theory suggested that the components of mental health recovery are embedded in the 'ecological context of influential relationships,' which fits in with Bronfenbrenner's theory that the ecological systems of the young person, such as peers, family, and school, all help mental health development.

Classroom Application

The Ecological Systems Theory has been used to link psychological and educational theory to early educational curriculums and practice. The developing child is at the center of the theory, and all that occurs within and between the five ecological systems are done to benefit the child in the classroom.

According to the theory, teachers and parents should maintain good communication with each other and work together to benefit the child to strengthen the development of the ecological systems in educational practice.

Teachers should also be understanding of the situations their student's families may be experiencing, including social and economic factors that are part of the various systems.

According to the theory, if parents and teachers have a good relationship, this should positively shape the child's development.

Likewise, the child must be active in their learning, both academically and socially. They must collaborate with their peers and participate in meaningful learning experiences to enable positive development (Evans, 2012).

Empirical Evidence

There are lots of studies that have investigated the effects of the school environment on students. Below are some examples:

Lippard, LA Paro, Rouse, and Crosby (2017) conducted a study to test Bronfenbrenner's theory. They investigated the teacher-child relationships through teacher reports and classroom observations.

They found that these relationships were significantly related to children's academic achievement and classroom behavior, suggesting that these relationships are important for children's development and supports the Ecological Systems Theory.

Wilson et al. (2002) found that creating a positive school environment, through a school ethos valuing diversity has a positive effect on students' relationships within the school. Incorporating this kind of school ethos influences those within the developing child's ecological systems.

Langford et al. (2014) found that whole-school approaches to the health curriculum can positively improve educational achievement and student well-being. Thus, the development of the students is being affected by the microsystems.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1974). Developmental research, public policy, and the ecology of childhood. Child development, 45 (1), 1-5.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American psychologist, 32 (7), 513.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1995). Developmental ecology through space and time: A future perspective.

Bronfenbrenner, U., & Evans, G. W. (2000). Developmental science in the 21st century: Emerging questions, theoretical models, research designs and empirical findings . Social development, 9 (1), 115-125.

Bronfenbrenner, U., & Ceci, S. J. (1994). Nature-nurture reconceptualised: A bio-ecological model. Psychological Review, 10 (4), 568-586.

Hayes, N., O'Toole, L., & Halpenny, A. M. (2017). Introducing Bronfenbrenner: A guide for practitioners and students in early years education. Taylor & Francis.

Kelly, M., & Coughlan, B. (2019). A theory of youth mental health recovery from a parental perspective. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 24 (2), 161-169.

Langford, R., Bonell, C. P., Jones, H. E., Pouliou, T., Murphy, S. M., Waters, E., Komro, A. A., Gibbs, L. F., Magnus, D. & Campbell, R. (2014). The WHO Health Promoting School framework for improving the health and well‐being of students and their academic achievement. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (4).

Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The neighborhoods they live in: the effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126 (2), 309.

Lippard, C. N., La Paro, K. M., Rouse, H. L., & Crosby, D. A. (2018, February). A closer look at teacher-child relationships and classroom emotional context in preschool. In Child & Youth Care Forum 47(1), 1-21.

Paat, Y. F. (2013). Working with immigrant children and their families: An application of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23 (8), 954-966.

Rhodes, S. (2013). Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory [PDF]. Retrieved from http://uoit.blackboard.com

Wilson, P., Atkinson, M., Hornby, G., Thompson, M., Cooper, M., Hooper, C. M., & Southall, A. (2002). Young minds in our schools-a guide for teachers and others working in schools. Year: YoungMinds (Jan 2004).

Further Information
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1974). Developmental research, public policy, and the ecology of childhood. Child Development, 45.

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Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory posits that an individual's development is influenced by a series of interconnected environmental systems, ranging from the immediate surroundings (e.g., family) to broad societal structures (e.g., culture). These systems include the Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, and Chronosystem, each representing different levels of environmental influences on an individual's growth and behavior.

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Ask Me Anything: Coaching for Equity Edition

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Listen to this episode from The Bright Morning Podcast on Spotify. Elena is joined by Bright Morning Senior Associate, Lori Cohen, for an Ask Me Anything episode. The two respond to your questions related to coaching for equity and a few other coaching topics.

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"An absolute page turner, I'm Not Dying with You Tonight is a compelling and powerful novel that is sure to make an impact."―Angie Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give. An NAACP Image Award Nominee, I'm Not Dying with You Tonight follows two teen girls―one black, one white―who have to confront their own assumptions about racial inequality as they rely on each other to get through the violent race riot that has set their city on fire with civil unrest.
Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.

They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they're going to survive the night.

This book is perfect for:

Sparking conversations about prejudice and the racial tension that exists in America

Parents and educators looking for multicultural and African American books for teens

Fans of Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, and Jason Reynolds

Additional Praise for I'm Not Dying with You Tonight:
"A vital addition to the YA race relations canon."―Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin
"An astounding achievement. This novel is an incendiary experience, one that does not shy away from difficult questions about privilege and violence. But Jones and Segal don't hold our hands to provide us easy answers; this is a book meant to be devoured in a single sitting and discussed for years to come."―Mark Oshiro, author of Anger is a Gift
" I'm Not Dying With You Tonight is a powerful examination of privilege, and how friends are often found in surprising places. Jones and Segal have penned a page-turning debut, as timely as it is addictive."―David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland and Kids of Appetite

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young adult fiction / diversity & multicultural

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young adult fiction / diversity & multicultural

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young adult fiction / social themes / prejudice & racism

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young adult fiction/diversity & multicultural

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Amazon.com: I'm Not Dying with You Tonight (9781728240237): Jones, Kimberly, Segal, Gilly: Books

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#BLM How Can We Win? Kimberly Jones Powerful Speech Video Full Length Black Lives Matter #BLM 2020

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Kimberly Jones - Speaking Out About Black Experiences in America | The Daily Social Distancing Show

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decolonizing educational leadership: exploring alternative approaches to leading schools

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educational leadership; decolonizing framework; school leader; k-12; school principals

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political science/public policy - social policy

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political science / public policy / social policy

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Decolonizing Educational Leadership: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Leading Schools

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Amazon.com: Decolonizing Educational Leadership: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Leading Schools (9783030623791): Lopez, Ann E.: Books

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​ ​ ​The definition of racism offered here is grounded in Critical Race Theory , a movement started in the 1970s by activists and scholars committed to the study and transformation of…

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The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) was created by Dr. Milton Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) as a framework to explain how people experience and engage cultural difference. The DMIS is grounded theory; it is based on observations he made in both academic and corporate settings about how people become more competent intercultural communicators. Using concepts from constructivist psychology and communication theory, he organized these observations into positions along a continuum of increasing sensitivity to cultural difference.

The underlying assumption of the model is that as one's perceptual organization of cultural difference becomes more complex, one's experience of culture becomes more sophisticated and the potential for exercising competence in intercultural relations increases. By recognizing how cultural difference is being experienced, predictions about the effectiveness of intercultural communication can be made and educational interventions can be tailored to facilitate development along the continuum.

The DMIS continuum extends from ethnocentrisim, the experience of one's own culture as "central to reality," to ethnorelativism, the experience of one's own and other cultures as "relative to context." Developmental movement is one-way, permanent, and applicable to anything defined as cultural difference, although there may be "retreats" from some positions. More or less familiarity with particular cultures does not change one's level of sensitivity, although it affects the breadth of competence one can enact.

Positions along the continuum define the general ways in which perception of cultural difference is being organized into experience. The particular configuration of perceptual strategies used by each individual and group is their predominant experience of difference: one position is predominant, although perceptual strategies may span several positions. In other words, each individual or group has a uniquely complex experience of cultural difference that is nevertheless characterized by one of the following developmental positions.

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The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) was created by Dr. Milton Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) as a framework to explain how people experience and engage cultural difference.

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Ten Lessons for Leaders Tackling Racial Equity

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Ten Lessons for Leaders Tackling Racial Equity

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The Roundtable's most recent publication distills ten lessons for how to take leadership on the difficult topic of race in America. Based on our ten years of work in this arena, the document is intended to encourage and suggest strategies to people willing to take up the challenge of promoting racial equity and inclusion. It is also meant to counter the fears, reticence and pessimism of those who believe that race is just too hard of a topic to address. Indeed, our experience shows that, when equipped with the right training and tools, there are many people of all races who become inspirational and effective racial equity leaders. Ten Lessons for Taking Leadership on Racial Equity can be downloaded from our website or in print by request to the Roundtable at [email protected] .

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Ten Lessons for Taking Leadership on Racial Equity - The Aspen Institute

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The Roundtable's most recent publication distills ten lessons for how to take leadership on the difficult topic of race in America. Based on our ten years of work in this arena, the document is intended to encourage and suggest strategies to people willing to take up the challenge of promoting racial equity and inclusion.

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By Mary Scheetz, Former Assistant Superintendent, Waters Foundation and Peter Senge, Sloan School of Management MIT and SoL (Society of Organizational Learning)

Systemic change is deeply personal. This simple but paradoxical idea is perhaps the key reason most efforts at systems transformation are so disappointing. Something in the very word "system" or "systemic" consistently leads us astray - seeking some magical change "out there" when the most intransigent aspects of the " out there" are inseparable from our habits of thought and action " in here."

Nowhere is this misconception more tragic than in efforts to address the extraordinary inequity in America's schools. The many tangible dimensions of inequity in school resources like class size, teacher preparation, curricular relevance and student opportunity are inseparable from deep mental models about the capabilities and potential of students. Since pioneering research 80 years ago by Thomas Merton on the "Pygmalion Effect," we have known that teacher assumptions about student capability directly impacts student performance. This basic "self-fulfilling prophecy" shapes a reinforcing feedback loop that operates with entrenched societal norms and biases to dampen student achievement. This, obviously, was the point of the famous George Bernard Shaw play (later restaged as the musical My Fair Lady) from which Merton drew the evocative metaphor for his research findings.

We have had the privilege to work with many committed leaders who have managed to "push the needle" on these profound issues. The aim of this article is to share what we have learned from them.

But what strategies and principles does understanding the "inner" nature of inequity help us identify? How does it help those determined to reverse growing inequity in America's schools succeed in doing so? How does it help us understand which strategies that, while well-intentioned and sincere, are destined to be low leverage?

We have had the privilege to work with many committed leaders who have managed to "push the needle" on these profound issues. The aim of this article is to share what we have learned from them.

Some Basics Regarding Mental Models

We do not "have" mental models; we "are" our mental models. None of us sees an external reality as it is. As is said in the philosophy of language, "We do not describe the world we see; we see what we know how to describe." This is not a tragic flaw. It is what it means to be human. None of us can see our own biases. The more tragic problem, especially because it is avoidable, is that few of us operate in work environments that foster the trust and reflection that can allow us to see the shortcomings in our perceptions and how we operate. The consequence is that our inescapable biases go unseen and become subtly reinforced. For most educators in most schools and systems, no embedded processes exist to help people cultivate a vision of what is possible for all kids, continually reflect on their own limitations in realizing that vision, and to help those who do not share this vision to move on to other work.

Once we recognize this deep challenge, we realize that most efforts to address these inner realities that shape inequity of opportunity will continue to disappoint - until our approach itself shifts. Short professional development (PD) workshops can sensitize people to issues, but shifting deeply established habits of thought and action require time and an environment that balances objective observation and ongoing reflection. Creating such an environment represents a significant investment of time and resources to incorporate "learning infrastructures" into the daily routines of teachers and administrators alike.

Mental Models for Making and Sustaining Progress

When we have seen this shift achieved to some degree, it has been under the following conditions and guided by the following mental models. We don't know if each of these is needed equally, or if all need to be in place. Every situation is unique, and effective change strategies invariably take this uniqueness into account. There is no "one size fits all" approach to systemic change. Still, we have found each of these ideas to be important.

The leader must be a zealot for equity who sees the big picture of challenges, but recognizes the opportunities to be a change agent.
1. Champions at the district, school and classroom levels who are zealous about equity.
"If it's to be, it's up to me," as the saying goes. The leader must be a zealot for equity who sees the big picture of challenges, but recognizes the opportunities to be a change agent. This includes modeling a deep-seated belief in the magnificent potential of each and every child. The message from those in visible leadership positions that all students are to be fully served must be clear and consistent. Developing equity-based structures within schools and districts requires understanding the need to re-examine current systems of teaching, achievement, and discipline and confronting all potential inequities.

A superintendent in the St. Louis area exemplified this mental model. With her unwavering vision and her willingness to take a stance about the education that all students deserve, she facilitated significant improvement in student engagement and achievement as well as parent and community partnerships. She confidently led by example while inspiring others to embrace and facilitate change in a setting that had long embraced the status quo. For her, this was a natural outgrowth of what mattered to her. She did not see herself self-consciously as "the leader" of the process, but rather as one more person who needed to take a stand and continually examine her own shortcomings. In doing so, she became a model for many others to do likewise. Over time, this led to many shifts in how things worked in the school system, such as structures for ongoing training, coaching and peer collaboration to support culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy in an academic atmosphere of rigor, relevance and engagement for all students, regardless of background or past success.
2. Equity-based leaders are capacity builders.
Trusting that people can learn and change is essential. Again and again, we have seen that, in spite of lacking initial knowledge or skills, educators can develop the capacity to deliver culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy.

In Milwaukee, district leaders are facilitating a long-term capacity-building initiative, working in partnership with principals of schools targeted for improvement. Together, these leaders have invested in a long-term professional development process focused on meaningful instruction that engages all students in critical thinking and problem-solving that utilizes systems thinking strategies coupled with culturally responsive pedagogy. Six months into the process, we see significant achievement and discipline improvements are evident. The project is expanding to include parents and community members at the schools involved. Soon, a second cohort of district leaders and additional schools will become engaged.

The process of capacity building must be accompanied by a systematic approach to accountability for implementation and improvement that recognizes the tendency to adopt quick "fixes that backfire" inherent in the highly politicized, complex system of education. For example, it is common to attempt to intervene through short-term professional development or other "check the box" programmatic interventions. The tragedy of short-term PD arises from the unintended side effects: namely, that it reinforces a belief that there exist simplistic changes that are possible without examining difficult-to-see limiting beliefs and habitual behaviors. By contrast, when there are clear accountabilities, a principal, for example, can establish longer term interventions with clear indicators of progress that can be used for ongoing improvement and which can make visible persistent gaps that remain between intentions and outcomes.

"At some point, it's not really about getting it or not getting it," observed the assistant superintendent. "It is unacceptable to be culturally nonresponsive. The question is really how will we hold everyone accountable for improving how we serve ALL students?"

For example, in a Midwest, urban school district serving a high-poverty student population of more than 50 percent African American and Latino students that had been working on culturally responsive pedagogy for three years, a high school principal felt that "some staff members still don't get it." The assistant superintendent worked with the principal to implement instructional evaluation and feedback that increasingly included accountability for cultural relevance and responsiveness. Eventually, the teachers who "did not get it" realized that this really was their job, and those who were unwilling to change saw that their job performance was no longer acceptable. "At some point, it's not really about getting it or not getting it," observed the assistant superintendent. "It is unacceptable to be culturally nonresponsive. The question is really how will we hold everyone accountable for improving how we serve ALL students?" This relentlessness eventually helped that school and the larger district increase student and parent engagement and significantly improve academic performance. Today, it is sustaining full accreditation, while other districts with similar demographics are struggling to do the same.
3. Beware the tendency to shift the burden from true capacity building to programmatic interventions.
Adoption of a checklist of programs to address inadequacies can also shift attention away from the deeper changes needed - namely, developing of awareness, understanding and sensitivity to the ways in which we underserve many students. When not recognized, an archetypal "shifting the burden" dynamic subtly reinforces the tendency toward the programmatic and away from the developmental. This happens because as resources are directed toward implementing the programmatic solutions, concern for the urgency of inequity can decline as people feel they have addressed the issue, further shifting attention from deeper capacity building, as illustrated in the figure below.

In reading the figure, start with tracing around the "figure 8" on the left-hand side, starting with concern for inequity: As concern increases, programmatic solutions are implemented and concern decreases (the upper "balancing" loop); with diminishing concern, there is less emphasis on deep capacity building, which means that deeper causes of the problems are unaddressed and consequently symptoms of the problem and concern eventually return (lower balancing loop). Over time, this leads often to still more resources invested in new programmatic solutions, such as anti-violence interventions. The two balancing loops make the "figure 8" interact to create a vicious cycle, and the system "shifts the burden" toward depending more and more on low-leverage programmatic solutions. Over time, increasing dependence on low-leverage programmatic solutions lead to further side-effects, like denial and a belief that nothing can be done, which further undermine fundamental solutions.

The consequence of these shifting-the-burden forces is that practical know-how never develops regarding how to support true capacity building. But, this is not inevitable. Our experience shows that these insidious shifting-the-burden dynamics can be averted through four core elements that can eventually modify habitual beliefs and behaviors by building capacity:

Make initial trainings

Establish effective coaching for all - administrators and teachers alike.

Build strong peer networks, which eventually supplant formal coaches.

Create clear, effective accountability structures that track the impact of capacity building on the well-being of students.

There is an important role for meaningful introductory professional development, but only in concert with an integrated capacity building strategy. Reflective trainings move beyond PowerPoint presentations to invite participants to reflect on their own experiences of exclusion. Being on the receiving end of bias - be it gender-, ethnic- or profession-based - is an almost universal experience. This becomes a starting point for appreciating emotionally what many of our students are up against and for understanding further how we all subtly contribute to institutionally embedded bias.

When done well, this sort of initial awakening can then lead to greater openness to seeing how each of us can learn, especially when combined with ways to connect this to our daily work - such as through good coaching. Coaches attuned to embedded inequity can help teachers translate general concerns into better classroom practices that benefit all students. In the context of classrooms that effectively develop student engagement in and responsibility for their own learning, students increasingly voice their own learning needs. With good support, teachers can understand and address impediments to each student's progress and gradually foster wholly new levels of engagement in their classrooms. Research shows that "by seeking to break down boundaries between teacher and teacher, teacher and student, student and the learning process, we will learn what students want and need. As a result, more and more teachers may go to bed at night remembering the images of wonder, enthusiasm and perseverance on the faces of their students."[1]

Coaching is especially powerful when it helps develop peer networks where more and more of the "coaching" becomes embedded in peer-to-peer help. In the long run, no intervention is more resilient than robust peer networks that embody a cultural norm of continual and mutual learning. For example, in a large California school district with an ethnically diverse student population, including 27 percent English learners, peer networks involving more than 100 administrators from both the district and school levels, and including both instructional and non-instructional departments, have been established. Within these networks, small, purposeful learning community groups attend training together, followed by peer coaching sessions where they share strategies to improve how they operate within and between work groups. The focus of this multi-year professional development process is aimed at increasing the capacity of all to work in concert to become a district characterized by equitable and effective practices. As reported by one participant, "knowing that I can be honest about my challenges but that I can work with my colleagues as partners to meet those challenges has given me new courage and energy."

As argued above, robust capacity building strategies require transparent management practices that create meaningful accountability structures based in connecting adult personal development and student outcomes. That said, there are several traps in developing effective accountability structures. First, it is common today that boards and external stakeholders force accountability structures on schools. Like any management system, the most effective accountability structures will be co-designed and accepted as useful by those to be managed, not imposed by those removed from the actual processes we are seeking to improve. Second, there are no perfect measures for tracking student well-being. While academic performance matters, it is often a lagging indicator. Before test scores and other summative, quantitative measures improve, principals, instructional coaches and teachers need indicators of improvements in process. Many of these will be informal and non-quantitative - for example, an increasing sense of efficacy (e.g., confidence in one's ability to learn) can be a useful indicator of progress for a formerly disengaged student, well in advance of demonstrated academic achievement. Likewise, school and district climate audits can include measures that indicate the degree to which students feel valued, respected, encouraged, challenged and supported. Often, these audits also reveal the reasons why students are disengaged, absent and tending to drop out.

Like many, we have found that effective accountability systems blend qualitative and quantitative measures. "As with all policy changes, governments need to be able to measure success in improving equity, performance and school dropout rates. Numerical targets can be useful tools by articulating policy in terms of what is to be achieved rather than in terms of formal processes. A number of countries have adopted targets for equity in education. Numerical targets for reducing the number of school-leavers with poor basic skills and the number of early school dropouts are particularly useful."[2] While we agree with this view, what it misses is the danger of relying too strongly on numerical targets. In the absence of meaningful qualitative indicators that committed leaders within the system can use to gauge progress, focusing exclusively on numerical targets can lead to countless ways to "game the system" to, as one savvy executive once explained to us, " look better without actually being better."
4. The long-term consequences of institutionalized and socialized racism must be understood.
Continuous messages of being "less than" and seldom seeing images or hearing examples of hope and possibility take a toll on students and their families. The effects are much like the widely recognized impact of bullying. While the messages are often subtle (and sometimes not so subtle), the results are significant. The cumulative effects are exacerbated when we do not structure schools to address the inequitable distribution of advantages and opportunities experienced by students and generations of their families outside of school. We cannot expect students to engage in learning in a system that mirrors the racial and ethnic bias that they experience on a daily basis. This is not just about more money and better physical facilities; it is about programs, practices and policies that reflect explicit efforts to ensure learning and opportunities that are meaningful and engaging to all students, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Understanding the impact of institutionalized racism on student behavior, motivation and willingness to take risks can help educators be less judgmental and to employ innovative techniques to reach all students.

For example, one principal with a long history at Native American reservation schools and in other high-poverty settings, took over a "turnaround" school, where all the teachers and administrators had been fired. Given her background, she appreciated what this meant to the students and formed one overarching goal for the year.

Think how these kids felt. All their lives they have been on the outside looking in and now all their teachers have been fired. They felt more like losers than they ever had, if that was possible. Early in the year, one of the boys told me, 'Mrs. Q..., there are ghosts in this building.' My goal for the first year was simple: I wanted these kids to feel good about themselves, to feel like they had a future.

The school year ended with a talent show. The principal took this event as the bellwether for the year's progress. "Middle school talent shows can be pretty rocky. Kids make mistakes. I have heard kids get laughed at, even booed. So, I was more than a little nervous when it started. When I saw that all the kids did was cheer, even when something went wrong, I knew we had turned a corner." Educators like this understand the long journey to self-respect for students who have grown up in institutionalized racism and focus on the real indicators of building the social capital for change.

A particularly insidious dimension of institutionalized racism is white privilege, privileges taken for granted by some but not available to others. "When Americans talk about race and racism," says University of California Berkeley, Law Professor john a. powell, "we almost always talk about African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos, sometimes Asian Americans, but we rarely talk about white people, the privilege of being the 'generic' category, which is a result of culture and power."[3] We do not see the water in which we swim. This is true for all people, but when the water in which some have the privilege to swim consistently provides power, status and opportunity, there are strong forces to preserve the blindness. The key is to make the water visible through processes like courageous dialogue. Through a focus on mutual understanding, assumptions can be surfaced, in addition to addressing systemic and institutional bias, interpersonal bias can be identified and action can be taken in consideration of all perspectives, rather than solely those of the dominant culture.

The processes of self-reinforcing blindness are subtle and pervasive, but can be revealed by pausing whenever we see someone from a different background react in a way that seems odd or makes us uncomfortable. For example, it is an understandable reaction to criticize, if even completely internally, a member of a "minority" community complaining about something they see as unfair. "They could just ignore that if they wanted to, rather than just complaining," we say quietly to ourselves. But we fail to notice that in this very thought we have constructed a "we and they" world in which we are projecting how we would feel when faced with a situation that, in fact, we never have had to face. This happened recently for one of us when an African American colleague was complaining about how she had to teach her kids "to never, not be on their guard." By asking myself honestly, "When has this exact circumstance the person is describing ever happened to me? When have I felt that it was necessary for their safety to tell my kids never not to be on their guard because of their skin color?" The answer is never. In that moment of reflection, something that had been invisible became visible, and one small facet of the taken-for-granted nature of white privilege became evident.

Another archetypal pattern comes into play around white privilege that, once understood, can help people see what is difficult to see. "Success to the Successful" operates in any situation where there is a perceived scarcity of resources and resources are allocated in favor of those perceived to be successful. This can happen between departments within an organization, between different organizations (such as different schools), or between individuals. What results is a self-reinforcing drift where "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." But what makes a success-to-the successful structure especially insidious is when it remains invisible, and the reinforcing dynamics are masked by mental models that justify the inequity of opportunity as a natural or inevitable arrangement - as occurs with white privilege or the allocation of resources in some school systems.

In recent years, many school districts have instituted multicultural education programs. But to be effective, nuanced understandings of privilege need to infuse the related training and coaching. In our judgment, multicultural education is incomplete if it does not truly challenge the roots of structural racism and racial oppression, starting with the matter of white privilege. Addressing this topic through sustained and honest conversation leads to new perspectives and related action. One leader described her developing awareness and understanding of white privilege as "an awakening that is revealing the bias in many of my previous decisions and actions."

Conclusion

If we are to reconstruct our educational systems to ensure equity for all, systems thinking is an essential skill, and the habits of systems thinking must guide our actions. This starts with understanding the power of mental models and looking for archetypal patterns like "fixes that fail," "shifting the burden" and "success to the successful." Systems thinking grows with sincere effort to reflect on the larger systems at play behind the behavior of individuals or particular groups. It is a defining feature of non-systemic thinking to over attribute outcomes to individual actions. While individual actions may be important, systems thinkers consistently look for the role of systemic structures and forces in shaping behavior. Experts in systems family therapy, for example, help people interrupt their habitual blaming of self and others and begin to look for the systemic structures created within the family that shape individual actions such as how interactions between a mother and father may be a primary cause of a teenager's problems, rather than just blaming the teen. By analogy, the problems of inequity are deeply embedded in larger social and economic systems. "Disparities (in income, health, employment, education) can't be understood in isolation," says powell. "They are embedded in systems in which there are many interactions and feedback loops."[4]

But the converse, solely blaming the system, is equally counterproductive: "It's not my fault; the problem is the system" leads to an attitude of victimization and obscures the simple fact that we are all creating the system through our day-to-day ways of thinking and acting. We find true systems understanding enables a particular kind of maturity. Individuals who can see systemic sources of problems can stop blaming themselves and start to look for ways to intervene in the system itself. We have had the privilege of working with many colleagues whose life circumstances would have easily supported victimization, self-criticism, anger and fatalism, yet developed very different attitudes - because they were able to see systemic structures at play. While perhaps not possible for everyone, one principal we know who grew up poor and black concluded that the attitude of victimization endemic in his family and many friends was ultimately a matter of choice and support.

I remember one day seeing clearly that the way I was being treated was not about me. It arose from a system of beliefs and habits that trapped perpetrators as well as victims. In that moment, I realized the system was outside of me and that I had a choice what beliefs I adopted. When I understood this, my circumstances did not change, but how I saw and reacted to them did change. I began a life-long inquiry into understanding the systems in which I found myself and learning how to conserve my sense of who I am at my essence and what is really important to me. Gradually, my anger dissipated and my insight grew.

Our present education system, while nominally committed to success for all students, actually embodies many success-to-the successful features that work against this aim, and changing these will be very difficult. The same remains largely true in the larger labor market it serves. Actions guided by ideas like those above will challenge a system structured to serve students inequitably, and those who have benefited from that system may resist change. But failing to do so over the past decades has made matters worse.

As noted by William H. Schmidt, co-author of Inequality for All, "The ultimate test of an educational system is whether it makes sure that every student, whatever their background, is exposed to the content they need to thrive in today's society. U.S. schools are failing this most basic test, and in the process wasting the talents of millions of American children - children from all backgrounds. The reality is that, for most students, the education they receive is largely based on chance, making academic opportunities into a kind of lottery - one with profound consequences."[5]

Today, the shortage of resources to support learning due to restrictions on public spending in many counties and localities, a condition that has changed little in the past decade, exacerbates the situation and makes reallocations within or between sectors politically difficult to manage.[6] In the face of such realities, we believe evidence of what can be achieved by dedicated leaders such as those described above can help shift the fatalism that subtly pervades the public discourse. Their work should be celebrated and utilized as inspiration to build a coalition of equity-based leadership.

As in all real systemic change, the journey requires patience and persistence guided by deep understanding. This is about all of us. The system works as it does because of how we work, and it will persist so long as we continue to adopt quick fixes and then return to business as usual. Leaders at all levels who achieve real progress embrace the entwined inner and outer journey that is imperative if we are to develop an education system that fully serves all students. Seeing the systemic sources of racism and inequity does not change them overnight, but denying them leaves the assumptions invisible and their power intact.

Notes

1. Richard Strong, Harvey F. Silver, and Amy Robinson, "Strengthening Student Engagement: What Do Students Want (and what really motivates them)?" Educational Leadership 53, no. 1 (September 1995): 8-12.

2. "Ten Steps to Equity in Education," Policy Brief (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, January 2008), p.7.

3. john a. powell, Connie Cagampang Heller, and Fayza Bundalli, Systems Thinking and Race: Workshop Summary, Workshop Series on Racial Justice (The California Endowment, June 2011).

4. powell, Systems Thinking and Race: Workshop Summary, 2011.

5. William Schmidt (Michigan State University) and Curtis McKnight (University of Oklahoma), Inequality for All: The challenge of unequal opportunity in American schools (New York, New York: Teachers College Press, July 2012).

6. Ben Levin, "Approaches to Equity in Policy for Lifelong Learning," paper commissioned by the Education and Training Policy Division, OECD, Equity in Education Thematic Review, August 2003.

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About the Authors

Mary Scheetz, Former Assistant Superintendent, Waters Foundation

Mary Scheetz has over 40 years experience as an innovative teacher, administrator, project director and consultant. From 2007 to 2013, Scheetz served as the Assistant Superintendent with the Ritenour School District in St. Louis and is currently a trainer and consultant working with the Waters Foundation Systems Thinking in Schools Team. She has presented systems thinking in schools work at numerous national and international conferences and facilitated related workshops. Mary's belief is that all students are capable of the critical thinking levels that systems thinking tools produce, and that it is essential for schools to ensure that ALL students are ensured access to rigorous and relevant learning. As an assistant superintendent, she implemented multiple strategies for the integration of systems thinking in school improvement and classroom instruction. She developed the annual St. Louis Systems Thinking in Schools Institute, which involves participants from multiple school districts and universities in the region. Mary's work is guided by the words of Marvin Weisbord, "If I had a crystal ball, I would not ask what's wrong here and who's to blame, but what's possible here and who cares?"

Peter M. Senge Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Sloan School of Management MIT, Founding Chair SoL ( Society of Organizational Learning and the Education Partnership)

Peter M. Senge Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Sloan School of Management MIT, Founding Chair SoL ( Society of Organizational Learning and the Education Partnership), a global network of people and institutions working together for systemic change, and co-founder, The Academy for Systemic Change. Dr. Peter Senge's work centers on promoting shared understanding of complex issues and shared leadership for healthier human systems. This involves major cross-sector projects focused on global food systems, climate change, regenerative economies and the future of education. Peter is the author of The Fifth Discipline and co-author of the three related field books to include Presence and The Necessary Revolution. The Fifth Discipline (over two million copies sold worldwide), was recognized by Harvard Business Review as "one of the seminal management books of the last 75 years," and by the Financial Times as one of five "most important" management books. The Journal of Business Strategy named him one of the 24 people who had the greatest influence on business strategy in the 20th century.

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By Mary Scheetz, Former Assistant Superintendent, Waters Foundation and Peter Senge, Sloan School of Management MIT and SoL (Society of Organizational Learning) Systemic change is deeply personal. This simple but paradoxical idea is perhaps the key reason most efforts at systems transformation are so disappointing.

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By Janice Jackson, National Equity Consultant, California; and Monette McIver, Dana Center, University of Texas at Austin

Public schools are a key institution for preparing the nation's youth to participate in democracy, enter the economy, make a living wage and live a fulfilling life. Consequently, stakeholders at every level - classrooms, schools and districts/charter management organizations - are obliged to model equitable strategies that make the needs of all the stakeholders in the internal and external district community, a priority. Equity-driven capacity building is expressly attuned to who is being served and the social, political and cultural context in which the organization is situated. Meaningful use of the lens of equity requires leaders to continuously ask, "Who is being well-served, and who is left out or harmed by the policies and practices of the organization?" Leaders for equity are committed to interrupting policies, practices and procedures that, explicitly or implicitly, perpetuate unequal outcomes for children who are furthest away from opportunity.

The work of interrupting entrenched systems often requires redefining "success" and reframing how we understand problems and develop solutions. And although student academic success is important, it is not the only way success should be evaluated. The school organization must also look at the psycho-social development of students, the engagement of employees and families in setting the vision and direction for the system, and the way policies, practices, procedures and inclusion practices are applied to the achievement of the vision.

This article draws on our decades-long experience and research working in school systems around the country.

This article draws on our decades-long experience and research working in school systems around the country. We discuss how to utilize and move beyond solely technical and structural approaches to improving school systems, and how to blend such approaches with a focus on the social, cultural and political dimensions of systems change.

Implementation Challenges to Using an Equity Lens in Districts & Approaches to Capacity Building at Multiple System Levels

School Boards and Governance

Elected school boards govern most district systems. As such, board membership can change dramatically. Several school boards in Colorado recently underwent significant shifts in political makeup, resulting in major shifts in policy, ranging from altering curriculum to promoting school vouchers (Healy, 2014; Hess & Eden, 2013). The voucher program initiated by the Douglas County School Board would permit parents to use taxpayer funds to enroll students in private schools, but the program was met with significant opposition. In fact, the program awaits a Colorado Supreme Court judgment.

As another example, school boards may champion education philosophy that conflicts with the prevailing beliefs of district personnel, and as a result, district staff members may disagree with the direction of the school board, and such disagreements may result in public conflict and high turnover of teachers, school administrators, superintendents and other staff, often resulting in turmoil. For instance, the Jefferson County School Board attempted to modify its history curriculum, moving away from a focus on Advanced Placement content to one more aligned with the school board's proposed direction that some interpreted as a rewrite of history by eliminating attention to dissent and emphasizing obedience. The backlash the Jefferson County School Board received became a national spectacle, with students skipping class and protesting in the streets; a vision reflected in the national news for several weeks in Fall 2014 (Healy, 2014).

In some districts, this type of change can mean that strong leadership is missing, important decisions needed to improve the school system languish, and a general lack of direction ensues. In this last example, the school board relented, but the long-term effects of this and other decisions are still not known.

Some school districts once characterized by inclusivity and diversity, within and across schools, are now more focused on encouraging greater use of charter schools and vouchers (Layton, 2014). To be sure, charter schools and vouchers offer many students and families access to types of schools and education opportunities that may not be associated with all public schools ordinarily. But while these alternative education settings give students and parents options, they often are not accessible to all students in the system, particularly those with limited financial means or students with various learning disabilities. A district may offer an array of charter schools, but too often it is up to the parents to provide transportation to and from these systems. Further, charter schools have been roundly criticized for selective enrollment, even though this observation has been challenged in a variety of settings (Angrist, Pathak & Walters, 2013). An equitable system would give students and parents clear and easy access to quality programs that fulfill the promise of academic success for all students.

For some time, Heifetz and Linsky (2004) have considered the technical challenges education leaders face. In their view, technical challenges, though numerous, are routine and can often be solved through the collective knowledge of experts or of those in leadership positions. A district-level example is the effective use of resources to meet student needs. A district's capacity to hire teachers and administrators, as well as to purchase textbooks and technology, is based largely on funding from available tax revenue. While school funding formulas vary from state to state, most formulas are based on available tax revenue, including property, state income and sales taxes. Districts with a limited tax base often have access to federal dollars to augment their funding sources, but these are the districts that serve student populations with increased needs associated with poverty.

This additional funding is helpful, but given the depth and range of social and emotional supports that districts must attend to, education leaders do not often have the freedom and resources to focus on critical and enriching extracurricular activities similar to their counterparts in more affluent districts. As such, additional funding in neighborhoods living in poverty must be used in ways that are not necessary in affluent communities. In addition, districts serving communities with high poverty often struggle to generate the revenues needed to attract and keep a strong teaching force, administrators and support staff. Further, rural and small districts may have limited access to a strong teaching force by virtue of their remote locations, and administrators find that they must wear multiple hats.

Approaches to Capacity Building

In spite of these obstacles, districts must carry on with the work of educating students. Toward this end, districts engage in a number of practices to build the internal capacity needed to support quality education. These capacity building activities occur at classroom, school and district levels. Research demonstrates that quality in every classroom positively affect student achievement (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler & Stone, 2011). Even more, school leaders who encourage school-level collegiality and professionalism among their teaching force create a respectful environment conducive to ongoing professional growth and development (Marzano, 2003). And finally, district leaders who appreciate the length of time needed for substantive change set challenging and achievable expectations for improvement. These district leaders also provide resources such as time for collaboration and funding that enable teachers to visit peer classrooms.

The following sections briefly describe several of the pivotal activities for using an equity lens grounded in excellence at each of these levels: classrooms, schools and systems and governing bodies.

Whether or not a state is using the CCSS or another set of standards, they should be clearly articulated and used as the benchmark for student learning.
The Role of Standards
In most states, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are the new bar for what students should know and be able to apply at the end of a given grade. Whether or not a state is using the CCSS or another set of standards, they should be clearly articulated and used as the benchmark for student learning. The following questions should be addressed by the leadership and staff:

What are the expectations of students that undergird the standards?

How are the standards similar and different from what was expected of students in the past?

What is required of me to ensure that students master the standards?

What training and support will teachers and school administrators be provided to support the effective implementation of these standards?

What are the strengths and needs of our specific students - by racial, language, socioeconomic and other key factors - that will come into play in implementing the new standards?

Learning About Students and Social-Emotional Development
Using an equity lens and perspective, teachers must hold high expectations for each of their students and demonstrate their belief in each student's potential. These expectations should also be based on a significant and growing understanding of each student's strengths and challenges, academically, socially and culturally. This response is deeper than surface level differentiation. It means knowing the "stuff" of each student's life and using it to engage students in learning. It also means paying attention to the multiple parts of each student's identity as the student sees himself/herself. Our identity is socially constructed and goes beyond our physical features. Educators are required to pay attention to the protected classes as defined by the federal government, yet identity encompasses these and additional areas, including: race, class, gender, socioeconomic level, family history, religion, sexual orientation, language, disability, migration status, ethnicity, geography/region and cultural practices.[1]

Supporting students' socio-emotional development promotes the competencies students need to successfully navigate school and life. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)[2] defines five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. According to CASEL, this skill-building is most effective when teachers work to embody these skills themselves, and when they incorporate social and emotional learning skills into academic lessons as well as in separate lessons specifically focused on the development of social and emotional skills. In addition, it remains essential to students to develop a strong sense of self and learn about working with people who may be different than themselves not only in widely diverse school systems and communities, but in all communities.[3]
Expanded Uses of Data and Deeper Student Engagement in Learning
Gathering data needs to be an ongoing process, including robust information about students: what they understand, their interests, what they can do with what they know, what they need to learn and how they learn. Once gathered, this information can be used to shape instruction. This ongoing process of data gathering should also be done in partnership with students so that they begin to understand how they learn and how they can continue to improve. Engaging students in this way helps build a sense of agency in their learning process in deeper ways, by no longer focusing solely on the actions of teachers and other adults.
Instructional Practice
Well-trained and competent teachers significantly affect student academic success. Teachers have a collection of instructional strategies at their disposal that positively affect student achievement (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler & Stone, 2011). In addition to using standards as a guide star, learning about students, adult and youth socio-emotional development, and deepened uses of data, these categories of instructional strategies include:

Setting objectives and providing feedback

Reinforcing effort and providing recognition

Cooperative learning

Cues, questions and advanced organizers[4]

Non-linguistic representations[5]

Summarizing and note-taking

Assigning homework and providing practice

Identifying similarities and differences[6]

Generating and testing hypotheses[7]

While effective use of these strategies can increase student achievement, teachers must be vigilant in their use. For example, simply putting students into groups does not constitute cooperative learning. As Dean and colleagues (2011) explain, cooperative learning must include support for skill-building in positive interdependence (i.e., skills for effectively working in teams) and individual accountability. Without these essential elements, cooperative learning may actually interfere with student learning. Such professional practices as multiple professional learning opportunities and classroom observations can encourage greater fidelity to this and other classroom instructional practices.
Seeing and Being Seen: Supporting Adult Learning
The school principal is a key element in successful schools (Sebring, et al., 2006). The school leader must have a deep understanding of his/her role in supporting the development of a school environment in which all members are clear about the purpose of their work and have a shared vision of success for their work in support of students. Staff who share the same grades and subjects should have a common understanding of high-quality instruction that leads students to mastery of the content and its application (Johnson, 2015). Visiting classrooms during the school day provides site leaders with an essential window into what is actually happening for children and adults in the building, by witnessing teachers' instructional strategies and students' responses. Seeing and feeling the flow of classrooms provides information about practices and outcome patterns for students and enables leaders to plan and guide staff in continuous improvement.

Professional development (PD) activities can also then be shaped around real needs and not around topics that don't address a specific school need. Too often topics for professional development are chosen based on the ideas circulating at professional conferences or are centrally driven (i.e., the "flavor of the month"). They are not customized to the needs of particular school staff. Classroom visits enable site leaders to determine appropriate and meaningful supports for teachers and staff as well as discover strengths that can be shared across the school. Engaging educators in meaningful and research-based professional learning opportunities can improve student outcomes. Districts, schools and individual educators must monitor use of learning from their professional development experiences in thoughtful and structured ways. Even more, the "lag time" between professional learning opportunities and the measurable impact on teacher practice and student learning varies, often taking extended periods of time to realize a meaningful effect. Changing one's teaching practice takes time. A teacher needs to try what is learned in professional development, receive feedback from colleagues and school leaders, assess its success with students and make needed adjustments.

Another important aspect of improvement at the school level is monitoring the implementation of instructional strategies learned in PD to ensure fidelity to the practices as well as their effectiveness on student achievement. Instructional practice should be enhanced as educators engage in one or several professional learning experiences, such as professional learning communities; "lesson study," that is, collaboratively writing lessons, reviewing the lessons in action in classrooms, and then debriefing the lesson to highlight strengths and areas for improvement; and/or online classes. It is important to determine the depth and spread of implementation and to gather data about how the strategies learned during professional development experiences impact student learning. Hence, it is essential that all who are affected by professional training clearly understand what practices they will be expected to implement, why those strategies will improve practice, how to implement the strategies, and when specific milestones that support implementation should be met. As implementation is reviewed, a monitoring plan should include what and how implementation data will be collected and a clearly defined decision-making process for making adjustments.

Marzano (2003) further noted that collegiality and professionalism have a positive effect on student achievement. A focus on these areas recognizes the importance of staff support for one another and the expertise that staff members bring to the school. School leaders establish the norms for how all staff members will manage their conduct and behavior, encourage teachers to participate in and contribute to decisions and provide the resources and expectations for professional learning activities (Dean & Parsley, 2010).
Collective Responsibility for Student Learning, High Expectations & Relevant Curricula
A great deal is known about what it takes to develop and maintain a school with high achievement for its students. Critical is a sense of shared responsibility across the school for the success of each and every child, no matter their background or classroom. Diamond, et. al., (2004) noted that most of the literature about teachers' expectations for student achievement was presented as an individual endeavor. Building on the work of Lee and Smith (1996) and others that put forward the notion of collective responsibility for student learning, the education field is now more aware of the role of race and social class in shaping teachers' expectations for student performance, as well as teachers' sense of their own role in influencing student success. Diamond et al. found that in schools with high numbers of African American students and students living in poverty, expectations held by teachers for students were lower and a sense of collective responsibility for the success of all students was lower than in schools with high numbers of students from advantaged groups. Educators we've worked with over the years have expressed a similar concern about the prevalence of deficit- vs. asset-based thinking about students of color and those living in poverty.

Principals should also attend to staff culture and promoting a "safe space" for staff to discuss any areas of concern. This approach to culture-building celebrates successes and looks honestly at difficult challenges that are social, cultural and political.

To move from an individualistic approach to teaching to one of shared responsibility, principals can structure time for staff to work together to develop shared values, deepened understanding of students' strengths, gifts and lives, shared knowledge about their work, and encourage staff to be thought partners for one another. Knowing that collaboration does not happen on its own, principals can introduce teachers to tools and protocols to support the collaborative process. The principal can ground these opportunities in adult learning theory and give thought to the learning needs of the teachers as individuals and as a collective.

Principals should also attend to staff culture and promoting a "safe space" for staff to discuss any areas of concern. This approach to culture-building celebrates successes and looks honestly at difficult challenges that are social, cultural and political. Too often, there are unmentionables or elephants in the room that prevent honest conversations, such as the over- or underrepresentation of certain subgroups of students in disciplinary actions, special education, gifted and talented classes, and the distribution of resources across students, schools and neighborhoods. Site leaders carry responsibility for developing and supporting an environment that provides a sense of psychological safety for adults and children to put the unmentionables on the table. Staff can be guided through frank conversations about and with the children and families the school serves, and high-quality professional development can also include teaching about structural and systemic inequity, and how privilege and power impact educator practice and perceptions of students and their families.

Furthermore, opportunities can be provided for staff to learn about the cultures of their students. Teachers can invite children and families to share stories of their lives outside of school, and in this way, the world of the children and families is brought into the learning process. A powerful way to do this is through parent/family teacher conferences where children participate. These conversations can be structured to go beyond children's academic progress. Parents can be invited to share stories about their family and community, and children can speak about their experience of learning and of school. Storytelling is a powerful way to create safe space for deeper conversation, relationship-building and for people to learn about one another's assets and incorporate that knowledge into the learning process.

Knowledge of children's lives should be incorporated into the work of classrooms beginning with the physical environment and moving into the instructional strategies used by teachers.[8] The curriculum should be culturally responsive, designed around the students in the classroom, and include resources that help them learn about their own culture and the cultures of others. Literature, art, history and social studies are strong first steps, including having books, stories and visual art that demonstrate to children the richness of their own cultures. Extending this representation to science, mathematics and all subject areas is important for telling the stories of people from a variety of identity groups who have contributed to knowledge in the content area being studied. All children should see connections to their own lives in all school-wide curricula.
Diversity of Instructional and Assessment Strategies
Site leaders can support teachers in using data to determine the most appropriate instructional strategies to be used with students in their classrooms, and ascertain how the school is progressing as a whole through the implementation of these strategies. Teachers should be provided with opportunities to share instructional strategies and receive feedback on their lesson plans and tasks that are assigned to students. Interdisciplinary teaching and project based learning enable students to see the connections across content areas and deepen their learning (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). Students engaging in group work learn from each other. A variety of experiences to assess student learning can easily be built into the projects, including standardized tests as one of an array of progress measures.[9]

There should be a shared understanding of how to assess student learning that includes real-time assessments that allow students to relish what they have learned, and to revisit places where they are not yet clear. A notion of continuous improvement and learning from one's mistakes becomes an important part of learning for youth and adults. All students can be provided with opportunities to select ideas they would like to explore and opportunities for enrichment. Students can then be supported to realize what they know, where they are uncertain, and how to close the gap.
Building a Staff Representative of Students and Their Families
In schools using an equity lens and grounded in excellence, the staff and community are involved in the selection of new staff members. While staff can be broadly diverse, there is a commitment to bring on individuals that are representative of the community and who have a deep understanding of the challenges the school is facing. There is an additional commitment to search for innovative individuals who think in new ways to uncover solutions to the challenges the schools face. There is a shared responsibility for the introduction of new staff to the building and planned support as they become members of the school community. It is important that they understand the current culture, but are not afraid to raise questions when inequities become apparent, to help the school culture become more equitable and high quality in support of every student.
Matching Teachers' Expertise and Skill With the Children They Teach
While longevity in the system or the school is used to make teacher assignments to grades or classrooms, teachers' expertise and skill sets should drive placements. These skill sets should include the technical aspects of curriculum design, and assessment for and of learning, as well as culturally responsive instruction and assessment approaches, drawing on students' lives and strengths in the teaching process, and effectively partnering with families. The district/charter management organization's (CMO) best teachers should be placed with students with the greatest academic and support needs, and these (and all) teachers should be given the supports they need to provide a quality education for each and every student in their care. Attention should be given to which teachers are most skilled at guiding struggling students to mastery, as determined by data from student feedback, formative assessments and standardized tests. Such teachers also build relationships with students and their families, in addition to ensuring that instructional strategies are matched to student strengths and needs. The skills and approaches of the most successful teachers can also be shared with other staff to support building their capacity and efficacy with struggling students.
Engaging Families and Community as Partners
Site leadership should have a deep understanding of the children, their families and the local community. They must set clear expectations that these are collective partners in children's success and the success of the school. This perspective has not been held by the majority of educators in the past. Site leaders must demonstrate what such a commitment to partnership means and work with staff to develop and implement policies, practices and procedures that welcome authentic engagement with all stakeholders. Representatives of families can have positions on a school's site council or instructional leadership team. Structures and protocols can be used in meetings to create safety for student, family and community members to participate as equal partners with staff. School leadership and staff can develop opportunities for parents to learn from teachers what children are expected to learn and how parents can support that learning.[10] The Common Core and other state standards are a mystery to many parents. Several districts are using "Parent Academies" in which family members meet with teachers and experience lessons that the teachers are using with students in their classrooms. Participants report that they better understand what their children are learning in school and how they can support them at home. They also talk about the value of connecting with other parents and families. The teacher makes clear what knowledge and skills students are learning and why they are important. They also explain the strategies that they are using and discuss what families can do at home.

District / Charter Management Organization (CMO)

District/CMO leaders must be clear and unwavering about teaching and learning as the core work of school systems. Senior leadership provides supports for principals/school site leaders and teachers in improving their practice. No matter what role an individual at the district level holds, each role must be considered in relation to how it supports the work of teachers, classrooms, and the mastery and thriving of each student.
Clarity About the Meaning of High-Quality Instruction and Support
Senior leadership leads the district's discussion and understanding about the meaning of quality teaching, including: what one should expect to see from teachers and students when visiting classrooms; how we know what students understand and what they can do with what they know; and to what degree implementation of successful practices is taking hold across the district. Senior leadership provides supports for principals/school site leaders and teachers in improving their practice. For instance, they work with site leaders, teachers and the community to provide sample lesson plans that are culturally relevant, as well as access to supplemental materials to support those plans.
Using the Lens of Equity
The use of an equity lens must be at the foundation of a district's work. This means that all levels of the system should be clear about the meaning of equity in relationship to their own roles. Keeping the community context in view as system-wide decisions are made is of paramount importance, which includes taking into account the various demographics of the children and their families (e.g., race, class, neighborhood differentials and power dynamics). In addition, continual attention should be paid to looking for patterns of unequal outcomes of district policies, practices and procedures, particularly in such areas as disproportionality of implementation of the discipline code of conduct, assignment to Special Education, and "disfavored"[11] students in higher level classes.
A Systems Approach
Leaders must see that the district/organization develops, implements and evaluates the policies and practices for building a stellar workforce. In particular, there should be an appropriate system for recruiting, inducting, developing and evaluating school site and district leaders and staff; district/organization leadership should place a premium on individuals who understand the community context; and schools should be supported to develop a diverse and collaborative workforce.
Reducing Siloing Across Departments: Improving Coherence & Collaboration
Often districts/CMOs function in silos, with each department focused on its own work without regard to how it relates to the district's core purpose of learning and teaching. In many districts, the individuals who supervise school principals report to a different cabinet member than the individuals who are guiding curriculum and instruction. This can contribute to a lack of coordination about what schools are expected to do around teaching and learning. Those who supervise principals may not be tying their conversations and supports to the expectations of the curriculum and instruction leaders. In order to shift the siloed approach, top leadership needs to set clear expectations and provide professional development and coaching support to help staff transition in how to accomplish their work using more collaborative approaches. Senior leadership can begin by supporting principal supervisors, as well as directors of curriculum and instruction, including encouraging ongoing dialogue between these two groups, given their critical role in the core mission of school systems and supporting schools. Principal supervisors should engage with principals about the system's districtwide strategies to improve instruction and increase student achievement. Those in the curriculum and instruction department should be informed on an on-going basis by principal supervisors about what they are noticing in the implementation of the district's strategies.

Another method used to support breaking down silos is cross-functional teams. In solving problems or generating new plans, bringing together individuals from different parts of the district to share their expertise increases the likelihood of high-quality solutions. It opens the possibility for strategies that push against the current way of doing business and deriving solutions that may have a broader benefit. Making this approach effective requires supporting staff in learning tools and protocols that enable all members of the team to participate with equal voice, no matter status or position. It means giving attention to power relationships and how they often play out, leaving some individuals voiceless. Successful districts often begin this approach by initially using a facilitator until staff develop proficiency to guide these complex discussions and planning processes on their own.

Individuals whose work is not directly involved in the teaching and learning process should be able to articulate how their work contributes to success for students. For instance, those who work in accounting should focus on getting resources to schools in a timely way by streamlining cumbersome systems for ordering materials and supplies that can distract site leaders and teachers from their focus on instruction. Transportation is another critically important area. The system for getting students to school on time requires regular review to ensure that all students are being served well and to find areas that need improvement. Families' concerns about transportation inefficiencies should be taken to heart, as they understand first-hand whether the system effectively supports their students.
Equitable Distribution of Resources
Equitable distribution of often limited resources is essential. Too often, district and site leaders are expected to accomplish more than their budgets allow. System leaders must have a set of guiding principles for distributing resources that is not driven by goals for "equality" of general funding - i.e., equality without consideration for varied students in widely differing starting places. These principles must be driven by student strengths and needs.

Equitable distribution of often limited resources is essential. Too often, district and site leaders are expected to accomplish more than their budgets allow. System leaders must have a set of guiding principles for distributing resources that is not driven by goals for "equality" of general funding - i.e., equality without consideration for varied student strengths and needs rooted in widely differing starting places. These principles must be driven by student strengths and needs. While this is easily understood, it is very difficult to implement in highly politicized school communities, because it means that resources should not always be distributed to all schools in the same way. Schools with the greatest needs should be provided more resources than schools with students who have fewer unmet resource needs.

Districts must have a commitment to meeting the basic needs of all students. This can become a battle between parents who are privileged and parents who are marginalized and have limited financial resources. Unless district leadership is willing to risk disfavor with those who are in positions of power and influence, and seeks to engage them as allies in the well-being and thriving of all students in a school system, the well-documented pattern of resource inequity will continue. For instance, districts that have attempted to de-track schools and classrooms are often met with opposition from parents whose children had been assured a seat in higher level classrooms or the highest achieving schools.[12] There can be discomfort for district leadership when resources are distributed more equitably in a system. As political battles are common, a different approach requires courage.
Defined Autonomy Between Schools and System-Wide Goals
Waters and Marzano (2006) identified five district leadership responsibilities that have a positive impact on student achievement: collaborative goal-setting; non-negotiable goals for achievement and instruction; board alignment and support of district goals; monitoring goals for achievement and instruction; and use of resources to support achievement and instruction goals. In addition to these, defined autonomy focuses on the degree to which a district provides school leaders with the flexibility to make building-level adjustments to meet the needs of students. Defined autonomy makes it clear that districts must set both non-negotiable goals for student learning across schools, as well as provide school building-level leadership with the autonomy and support to identify and implement their own strategies for achieving these goals, given their student populations, families and communities.
Assessing Progress & Success
Districts use tools to assess how the system is doing at the classroom, school and district level. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland has designed the OpenDataMCPS[13] to provide information on performance, budget and facilities to keep track of areas of growth and areas that need attention. District and site leaders use the information in this system for regular conversations about how well they are moving toward achieving the district and school goals. The LEAD Tool[14] developed by Education Northwest is a web-based tool for leadership teams to self-assess how well they are using equity as a lens in serving all of the district's children and families. Both of these tools focus on outcomes for children and families, as well as how well the district is operating overall.

School Board/Trustees of the CMO

Board members/trustees set and monitor policy implementation as well as approve the allocation of resources across the system. Along with the superintendent/CEO, whom they are responsible for hiring, they set the vision and mission for the organization. A key aspect of that vision is the commitment to be an organization in which equity is core to the quality of the work. Engaging with employees, families and the community to understand the importance of this commitment is shared with the superintendent/CEO and other district leaders. They also monitor for evidence that the district's goals are being met and look for patterns of inequitable opportunities and outcomes.

In hiring the senior leader, the board/trustees need to look for an individual who shares this commitment and knows how to model leading with an equity lens. This leader should have demonstrable know-how in creating an environment where an "equity lens" is seen as the "way we do our work," not an add-on or a unique and siloed initiative.

As boards/trustees guide the work of school systems, they also are key to community relationships and opportunities for on-going, two-way communication and authentic dialogue. Listening campaigns, where meetings are facilitated and real issues are discussed with the community to share ideas and suggestions, can provide insight about what is most important. New ideas can be generated and incorporated into the district's/school system's plans, the community feels heard and in authentic partnership. When done well, this work fosters positive relationships, mutual support and long-term partnership between the district and community.

The Limitations of Structural and Technical Approaches Alone

Many school districts use structural and technical approaches to their school improvement challenges that rely on expertise based on practices from the past. The challenges confronting systems today require expertise with a nod to past practice, using what remains relevant and positively impactful, with a search for solutions that are derived from deep dialogue and partnership with those being served. Some examples of these combined approaches are the following:

Many leaders begin by changing the district's reporting structure without attending to the relationships and functions needed to bring about significant change. If a leader decides to reorganize or restructure, he/she has to look beyond the lines of authority on the organizational chart. To solve problems and accomplish the organization's goals, he/she should attend to the informal structure and incorporate what people really do. This work also includes attending to the highly political nature of restructuring in terms of history, relationships and cultivating readiness for change.

Effective leaders attend to organizational alignment and, in the era of the CCSS, commit to learning and teaching as the system's core work. Too often, however, insufficient attention is given to deeply engaging with and understanding students and their families as essential to implementation of the new standards.

"Best practices" gleaned from other districts are often implemented without understanding the foundational principles of how they were implemented in another context, and hence the potential relevance is lost as a result of failing to tailor the approaches to a new community.

Such challenges as these often lead to failed implementation and frustration when the intended results are not seen. Without an understanding of historical context and the cultures in the community, and without attending to the deep partnership, relationships, trust-building and collaborative structures needed, challenges facing school systems are misinterpreted, and thus the solutions devised are less effective. For these reasons, we recommend additional focus on the following areas to complement our discussion above.
Core Values and Guiding Principles for the System
Senior leadership in a school system must articulate a set of core values that are developed and agreed upon with the full range of stakeholder groups in the community. These values should be broadly shared and used to guide the system's work. While academic research can help with analyzing district challenges, the experience and values of the community should be considered alongside it. Time should be made available for regular reflection across stakeholders at all levels of the system, internal and external, on progress in meeting the goals as well as how people are experiencing the organization.
Shared Sense of Accountability for the Learning of All Students in the System's Care
When a system makes it clear that its core work is learning and teaching, the meaning of this idea needs to be discussed with all employees and stakeholder groups. People will need the opportunity to make sense of what is expected of them in their role. A good example of this is a school district where all employees are engaged in conversations about what the CCSS are and how their work contributes to the implementation of the standards, no matter an employee's formal role in the district. Opportunities are provided for parents to learn about the CCSS and what this means for their children's learning. Several districts use Parent Academies in which teachers and parents share information about the standards and lessons that are being taught. Boston Public Schools, Miami-Dade County, and Washington, D.C., are using this approach.
Regular Communication With Families and Community
Districts can also host "listening campaigns" where they invite families and community, employees and students to give feedback about their experience of the system. Open invitations are issued to participate in gathering and analyzing information from various stakeholders. The data and the meaning that is constructed from the data are made public. Examples of this process are facilitated around the country by organizations such as the National Equity Project, based in Oakland, California; World-Trust in Oakland, California; The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University; and The Interaction Institute for Social Change in Boston, Massachusetts. These organizations use structured protocols to engage participants in dialogue to analyze and collectively make shared meaning of qualitative and quantitative data. District leadership is in significant conversation with all stakeholders to advance vision, goals, priorities, strategies, and analyze impact and next steps to improve school systems for the long-haul, in partnership with and support of students, their families and communities.

These blended approaches - structural, cultural, technical, social and political - are suggestions for using a more well-rounded approach to transforming schools and systems to ensure a quality education for all children. Context always matters.

References

Angrist, Joshua, Parag Pathak, and Christopher Walters, "Explaining Charter School Effectiveness," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 5, no. 4 (October 2013): 1-27.

Blumenfeld, Phyllis et al., "Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning," Educational Psychologist 26, issue 3-4 (1991): 369-398.

Dean, Ceri, Elizabeth Hubbell, Howard Pitler, and B.J. Stone, Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, second edition (Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2012).

Dean, C. & Parsley, D. (2010). Success in sight: Introduction to school improvement - Research-based influences on student achievement. (facilitator manual, module 1, segment 1.3). Denver: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning.

Diamond, John, Antonia Randolph, and James Spillane, "Teachers' Expectations and Sense of Responsibility for Student Learning: The importance of Race, Class, and Organizational Habitus," Anthropology & Education Quarterly 35, no. 1 (2004): 75-98.

Healy, Jack, "After Uproar, School Board in Colorado Scraps Anti-Protest Curriculum," The New York Times, Oct. 3, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/us/after-uproar-colorado-school-board-retreats-on-curriculum-review-plan.html?_r=0

Heifetz, Ronald, and Marty Linsky, "When Leadership Spells Danger," Educational Leadership 61, no. 7 (April 2004): 33-37.

Howard, Tyrone, Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap in America's Classrooms (New York: Teachers College Press, April 2010).

Marzano, Robert, What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action (Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2003).

Hess, Frederick, and Max Eden, "A Suburban Colorado County Tests the Limits of Education Reform," National Review, Sept. 17, 2013, http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358627/most-interesting-school-district-america-frederick-m-hess-max-c-eden

Johnson, Joe, "Developing Schools of Achievement for African American Students," at The African American Regional Education Alliance Conference, Oakland, California (San Diego: National Center for Urban School Transformation, San Diego State University, 2015).

Layton, Lyndsey, "In New Orleans, Major School District Closes Traditional Public Schools for Good," The Washington Post, May 28, 2014, http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-new-orleans-traditional-public-schools-close-for-good/2014/05/28/ae4f5724-e5de-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html

Lee, V. E., & Smith, J. B. (1996). Collective responsibility for learning and its effects on gains in achievement for early secondary school students. American Journal of Education, 104(2), 103-147.

Nichols-Barrer, Ira, Brian Gill, Phillip Gleason, and Christina Clark Tuttle, "Does Student Attrition Explain KIPP's Success?" Education Next 14, no. 4 (2014): 62-70.

Sebring, Penny Bender, et al. "The Essential Supports for School Improvement. Research Report." Consortium on Chicago School Research (2006).

Waters, J. Timothy, and Robert Marzano, School District Leadership That Works: The Effect of Superintendent Leadership on Student Achievement (Denver: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, 2006).

Whitmire, Richard, "Inside Successful District-Charter Compacts," Education Next 14, no. 4 (2014): 42-48.

NOTES

[1] See for example G. Gay, Cultural Competence & Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Practice and Research, (New York: Teachers College Press, 2000).

[3] See for example Y. Jackson, Pedagogy of Confidence (New York: Teachers College Press, 2011).

[4] Material that teachers use to prepare students for learning. This might include telling a story, asking students what they know about the topic, and drawing connections to previous learning.

[5] Using visual images (e.g., pictures, movement, physical models) to represent information.

[6] By making comparisons and categorizing information, learners solidify their understanding and can more easily integrate new information into existing knowledge.

[7] Which encourages critical thinking and problem solving, skills highly valued in college and careers.

[8] See for example J. Banks et al., "Diversity Within Unity: Essential Principals for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society," Phi Delta Kappan, (2000): pp. 196-203.

[9] See for example: http://performanceassessment.org/performance/pcomponents.html

[10] See for example the following: 1) http://www2.ed.gov/documents/family-community/partnership-frameworks.pdf; 2) A. T. Henderson and K. L. Mapp, "A new wave of evidence," The impact of school, family, and community connections on student achievement (Austin, Texas: National Center for Family & Community: Connections with Schools, 2002); 3) A. T. Henderson, ed., Beyond the bake sale: The essential guide to family-school partnerships (New York: The New Press, 2007); and 4) Tarek Chebbi, "The Parent Academy in Miami-Dade County Public Schools: Second Interim Report 2006-2007" (Miami, Fla.: Miami-Dade County Public Schools, 2008) http://theparentacademy.dadeschools.net/evaluations.htm

[11] A term used by the organization " E3" ( Education, Excellence, Equity, http://www.e3ed.org) to describe students who are often ignored by adults and for whom there are low expectations.

[12] See for instance: J. Oakes, A.S. Wells, M. Jones, and A. Datnow, "The social construction of ability, cultural politics, and resistance to reform," History of Multicultural Education Volume 2: Foundations and Stratifications, (2012): 293.

[13] https://data.montgomeryschoolsmd.org

[14] http://leadtool.educationnorthwest.org

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Janice Jackson, Consultant, former Senior Associate, National Equity Project

Janice Jackson is an independent systems change consultant. Most recently a Senior Associate at the National Equity Project (Oakland, California), she is the former Executive Director of Stanford University's Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE). She also worked previously at Harvard University, where she provided support for its Urban Superintendents Program and other leadership development initiatives such as a Wallace Foundation-funded leadership project for states and urban school districts. Jackson has been a faculty member and researcher at two universities, working in areas ranging from teaching and teacher education to leadership development. She has deep experience in supporting and running schools and school systems, including having served in the leadership cadre of three major urban school systems (including Boston) and as a consultant to many others. She has also worked in the policy arena at the federal level, as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Education in the Clinton Administration. Jackson has also worked as a board member or consultant for a wide variety of major education organizations that support professional development, academic, social and emotional learning for students, and the pursuit of equity.

Monette McIver, Manager, Higher Education Services, Dana Center, University of Texas, Austin

Dr. Monette McIver serves as the manager of higher education services, providing leadership, guidance, and continuity across all higher education resources offered by the Center. In this role, she leads the Center's national higher education developmental mathematics reform initiative, the New Mathways Project. Dr. McIver supports the ongoing effort to work at scale within Texas and develop and implement a plan for expansion to other states.

Dr. McIver has more than 20 years of experience in education. She most recently served as a consulting director for the Center for Systems Transformation at McREL International, where she oversaw and supported work in school and systems improvement. She led projects designed to increase the capacity of schools, districts and state departments of education to systematize improvement efforts. Prior to this position, Dr. McIver was a supervising principal consultant for McREL, leading projects focused on improving achievement for K-12 students. She facilitated and managed training opportunities at the school, district and state levels that focused on systemic change, leadership, strategic use of instructional strategies and curriculum development. In this role, Dr. McIver supported schools and districts with implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Dr. McIver was also an assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She conducted research in the area of writing and writing instruction and taught courses related to elementary writing and writing instruction. Dr. McIver holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Spelman College, an M.A. in Elementary Education and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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Using Equity-Centered Capacity Building to Advance School System Improvement

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By Janice Jackson, National Equity Consultant, California; and Monette McIver, Dana Center, University of Texas at Austin Public schools are a key institution for preparing the nation's youth to participate in democracy, enter the economy, make a living wage and live a fulfilling life. Consequently, stakeholders at every level - classrooms, schools and districts/charter management organizations...

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Questions that Matter, Social Change with CEESA

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The Role of International Schools In Perpetuating White Superiority 

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The Role of International Schools In Perpetuating White Superiority 

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Photo found on Northeastern

Being in an international school has helped me analyze, question, and learn. But it has also left me with a white superiority complex which manifested itself in my hidden biases. Does this make me racist? Hopefully not. But it has made me believe that I am above racism, when the very opposite is true. Racism is an issue as long as race exists - Hong Kong is no exception.

I came to this realization recetly, at the behest of the Black Lives Matter movement, where I began questioning what my role was in a predominantly American issue. In Hong Kong, there are very few African-Americans. Our buildings were not built with the blood of black slaves, and our basic law was not tainted by the need to appease former slave states. But we do have some proud, insanely intelligent brown people - capable of performing stellar math and impeccable speeches. We do have a huge population of Filipinos and Indonesians, who work 6 days a week to send money to their family, running the gears of the Hong Kong economy - and one of whom had bathed, clothed, and cared for me since birth. And there are other people of color who live in Hong Kong, who hail from Rwanda and Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Yet, as I stood on the precipice of adulthood and reflected on my past experiences in the classroom, I came to a realization. Was I using my exposure to these different cultures as a shield for my own ignorance? Almost all my teachers were, and are, white, and that has to have had an enormous effect on my subconscious mind.

I began my own process of self reflection: Was I more comfortable trusting people with white skin? Did I automatically presume them to be smarter and more intelligent than even my own race? The answer was a probable yes, and it was not solely enforced my flashy advertisements. It was actively enforced by the whitewashing of teachers from kindergarden onwards.

The effect of this on children is enormous.

Despite our outward calls for equality, our inward calls for whom to trust and whom to believe default to white people, who read stories to us when we were four; who taught us cell structures and Chinese history. Despite our outward calls for equality, our desire to fit into the mainstream, Eurocentric beauty standard have been reinforced by a secret, unrealized belief in white supremacy.

From this new angle, the proficiency of my English against my Chinese, my desire to gain white friends as a 6 year-old, and unnoticed micro-aggressions have led me to be compliant in this fight against racism. In some aspects, I even bought into ideas that were based on my racial inferiority. I dressed in Western trends, neglected my Chinese, because deep down in my 10 year-old brain, I had hated that my race stood for yellow face and cheapskates. Yet, at the same time, while I was receiving a purportedly international education, I was also telling myself that I could not be racist, not when I was learning about the Apartheid and being taught books on justice by Toni Morrison.

Though there are numerous factors that played into my upbringing, my faults and flaws had, at the very least, been a partial result of my schooling. I had been educated in a system built by, and for British colonizers. With the majority established under British rule, international schools in Hong Kong predominantly performed the role of instilling Western values into the minds of expats and wealthy Hong Kongers. While there has been change since the 1997 handover, such as swapping from the British curriculum to the International Baccalaureate (IB), there has been little evidence of an active fight against the unrealized racism that lurks beneath the guise of a liberal education. If the IB and our schools intend to mold us as upstanding global citizens, they ought to be hyper-aware of what their hiring decisions have on their students.

Even the IB does not emerge unscathed. Despite their diplomatic rhetoric, and goals of creating global citizens, it is still a system written by the Swiss and the Europeans. It is a system executed in schools with Caucasian teachers, who have typically specialized in Western history, Western geography, and Western politics. Eurocentrism has undeniably creeped its way into the materials in the classrooms of toddlers, teenagers, and high school graduates, and the IB must do their part to counteract it. Introducing more mandatory assessments, units, and topics specializing in the host country would already mitigate the Eurocentrism in IB schools; yet initiatives such as these have not meaningfully manifested in the education that I had experienced.

Hence, I had grown up in an updated form of unintended white supremacy, where rich countries and their white citizens were presented as the creators of civilization, where I learnt more about the Renaissance era than I ever did about Zheng He and ancient Chinese dynasties. I had been robbed of my cultural identity in favor of one colored in Eurocentric lenses. Though it was well-intentioned, it was, at the very least, incredibly regrettable. What my education had given me was apathy towards Asia, China, and Hong Kong. What my education had given me was ignorance towards Asian geography, and basic Asian history. I can pinpoint Texas on a map, but still didn't know what Central Asia consisted of.

This is in no way a rebuke to the teachers who taught me, to the school which demanded me to question the world's injustices. Though they are people who are white, they are people, first and foremost. This is a scathing criticism of the lack of diversity in teachers at international schools, perhaps by a lack of awareness. This is a scathing criticism of how the IB and their international schools, with their lofty goals of worldliness, must be held to a higher standard if they truly wish to mold its students into sympathetic, worldly, and politically aware citizens. This is a scathing criticism of how such an expensive education still fails to be conscious of the ways they can combat internalized and unrealized racism.

As a result of these gaping flaws in international schools, I had built a belief system where I believed the West is best, and subconsciously shunned my Asian roots. The stereotypes that I subconsciously took on reinforced my relegation of Indians to the subject of Math, POCs to teaching assistants and language teachers. Where I subconsciously viewed Phillipino and Indonesian helpers as lesser, despite their life experiences being infinitely broader, and much less sheltered than mine. If a truly liberal, international education ought to be achieved, where are my Filipino teachers in math class? Where are my Asian teachers teaching Asian history in humanities?

I do not think racism cannot ever be erased from society: until the way we think biologically evolves, tribal mentality will reign supreme whenever we seek a scapegoat. I will biologically stereotype races into who I think they are, how I think they will act. But what I can do is to actively check myself, every time I act differently to a brown person than an Asian person. And what international schools can do is to actively push back against their unintended role in perpetuating white superiority.

Hence, if our schools really wanted to create a culture where their students believed in equality, then make diversity an active criteria for hiring. If our schools and the IB really wanted to make their students global citizens, then they have an obligation to consciously integrate Oceania, Asia, Africa, and Latin America in our curriculum, instead of just Europe and North America. They can, and should, do better.

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The Role of International Schools in Perpetuating White Superiority

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Being in an international school has helped me analyze, question, and learn. But it has also left me with a white superiority complex which manifested itself in my hidden biases. Does this make me racist? Hopefully not. But it has made me believe that I am above racism, when the very opposite is true.

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How International Communities are Diversifying Expat Curriculum

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How International Communities are Diversifying Expat Curriculum

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10/8/2020 Update: Decolonise IB has changed its name to Organisation to Decolonise International Schools (ODIS) to include international schools that teach programs besides International Baccalaureate. Our provides links to our latest , and .
International schools - the postcard of an idealised education. Well-lit classrooms with smartboards; readily available equipment still fresh in its packaging; selected teachers with frequent professional training and stimulating salaries; students of all colours from across the globe, children of the world's elite.

Or something like tha. As someone who's attended seven international schools over the course of her childhood all over the Global South, I can affirm with some amusement that I am indoctrinated in the ways of the international baccalaureate, one of the most renowned programs in the expat-kid world (though also widely offered in local public schools in countries such as the US). I non-ironically hail to the glossy terms highlighted in the IB framework - global-mindedness, critical thinking.
"We realize that [our school] is not unique at all - this apathetic response to anti-racism is actually a widespread issue across many international schools"
But I am young, and only beginning to understand how this schooling often results in a kind of intellectual navel-gazing. Many of us have studied the textbook-standard topics of the Western world: the French Revolution, the Enlightenment, World War II.

But how is it that my friend Ochieng grew up in an international school in Kenya, and never learned any Kenyan history? How often have I learned something vital about a country I lived in, years after I had left it? How often did we as international students feel unrepresented in the course topics that were assigned to us? And how many of us, upon the death of George Floyd, felt the jolt of realisation that we know nothing about systemic racism, colonialism and its undiscussed modern successor?

The issue is a complex one. Our recent investigations have made this apparent. As our newsfeed and consciousness flooded with news of the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S., my friend Clara suggested we create a petition to require more diversity in the International Baccalaureate syllabus.

We created surveys for educators and students. We made social media accounts. We started getting responses, lots of them. Decolonise IB emerged, with similar initiatives springing up simultaneously around the expat world and forming a growing network. In the two weeks since we've launched the petition, our views on the international education system have shifted drastically.

- Tiffany Shi, International School of Beijing Alumni for Anti-Racism.
"Black teachers feel undermined, especially the [Teacher Assistants], many of whom are highly qualified but see no future in the school,"
With over 400 responses our student survey results are clear: for a baccalaureate that calls itself 'international', many pupils and alumni felt that their education was highly Western and White. Class content left the majority feeling uneducated on Black history, White privilege, systemic oppression, and generally any affairs pertaining to Black/Indigenous/People Of Colour. Not to mention matters concerning women, disabled people, refugees and the LGBTQIA+ community. International students are not exempt from feeling their education has often centred on the contributions of able-bodied cisgender straight White men. Our own culture and race often has little place in formal class discussions. " We are very much a flag, food and festivals administration, " one teacher wrote, but outside special events schools might provide little opportunity for the student body to celebrate its diversity.

What a waste, when our students' voices are such a powerful tool, especially at a time where the world needs to see solidarity among typically divided cultures. We need just as much to expose ourselves to the 'real world'- having been (though I can't speak for all of us) raised in our "Colour Blind" bubbles, as Rachel Engels astutely points out.

I cannot speak for international schools teaching British or US programs. But the IB, which we focused on given our experience and access to it, is a very loosely defined curriculum. Schools are essentially autonomous and the syllabus design mainly comes down to the teachers. Most of whom are White and North-American or West-European, raised by the systems that movements like Black Lives Matter are trying to dismantle.
"It's not enough for it to pay lip service through using carefully placed "buzz words" and the arbitrary provision of tick boxes that schools use to appear "inclusive." The systemic racism at international schools needs to be stamped down and rooted out."
The fact that the IB is so flexible is what makes it so wonderfully adaptable to each school, and that freedom is not used to its full advantage. There are excellent teachers in the IB, many of whom want to diversify the syllabus. Some schools may have an expanded curriculum that properly reflects the student body, but a completely segregated staff. One teacher told us about such a school that provided ongoing Professional Development on inclusivity, international literature in English class and a strong Mother Tongue module in the Primary Years Program. Yet in this African country the school board and staff (including Heads of Department and counselors) were predominantly White, with White teachers having meals under the "White tree" and mostly excluding BIPOC teachers from communal out-of-school activities.

- Anonymous response to teacher survey

Trends of racism in the recruitment system are increasingly being discussed. Many teachers described their school board as passive, or open and encouraging towards framework diversity but never proactive. This needs to be a collective effort, from teachers to administration, to the client - parents.

Our families have skewed the business that way. There is such adulation of the Western world across the Global South; international schools need a conspicuous number of Western teachers to be deemed desirable by the local elite. Parents dream of sending their children to Ivy League schools, to Oxford and Cambridge. They want their kids to internalise Whiteness as a standard. The denigration of our own cultures has been going on for so long, and enforces the narrative of Western superiority.

- Anonymous response to teacher survey

Aside from lack of action there is also the issue of censorship - that of very relevant political conflicts in the host country, for one (China evidently comes to mind first). But also deliberate censorship by schools themselves; why would Ochieng's school teach Kenya's history of colonisation by the English, when the school itself was founded by and still caters to English diplomats? Why would a school in Turkmenistan discuss American involvement in the Iraq War, when children of the U.S. military are in that very classroom, directly because of similar interests in the region? Even schools with more diverse teaching programs skirt around such topics. And why wouldn't they? Admitting that international schools serve a colonial function? That's just bad publicity.

The best course of action for students and alumni now is to act on a local level, petitioning your school boards for change. Schools in China, Singapore, and the Philippines have formed teams with the hashtag #decolonise[school name] and tagging us so we may broadcast their efforts to the expat student community. We've had a number of thought-provoking Zoom conferences. Apart from promoting this work, further expanding our network and in the near future creating examples of lesson proposals, we're hoping to contact the IB directly. Change will likely not come just from the top down; we must work from the bottom up and push them to meet us in the middle.

International schools concern only a privileged minority. We are the 7% globally mobile international students, rubbing elbows if not intersecting with the infamous 1% wealthiest people on the planet. Changing expat education may not affect a large percentage of the population, but it will condition future CEOs, diplomats and politicians who might someday make important decisions.

My education challenged me to do more than memorise and regurgitate facts. So I maintain that the IB taught me to research critically, question common biases and formulate my own opinions. What's ironic is that this has backfired on the international education system as a generation of students looks back and notices the gaping holes in our not-so-global curriculum. We have not been equipped, intellectually or emotionally, to understand this world and its current crises, and more importantly, our position in upholding global racial capitalism. Our maps are distorted. Our education makes us complicit. If we want to use the platform of international schools to its full potential, to truly advance justice, equity, and global-mindedness, our community needs to recast its long outdated mould.

By Xoài David

Sign the Decolonise IB Petition, take our Student and Educator surveys, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Decolonise IB is currently affiliated with KDSL Global, theAssociation of International Educators and Leaders of Colour (AIELOC) and Linden Global Learning Support as well as alumni from the following schools: Shanghai American School, Shanghai United International School, Hong Kong International School, International School Beijing, International School Manila, Brent International School, Tashkent International School, Singapore American School, International School Bangkok, Jakarta International School, Sekolah Ciputra, American International School of Bucharest, American Community School Athens, Tashkent International School, Lincoln Community School (Ghana) and Bilkent Laboratory International School, Berlin Brandenburg International School.

Thanks to Clara Reynolds, Kelindah Schuster and B. Kim for edits.

Disclaimer: Decolonise IB in no way seeks to appropriate Black Lives Matter nor divert urgent attention from causes that require immediate social and material support.

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Decolonise IB: How international school alumni are mobilising to diversify the expat curriculum

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10/8/2020 Update: Decolonise IB has changed its name to Organisation to Decolonise International Schools (ODIS) to include international schools that teach programs besides International Baccalaureate. Our provides links to our latest , and . International schools - the postcard of an idealised education.

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We are a country founded on the genocide of one people and the enslavement of another. We have yet to reconcile the impact of this inheritance on us all.

The experiment of America is 240 years old. In these 240 years, systems were designed that isolate and separate us, that empower a chosen few with the privilege of invention, innovation, and creativity, that lay the groundwork for misunderstanding, fear, and ultimately hate.

Racism and inequity are products of design. They can be redesigned.

We believe that in community, with thoughtful and deliberate action, we can design the obsolescence of those systems. We offer equityXdesign, a practice that organizations, teams, and individuals can use to mitigate the impact of racism and inequity in design practices.

As a collaborative, this work is our voice - an offering to the legacy of liberation, truth, and democracy. We collectively leverage the magic of relationships across difference to design right-fit solutions. Christine empowers people to reimagine themselves as school designers and founders. Michelle helps people find their own voices as anti racist leaders for equity. Caroline activates the voices of the marginalized to strengthen relationships, particularly those across lines of difference. Given who we are and what we know, we feel uniquely positioned to contribute to this fight, in this way - at the intersection of equity and design. We know it is not the only thing that needs to be done. It is no silver bullet, but it is where we think our energy has the greatest return.

As leaders from the racial equity and design and innovation spaces, we offer equityXdesign - a new way to think about and approach achieving equity. equityXdesign creates the conditions and relationships for inclusive innovation. A process for anti-racist and equitable design, it is guided by three central beliefs: innovation's need for inclusion and intentional design, the indistinguishable relationship between the past and the present, and our moral imperative to live in the future we desire to create.

equityXdesign is a practice that merges the consciousness of racial equity work with the methodology of design thinking. We believe that designing for the most affected and marginalized, letting their voices and experiences lead, and acknowledging the barriers to engagement are critical for this new process. Most importantly, we believe this design work must happen across racial difference. All people have the capacity for innovation. We believe it is this multiplicity of entry points that will create the conditions for new invention and innovations for equity. This practice is for teams of educators, designers, advocates, and agitators committed to building internal capacity and confidence designing for equity. It is reserved for those who believe we are stronger together and have the bold imagination to cultivate new ideas, invent equitable institutions, and reform biased policies.

American history has created a segregated world where white people are rarely in community with others. The isolation creates myths, stories, and beliefs that go unchallenged, and people of color are not immune. The work of acknowledgement, the telling of truths, and the opportunities for community and reflection are necessary before we can move forward. If we remain unwilling to do serious individual, institutional, and structural work as a people, our path toward a truly equitable future will stagnate.
Helping us see and understand our history, bringing us in community with one another in ways that allow us to hear each other, the raising of voices traditionally lost in the white noise of hegemonic discourse - this is the power of equity work.
From large government agencies to schools, tech startups, nonprofits, and philanthropic groups, the education ecosystem has a very narrow definition of inequity and how it manifests, often focusing only on explicit and intentional racism. But racism today looks different than it did in our Jim Crow past. Overwhelmingly, individuals no longer believe in the biological inferiority of black and brown people; however, while we may all claim egalitarian values, and while it is no longer socially acceptable to treat others differently because of the color of their skin, most of us hold implicit biases that impact our behavior and allow for structural and systemic inequity to remain.

We are living in a "colorblind" society that often recognizes racism as anomalous, individual acts of aggression or the mere acknowledgment of difference, not the silent structures that continue to divide. The victories of the civil rights movement, and now the Obama presidency, have reinforced the notion that we are a post-racial society. However, the lived experiences of millions of people of color reveal otherwise. Racism and other forms of discrimination have simply shifted from explicit and interpersonal to structural and less overt manifestations. The rise of identity-based aggression cannot distract us from recognizing anchoring systems of oppression and how they manifest in the lives of people.

Most of us hold implicit biases that impact our behavior and allow for structural and systemic inequity to remain.
Our individual actions can cumulatively serve to maintain existing forms of inequity - or they can serve to dismantle systems of oppression.
Historically, we have put the expectations of this change entirely on individuals, requiring each of us to maintain a fully developed relationship with our own racial identity, an intimate knowledge of the history of oppression and current manifestations of inequity, and the personal comfort and initiative to see, call out, and actively fight hegemonic systems. The focus of equity work for most organizations leans toward the having of courageous conversations about race and power and on individual racial identity development work. While this approach is necessary, it will not, alone, end individual, institutional, and systemic inequity.

Identity development work takes time and is never complete. Individuals can engage in such work without ever taking action to dismantle systems of oppression - particularly those that benefit from status quo systems or from being seen having such courageous conversations. Additionally, personal work can only progress when individuals first understand and then commit to doing deeper and often painful work. For many this personal work is often seen as unnecessary.
We must start with individuals, but we cannot stop there.
Institutions are the sum of the people within them, and they create the systems and structures we live in. The work of racial equity is to create safe spaces for people, to connect them, and then to move from merely understanding the role of the individual to understanding the role individuals play in institutions and systems. Only then can we move to action.

Our current paradigms and tools for truth, reconciliation, and anti-racist action are insufficient for the magnitude of the challenge we face. Racial equity work engages people in meaningful and authentic conversation, sparking individual transformation but not preparing people to create long-term systemic change. Organizations that engage in racial equity work may create space for individuals to find themselves personally awakened to their role and identity in society, ready to change their institutions for the better, but without the tools to take such action. Consultancies and protocols are not equipped for the complexities of racism's manifestations within individuals, institutions, and societal structures.

Some say talk is cheap. We disagree. Talk is deeply important, but it is simply not enough. We need to move toward new designs. For many, talking about racism and our long history of oppression feels paralyzing. The complexity of racism on individual, institutional, and structural levels feels insurmountable. Equity work helps us understand where we are and how we got here, but it is missing the tools for building a different reality. It is here that design thinking can lead the way.

In recent years, design thinking has left its roots as a tool used for product design and emerged as a powerful problem-solving methodology across fields and sectors. This shift in how design thinking is used has come in concert with a societal shift in the way we identify problems and understand solutions.

Our current charge is to solve problems where there is no one solution, where more data and information doesn't necessarily make things more clear, where the problem is hard to even define. For instance, we know that solving issues of terrorism is less about building better weapons and more about interrupting radical group recruitment strategies. We know that issues of environmental degradation are no longer about technologies for clean energy; they are about incentivizing corporate and consumer behavior changes. We know how the brain learns, but we can't figure out how to create school environments that are socioeconomically and racially integrated.

Problem-solving is no longer about inventing things; it is about recreating systems. And in a world that continues to increase in complexity and technology, design thinking can simplify, humanize, and order this chaos.

Traditional Design Thinking Process

This shift in the way we define problems necessitates a shift in the tools and mindsets we use to solve them. Design thinking provides a framework for complex, iterative, and targeted solutions: It emphasizes the need to define the problem well and build sooner to get better feedback, and it has fundamentally changed the relationship between designers and those they are designing for. This focus on the end user is so central that design thinking is often simply referred to as user- or human-centered design.

While elevating the user in the design process has been the key to its success, it is also the reason why our current approach to design thinking needs to be retrofitted. If we believe design thinking is the right tool to use to redesign products, systems, and institutions to be more equitable, then we must redesign the design thinking process, mindsets and tools themselves to ensure they mitigate for the causes of inequity - the prejudices of the human designers in the process, both their explicit and implicit personal biases, and the power of mostly invisible status quo systems of oppression.

The role of implicit bias is particularly distressing as we consider the design thinking process. In its current state, it may be doing as much harm as it is good. While engaging with end users, many forms of design thinking still see the designer as separate from the user and grant the designer the power in the relationship - the power to decide with whom to do empathy work, the power to interpret the results, the power to decide the framing of the problem, and the power to pick the best solution.

It stands to reason that any problem definition or solution created by biased individuals - which we all are - will perpetuate inequity if the process does not actively acknowledge and combat bias. A process that is itself colorblind will be blind to the effects of color in both problem and solution.

We see this regularly in our work facilitating design challenges with organizations. An example: The well-intentioned, usually white, educated, and middle- to upper-middle-class designers working with low-income urban (code for black and brown) schools to help design new programs know it is important to engage in empathy work, so they ask the principal to give them access to some parents to interview. The principal emails the PTA for volunteers, who are often not representative of the general student body. After a few interviews, the designers go back to their conference room to decide what the parents and students need. They brainstorm options, narrowing to those that fit within the existing structure of the school. In the best-case scenario, the program is something the school community can in fact benefit from - but it is unlikely to be designed to serve students and families most in need or to question status quo systems or structures. But these are essential when designing for equity.

There are many failings in this illustration, some of which can be attributed to a lack of rigor in using true design methodologies. However, even when pure design is applied, issues of power and bias have powerful sway. We can do better.

Two of the greatest hindrances to fighting inequity are literally hiding in plain sight: our implicit biases and the prevalent narrative of "colorblindness." If we don't even know we're doing something wrong, how can we be expected to change it?

We can enhance the design thinking process with tools frameworks that account for and make visible our individual biases; push us past the individual to the institutional, systemic, and historic inequity at play; and fight against hegemonic ideologies.

Instead of asking individuals to think their way into a new way of behaving, relying on their individual levels of awareness around issues of inequity, we can provide them with a framework that embeds that awareness. We can make design thinking, an already widely accepted and valued process for innovation and problem-solving, into a process that provides individuals with experiences that elevate their understanding of inequity while also providing tools to dismantle systems of inequity.

This is equityXdesign: an additional layer of checks, tools, and activities that, when laid on top of traditional design thinking methodologies, will illuminate racism and inequity - individual, structural, and institutional - that exists in the individuals involved in the design team and potentially shapes the way problems are framed and solutions are proposed.

Design thinking is an ideal starting point. When merged with the power of equity work, we believe it can be used to tackle our most urgent equity-based problems.

equityXdesign intentionally convenes people across difference and builds a common language for system-wide change. It is a framework that reimagines all of us as designers, adjusts for our implicit biases, and minimizes the scale and amplification of a dominant identity throughout. It creates guardrails and checkpoints that nudge design teams to identify problems through a lens of equity, brainstorm transformative possibilities, and prototype and test these possibilities in low-cost, low-resolution, inclusive, and participatory environments.

Pastored by the spirit of inclusive invention, the process engages designers in their own identities and the identities and experiences of their co-designers to seed collaborative, inclusive innovation and invention. The centering ethos - see, be seen, and foresee - overlays the three beliefs we believe are preconditions for equitable design. These beliefs lead us to the five design principles that guide our actions.

BELIEF #1

LEARNING TO SEE: HISTORICAL CONTEXT MATTERS

Evolutionary science tells us that the most beneficial traits survive; we are the recipients of the genetic legacy of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. And social inheritance mimics this genetic inheritance: We inherit the traits and characteristics of legacies of privilege and oppression. We must see both who we were (our historical selves) and who we are (our current selves). To understand the present time and space we occupy, we must understand the inherited legacy surrounding the thing we are designing, the place we are designing in, and the community we are designing with.

BELIEF #2

BE SEEN: RADICAL INCLUSION

equityXdesign is intentional about bringing diverse stakeholders together across race, role, gender, and socioeconomic status to build relationships and lay the groundwork for community. Inclusion is not merely the absence of exclusion: Radical inclusion requires going further - identifying barriers that exclude and eliminating them; welcoming different people, stories, and experiences to the innovation conversation; creating spaces where everyone can bring their full selves and be equally valued. Radical inclusion is not simply about reducing hate or respecting difference; it is about truly loving others.

BELIEF # 3

FORESEE: PROCESS AS PRODUCT

Process dictates product. To design for equity, we must design equitably. The practice of equitable design requires that we are mindful how we achieve equity. Inclusive design practices raise the voices of the marginalized, strengthen relationships across difference, shift positions, and recharge our democracy. Because exclusion feeds inequity, we can no longer argue that there is not enough time to include the community. We must make time for the magic of human connection, especially across difference.
These core beliefs, and the manifestations thereof, lead us to the following design principles:
DESIGN PRINCIPLE 1: DESIGN AT THE MARGINS

Our current innovation conversation is exclusive, accessible only to the powerful and privileged. This erodes the innate creative agency and leadership in the marginalized, reduces the experience of incredibly complex people, and often leads to the allocation of resources to symptoms while neglecting the existence, permanence, and resilience of root causes.

The current social order blames the marginalized for their experience without acknowledging or attempting to redesign oppressive historical structures. equityXdesign expects the privileged to trust and listen to the voices on the margins to identify the root causes of inequity and the ways they manifest. It positions the marginalized as leaders in the design process and experts in their experience, arming them with a process to solve their own problems.

Designing at the margin means that those in privileged positions do not solve for those experiencing oppression; rather, in true community, both the privileged and marginalized build collective responsibility and innovative solutions for our most intractable problems. Even the use of the word marginalized linguistically parallels the exclusion of individuals. The definition of a group simply by their relationship to the dominant culture is a problem that continues to persist.

DESIGN PRINCIPLE 2: START WITH YOUR SELF

Our identities (race, gender, upbringing, social status, home language, etc.) create our lens for the world and how we make sense of it. We must be aware of this lens when engaging in design. When we design for people without understanding the impact of their historical stories, our understanding slips into paternalism. When we design for people without accounting for our own biases, our understanding slips into stereotypes. We must raise our awareness of our own identities and how bias impacts our thoughts, choices, conclusions, and assumptions to truly co-create with others.

DESIGN PRINCIPLE 3: CEDE POWER

Equity requires a nonviolent, action-oriented spirit of co-creation and co-invention, necessitating an inversion of legacy power structures. Expertise cannot be quantified in degrees, and the designer/end-user dichotomy is no longer useful. We must acknowledge the power dynamics that allow some votes to count more than others. Equitable design demands that practices change and evolve - that we redefine roles, revalue ways of knowing, and reassess the ways we reach decision. We recognize the potential for cede power to reinforce the hegemonic view of power as a zero-sum game - more for you must mean less for me. This is not the case. We believe that shared power is in the interest of everyone and does not require a growth in the ranks of the powerless. And yet, this work still requires each of us, who hold power in some ways, to deeply question its inheritance and its locus and to cede it when necessary.

DESIGN PRINCIPLE 4: MAKE THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

The relationships between people and problems are often governed by sets of heuristics - techniques that allow problems to be solved with speed, agility, and economy. However, these preexisting schemas can perpetuate exclusionary assumptions and biased practices, manifesting as implicit bias, power dynamics, and hegemonic practices that govern relationships with people in our organizations, schools, and governments. By making them visible, we can assess their impact and create a space for reflection and repair.

DESIGN PRINCIPLE 5 : SPEAK TO THE FUTURE

Because an equitable reality has never existed, we cannot look to our past to learn how to create an equitable future. With no guide, we must speak this reality into existence. In order to write a different story, we have to use different language. We must replace our current discourse.

Eugene Eubanks, Ralph Parish and Dianne Smith, in "Changing the Discourse in Schools" in Race, Ethnicity, and Multiculturalism: Policy and Practice introduced a framework (Discourse 1 vs Discourse 2) we use to guide our work. Discourse 1 is our current and hegemonic, discourse - the language typically used to talk about, question, and plan the work of reform. This dialogue supports and maintains the status quo without appearing unresponsive to outside demands for improvement. Discourse 2, the discourse of transformation, is the language that tends to be about uncomfortable, unequal, ineffective, prejudicial conditions and relationships. This discourse creates space for ambiguity, change, and the opportunity to be a part of a purposeful structure.

There is an often-overlooked power in language and discourse to influence and control ideas, beliefs, actions, and ultimately culture. When we notice how hegemony dominates our conceptual understanding of problems and how they impact others who are different, we have a powerful opportunity to see the end-users' historical selves and how those selves manifests in the present.

When we take control of our language, when we speak to the future, we lay the groundwork to create something new - together.

We believe change will come from the intersection of equity, design, and collaboration. We harbor no false beliefs that any exclusive group of individuals is capable of creating the tools society needs to dismantle systemic inequity. Our hope is to create a network of collaborators, inventors, and designers who prioritize equity. At the connections, nodes of opportunity create space where radical inclusion strengthens our individual and collective humanities.

The following modes and adaptations to the design process represent some of the latest retrofits for the stages of the invention practice. They are currently in the pilot phase of development.

Transformational Empathy

Mode 1: Meta-Empathy Maps

The design thinking process begins with empathy to build an understanding of another's experience. equityXdesign transforms empathy into a tool that helps people recognize how implicit bias and identity can impact their understanding of others. At the center of transformative empathy is listening to understand while also understanding how we listen. Through the use of a modified empathy map and three essential empathy questions, we facilitate this awareness and support the synthesis of the empathy experience.

* Individual: How does my identity impact how I understand my user's experiences?

* Institutional: What are the important customs and practices at play in my user's experience?

* Structural: What are the ways customs and practices work together to include or exclude my user?

Mode 2: Notice and Reflect

Adding additional modes to the design thinking process revealed more ways of connecting with others during the empathy stage - notice and reflect. The essence of these modes is captured in a pre-empathy identity reflection activity, which asks individuals to start by articulating some of their core values, emanating from their heart, followed by how they define their own identities. They then reflect on how they are feeling in that moment, biases that might be at play, and finally, any observations the reflection process created about the empathy work that is about to be done.

This adaptation was created by David Clifford, Senior Learning Experience Designer at the Stanford d.School K12 Lab. A veteran educator, master craftsman, and longtime practitioner of equity and design, David is working with the K12 Lab at Stanford to explore the intersection between equity consciousness and design consciousness with both us and the National Equity Project.

Equity Pauses

A sense of urgency can mask hegemonic strategy. Our common discourse of urgency and business-as-usual creates little time for reflection; our pace of life eclipses our awareness. Strategic equity pauses stop the clock to reflect on our language, ideas, and hunches in the context of a discourse of transformation. Without this moment to think, our brains default to the familiar and the known, making a repeat of past practice likely. Incorporating these discourse checks and pauses after each stage ensures that our ideas remain on the path of achieving equity.

Brainstorming and Transformation Cards

One of the fundamental rules of brainstorming is to build on the ideas of others. Alex Osborn, considered as the originator of classical brainstorming, created a checklist that can help transform existing ideas by prompting users to modify, rearrange, substitute, and magnify. We have built on those core prompts with a suite of equity transformations, asking users to move more to the margin, adjust their discourse, and invert power.

Defining and Solving the Right Problems in the Right Way

Adopting others' perspectives through a lens of equity requires acknowledgement of the ways privilege and oppression work to include some and exclude others. The following form positions the needs of a person opposite societal obstructions and institutional inhibitors:
A person needs a way to (insert the needs of another) because (insert the values, beliefs, and morals of the person). Surprisingly, (state a fact that demonstrates the intent to meet the need) but (insert an institutional inhibitor or societal obstruction).
Invention with an equity lens requires teams to identify and test the riskiest assumptions about how we understand and know other people. Risky assumptions without an equity lens are racist assumptions. This is especially true when we are designing at the margins. Because our implicit biases frame our assumptions about ourselves and other people, their experiences, and the best ways to solve their problems, awareness of our biases at this stage is necessary to reverse hegemonic invention.

As a culture, we currently have limited courage, will, and skill to talk candidly about race and inequity. The current discourse around equity exists in one of two opposing extremes: morality and linear reasoning and logic.

Morality: Driven by our emotions, we talk and evaluate the degree of goodness. We talk about good people and bad people. We learn about microaggressions and reflect on our moral responsibility to be better. This inspires the motivated and engaged to remain critical of relationships, language, and assumed cultural norms, alienating those without the skill or will for engagement.

Linear reasoning and logic: This technical discourse prefers to quantify equity and reduces it to numbers, strategy, and only outcomes. This conversation leaves little room for the real experience of people - the meaning, magic, surprise, and possibility.
Our current equity discourse is either a moral conversation or a technical conversation. It is not often both.
The complex work of achieving equity requires a dialogue bold and sophisticated enough to hold both moral and technical ways of thinking, acting, and designing. This integration requires tools that can marry the head and heart while allowing a diverse set of thinkers - technologists, freedom fighters, and everyone between - to create and design in service of reconciliation.

Equity - the integral sum of inclusive practices that obstruct, threaten, and dismantle systems of oppression and amplify, privilege, and promote the voices of the most marginalized and most affected - is the work of our time. It demands enhancements, retrofits, and retooling of our current toolkits to meet this pressing need. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., work across difference that privileges the voices and perspectives of the most affected "bends the moral arc of universe towards justice."

We do not have the answers, but we are committed to solving this problem. We do believe that disciplined processes that support the transformation of all of us and our inventions keeps us moving toward realizing the American dream for all people.
Join us to solve it.

If you found this intriguing, stay in touch by joining our mailing lists. Also − feel free to give us some claps to your left and/or leave a comment down below − it helps others find this piece too!

The equityXdesign process is a labor of love created by Caroline Hill from 228 Accelerator, Michelle Molitor from The Equity Lab, & Christine Ortiz from Equity Meets Design.

If you are interested in designing for, accelerating and scaling equity in your schools and organizations, please connect with Caroline at caroline@228accelerator.com. If you're doing work at the intersection of equity and design, need additional capacity around equity and design in your program or organization, and/or want to apply equityXdesign to a project, please write to Christine Ortiz, founder of Equity Meets Design, at If you're interested in working to take on our most intractable race, equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI) problems for your organization or sector, accelerating our transition toward a more liberatory, community-centered society that values the gifts and potential of all its members, contact The Equity Lab at https://www.theequitylab.org/contact/. sayhello@equitymeetsdesign.com.

Wait, one more thing! Equity Meets Design has launched a series of online courses specifically designed to help you build your capacity as an equityXdesigner. That means you can learn how to do this at your pace, in your pajamas! Sign up for (and instantly begin) our free "Intro to equityXdesign" online course here!

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Racism and inequity are products of design. They can be redesigned.

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We are a country founded on the genocide of one people and the enslavement of another. We have yet to reconcile the impact of this inheritance on us all. The experiment of America is 240 years old.

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Smart People Ask Hard Questions About Race

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Smart People Ask Hard Questions About Race

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Finally today, some hard questions about racism, questions most of us don't really want to ask. Is that something baked into the fabric of American life, a matter of personal preference? Is it just the crutch of ignorant people? Or is it something deep in the workings of just about everybody's brain? This isn't just the subject of a dense academic

paper. It's also the question at the core of a lively and provocative play, the latest by Lydia Diamond. It's called "Smart People," and it follows the interactions of four characters all of whom have some connection to Harvard - smart people - and all of whom also have an interest either personal or professional or both in the subject of race. Set against the backdrop of Barack Obama's first campaign for the presidency, it makes clear the difficulties of talking about race, even among those people who pride themselves on their ability to talk about race.

A new production of the play just started at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., so we thought this would be a good time to talk with Lydia Diamond about it. And Lydia Diamond joins us from member station WBEZ in Chicago. Lydia Diamond, thanks so much for speaking with us.

LYDIA R. DIAMOND: Well, thanks so much for asking me to.

MARTIN: So tell us about the premise of the - one of your central characters. There are four, so they're all central, I guess. Brian White is a neuro-psychiatrist, and he studies patterns of racial identity and perception. So shall we play a clip from him?

DIAMOND: I'd love to hear that.

MARTIN: Here it is. It's Brian White. This is a scene where he is presenting his work to an audience. I guess it would be his colleagues.

DIAMOND: Yeah. You know, an audience of muckety mucks from Harvard.

MARTIN: Ah, OK. Great.

DIAMOND: So it's a high-powered room in which he feels slightly off.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "SMART PEOPLE")

GREGORY PERRI: (As Brian White) We must look at the scientific data and embrace that we, the white people, are implicated. Look - numbers, more numbers. What's that? Cold, hard data. I'm speaking your language. I've proven it's there. It's in our heads. It's in our cells. It's in our [expletive] blood a predisposition to hate. We are programmed to distrust and fear those with more melanin. We aren't effective. We just must understand our brains, except our physiology and acknowledge the social reality that we so virulently deny.

MARTIN: So just to kind of a light evening at the theater there. No big deal.

(LAUGHTER)

DIAMOND: It really is a comedy.

MARTIN: A comedy really actually?

DIAMOND: It really is. It will make you laugh.

MARTIN: I can vouch for this, but help us understand what's happening here. And this happens - I do have to tell you pretty early on in the play.

DIAMOND: Yeah. So Brian - his premise and his work is that white people are neurologically, biologically racist, and he is a white person. I think that's important to say. And so the whole play is kind of watching how these four different people - Ginny Yang is Asian-American, half Japanese, half Chinese, Jackson is African-American and Valerie is African-American and just graduated from the ART - and sort of how they bounce off of one another personally. But obviously tangentially about race and how Brian White's very sort of volatile premise is in some ways his undoing.

MARTIN: Well, the other thing that's funny is that Brian and Ginny actually - Ginny Yang who's one - the psychologist, and she's kind of a rock star in her field. She studies depression and anxiety in Asian-American women, and she seems to be having a little bit of anxiety of her own, it has to be said, without giving it all away. But that she and Brian meet at a diversity committee, and that's kind of funny. It doesn't sound funny, but it is actually kind of funny.

DIAMOND: I think it's hilarious if you've ever sat on a diversity committee at a university, and I'm sure they are not so much different from diversity committees anywhere in any kind of work situation. And you go and you talk about how we can, you know, end racism in the institution. But the institution continues to be racist. And the irony of that and sort of how they come together around their mutual awareness of that.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "SMART PEOPLE")

SUE JIN SONG: (As Ginny Yang) Have you done one of these diversity committee things before?

PERRI: (As Brian White) I'm the go-to white guy for these because I study race and, of course, because I care. And you?

SONG: (As Ginny Yang) I generally decline. I don't know. I'm uncomfortable celebrating my marginalization with other disgruntled, marginalized people. It's not my job to make the institution behave appropriately. In truth, I lost a bet with a Middle Eastern man in my department, and I'm a two-can (ph).

PERRI: (As Brian White) Two-can?

SONG: (As Ginny Yang) Two-can, two-can. I proudly represent not one, but two underrepresented populations.

PERRI: (As Brian White) Underrepresented? Really? Because I see your people everywhere.

SONG: (As Ginny Yang) Women?

PERRI: (As Brian White) The Asian people.

SONG: (As Ginny Yang) You're mistaken. My people mostly frequent the hard sciences.

PERRI: (As Brian White) As do I. I can't throw a stone without hitting a - my politics are such that I can make that joke with people who know me.

SONG: (As Ginny Yang) I'll never know you well enough for that to be funny.

MARTIN: It has to be said, though, that the people in this - that the characters think of themselves as liberal or progressive, right? Fair?

DIAMOND: Profoundly, deeply progressive people.

MARTIN: And so...

DIAMOND: Liberal.

MARTIN: Yeah. So why do you think that's important?

DIAMOND: Well, there is something about the way those of us who move through the world feeling that we know the answers and are sophisticated around social justice have a certain authority. And I would say there's a way that white liberals - what am I saying? I have sometimes been disturbed at the displays of racism I've seen amongst people who purport to be very, very racially sophisticated and progressive.

And the play isn't critiquing that, but I think the play is aware that that is the dynamic that we all share. Those of us who are also brown, there's a certain authority that we have, and we can become so comfortable in it that we forget to look at ourselves closely.

MARTIN: It is interesting, though, that this is a cultural moment in which white liberals are taking it on the chin. I don't know if you've seen Jordan Peele's movie "Get Out." I can't decide is it a comedic horror film or a horrific comedy film. But it's...

DIAMOND: Yeah. I know.

MARTIN: ...It is funny in parts, and it's frightening in parts. But at the core of it are, you know, white liberals - or people who think of themselves as white liberals but who are actually doing some pretty terrible things. And I just wondered if, you know, why is that? I think people might argue that there are worse people. (Laughter) And I'm wondering why...

DIAMOND: You know, and there are....

MARTIN: ...It is you think white people are taking it on the chin right now?

DIAMOND: Right. I think there are always people who are worse, you know, and I think that a lot of my friends - people I love very much, people in my family - are white liberals. And so the play doesn't have an agenda against white liberals, nor do I think does this moment.

But I think we're becoming more sophisticated, and I think that the stakes just became higher and so we have to look at each other honestly and know that we've absorbed all of this craziness that is race in America. And some of it is racism, and some of it is white privilege. And how that plays out in a very personal way. It's becoming more and more tangible and critical that we critique it I think.

MARTIN: So can we ask you what you're working on now or is it a secret?

DIAMOND: It's not a secret. I'm just finishing up a play called "Toni Stone," and it's about Toni Stone who's the first African-American woman who played baseball in the Negro Leagues. Like, she played with the grown-up men, and she was good. And so that's what's next.

MARTIN: Can't wait. Well, that's Lydia Diamond. Her play "Smart People" is playing in Washington, D.C., at the Arena Stage until May 21. And she was kind enough to join us from WBEZ in Chicago. Lydia Diamond, thanks so much for speaking with us.

DIAMOND: Oh, thank you so much for having me.

Copyright © 2017 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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'Smart People' Asks Hard Questions About Racism In America

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Finally today, some hard questions about racism, questions most of us don't really want to ask. Is that something baked into the fabric of American life, a matter of personal preference? Is it just the crutch of ignorant people? Or is it something deep in the workings of just about everybody's brain?

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Cultural Intelligence

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This book explores the fundamental cultural values that define who we are. It asks, where do these core beliefs come from? And how do we hold our norms in balance with others in such a diverse world?

In a light-hearted and conversational manner, this book examines different beliefs about human equality, our concept of self and others, how language defines us, the importance of time, our norms for personal space, and coping with uncertainty. These ideas are illustrated with personal anecdotes from a lifetime spent living all over the world. Readers will gain new perspectives and insights into their own cultural wiring and practical advice to help them thrive in our mixed-up world.

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CQ Hub | Developing cultural intelligence and cross-cultural understanding

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This book explores the fundamental cultural values that define who we are. It asks, where do these core beliefs come from? And how do we hold our norms in balance with others in such a diverse world?

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HENRICO, VA (WWBT) - Some Henrico parents are outraged about a controversial video shown at Glen Allen High School. It tackles things like racial profiling and the school to prison to pipeline.
UPDATE: School leaders apologize for controversial 'White guilt' video
The YouTube video titled "Structural Discrimination: The Unequal Opportunity Race," was shown to students at a Glen Allen High School Black History month program.

"Dr. King gave his life so that America would be a place where we are judged by the content of our character not the color of our skin," said radio personality Craig Johnson. "Now we have poverty pimps being led by our current president Barack Obama who all they talk about is the color of skin."

A concerned parent wrote a letter complaining the video is leading to tensions in school.

"Y'all are privileged. Get the --- blank --- over it," read one of numerous tweets about the topic said the parent.

Don Blake's granddaughter attended the assembly.

"They are sitting there watching a video that is dividing them up from a racial standpoint. It's a White guilt kind of video," said Blake. "I think somebody should be held accountable for this."

Johnson agrees.

"Force that person to stand on that stage and defend that video," said Johnson. "I'm telling you ... I will mop the floor with that person."

Henrico School leaders released the following statement:

"The students participated in a presentation that involved American history and racial discourse. A segment of the video was one component of a thoughtful discussion in which all viewpoints were encouraged. As always, we are welcoming of feedback from students and their families, and we address concerns directly as they come forward."
More from NBC12: Glen Allen HS apologizing after racist song plays at football game

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Controversial film shown at VA high school slammed as 'white guilt' video

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HENRICO, VA (WWBT) - Some Henrico parents are outraged about a controversial video shown at Glen Allen High School. It tackles things like racial profiling and the school to prison to pipeline. UPDATE: School leaders apologize for controversial 'White guilt' video The YouTube video titled "Structural Discrimination: The Unequal Opportunity Race," was shown to students at a Glen Allen High School Black History month program.

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US Focused

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Black students are disproportionately suspended from class, starting as early as preschool, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Education collected from all public school districts during the 2013-2014 school year.

Black preschool children were 3.6 times more likely than white children to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions, according to the survey data. Although boys were more likely than girls to be suspended in preschool, black girls also had high rates of suspension.

This pattern continued in K-12, where black students were 1.9 times more likely than white students to be expelled from school without educational services and 2.3 times more likely to be disciplined through involvement of officers, such as a school-related arrest, according to the department. Multi-racial boys and and Native American boys also had higher rates of expulsion.

The growth of school resource officers in the past decade and sworn law enforcement officers in schools may have something to do with these rates, although the department did not state that in its report. The data collection does show that 24 percent of elementary schools and 42 percent of high schools have these officers - and there are more of them in high schools that have high black and Latino student enrollment. Fifty-one percent of high schools with high enrollment of black and Latino students have sworn lawn enforcement officers.

Race isn't the only factor that contributes to high rates of student discipline. Students with disabilities who are served by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act were twice as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions, and 67 percent of them underwent restraint and seclusion.

Secretary of Education John King told reporters that the data in general, including factors beyond student discipline, shows students of color, English language learners, and students with disabilities are facing serious educational inequities.

"We all lose out in multiple ways. We lose out economically because people who are poorly educated earn less, pay less in taxes and need more services. They will also more likely end up in prison," King said. "But we lose out in other ways that are not obvious. We can't help but think of the art that is not created, the entrepreneurial ideas that may never reach the drawing board, the classrooms these Americans will never lead, the discoveries they'll never make. Our failure to educate some groups children as well as others tear at the moral fabric of the nation."

Suspending Students Carries A Very High Economic Cost, New Report Explains Education CREDIT: Eric Gay, AP A report released Thursday by the University of California, Los Angeles' Civil Rights...thinkprogress.orgKing's comments on this loss of talent echo the findings of a report released last week that show student suspensions cost the nation as whole. The University of California, Los Angeles' Civil Rights Project released a paper showing the cost of these suspensions - $35 billion in lost taxpayer revenue, for the cost of keeping people in prison and paying for health care, since students who get suspended are more likely to drop out of school, earn less money, and get involved in the criminal justice system.

There are several ways schools could work to lower suspension rates, according to Halley Potter, a fellow at The Century Foundation who researches issues such as preschool equity, charter schools, and school integration. Potter said teachers need more support from schools, such as occasional visits from school psychologists, and more wraparound services in general to ensure teachers don't simply address the issue of loss of control of the classroom by suspending students. But to address racial disparities in particular, there needs to be a dialogue about racial biases and how to recognize them in the classroom.

"If you think about a preschool student ... how a preschool student bites another student and how a teacher how reacts, and if you have a white teacher and that's a white student, there might be a different pathway in that teachers brain, that says, 'Oh I recognize that is developmentally appropriate behavior I've seen in my child or I've seen my niece do this, and so I know how to respond," Potter said. '"Whereas if that's a kid of color, there might be different assumptions. There might be a thought that 'Oh, this is the beginning of aggressive behavior that we need to manage,' and those types of decisions happen in split seconds."

"Those types of decisions happen in split seconds."

It's up to schools to ensure that teachers are aware of their own biases, Potter noted.

"Schools need to provide a chance for all of the adults who are interacting with kids on a daily basis to reflect on their own background and their own baggage that they bring into a situation, so they can be aware of those things and modify their own behavior in the moment," Potter said. "So if you look at your own classroom and your own schools' discipline data and see real disparities, think about what you need to do to drill down on the classroom level to change the ways those interactions happen in the moment."

The report wasn't all bad news. According to the department's data, out-of-school suspensions fell by almost 20 percent compared to the 2011-2012 survey. Potter said the decrease in suspensions may be due to the growth of restorative justice practices in recent years, as well as increased media attention on issues of student discipline.

But she says there are also clear incentives for schools to keep working on cutting suspensions.

"If you're trying to figure out how to move the achievement gap in other ways, one of the strategies you have to come back to is looking at the ways school discipline affects students," Potter said. "And if you have a persistent racial or socioeoconomic achievement gap, as virtually every school does, one of the things that can really affect that is who is in the classroom on a daily basis and who is missing time because of disciplinary action. I think the incentives are aligned right for districts to be looking at it."

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New Data Shows The School-To-Prison Pipeline Starts As Early As Preschool

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Black students are disproportionately suspended from class, starting as early as preschool, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Education collected from all public school districts during the 2013-2014 school year. Black preschool children were 3.6 times more likely than white children to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions, according to the survey data.

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Race: The Power of an Illusion Documentary

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Race: The Power of an Illusion Documentary

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A POWERFUL documentary about the SCIENCE behind race

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This three-part documentary by California Newsreel is important for understanding the history of racialization in America and how racial categories came about that we often innacurately equate with biology. InterVarsity has purchased the rights to stream this documentary online for three years.

Race: The Power of an Illusion

( From California Newsreel)

"The division of the world's peoples into distinct groups - 'red,' 'black,' 'white' or 'yellow' peoples - has became so deeply imbedded in our psyches, so widely accepted, many would promptly dismiss as crazy any suggestion of its falsity. Yet, that's exactly what this provocative, new three-hour series by California Newsreel claims. Race - The Power of an Illusion questions the very idea of race as innate biology, suggesting that a belief in inborn racial difference is no more sound than believing that the sun revolves around the earth.

Yet race still matters. Just because race doesn't exist in biology doesn't mean it isn't very real, helping shape life chances and opportunities."
These clips contain some graphic images and sensitive content. Visit the documentary website for more resources.

Episode 1- The Difference Between Us

This episode examines the contemporary science - including genetics - that challenges our common sense assumptions that human beings can be bundled into three or four fundamentally different groups according to their physical traits.

Episode 2- The Story We Tell

Lean about the roots of the race concept in North America, the 19th century science that legitimated it, and how it came to be held so fiercely in the western imagination. The episode is an eye-opening tale of how race served to rationalize, even justify, American social inequalities as "natural."

Episode 3- The House We Live In

If race is not biology, what is it? This episode uncovers how race resides not in nature but in politics, economics and culture. It reveals how our social institutions "make" race by disproportionately channeling resources, power, status and wealth to white people.

By asking, What is this thing called 'race'?, a question so basic it is rarely asked, Race - The Power of an Illusion helps set the terms that any further discussion of race must first take into account. Ideal for human biology, anthropology, sociology, American history, American studies, and cultural studies.

Additional Resources from California Newsreel

Film Discussion Guide Race Literacy Quiz

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Race: The Power of an Illusion Documentary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This three-part documentary by California Newsreel is important for understanding the history of racialization in America and how racial categories came about that we often innacurately equate with biology. InterVarsity has purchased the rights to stream this documentary online for three years.

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

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Mellody Hobson: Color blind or color brave?

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The subject of race can be very touchy. As finance executive Mellody Hobson says, it's a "conversational third rail." But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start talking about it. In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race - and particularly about diversity in hiring -- makes for better businesses and a better society.

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We all know that people look different. Anyone can tell a Czech from a Chinese. But are these differences racial? What does race mean? Find the answers to these and other questions by exploring different interactivities within this site.

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infinite hope  |  the national equity project blog archive

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Listening is a neglected skill, especially in change efforts. Often the leaders' emphasis is on communicating a decision to stakeholders. When listening campaigns are conducted, they often appear to be just for show - the decision (say, to close a school) is already made, or the community's voice is given a platform, but not really listened to by the institutional leaders.

Listening deeply is one of the most effective ways to inspire individual and collective action. Successful community engagement efforts make listening strategies central. When listening is practiced in authentic ways, the listening campaign becomes more authentic, and community voice is not just heard, but empowered to influence or make change.

Constructivist Listening is a form of dialogue that explicitly recognizes and honors people's emotions. It allows people to explore their feelings and thoughts in order to better 'construct' their understanding of issues that are important to them. Dialogue that serves that purpose well is uncommon in professional or community settings so explicit structures have been developed in which constructivist listening can take place (dyads, support groups, personal experience panels).

This applied communication practice has benefits for both the listener and the speaker. The listener develops capacities for deep listening, presence and authentic connection while listening to others' thinking and experiences. The speaker develops capacities for focused reflection, critical thinking and reasoning, and creative, thoughtful action as they construct personal meaning out of information, concepts and lived experience.

The National Equity Project frequently uses constructivist listening with clients to foster reflective habits, build community, and deepen learning. We have found it to be particularly needed in urban school settings because of the high levels of distress and need for emotional release. If such distress goes unaddressed, it can cause or reinforce unproductive or uncaring behaviors.

Constructivist listening enables people to think more clearly and more empathetically. Guidelines include:

1. Everyone deserves attention. Each person is given time to talk.

2. The listener does not interpret, paraphrase, analyze, give advice, or break in with a personal story. People are capable of solving their own problems.

3. The talker is not to criticize or complain about the listener or about mutual colleagues.

4. Confidentiality is maintained. Topics are not brought up later even between speakers.

Constructivist listening is a core topic in our Leading for Equity curriculum. For more information visit http://nationalequityproject.org/attend/leading-for-equity-institute-2012.

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Listening as a Principle for Authentic Community Engagement

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Lead with Listening Listening is a neglected skill, especially in change efforts. Often the leaders' emphasis is on communicating a decision to stakeholders. When listening campaigns are conducted, they often appear to be just for show - the decision (say, to close a school) is already made, or the community's voice is given a platform, but not really...