We have no better evidence of inequity and blindness than that which is found in our public schools every day across America. No matter the dedication, passion and training of our educators and school leaders, the devastating impact of generational poverty has led to a number of related and varied biases that can emerge when our neediest students learn among and from adults who have never experienced (and cannot picture) such challenging life circumstances.
No matter how caring and well-meaning our educators are (and they are), many cannot comprehend the struggles and even trauma that our students experience. As a result, we are often lost in our attempts to compensate for the deficits that these students face. Or worse, we believe that we are doing all that we can only to find that we are not even close.
This is a harsh reality that comes as little surprise to our veteran educators, and to those on the front lines in the battle to eradicate inequities in our society and across our schools. This is true even among our school districts that are making honest attempts to enlighten their teachers and leaders through trainings and experiences around cultural competence, systems equity, and growth mindset.
Cultural competence requires us to change, not them
There are countless examples of inequity found in nearly every school, every day, from the disparity we see in course grades and homework expectations to our enrollments in advanced courses and extra-curricular activities. With such great disparity in our schools, it seems that we have only two choices. Either the students must change or our schools must. We can’t have it both ways.
As schools struggle with the complexities of systems change, it is fair to wonder if the challenge of building cultural competence or even cultural awareness among school teachers and principals goes so far beyond diversity training that this may take generations to correct. A recent example of how deep the inequities lay is evidenced by a high school field trip to some nearby colleges that was designed to bring together students from various backgrounds as part of a shared, bonding experience that cut across race and socio-economic status. It was a great concept that the principal put into place after weeks of planning.
At a preliminary meeting to make the kids aware of this opportunity, the guidance counselors gathered a diverse representation of students and they were all equally excited to take part. The principal checked in from time to time but left his staff to manage the details. When the bus arrived one morning to take the kids on the trip, there were almost no minority students on board. It turns out that almost none of the students who the principal targeted to attend had turned in the permission form.
There was either no one home to sign the form, or no one there to remind the students to turn in the form. Or maybe that was all just an excuse. Maybe someone at the school made the students feel unwelcome, or maybe no one reached out the families. Maybe we will never know because the real reason is beyond our comprehension. Maybe it was simple economics. Maybe the families feared that there might be hidden costs and the parents said “No.” When I was a child, I can recall countless “school trips,” etc. that I did not attend for fear that there might be a cost, each time making up some excuse so that I would not be embarrassed. Even if the cost was only $5 for lunch, I knew not to ask because I knew what the answer was going to be when I got home.
A similar example comes from an elementary school that set up an after-school STEM club and was aggressive in marketing the new club to a diverse group of students. The principal was adamant that her African American students take part. One the first day of STEM club meeting, the room was filled with children of all races and backgrounds. Still, as the weeks went on, the room became less and less diverse. When the principal asked the teacher about it, she said: “I’m not sure, they just stopped coming.”
Wow. They just stopped coming. The only reason someone “just stops coming” is because they are unable or unwelcome. This is certainly not meant to be a dig at the teacher. It is meant to be a dig at all of us because I’m pretty sure that most of us cannot explain why, sometimes, they “just stopped coming.”
Cultural awareness requires us to see things, and to solve them
The solutions may be evident to some, though they are probably unclear to most of us as we struggle with what we mean by “cultural competence.” No matter our definition, it certainly requires that we go an extra step (maybe several extra steps) to ensure that all children are able and welcome to take part. In fact, what good is all this cultural awareness if it doesn’t lead to cultural competence? And what good is competence if it doesn’t lead to cultural differentiation, personalization, intervention and action?
Inviting more minority students, students with disabilities, and students of poverty to take part in activities that they are often under-represented in (Student Government, STEM clubs, robotics, band, chorus and countless other things) requires all of us to go “above and beyond” the standard recruitment efforts and venture into new ideas around retention as a way of monitoring how well we are connecting with students of all backgrounds.
Maybe there are some simple solutions. Might Student Government take on different causes or activities that appeal to learners of color? Might the chorus sing different songs? Might we consider different types of field trips? Or maybe each of our school organizations should reimagine how they build relationships with minority children and their families? This will require each of us to see things differently. Yes, we have a long way to go as there is so much that we do not see.
A first step then demands that we open our eyes to see the struggles before us, and that will require training and time. It will also require us to admit that we are not doing enough to make all kids feel successful and welcome. This change in how we view our kids and interact with them will require us to see so much more than we do now, for being blind is not such a terrible thing as a lack of seeing is.
As with other struggles that at one time seemed insurmountable, the inequity in our educational system is yet another that we can overcome. Let us begin by applying the lessons we have learned from our past experiences. For we have learned through much sweat and pain and toil that there is no such thing as ignorance that knowing cannot solve, just as there is no such thing as blindness that seeing cannot cure.
