Courageous Conversations at Columbia Teachers College
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the Re-imagining Education: Teaching and Learning in Racially Diverse Schools conference at Columbia Teachers College. It was refreshing and inspiring to sit in a room of educators committed to putting equity at the center of their teaching practices. Sessions throughout the event covered topics such as culturally sustaining leadership, racial and cultural literacy, and equity pedagogy.
The event was an extremely authentic reflection on what it means to build equity into teaching practices. We heard from Manuel Fernandez, head of school at the Cambridge Upper School, about how cultural competency training is built into professional development for all educators at the school. And Dr. Enrique Aleman, Jr. of the University of Texas at San Antonio, shared his work documenting the untold story of Mexican-American school children who challenged discrimination in Texas schools in the 1950s and changed the face of education in the Southwest.
In its entirety, the conference was a reminder of the need for us to continue to reflect upon teaching and learning from a culturally relevant lens.
Conversations around race and culture in education are not easy — they are courageous.
Two Nellie Mae Education Foundation grantees — Providence Student Union and Portland Empowered, presented at the event and told those courageous stories. Providence Student Union shared the story of their #OurHistoryMatters campaign, focused on bringing ethnic studies to Providence Public Schools. PSU had examined the American history textbook used in their city, and found that of the nearly 2,000 pages, fewer than 100 were dedicated to people of color. In 2015, over 90% of Providence Public School students were students of color. Portland Empowered, a community organization in Portland, Maine, shared their model of developing Parent Engagement Parents (PEPs), community members — particularly community members of color — to organize to ensure that parent voice is authentically incorporated into decision-making in the city’s three public high schools.
Courageous conversations are challenging, but when we are intentional about addressing issues of race in education, our schools will become more vibrant, inclusive and thriving communities of learning for all students.
