The grand experiment that we know of as public education continues to be our best hope to inspire freedom and prosperity across all races and eradicate the grim realities of economic inequality. Teachers, administrators, students and staff boldly engage in this experiment daily and continue to champion the cause that has yet to live up to its promise. In honor of our successes and in recognition of our persistent struggles, it seems only right to review what Dr. King taught us as we wrestle with the complexities of culturally relevant instruction or cultural engagement or whatever term you want to use for engaging all kids.
Lesson #1: Judge students not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Sadly, all the evidence there ever was around student achievement and teacher effectiveness has pointed us to the uncomfortable conclusion that we teach to the faces we see before us. Yes, it’s true. We teach to the faces we see before us, with all of our expectations and stereotypes and (yes, even our biases) firmly in tow. As hard as it is to say, we assign expectations to those faces based (at least somewhat) on how those students appear to us from the first time we meet them, just as they assign expectations to us as their teachers. We judge quickly.
There is simply no rational conclusion we can reach that doesn’t begin and end with the harsh reality that we sometimes have lower expectations (and less tolerance) for some children than others. This seeps into everything that we do, from the assignments we give them to the types of courses we recommend. The first step then in moving our industry forward is coming to grips with these biases (the way we view students of poverty or students of color) and make sure they do not impact how we view our students’ potential from the start.
Lesson #2: Teach all students to think, to reason, to question and to care.
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
There is still a great debate in our industry around what is really different about teaching through a culturally responsive lens. Beyond building caring relationships and setting high expectations for all, we still have to teach students something. While it’s true that our best practices are not unique to students of poverty or students from various cultures, it may be true that some of these techniques matter more to some students than others in presenting our curriculum in more engaging ways.
As one example, we may find that some students sitting in front of us respond more to real-life examples than to theoretical ones. A clear case has been made by many before me that many of our students of color respond more positively to lessons that involve critical debate, social justice themes, and activities aligned to music, art and culture. Connecting our lessons to our neighborhoods, our school families and to influential minority leaders are easy places to start. Even a long-ago historical event or classic novel can be highly relevant to young learners if we plan purposefully for these connections.
Lesson #3: Teach students where they are, celebrate small successes, build academic endurance and grit, and help them to see hope in a world where hopelessness is so pervasive.
“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose sight of infinite hope.”
The cycle of failure begins early on for many of our learners of color and learners living in poverty. School promises them much but oftentimes leaves them feeling unsupported and underserved. We do not compensate adequately for learners who are behind academically. We do not scaffold well enough to install academic confidence. We do not love enough or laugh enough or hug enough to show all of our students that there is yet light among the darkness. We can certainly do better in each of these areas.
In a practical sense, this means giving students exemplars within each lesson so they know what is expected when we describe academic excellence. It means adopting a growth mindset so that we celebrate small successes with our students, and so that we chart a course for future and longer-term success. And it means introducing our students to successful authors, activists, innovators, leaders and policy-makers from various racial and cultural backgrounds in showcasing the possibilities that are afforded to any young person who dares to dream the successes of others.
No matter our course, let us learn from great thinkers like Dr. King and let us trust that all is not accomplished until we live in world that is much closer to the one that he dreamed of.
