A Tale of Two Teachers | Melissa Crum | TEDxColumbusWomen

Summary

The speaker recounts personal experiences with biased teacher interactions and the subsequent decision to homeschool, leading to the creation of a cooperative. They explore teacher biases' impact on education, noting disparities in discipline and academic standards. The speaker advocates for critical self-reflection in teacher training, using art and dialogue to confront and change deep-seated biases, ultimately improving educational outcomes and societal engagement.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker fondly remembers her second-grade teacher, who once corrected her behavior but also showed kindness and understanding.
• 👧 The speaker experienced a moment of racial bias in the classroom during 8th grade, which she reported to the principal, leading to an apology but also a realization of the teacher's unawareness of the impact of her comment.
• 📚 The speaker noticed a disparity in reading levels between herself and a white classmate, which made her reflect on the teacher's comment about her intelligence.
• 👶 The speaker's anxiety about her son's education led her to create a homeschool cooperative to limit exposure to potential biases in traditional schools.
• 🏫 The homeschool cooperative began with two families and grew, with many families citing negative teacher interactions as their motivation for homeschooling.
• 👩‍🏫 Research indicates that teachers' backgrounds significantly influence classroom dynamics, including curriculum choices and interactions with students.
• 📊 The speaker highlights the disproportionate disciplinary actions, special education placements, and medication rates among African-American students, as well as the existence of race-based academic standards in some states.
• 🔍 A comparison of teacher and student demographics shows a significant gap, with the teacher workforce being predominantly white, middle-class, and monolingual English speakers, despite the diversity of students.
• 🌐 Diversity training programs for teachers are categorized into conservative, liberal, and critical approaches, with the critical approach being the least utilized but most effective in addressing power dynamics in the classroom.
• 🎨 The speaker advocates for incorporating art, storytelling, and peer dialogue into teacher professional development to foster critical self-reflection and stronger relationships with students.
• 🤝 The 'multicultural critical reflective practice' process encourages teachers to confront their biases and preconceived notions, leading to more engaging and equitable classroom interactions.

Q & A

What incident during picture day in second grade had a significant impact on the speaker?

The speaker's second-grade teacher grabbed her wrist and scolded her for not being her best, which initially made her angry. However, the teacher later apologized, gave her a cupcake, and encouraged her to rejoin the class when ready, showing a moment of growth and understanding.

How did the speaker react to the comment made by her 8th-grade math teacher about being 'pretty smart for a black girl'?

The speaker felt confused and unsure about how to respond to the comment, recognizing it as problematic but not knowing exactly how to address it at the time.

What action did the speaker take after her principal's response to the math teacher's comment?

The speaker did not receive immediate satisfaction, but a few days later, the teacher apologized for potentially offending her, showing a lack of awareness about the impact of her statement.

How did the speaker's experience in 8th grade with reading levels influence her perspective on racial bias in education?

The speaker noticed that a white classmate reading at a 12th-grade level did not receive the same comment as her, which made her reflect on the potential racial bias in how achievements are acknowledged.

What motivated the speaker to create a homeschool cooperative?

The speaker's anxiety about her son's upcoming kindergarten experience and the desire to limit exposure to racial biases in traditional schools led her to create a homeschool cooperative with other parents.

What did the speaker discover about the reasons other families joined the homeschool cooperative?

The speaker found that most families who joined the homeschool cooperative had experienced negative interactions with teachers, either personally or through their children.

What are the three categories of diversity training programs mentioned in the script?

The three categories are conservative, liberal, and critical. Conservative focuses on assimilation, liberal on tolerance, and critical on investigating power dynamics and inequity in the classroom.

How do race-based academic standards affect students' opportunities in education?

Race-based academic standards can create disparities in educational opportunities, as they may require different passing percentages for students of different races, potentially limiting access to higher education and future success.

What demographic disparities exist between students and teachers in the K-12 system according to the script?

While students of color have doubled in the last 30 years and there is a significant number of students living in poverty or learning English, the teacher workforce remains predominantly female, white, middle class, and monolingual English speakers.

What is the 'multicultural critical reflective practice' process created by the speaker and her colleague?

The 'multicultural critical reflective practice' is an ongoing process that encourages teachers to identify, analyze, and challenge their cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions that influence their interactions with students.

How does the speaker suggest incorporating art and storytelling into teacher professional development?

The speaker suggests that incorporating art, critical self-reflection, storytelling, and peer dialogue into professional development can help teachers become better leaders by reflecting on their biases and fostering stronger relationships with students.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Personal Growth and Bias in Education

The speaker recounts personal experiences with bias in the classroom, beginning with a second-grade incident where a teacher's corrective action led to a moment of reconciliation and learning. This experience is juxtaposed with an eighth-grade scenario where a teacher's racially charged compliment left a lasting impression. The narrative progresses to the speaker's proactive approach to education, creating a homeschool cooperative to mitigate biases and foster an inclusive learning environment. The summary also touches on the systemic issues of racial disparities in school discipline, special education placements, and medication practices, as well as the influence of teacher's histories on classroom dynamics.

05:01

🏫 Addressing Teacher Bias and Academic Standards

This paragraph delves into the systemic racism in education, highlighting the existence of race-based academic standards in certain states and the implications for students of color. The speaker examines teacher demographics, noting a lack of diversity in the teaching workforce despite the increasing diversity of students. The paragraph also discusses the three categories of diversity training programs for teachers: conservative, liberal, and critical, with a call for the adoption of the critical approach to better address power dynamics in the classroom. The speaker advocates for the integration of art, storytelling, and dialogue in professional development to enhance teachers' self-awareness and effectiveness.

10:03

🎨 Utilizing Art for Teacher Self-Reflection and Bias Awareness

The final paragraph focuses on the use of art and critical reflection in teacher training to confront and challenge biases. The speaker describes an inquiry-based process that encourages teachers to analyze their preconceived notions and cultural assumptions, leading to a deeper understanding of their impact on student interactions. The paragraph emphasizes the transformative potential of this practice, as it not only improves educators' preparedness for discussions on sensitive topics but also enhances their ability to create more inclusive and effective learning environments. The speaker concludes with a personal note of gratitude to a teacher who inspired them to be their best, highlighting the importance of recognizing and nurturing the potential in every student.

Keywords

💡Bias

Bias refers to a preconceived opinion or preference for or against a person or group, often based on personal, cultural, or societal prejudices. In the video, the theme of bias is central, as it discusses the speaker's personal experiences with racial and educational biases. For example, the comment 'you're pretty smart for a black girl' illustrates a racial bias, while the different academic standards for white and black children exemplify systemic bias.

💡Microaggression

A microaggression is a subtle, often unintentional, discriminatory remark or action directed at a marginalized group. The video script mentions microaggressions such as the teacher's comment, which, while seemingly positive, carries a negative implication about the speaker's intelligence based on her race. This term is key in understanding the subtle yet impactful nature of bias in educational settings.

💡Homeschool Cooperative

A homeschool cooperative is a group of parents and children who come together to share educational resources and experiences outside of traditional schooling. The speaker discusses creating such a cooperative to limit biases and provide a more equitable learning environment for her son. This concept is crucial to the video's exploration of alternative educational models that can counteract systemic biases.

💡Racial Disparities

Racial disparities refer to the differences in outcomes and experiences between racial groups, often due to systemic racism. The script highlights racial disparities in school discipline, special education placement, and academic standards, showing how these disparities affect the educational opportunities and achievements of African-American children.

💡Teacher Demographics

Teacher demographics pertain to the characteristics of the teaching workforce, such as race, gender, and social class. The video points out that despite a diverse student population, the teacher workforce remains predominantly white, female, and middle class, which can impact the educational experiences and outcomes for students of color.

💡Cultural Differences

Cultural differences refer to the variations in customs, beliefs, and practices among different cultural groups. The video script discusses the importance of recognizing and respecting these differences in the classroom, particularly in the context of diversity training for teachers, to ensure inclusive and equitable education.

💡Diversity Training

Diversity training is educational programming designed to increase awareness and sensitivity to cultural, racial, and other forms of diversity. The script mentions three categories of diversity training: conservative, liberal, and critical, with the latter being the most effective in addressing power dynamics and inequities in the classroom.

💡Critical Self-Reflection

Critical self-reflection involves deeply examining one's own beliefs, attitudes, and actions, particularly in relation to issues of power, privilege, and bias. The video emphasizes the importance of this practice for teachers to confront their preconceived notions and improve their interactions with students, leading to better educational outcomes.

💡Museum Educators

Museum educators are professionals who facilitate learning experiences in museums, often using inquiry-based methods and dialogue to engage visitors with complex issues. The script highlights the role of museum educators in promoting critical thinking and reflection, which can be applied to teacher professional development to enhance their practice.

💡Multicultural Critical Reflective Practice

Multicultural critical reflective practice is an ongoing process that encourages teachers to identify, analyze, and challenge their cultural beliefs and assumptions that influence their interactions with students. The video script describes this practice as a blend of different approaches that can lead to more conscious and effective teaching, ultimately benefiting student engagement and academic performance.

💡Representation

Representation in the context of the video refers to the portrayal and inclusion of diverse individuals and groups in various media, including educational materials and professional development. The script discusses how the lack of diverse representation can perpetuate stereotypes and biases, while diverse representation can foster more inclusive and equitable educational environments.

Highlights

A personal story of a second-grade teacher's impact on behavior and self-expectation.

An incident in 8th grade where a teacher's comment about intelligence and race sparked a reflection on bias.

The principal's response to addressing the teacher's problematic statement.

Realization of the teacher's lack of awareness about the impact of her biased statement.

A comparison of reading levels between the narrator and a white classmate, highlighting potential bias.

Anxiety about enrolling a child in kindergarten due to concerns about educational biases.

Creation of a homeschool cooperative to limit exposure to biases in traditional schools.

Investigation into the reasons behind the interest in the homeschool cooperative.

The correlation between negative teacher interactions and the decision to homeschool.

Discussion on teacher histories and their influence on classroom dynamics and policies.

Disproportionate disciplinary actions and academic standards faced by African-American students.

Analysis of teacher demographics versus student demographics and the impact on education.

Introduction of diversity training programs in teacher preparation.

The importance of critical diversity training that investigates power dynamics in the classroom.

Incorporating art and storytelling in professional development to prepare teachers for better leadership.

The use of inquiry-based interaction to uncover teachers' biases and preconceived notions.

Multicultural critical reflective practice as a method to challenge cultural beliefs in teaching.

The positive outcomes of critical self-reflection in education, such as increased academic performance and engagement.

A call to action for social workers, nonprofit leaders, and police officers to critically reflect on their roles in communities.

A heartfelt thank you to a second-grade teacher for her influence and expectations, highlighting the importance of seeing and believing in students' potential.

Transcripts

I loved my second-grade teacher one day

it was picture day and I completely

forgot she grabbed a comb and decided to

attempt her credits got pinkish bouffant

comb back thing this side swoop one day

I was particularly honoring and she

grabbed my wrist and said Melissa you

were not being your best and I was angry

she grabbed my hand I'm gonna tell my

mom

I was seething in my seat she saw me she

called me outside gave me a cupcake and

said I'm sorry for grabbing your wrist

but you were not being your best sit out

here eat this cupcake and join us when

you're ready

fast-forward to 8th grade and I'm

sitting in my math class my teacher

comes over and gently places her hand on

my shoulder and she says to me you're

pretty smart for a black girl and I

remember responding thank you

I'm sure what to do with that comment

and those emotions that came with it I

went to my principal who I had a rapport

with and I told him what happened he sat

back in his chair he sighed and he said

I'll handle it a few days later I was in

class and she came to me with this

confused face and she said I'm sorry if

I offended you with what I said I just

wanted you to know that I think you're

smart and it was clear to me that she

was completely unaware of how

problematic her statement was how it

made me feel a few days later I go to my

English class where we had the results

of a test that told us what reading

level we were at what grade we were

reading so in eighth grade I was reading

an 11th grade level Jerry a white boy

who was sitting next to me his test said

he was reading at a 12th grade level now

remember thinking that must be what she

means

fast forward my son is getting prepared

to enter kindergarten and I have a lot

of anxiety around it

I wondered how do I go about putting my

son in a space to limit these types of

biases type of interactions with

teachers so I worked with some parents

to create a homeschool cooperative where

we use the information and the knowledge

of the group and the resources in the

community to teach our children we

started off with two african-american

families we blossomed to 7 then 14

children and more people continued to

inquire about what we were doing and

asking us how to be a part then I began

to wonder why do they want to be in a

cooperative in the first place what was

the impetus that made them want to

remove their children from traditional

school so I asked their parents

then I asked african-american families

who are homeschooling across the nation

one thing remained consistent every

family who decided to homeschool their

children it had a negative interaction

with the teacher when they were students

or negative interaction with the teacher

from their children so what we find

research tells us that teachers

histories are important when it comes to

the classroom they bring those stories

that guy how they choose curriculum how

they choose to teach and how they

interact with their students

what we also know is that we have to be

careful about how we interact with our

children and how we think about the work

that we're doing with them so I began to

wonder how do those microscopic

interactions with teachers that have

that underlying bias how might that be

replicated or manifest in macroscopic

situations how might these interactions

be supported in state and federal

policies that affect education so we

know that african-american children

particularly boys are disproportionately

disciplined they're giving more

suspensions in their white counterparts

for the same infractions we know the

african-american children are

disproportionately placed in special

education

they're also disproportionately

medicated in the school system we also

know that states like Alabama Virginia

and my home state of Florida has

race-based academic standards let that

sit for a moment

race-based academic standards so what

that means is a white child may be

required to pass at 80 percent where a

black child is required to pass at 60 so

what does that mean for our children who

are we telling who can and can't be

intelligent how are we preparing our

children for the next grade for college

I then began to look at teacher

demographics and student demographics so

I looked at how who's in this classroom

right so we know that children of color

have doubled in the last 30 years in the

k-12 system we know that 22 percent of

children live in poverty and we know

that 10 percent of students in the k-12

system are English language learners yet

our teacher workforce remains

predominantly female

white middle class and monolingual

English speakers we also know there's

challenges around retention in urban in

rural areas with this diversity is most

concentrated so universities and teacher

preparation programs have recognized

this they've created diversity training

programs which generally are categorized

in three different categories first its

conservative in which teachers are told

that children should be assimilating

into mainstream norms and removing any

cultural differences liberal which tells

teachers to tolerate difference and

third in the least utilize is critical

critical requires teachers to

investigate the influences of power

oppression dominance and inequity that

manifests in the classroom and extends

into federal policies so who's doing

this who's able to think about these

large macroscopic issues and make them

relatable and digestible to a lay

audience artist and museum educators I

argue that when we incorporate art

critical self-reflection storytelling

and peer dialogue into professional

development we prepare teachers to be

better leaders as they reflect on their

own biases that they bring into the

classroom that increases their

engagement in strong relationships with

their students and have higher academic

achievement in the classroom so let's

take this image I asked teachers what do

you see

often times they say I see two black

male figures maybe two friends maybe a

father and son then I say tell me a

little bit about them who are they I get

a myriad of stories but I always get

something isn't right here

something's wrong they're up to

something they're violent then I say

what do you see that makes you say that

and oftentimes they can't put their

finger on what exactly they see what

exactly invoke that emotion as we go

through this inquiry based process what

those teachers tend to find is that they

have deep-seated stories about who these

black boys are or aren't in the same way

they brought those stories to this

painting they bring those stories to

those boys that show up in their classes

critically conscious museum educators

are experts at having this inquiry-based

interaction they're great at having this

dialogue around images that have that

encompass these large issues they're

able to create engaging and

participatory activities that make the

complex simple they can harness that

learning power within museums and they

can do it within an hour my colleague

Kiana Hendrick and I created a process

called multicultural critical reflective

practice it's an ongoing process that

asked teachers to identify analyze and

challenge those cultural beliefs values

and assumptions that color the

interactions with their students it

can't be boxed it's a blend of different

approaches we ask these teachers to

confront their preconceived notions that

guide their relationships with their

students it's an uncomfortable session

we bring up these emotions and these

deep-seated stories that they didn't

realize they had we VOC emotions or

change we believe when you feel it you

can identify it you have something to

hold on to something you can change

so what happens we incorporate the works

of Emory Douglas or K and a wily or

mickalene Thomas or Titus before or when

Jackie mu - what happens when we get

these images to ask people to ask our

teachers to dig into the deep recesses

of their minds and harness those

problematic concepts that they've been

socialized and been told to internalize

what we found that is working as we

doing this work across the country with

educators they're better prepared to

have conversations around race sexuality

gender cultural differences professors

are better equipped to teach their

teachers that have these engaging and

conscious interactions with it with

their students and K through 12 teachers

more conscious about the curriculum

choices and their interactions with

their students so what happens we know

we engage students we lessen dropout

rates we increase academic performance

when we have a more intellectual

workforce we know that we have more

productive citizens so what happens when

we ask social workers nonprofit leaders

police officers to do this critical

self-reflection to ask them to

critically think about the communities

they've been charged to help support and

protect

maybe we get people like my second-grade

teacher Miss Whitehurst I don't know

where you are right now but I thank you

I thank you for telling me to be my best

and expecting nothing less I thank you

for seeing my humanists and complexity I

thank you for helping me see and believe

in what you saw in me thank