Educators as Facilitators of Learning:

In education we make many assumptions about what good teaching looks like. One of the only real ways to measure how effective teachers are is by looking at student outcomes. Outcomes look differently for each individual student. No one student is the same, and all students learn differently. 

Beyond stating the obvious, there are several ways that educators can hold themselves accountable for teacher outcomes.

Firstly, acknowledge the fact that you are responsible for the learning that takes place in your classroom. Many educators want to blame the extraneous factors that exist in a child's life. What happens in a child's Homelife should not impact your willingness to teach and push a child. I've also seen instances in which educators use poverty as an excuse for students not learning. Yes, poor kids can learn. As a matter of fact, the largest literacy boom for Black people came right after the Civil War and the ending of Chattel slavery.

Secondly, tuck your learned biases away, and get to know each child for what they bring to the table. Often times people see Black kids as older. Meaning, there's an age when a kid goes from being cute to dangerous. There's also an age where young Black girls become overly sexualized, and people start to treat these young children as if they are the adults. You are the adult in your classroom. Assert yourself in a manner that is respectful of their person, without losing who you are as a person. 

Build relationships, and let your students know you care about them. Be hard but fair when it comes to teaching students.

Thirdly, (because I believe in chunking learning) is to engage parents. Parents know their kids. It also makes the job of an educator monumentally difficult if parents are not on board. A simple way to get parents on board is to communicate. Parents don't just want to hear from you when things are going bad. They also want to know when things are going well. Find good in your students. On the instances that you do, let the parents know how amazing their children are doing.

These strategies help teachers transition from being teachers to becoming facilitators of learning. Facilitators have mastered their subject matter, and interwoven ways to cede their power, thus building the capacity for students to lead.

In my next Blog post, I'll be answering this question: Next up, what do amazing Black run schools look like?