TeachingInColor FINAL DIGITALPages - Flipbook - Page 18
self-care. We aren’t here to be saviors, so I’ve learned that
What do you consider the value/impact of having a
when students are dealing with things beyond my control,
teacher of color?
such as food insecurity or family problems, I need to
I love this question because it allows me to register my
realize that my role is to delegate, and lean on those more
frustration with some common responses to it. Too many
qualified to provide such support, including social workers
people think that the value of having more teachers of
and school counselors.
color is just to have more teachers who look like their
Advice I’ve read about creating inclusive structures (my
students. The research is resoundingly clear about how the
sister, Viji Sathy, is a bit of a higher education expert on the
impact of teachers of color goes far beyond representation
topic) has helped me realize that even in classrooms that
matters. Teachers of color, particularly Black teachers,
need to be particularly trauma-informed, sometimes the
are linked to positive academic, social-emotional, and
best thing I can do for students is create inclusive structures
behavioral outcomes for students, particularly due to higher
that ensure all students are embraced, supported, and
expectations and culturally responsive teaching methods.
included in a highly-structured instructional program.
This isn’t to suggest that simply being a teacher of color
This Ayesha Siddiqi quote is in my email signature and
means that culturally responsive instruction is occurring, but
is advice I try to follow in the classroom: “Be the person you
it does mean it’s more likely. It also doesn’t mean that white
needed when you were younger.”
teachers are not using such beneficial methods or aren’t
linked to such positive outcomes.
What does your dream classroom
look like?
Honestly, some of my own classrooms
over the years have already been my
dream classrooms. I mean, I wouldn’t
mind a great view overlooking a valley
down below or the ocean, but I’m still
on the lookout for that.
I had flexible seating before the wellknown phrase was a thing. I once
Be the
person you
needed when
you were
younger.”
brought a coffee table, a sectional, a
porch swing, a large couch, a reclining
I also can’t end this question
without saying this: we can’t just recruit
more teachers of color; we also have
to make sure our schools are doing
real equity work and creating spaces
that value, embrace, and retain quality
teachers of color.
What is one thing you would tell an
aspiring teacher
of color?
Find your people. Find colleagues you
chair, a zero-gravity chair, and almost enough yoga balls to
can remove your filter with and just talk freely to about
start resembling one of those old school ball pits at Chuck
education, particularly things that bother you.
E Cheese. I have never used those annoying ceiling lights
If you end up in a predominantly white space and
since my first year of teaching, opting for tons of floor lamps
experience a bit of an existential crisis or wonder if teaching
instead.
is right for you, spend some time exploring more diverse
My dream classroom isn’t just about the furniture and
educational settings. It can be far too easy to be viewed as
decorations (even though a comfy well-lit room with lots of
angry, intimidating, overly strict, and controversial in spaces
workspaces and a clear desk is key). My dream classroom
with too few colleagues who look like you.
feels inclusive and feels more like a safe space for learning:
If you can’t find your people in your school, and you
a room that looks and feels less like an institutional space
are invested in that setting, find your people elsewhere,
and more like an inviting sanctuary.
particularly educators of color who share your passion,
energy, frustrations and desire to change a system that was
never designed to be equitable in the first place.
If you know you’re making a difference, but you just
don’t feel like you fit in at your school, and if you know
you’re making an impact, but you’re getting tone policed
and questioned about your methods, just remember: “To be
great is to be misunderstood.”
