Decolonizing Back to School: Being a Culturally Responsive Educator

By Jackie Cope Ed.D. (Washoe of California and Nevada), Director of Education, Cahuilla Band of Indians

Welcome to the beginning of the school year! This year, I encourage you to rethink everything you have been taught about education from mainstream credentialing programs and venture down the path of decolonization. Down this path, you will start to find relief, grief, some shame, anger, understanding, and answers you have been searching for that create a more cohesive learning environment. Decolonizing is hard work and is a heavy load that needs to be carried by everyone because it has affected everyone.

What is “Decolonization”?

Decolonization is a highly complex yet intentional effort to dismantle colonial structures and ideologies. Decolonization is multifaceted and ever-changing as society shifts and changes. There are many aspects to decolonizing, such as politics, environment, culture, and economics. What interests me the most as an Indigenous educator is education. Colonization is the backbone of the original thirteen colonies and American history. It started with colonizers coming to America and stealing resources, land, and people. This idea of coming to America spread throughout the world and the “American Dream” was born. To this day, Indigenous folks, black folks, people of color, and other marginalized groups are still undoing the wrongs that their family members and people endured.

What is a Decolonized Education System?

A decolonized education is a system that intentionally dismantles colonial structures and ideologies that built and continue to sustain the American school system. Some basic structures we take for granted and accept as educators are the top-down management system, factory-like approach to leveling students, expecting perfection and overachieving from students and educators, and ineffective behavior modification programs. A decolonized school system would instead create a system that best supports the humans it serves, which means deeply relying on culture, history, and good ways of being.

How is colonization negatively impacting education and why should I change?

Colonization has negatively impacted every single person in America and has exponentially impacted those in marginalized groups. There are several ways in which we all display the effects of colonization on a daily basis; even those who are actively trying to dismantle it. Some of those traits show up as:

• Perfectionism
• One right-way mentality
• The mentality the educated, “qualified” people have to save, fix, or improve conditions
• Either/Or and Binary thinking
• Quantity over Quality
• Only see value in the written word and dismiss oral tradition
• Individualism
• Defensive environments
• Right to comfort
• Fear of open conflict
• Urgency and everything is time-bound (Okun 2021)

These are a few of the belief systems that operate our society and build the foundation for colonization. These ideals we grasp to are negatively affecting our education system. I have heard students time and time again say, “I can’t do this, it won’t be good enough” or my favorite question, “Does it have to be perfect?” Our students live with high expectations placed on them by a colonized environment that expects perfection. The educators in the system are also being oppressed by these traits because many educators feel that they have no say in what goes on in their classrooms and other times these conversations get so difficult that those who cannot handle these conversations have a right to comfort which ends all good intentions of striving for better.

How can I decolonize the top-down management system in my classroom?

Whether we like it or not, our top-down management system is here to stay for the time being until more voices are lifted up. This top-down management system is rooted in the “one right way” aspect of colonization; the boss knows best and the rest shall follow. So, what can you do to teach students alternative management systems?

Instead of being the all-knowing educator in your classroom making up every single lesson, routine, or rule, you can involve the students in crucial decision-making.

While this approach may take longer, the rewards you reap will be worth taking the road less traveled. As educators, you have the power to give students autonomy in decision-making. We can be the model that there are many ways to do things and show students that we do not have to be stuck in the either/or binary way of thinking. We can decolonize our classroom when we embrace the power of “and” to show students that many methods work.

How can I decolonize the factory-based approach to leveling students?

Our American school system uses student ages to place them into grade levels and this model was created from the factory system in our capitalistic society. While this approach does have benefits, it also has pitfalls. As educators, we understand the very unique and complex issues that arise when having students of every single varying need and ability in one room. To combat the factory-based school approach we can group students in a variety of ways, such as skills level, emotional intelligence level, creativity level, communication style, or a student-suggested grouping (“would you rather” groups, or “this or that” groups). Then we can take those groups and make them either homogenous or heterogenous, giving us a variety of groupings. Decolonizing our student groups is deeply needed to help students learn how to build meaningful relationships with those around them.

How can I decolonize perfection for my students and myself?

Our words are very powerful in the classroom. The first way you can start to decolonize perfectionism is by being mindful of what you say in front of your students. If your students hear you aiming for perfection or not attempting things due to the perceived lack of perfection that may take place, they will see this as an acceptable mental model for themselves.

For example, instead of telling students “Oh I don’t cook because I am awful at it”, try “Learning to cook is on my list of things I would like to learn and improve at”. Students are listening and watching how we perceive ourselves in every way. They are listening to whether we have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. Perfectionism can creep in at any time. As educators, we are held to some of the highest standards in society. It is expected that we behave at the level of a superior human being and chasing perfection is not good for our mental health.

A great way to decolonize is to let go of the idea of perfection and adopt progress over perfection.

How can I decolonize behavior modification programs in my classroom and school site?

Behavior modification programs are difficult to address and decolonize because so many times these programs have good intentions but fail to recognize that they have been built on a foundation of colonization. These programs claim to celebrate diversity, however, these programs aim for perfection by modifying behavior to match what they deem appropriate, acceptable, and successful. Many times, what is deemed appropriate in mainstream American culture does not allow the child to fully express who they are.

In order to decolonize behavior modification programs, educators need to start building strong relationships with students, clearly communicate boundaries early on, and refer back to boundaries and rules often. Decolonizing starts with being proactive and taking the steps needed before situations and events arise. Many behavior modification programs are reactive and put into place once a student starts to display an undesired behavior. Restorative practices should be relied upon to decolonize student behavior modification programs.

Restorative practices call for educators to build relationships, foster mutual respect for all parties, repair what has been broken, and reintegrate everyone back together.

This is a very different approach from the typical path of: student broke the rule, teacher sends student out of class, principal handles the student, principal gives a consequence, student sent back to class, nothing seems to have been addressed by the teacher standpoint, and repeat. Restorative practices take longer and model to students how problematic situations should be handled.

You can decolonize your class!

With the right tools and mindset, you can actively start decolonizing your teaching practices, classroom management, and school site for the betterment of all your students. Becoming a culturally responsive educator is hard work but there are a lot of resources out there that can aid your journey.

Start to let go of some of the limiting beliefs that are holding you back and make room for students to shine and excel.

A culturally responsive educator is one who embraces all the nuances that occur in our classrooms and creates a learning environment that promotes curiosity and questioning.

Reference

Okun (2021). White Supremacy Culture-Still Here. https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/

Jackie Cope Ed.D. is a teacher, author, consultant, Founder of RavenRabbit LLC, union activist and a Washoe Tribal member. She currently is serving as the Director of Education for the Cahuilla Band of Indians.

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