The (A)Politics of Education
In a world where there is no such thing as neutral
After participating in Colinda Clyne’s latest Podcast, Antiracist Educator Reads where she engaged with a panel of Black educators in response to Bettina L. Love’s book, We Want To Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom, I have continued to think about the impact of being perceived as “political” while also being an educator. It is essential, before we even enter into this idea, that we name that certain bodies are seen to be political by their very existence — Black, Indigenous, racialized, differently-abled, gender non-conforming, visibly representing a minoritized faith group — before folks even open their mouths or put pen to paper.
The very act of engaging in this concept in itself is political and could be deemed problematic given one’s position, affiliation and identity…but nonetheless…I feel it is an important idea to engage with before we assume or condemn on these grounds.
There is no denying that our world has shifted and the polarization of politics has become incredibly worrisome. Our inability to have critical discourse around the issues that have a profound impact on our lives will not move us forward. And although I have hope that this changing dynamic will improve, as an educator, I have to believe that our schools are spaces where this transformation is possible but only if we engage in and create spaces where critical discourse is practiced, modeled, and developed.
One of the first lessons we learn in the Faculty of Education is to “not bring politics into our classrooms”. This has always been an expectation that has been troubling to me. I understand the need to not impose your personal politics on your students or staff but I believe it is necessary to understand that education is political — classrooms are political spaces and curriculum is an artifact of the politics of the time in which they are developed. So how can educators be apolitical?
In her article, Teachers are told not to get ‘political’ in the classroom. What does that actually mean?, Valerie Strauss refers to an essay by Jennifer Rich, an assistant professor in the College of Education at Rowan University in New Jersey where she defines what she means when we refer to educators being “political”:
Political, as I define it, has to do with the role of being a participatory citizen in a democracy. This happens when we make democratic decisions about how we should live together. We see this sort of political teaching in classrooms when class rules are made together, as well as when students are asked to research and discuss current events.
Rich shares four ways she demonstrates, models, and practices “being political” in classrooms for her teacher education class: (i) weigh fact-based evidence (ii)consider multiple perspectives (iii) form and articulate opinions (iv) respond to people who disagree. She further explains that “Discussion is a genuinely shared inquiry, with the aim of listening, questioning and exploring open ideas.” Interestingly, these articles were written in response to a new bill that was being passed in Arizona that would allow schools to fire teachers for being “political”. I would also suggest that we must know precisely what we believe, why, and how our social location impacts those beliefs and be critical about that as well knowing and constantly reminding ourselves that there is no neutral.
Education is always going to be an expression of the political power that directs legislation, funding, and priority. Those in politics have an impact on our curriculum, where funding is allocated, how many children are in the class, the programs that are highlighted and supported, the attitude towards educators, and the decisions that impact the lives of the children and their families in our schools as well as the staff who serve them.
The very foundation on which education stands is political and when governments change, we feel that shift from our boardrooms to our classrooms. And yet, in spite of this reality, the educators who teach our children, lead in our schools and systems are meant to be apolitical. How can one be apolitical in a political space?
Our boards make bold statements in response to legislative and policy changes that call on us to ensure we are fighting forces that uphold racist structures that perpetuate disproportionality and injustices towards Black, Indigenous, students with disabilities, and racialized students, as well as staff and communities in our systems.
Who has been harmed by this politics of the apolitical?
Let me ask this another way…How many racialized educators are on leave on your board? How many have left the professional altogether? I know many. It is heartbreaking and as Bettina Love explains, it is “spirit murdering”.
In her book, We Want To Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom, by Bettina L. Love, she writes:
No type of pedagogy, however effective, can single-handedly remove the barriers of racism, discrimination, homophobia, segregation, Islamophobia, homelessness, access to college, and concentrated poverty, but antiracist pedagogy combined with grassroots organizing can prepare students and their families to demand the impossible in the fight for eradicating these persistent and structural barriers. Pedagogy should work in tandem with students’ own knowledge of their community and grassroots organizations to push forward new ideas for social change, not just be a tool to enhance test scores or grades. Pedagogy, regardless of its name, is useless without teachers dedicated to challenging systemic oppression with intersectional social justice (p. 19).
Love challenges us to act on the words we claim to be foundational to our work.
The very act of learning is political when we consider who education was meant and designed for and who has had to fight for their right to be educated and what education should look like. Who teaches, how we teach, what we teach as well as who we engage in our classrooms are all political acts.
As boards experience ministry reviews, grassroots and community organizations delegating at board meetings, speaking up on social media and political rallies and demonstrations, we have responded to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement by stepping up with statements of support, re-commitment to disrupting anti-Black racism and oppression of all forms. But the first place we MUST do this work is within our own organizations, classrooms and practices while moving beyond statements into actions that are grounded in and co-created with the very communities we claim to serve.
What if these voices of educators who are on the cutting edge of instruction who demonstrate practices of freedom, voice, creativity, expression in all its forms, diversity, transformation that truly honour the whole child are amplified and revered? Love writes, “Dark students have to enter the classroom knowing that their full selves are celebrated. Not just their culture, language, sexuality, or current circumstances but their entire selves, past, present, and future. Their ancestors, their family members, their friends, their religion, their music, their dress, their language, the ways they express their gender and sexuality, and their communities must all be embraced and loved” (pp 120–121).
What if these truth speakers were revered rather than seen as a threat?
What if we listened, learned, changed, transformed, and actually created spaces that were truly in service of students and communities and demonstrated this by listening to the voices of students, families, and communities themselves as well as the voices of educators who belong to and identify with those same communities?
And then, when these educators do this work, the work that school boards have included in their improvement plans, their mission, vision and values, their policies and procedures…how do we ensure that they are not only safe to do so and protected, but that we learn from these lessons, amplify these voices and celebrate this excellence? Our urgency for the work should be equal to the urgency to protect, celebrate and amplify the voices of those who do the work from a critical stance and yes, as political beings.
Do you want to read more of my writing? Check out my publication, Reflective Stance on my website, http://debbiedonsky.com
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