Not Acknowledging Our Humanity is a Non-Starter/We Need More Black EDU Think Tanks

Every day for a Black educator is tough. In a world of parallel truths, you have to determine what's essential and what is fodder. In many of the articles that I read, I immediately categorize them as fodder. However, on occasion, I read something, and it either triggers me or intrigues me. The most recent article by Rick Hess, Resisting' Anti-Racist' Education Is Neither Racist nor Unreasonable, is a tad bit intriguing. Hess states, "The failure to appreciate what's fueling the resistance is unfortunate, destructive, and obscuring opportunities for constructive engagement." 

Rick, I'm asking can you have constructive engagement when you refuse to see a person's humanity? And for that matter, who determines the constructive engagement narrative?

I think the answer to the question regarding constructive engagement centers on Hess's value in anti-racism. Critical Race Theory has become hot button phraseology that conservative extremists use to create a divide among people. I challenge Hess and his ilk to rightfully define CRT and speak about the need for CRT in the first place. It's as if minoritized people imagined this theoretical framework without there being a need to have counter-narratives. I did not know Mr. Hess was a former Social Studies and Civics teacher. In that case, my approach is going to be a little different. If we teach History straight up with facts, primary source documents, regardless of spin, at some point, one has to have candid conversations about the treatment of oppressed people in the United States.

If I read another Hess Article about Kipp and the "Work hard Be Nice" slogan, I'm going to scream. Rick, they chose to use the logo no longer. Given some of the practices that were happening in their schools, it probably was a good choice. Folks like Hess look at surface-level arguments, and then they get dogmatic about their point. Seeing the humanity of people would force you to talk to those impacted by Kipp's policies. Will Hess ever speak to the kids who still have trauma due to zero-tolerance rules and regulations over-policing Black and Brown bodies? It isn't a shot at Kipp; I think they do phenomenal work, but if they can be reflective in their practice, why can't Rick Hess be reflective in his practice?

Alas, I do find agreement with Hess and Pondiscio on specific points. Raising the bar high for all students is one of those points. It is flooring to see the Oregon Department of Education "urge teachers shed white supremacist practices such as requiring students to show their work, and expecting them to get the right answer." I'm hoping this is an extreme example, but Hess and I have found our sweet spot if this example holds. There is nothing white supremacist about holding kids to high standards. 

As educators, it's our job to do so.

Moreover, I'm also not into pitting kids against each other as oppressed vs. oppressors. I think there's a way to foster conversations with all students that lift their cultural capacity and reflect on how they can use their ability to uplift their fellow students. Teaching History as factual will force any thinker to be more critical about how they show up. The job of an educator is to facilitate that dialogue while allowing students to find their truth. A teacher's political views are always a sidebar, and they should not show up in the classroom. Navigation of one's privilege and acknowledging it makes for better conversations with others, to some degree but in my eyes, it's not the end all be all. 

When you start to use that privilege, it gives you a competitive advantage over others that may not have the same access when it starts to be problematic, at least for me.

Nothing lasts forever, and I see Hess's shift back to statistics as a way for me to go back to being oppositional on this piece. Hess states, "two-thirds of adults say they oppose having schools tell students America originated as a racist nation." Well, sir, there are primary sourced materials, lived experiences of enslaved ancestors, prior holders of the land (American Indians) that all have counter-narratives to support the assertion that America originated on racist ideologies. And as a history teacher, you have a responsibility to teach the truth. So, it doesn't matter if 100% of people don't want you to teach something; you now have a choice to make, "to truth, or to not truth."

So, where's the happy medium. Whenever the real conversation begins, I look forward to being across the table and engaging in dialogue.