The Closing of a Chapter... 

 

I’ve compartmentalized my master’s journey into two different, yet related, categories. The first is from my internship year about four years ago when I was finishing my teaching degree at Michigan State and my courses were focused on Special Education and collaboration between staff, students, families, and communities. I was student teaching at this time and it was a wonderful experience; I was really able to put everything into practice with two fantastic mentor teachers. The second category of experiences would be the courses in Leadership and Administration that I started taking about three years later to finish my Master’s degree. At the beginning of these courses, I was (and still am!) working as a self-contained special education teacher. While I loved my job and was working with special education, this was always my plan, I felt like I needed to go back and be doing more. I was grateful that I had the courses in Special Education as a foundation for my return, but was wanting to learn more about working in Urban Education and with diverse communities. While I wasn’t sure exactly how I’d put that into practice at the time (as far as administration, or returning to school full time), I was sure that I needed to learn more about this subject. 

 

I always wanted to work in Special Education. This was my focus all through undergraduate school and during my internship year when my master’s courses began  and while I loved my experience, I think I felt the most personal growth through the courses in Leadership and Administration because they were where I needed to develop myself the most, so this is where I’ll focus the majority of this essay. I hope that does not minimize the importance of the Special Education courses in my growth because it was truly the combination of the courses that have led me to my current position and opinions. 

 

One of the biggest areas of personal growth has been what I feel my personal and professional responsibilities are as an educator in the area of social justice. As teachers, we are in a unique position and we can either reinforce current systems that further oppress and marginalize minoritized communities or we can acknowledge our own privileges and work to dismantle these systems. 

 

There were three courses that helped me to identify my privileges and my role in education. The first was EAD 822, “Engaging Diverse Students and Families” and there were three important lessons I took away from this course. The first was that there are historical, political, and structural systems in place that reinforce racism and white supremacy. Rather than “racist” being a personality trait, we need to reframe our thinking and make sure that we also include history, systems/structures, and policies (such as schooling and housing) when we think of “racism.” The second takeaway was that we all play a role in either perpetuating or dismantling these systems. We read and wrote about how the majority of teachers are white women (I fall into this category) and how that leads to unequal power dynamics and the frequent role of teachers as “white knights” there to “save” their students from their life circumstances. Teachers also frequently have the expectation that families participate in schooling in a white, middle class, way rather than finding paths to participation and engagement that are meaningful for families. These deficit notions lead to a divide between families and students and hinder honest, open, and respectful partnerships. Thirdly, I learned to be critical, reflective, and honest about current systems that I participate in so that I am trying to work towards social justice. I had always been interested in social justice and engaging with social issues, but when I started teaching I lacked general direction about how to go about working with these issues in the classroom and in school systems. This class was really crucial for me because it helped figure out how to articulate what I saw going on in public schools and in education that I previously lacked the words to explain. I think this was when I really “woke up” and started being aware of the issues around me. I realized I could either stay silent, and therefore endorse current systems, or I could choose to advocate for social justice and education as liberation. 

 

The second course, EAD 850 “Multicultural Education” really built on what I learned in EAD 822 and focused on what multicultural education can and should look like. Rather than just embellishing curriculum with diverse literature (a good start but an example of “touring” cultures), multicultural education can and should be used as social change and as a tool to address issues of oppression. The third class that had an impact on me was EAD 830, “The Racial Achievement Gap.” While there is a gap in achievement that correlates with race, we need to change our thinking and acknowledge that there are a host of other issues that lead to disparities in achievement. These factors, which include environmental, familial, and resources, can be traced back to historical, racist, and oppressive policies and practices (such as housing discrimination, unequal funding of schools, low wages). Therefore, we really should start using terms such as “opportunity gap” or “education debt” to more accurately reflect what we are seeing in achievement data and work towards addressing those inequities. 

 

The content of these three courses in particular have led me back to the idea of “responsibility.” First of all, I believe and always have that we should be doing the right thing because it is good for all people. After these courses I realize how important it is that I am always questioning, continue my learning, and constantly looking for ways to improve my teaching practices. If I were to ignore all that I learned in these courses and just carried on, that would be irresponsible and that would mean that I agree with oppressive systems. When I started my master’s, I had these feelings but I lacked the ability to articulate my feelings and was not sure how to go about addressing the issues. I definitely do not think that I have all the answers and I consider myself to be in the very early stages of figuring out just what kind of social justice educator I want to be; but I at least feel like I am getting on the right track. Since I started these courses (and I don’t really like talking about what I have done because that is not why I do it), I have tried to be conscious of the choices I make. I try to be aware of my goals: learning and also working in solidarity with others (which means recognizing that I definitely do not have all the answers). The first major out of school experience that I was able to take part in was a trip to Ferguson, Missouri where I volunteered with an organization that had partnered with the community to address various needs since the killing of Michael Brown. I met and worked with other amazing young people for a week; they have continued to inspire me and push my thinking on a daily basis. The second experience was attending the “Education for Liberation: Free Minds Free People” conference in Oakland, California in July 2015. I was amazed by the number of teachers and activists that came together around social justice; the workshops and panels were amazing. I came away from the conference with a renewed sense of hope and some concrete steps to incorporate in my teaching practices to become more social justice oriented. Again, I want to reiterate that this is only the beginning for me, and I am still trying to figure out how to really connect my passion for social justice with working in Special Education. However, without the educational foundation that was built with these courses, I would not have participated in these experiences or even have known where to begin. On top of a sense of responsibility to minoritized communities and to students with disabilities, I feel a responsibility to make my previous instructors proud because I am so thankful for all I learned. 

 

If the previously mentioned three courses provided the “why” I feel a sense of responsibility to change how I approach my job as an educator, the other courses in my masters provided the “how.” One class that stands out is TE 823 “Learning Communities and Equity.” I loved this course because our instructor really let us make it what we wanted by providing choices (such as the book we read for our book review and the content of our final project) and because of this I felt as though I made a lot of personal growth. Our focus was on building community in schools and the positive impact a school has when it is an inclusive community that prioritizes families, the surrounding community, staff, and students. One of the major lessons I learned was the importance of “altruistic love” in our classrooms: a genuine care for and respect for our students, like family. For my final project I was also given the freedom to apply what I had learned about communities to create my own “mock school.” I had never really considered going into administration until I did this project; while there is much that goes into being a building leader, I felt like I had a good grasp on what a positive school community could look like. It would be ideal that a whole school functions this way, but I learned that just one teacher, in one classroom, can make a difference and act as a catalyst for the rest of the building. I took this course when I was only in my second year teaching, still trying to find my way, and it was such a strong reminder that I should embrace my own teaching style and that it is okay (even research based!) to emphasize a caring and loving classroom community. This has truly impacted my teaching practice and helped me to be more confident in my approaches. An example of how I have applied this course to my teaching practices is the book study that myself and my instructional assistant will be doing together. This book study will help us deepen our practice and come together as a team. We have agreed upon a book that builds empathy in the classroom, and we have invited other staff to participate with us. Another example of how I hope to improve community in my classroom is by improving communication with our Spanish speaking families. We currently have no one on staff who speaks Spanish, so we must have a translator even to make phone calls home. Myself and a colleague will be taking Spanish classes in the fall in hopes that we can communicate more effectively, even if just on a conversational level. While these are small, classroom level beginnings, I hope that it can have a ripple effect and perhaps grow into something larger. 

 

The course ED 800, Concepts in Educational Inquiry, also helped me reflect on my own teaching practices and my implementation in my classroom. We studied various educators and how they were constantly evaluating and improving their classroom practices. I remember Vivian Paley; she was teaching for many years but was never satisfied or settled for her current level of practice. By continuously researching, recording, and reflecting on her practices, she was able to revise and improve her classroom interactions and lessons on a daily basis. This course taught me to never settle for status quo and that we can always be monitoring and improving our practices; whether it that is our curriculum, behavior, of community building efforts. 

 

One of the major factors that led me to pursue my Masters in Education from Michigan State was the ability to choose my classes and determine my own programming (within limits, of course). I could not be happier with how all of my classes have come together to provide me with a framework and the tools to move forward as a leader in education. I feel more confident in my teaching practices and I know that type of classroom community that I want to build. Incorporated in these practices will always be social justice, both inside and outside of the classroom. While I may not always know exactly what the next steps are in my journey, I feel so incredibly prepared because of the foundation these courses have laid. The collection of special education, urban education, and community education has truly changed the way that I will move forward with my teaching.