Melanistic Magazine Vol 8

IT’S NOT JUST

BLACK & WHITE

Challenges Black students face at school

by: Gail-Ann Wilson

With over 20 years of experience as an Educator, Gail-Ann Wilson is a Trinidadian born presenter and Cultural Diversity Education Consult for an Edmonton school board. Antiracism, intercultural education and pedagogy are her focus, as she works to change the narrative of the Black Canadian experience.

I had never been taught by a Black teacher. As a matter of fact, there were no Black teachers at any of my schools. Even after twenty years of teaching high school Social Studies, I had only worked with three other teachers that looked like me.

There were no Black students enrolled at the school where I took my first job. It was viewed as a school that White kids attended. Students saw themselves reflected in a nearly all White staff. I was possibly the only Black person my students regularly interacted with.

This is what the education landscape has looked like in Alberta for as long as I’ve known. It is an unbalanced system that creates challenges for teachers of all races to educate.

Black students will be taught almost entirely by White teachers. This is because schools seek teachers that are perceived to be good fits for their community. Often this is expressed by maintaining a White dominated faculty.

Further, few Black students will contemplate careers as teachers because school systems are inherently biased against them. Schools inconsistently interrupt racism when Black people are the target. It leaves teachers vulnerable and isolated to fight on their own. This has caused a lack of representation in teaching because Black teachers leave the profession when treated unequally.

The challenge for teachers is to inclusively embrace race, ethnicity and immigration status. To do this, we must acknowledge the responsibility we inherit when we EDUCATE:

Erase

Damaging

Understandings

Causing

A

Threat to

Equality

Our approaches to learning are stuck in the past; we teach history, not progress. Dismantling racism will require us to actively Erase Damaging Understandings.

The concepts of racism and oppression are not taught in the curriculum, but they contribute to the way stories are told. Curriculums celebrate the achievements, conquests, and victories of White settlers. These perspectives ignore the harms of colonialism and racism. They offer a narrow lens that focuses on the specific and biased details that students will be tested on.

Also consider that every teacher has a worldview that will subconsciously transfer their beliefs onto their students. Black students are often left to succumb to curriculums that allow biases to go unchallenged by White teachers that don’t have lived experiences of racism.

Another problem is when Black stories are told with a focus on oppression and not achievement. When teachers select books to teach anti-Black racism that portray Black people as poor, threatening, or troublesome it upholds traditional conservative values. It upholds the belief that equality between Blacks and Whites is not attainable.

To erase damaging understandings, we need to understand the world through the context of Black figures. We must hear from Black voices to ensure that Black stories are accurately represented. We must teach lessons about the array of lived experiences of Black people, not only their exploitation.

Racism is not normal, but it is inherently accepted by those it favours; this Causes A Threat to Equality. Racism and oppression exist in schools, but many teachers are oblivious to the extent. Teachers may relate to their Black students differently depending on each teacher’s bias. This disadvantages Black students because their success may be prejudiced by how much a teacher likes or dislikes them.

Even when overt racism isn’t evident, Black students don’t have the same unbiased freedom to learn. They will experience microaggressions like stereotypes, racial slurs, insults, and jokes. They are often forced to condone socially inappropriate behavior and told that nothing hurtful was meant by it. The intent of these racial acts doesn’t lessen the impact. This is worsened when the microaggressions appear in the curriculum, texts or by the teacher. Black students are forced to accept these misrepresentations in order to score well on tests loaded with racial bias.

within education. We must consider this as we expect White teachers to prepare Black students for their future.

We must teach lessons about the array of lived experiences of Black people, not only their exploitation.

To confront threats to equality, question schools and teachers, especially those that promote antiracism on how they protect the lives of their Black students.

• Have teachers de-centered from their own power, privilege, and authority towards Black people? • In what ways are they actively anti-racist in their teaching and programming? • How are they addressing the trauma of racism experienced by Black students? • Are they using punishment or restorative practices to support Black students?

Make no mistake; racism is embedded within education. We must consider this as we expect White teachers to prepare Black students for their future.

TIPS FOR PARENTS ADDRESSING RACISM AT SCHOOL:

Talk to your child about racism

Believe when your child tells you they are affected by racism at school. Young children may see this as differences in people, values or fairness. Older children may experience helplessness or trauma. Be conscious of your personal experience with racism; it will influence how your child responds.

Ask questions: Expect evidence

Any event can overtly or inadvertently spark racism within a lesson. Ask teachers to provide lesson objectives and marking rubrics to ensure lessons are focused on curricular outcomes and not on a teacher’s desire to incite or repress the topic of racism.

No surprise punishments

Black students experience complex discipline issues leading to a disproportionate rate of absenteeism, suspensions and expulsions. Student punishment should never be a surprise to parents. Parents should request a history of detailed log notes documenting positive interventions, restorative practices and parent communications when student discipline is elevated.