Equity In Education

To kick off week 2, we are tackling education institutions. In order to break down the systems of oppression that exist in the education system, I feel like it’s important to first identify the barriers that exist. Below are some of my thoughts on these barriers and some possible solutions.

Current Curriculum Design: Curriculums dictate what is taught in schools and and usually influence how teachers pass on knowledge to students. It essentially helps to shapes their world-views. The problem with a lot of curriculums today is that they don’t include racial literacy, cultural competency or accurate history lessons. This creates a lack of exposure that is limiting at best and dangerous at worst.

Remember, last week’s assignments taught us that lived experiences plus exposure equals world-view so it’s time we changed that. Below are some actionable things you can do today.

Lack of access to resources: This is pretty self explanatory but without access to books, pens, computers, literacy programs, pencils, tutors or full day programs, it is hard to get started on an equal footing.

Some organizations working to fix these problems are:

Other ways to help are to find ways to build and amplify an ecosystem of black authors and illustrators as this will tap into the creativity of multiple communities as well as expose non-black students to multiple realities. This could also help with the distribution of books to children and schools in need.

Emotional health Is Not Prioritized

If we have learned anything from the recent murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed and George Floyd, it’s that many black children in the United States experience and re-experience trauma with the constant killings of people who could be their brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, fathers and mothers. Yet, the amount of school counselors, social workers, nurses, and psychologists pale in comparison to the amount of cops in a lot of areas. According to this report by the ACLU, “schools are under-resourced and students are overcriminalized.” It goes on to say that

This is especially true in low-income districts where other resources are scarce. Students are 21 times more likely to visit school based health centers for treatment than anywhere else. Schools that employ more school-based mental health providers see improved attendance rates, lower rates of suspension and other disciplinary incidents, expulsion, improved academic achievement and career preparation, and improved graduation rates.

The U.S Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection reveal the following about school systems today in the United States.

  • There are 1.7 million students in schools with cops and no counselors

  • There are 3 million students in schools with cops and no nurses

  • There are 6 million students in schools with cops and no psychologists

  • There are 10 million students in schools with cops and no social workers

All this coupled with the fact that black students are suspended or expelled three times more frequently than white students presents what is known as the school to prison pipeline. The pipeline to prison refers to school discipline policies (e.g., zero tolerance) and practices that remove students from learning opportunities (e.g., out of school suspension) and push students out of school (e.g., expulsion, school-based arrest) and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems increasingly for minor offenses and non-violent behavior such as smoking cigarettes, coming to school out of uniform or using a cell phone. Research and data have indicated that racial/ethnic minorities and students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by such policies and practices.

Solutions include reviewing policies around discipline as well as finding alternatives to suspensions and expulsions. In addition to that, there needs to be a way to fund more school counselors, social workers, nurses, and psychologists in our schools.

Segregation is still alive today in our school systems: Yup. It’s been over 60 years since education was supposed to be integrated but we still see many schools segregated. According to EdBuild, non white districts receive $23 billion less than white districts despite serving the same number of students. 23 BILLION!!!

THAT IS JUST INSANE.

Why this disparity? It boils down to the wealth of the area the schools are located in as well as the taxes paid by residents in the area. This is connected to redlining and the fact that black folks have not been granted the same housing opportunities as white folks have been systematically over the years. This is an example of how systemic white supremacy can get and how it impacts the lives of many of our black and brown kids.

Another problem with segregation is the obvious. You don’t expose kids and teachers to multiple lived experiences which shapes world views and feeds into negative stereotypes.

Solutions to me center around investigating how and why school funding is allocated the way they are and then holding governments (local, state and federal) accountable for this. The tax dollars have to be more evenly distributed than they are now.

In summary education institutions need to commit to an anti-bias/anti-racism education, re-examine discipline measures, update curriculums and we as citizens need to find ways to get schools more funded so the appropriate resources are afforded to our kids.

Quality education must be a right not a privilege.