Public School Systemic Discrimination
by Stephanie King, ESD 105 Regional Teacher of the Year
Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of articles written by 2020 Washington Regional Teachers of the Year about their strategies and reflections on teaching during COVID-19 school facility closures. See the rest of the series.
Systemic racism. We’ve all heard it. Two words that on their own are charged with a number of emotions and underlying connotations. But put them together and the phrase takes on a whole other meaning. As a teacher, I do my best to help my 17 and 18-year-old students learn about this concept every year. Over 90% of my students are of Hispanic descent and every student in our district receives free and reduced lunch. I start by putting up the word, “marginalized” on my board. Students like to take guesses as to what it might mean, and then I have them close their eyes. I ask them rhetorical questions but to reflect on the answer as it applies to themselves. First, are you a person of color? Next, are you from a low-income family? Finally, do you consider yourself female? Each yes answer is one more group of people that traditionally deal with persistent inequality and adversity because of discrimination. It is always a difficult and well overdue discussion. But what does systemic racism really mean? What does it look like in our schools?
I was raised in a middle-class white family. Both of my parents were public-school teachers. I have been raised to value and prioritize the public-school system. So much so that I have served as a teacher for over ten years now. I’ve never challenged the structure of the public-school system. Until now. Between Black Lives Matter and COVID-19, there is no better opportunity to reflect on the structure put in place that determines the futures of millions of students every year and how those systems are built on hundreds of small assumptions and preferences for white, middle-class students. Students who look like me. The thing is, most of my students don’t look like me.
The public-school system says students should attend school between a set time, usually in the morning to mid-afternoon. But why? When school is mandated to be completely virtual, why shouldn’t students be given the flexibility to complete their coursework in a way that fits with their schedule? Many districts will still adopt distance learning plans for this fall with set times for “class.” While some students do not have to work to support their families, many do. When some 16-year-olds earn a paycheck, they put the money away for college, save for a car, or maybe pay for their own insurance. When many of my students earn a paycheck, they are helping to pay rent, keep the utilities on, or put food on the table. We need schools that recognize and support that reality. If public school districts want to start dismantling systemic discrimination, how will their plans for distance learning support students who have other daytime responsibilities?
The challenges all students face are amplified by a school system that does not understand, value, or measure students’ lived experiences and knowledge because of systemic racism. This continues at the post-secondary level in teacher preparation programs. There is a call to increase the diversity in the teaching profession, yet until recently there was a mandated score on the WEST-B, which made it that much more difficult for those who learned English as a second language to become teachers. One of my own family members, for whom English is a second language, attempted the test eight times before passing the written portion. This ultimately delayed her admittance into her university’s education program. We are lucky that she persisted. These are just two examples of how, despite a prevalent call to action, the systems in place actually make it even harder for people who are already marginalized to succeed and fail the recognize the unique contributions of people who have learned English as a second (or sometimes third or fourth) language, are not white, or not middle-class.
We all need to rethink the system. Those with the most control, school boards and legislatures, must lead the way. As a teacher, it is important for me to help students understand the world around them so they can make educated decisions for their future that best align with their own cultural values. Those of us who come from a middle-class white background must begin to evaluate our own values and realize that the public-school system was designed by people who look and think like us. We have to acknowledge this makes it harder for people of color and those from low-income backgrounds to succeed. Once we admit these systemic barriers exist and how they are maintained, we can work to tear them down.
