The Power of Equity in Relationship Building: Dr. India White

Within a k-12 classroom setting, there are various ethnicities of students along with different background experiences that affect students’ perceptions of their teachers. For instance, some students have great relationships with all of their teachers and are known as teacher’s pets. They will do anything for their teacher and will strive to outperform their peers. Their trust level is strong, and they know that their teacher believes in them. Further, sometimes these students share similar experiences within life with their teacher and their families. These relationships are ideal because this is what creates the beauty of academic success for students. Teachers love students like these because it validates that they are a wonderful teacher, doing a great job in instructional delivery.

 However, there are other students who do not share this wonderful experience with teachers. Some students do not like teachers. They don’t trust teachers because of their experiences. Since elementary school, some students have been traumatized by their teachers who have acted more like sergeants than caring adults. Some teachers have used rules and procedures to cause students to suffer academically via in school suspension and lowering their conduct grade on the report card.

  Due to the focus of following the rules, students’ academic performance struggles. With in school suspension, even in elementary school, learners fall behind their peers drastically. Studies show that if a student is suspended from school one time, their chances of graduating on time with their peers dwindles to about 67%. Dr. Elizabeth Jones in her article “The Link Between Suspensions, Expulsions, and Dropout Rates” (2018) mentioned how “That same study found that suspension increased the chance of leaving school prior to graduation from 16 percent to a 32 percent. Another study found that students who were excluded were 29 percent more likely to drop out at some point during their high school career.” This is the subtle and silent affect that harshness, fear, and forcing the rules has on students is truly damaging the trust of learners and their ability to perform in the classroom.

 NCTM speaks how equity-based math needs more for students of color to succeed, stating that “Equity-based mathematics teaching requires more than implementing new curriculum or using specific practices because it involves taking a stand for what is right. It requires mathematics teachers to reflect on their own identity, positions, and beliefs in regards to racist and sorting-based mechanisms.” In order to change this fact, there must be a willingness to act upon it and never go back to this way of work.

 The sad reality is that students of color are mostly impacted by this way of work. Studies show that students of color are performing behind their white peers as much as six months in reading and math. However, how can we continue to bridge this achievement gap so that learners stop falling through the cracks.

 Here are some methods for teachers to enhance performance levels of their students:

 1.    Be OPEN to introspection

a.     Sometimes, teachers have to reflect at how they are teaching and find out why particular students are not performing well. It is no longer to say, “Jarrod just doesn’t seem to get it no matter what I try”. Teachers must be willing to get quiet within and reflect on their relationships with students as well as what methods have worked well.

 Also, teachers must choose to be open in discovering whether or not there are unknown biases that have affected their instructional practices. Is there a fear of the unknown? Are teachers uncomfortable with a particular race or gender of students? Do teachers have a strategy to work through any fears or biases?

2.    Take Time to Work Through Biases, Mindsets and Fears

       Studies have found that “educators, like the general public, hold “slight” pro-white/anti-Black implicit bias and that this bias is more strongly related to individual factors than contextual factors.”  This reality shows that many teachers may have mindsets about overall expectations of academic performance that they hold on to tenaciously that impact their ability to trust their students of color.  Teachers might be used to cultural norms and boundaries that their students of color are not used to. For instance, maybe in their home there are a set of rules and expectations that were followed to demonstrate proper etiquette and societal norms that are respectable. These could be seen as honorable, and now as teachers these norms are upheld.  

However, what if students were not raised to have these particular norms? What if their culture allowed for other norms? Teachers must be willing to be flexible on the expectations you have and learn from their culture and adapt so that they can be successful in their class.

3.    Take Time to be Intentional about Changing Inequitable/Ineffective Practices

      Sometimes, teachers commit to change, but they just can’t seem to break their old habits. It’s hard to change. Once comfort is established, teachers want to maintain and continue in the same vein they always have. However, what if these “old tricks” are damaging learners? Are teachers willing to change? Sometimes it is beneficial to evaluate how things have always been done and then figure out how to strategize to change practices that waste time, or cause students to struggle.

For instance, having a rule to come prepared and then discipline a student because they did not have a pencil might be a practice that need to be discontinued. Instead of making it a discipline issue, create a “pencil parking lot” where students can check out a pencil and return it at the end of class, no pressure, no discipline needed.

Or, if there is an issue with students lining up in order, choose to be flexible and change the order for various reasons: staying on task, turned in homework on time, performed well on an assessment, etc. These practices will help eliminate any rigidness that might exist in the classroom procedures and expectations throughout the day.

4.    Embrace the Practice of Mercy

       Sometimes, teachers just need to feel like they are validated and have authority. It can become a power struggle when trying to establish power and proper conduct in the classroom. All teachers fear being that teacher with no classroom management. Hence, there are several reminders, which turn into warnings that spiral into a system of discipline and control.

Although teachers might be right in their argument of how Jarrod just won’t sit down, have they considered that Jarrod might learn best as a bodily-kinesthetic learner and needs a little accommodating so he can perform at his best. Where is the mercy? Teachers first objective should not just be to teach; it should be to help students succeed. Some teachers are more in love with the content than they are with the idea of developing the whole child and causing success for all learners, especially students of color. This must change, and change can start today.

5.    Eliminate the Pressure

       Sometimes, because a teacher has been so successful at establishing norms and boundaries, it can cause a buildup of pressure to “do well on learners.” Sometimes, this pressure can cause negative impacts on the learner as a whole child. These learners can become anxious, discouraged, and then shut down. This then creates disciplinary actions, and school begins to feel more like a prison than a learning environment. How can this change?

 Well, teachers must first be willing to relax their standards for the best interest of learners. Do teachers have to write a referral because Jarrod did not line up in time at the door? Do teachers have to call administration because Jarrod did not come off the playground on time? Or, is it really worth in school suspension or arresting students in school because they won’t get off of their cell phone in their class? The pressures have built up and now communication has been damaged. Trust slowly leaks out of the classroom.

 To truly experience change, teachers must be willing to RELAX on some of these legalities. As a teacher, the first goal is to be a caring expert that teaches knowledge. Teachers were not called to be cops; they were called to assist learners in their academic success.  To remember this, teachers must embrace the idea of mercy and releasing build up pressures that would set students up for failure.

Conclusion

In order effectively establish relationships with students, teachers must take a moment to reflect and be honest during introspection. Further, they must take the time to work through biases and fears. Once they’ve figured this out, they must proceed to be intentional about changing any inequitable practices that have damaged their relationships with their peers. Then, through the practice of mercy and eliminating unnecessary pressures in the classroom, they can begin to establish trust with their learners and see hope at the end of the tunnel. I wish you the best in your endeavors as a transformational educator. You can do this!

Visit my blog for more support in education and more at http://www.india-white.com! Follow me on social media to connect! LinkedIn: TheIndiaWhite; Twitter: Indispeaknteach and IWhiteBIL