diversity and equity interviews

7/29/2019 Diversity and Equity Interviews

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/diversity-and-equity-interviews 1/7

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ElizabethLWood

CindyBurchett

HumanRelationsIndependentStudy

5February2013

DiversityandEquityInterviews

AsIamasecondyearteacher,Iwantedtobetterunderstandmyownschool’sopinions

ondiversityandequity.ItisworthmentioningthatIwasatanotherschoolformyfirstyear

andmyinternshipwasinyetanotherlocation.OutofallthelocationsIhaveworkedat,this

schoolsystemandcommunityseemstobetheonethatvaluesagoodeducationtheleast.SoI

thoughtthiswastheperfectassignmenttodoinordertoseeifIwastheonlyeducatorinmy

schoolsystemthatfeltthisway.

Icollectedmydatainavarietyofways.IheldpersonalconversationswiththePrincipal,

whoisanativeandattendedschoolhereasachild,andheisgoingonhiseighthyearasa

principalinColfax-Mingohighschool.Iinterviewedtheteacherwhohastaughtherethe

longest–anupperlevelEnglishandSpanishteacher.IalsointerviewedtheEnglishteacher

whoisanewbietotheschooldistrictlikemyself.Ialsothensentoutanelectronicsurveyto

theschoolandreceivedanonymousresponses.Iwasnotsurprisedbymyresponsesduringthe

personalinterviews,buttheresultsfrommysurveydidn’tseemtomatchtheinputIreceivedinthepersonalsettings.

ThePrincipalofColfax-MingoHS,Mr.Jones,hasaprogressiveperspectiveaboutour

students.Mr.JonesspendsmostofhistimedealingwithIEPand504meetings,ordealing

behaviorproblems.Thisisdrasticallydifferentfrommylastprincipal.Whilemylastprincipal

stilldealtwiththesesameissues,shestillhadtimetodowalk-throughs,socializewithstaff,

checkattendance,helpworkontheclassschedule,andwasoverallveryactiveintheentire

schoolprocess.Mr.Jonesissobusydealingwiththeaforementionedthingsthatheoftendelegatesalotofworktohisteachers.Mypeersaretheoneswhodoublecheckattendance,

theentireteachingstaffwastoldtocreateournewclassschedulefornextyear,andwhilehe

doeshismandatoryevaluations,thestaffisnowbeingaskedtodopeer-evaluationsfor

professionaldevelopment.Mr.Jonesstatesthe“weneedtodoabetterjobofteachingusing



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differentiationwithourstudents.Thiswillallowustospendmoretimeunderstandingour

students.”Recently,I’vebeenaskedbyMr.Jonestorecordoneofmyclassperiodsand

documenthealthproblemsforaparticularstudent.Thiswashissuggesteddifferentiation

methodforthisstudentandhemadeitveryclearthatitwasnotupfordebate.Itisalsovery

clearthatMr.Jonesacknowledgesthatourschoolisverydiverse.

Theteacherwhohasbeenintheschoolsystemthelongest,Mr.Pace,alsonotesthat

thereisdiversityinourschoolsystem.Mr.PaceteachestheadvancedlevelcoursesforSpanish

andEnglish,whichincludeDMACCcertifiedcourses.AlmosteverynightIwatchasprevious

studentsgointochatwiththisveryintelligentman,andafterwardshetellsmeabouthow

brilliantthatindividualwasasastudent.Thelineofformerstudentsseemsendless.However,

itisfairtosaythatMr.Paceonlyhasthebestandbrightestinhisroom.Hisclasssizesare

muchsmallerthanthatoftheotherEnglishteachers,andwhilemySpanishclasseshave

anywherefromninetofifteenstudents,hishaveeitherfourorless.

Mr.Pacerecognizesthatthisdiversityisnotracial,ethnic,orevenreligious,butinstead

it’sasocioeconomiconeandheattributesthisreasontohislowclassenrollment.Thiswise

mansayshisbestyears(intermsofbrightstudents)coincidedwiththewell-offtimeswhen

Maytagstillhadtheircompanyinthearea,andamajorityoffamiliesstillheldjobs.Now,since

thecompanyleft,accordingtoMr.Pace,“Thecommunityjustdoesn’tvalueeducationanymore.Itdidn’tusetobelikethis,Elizabeth,itjustwasn’t.”Mr.Pacepartiallyblamesthis

problemontheprincipalforhispro-specialeducationmentality.Mr.PacesaidthatwhenMr.

Jonescameinastheprincipal,theschool’sfocuschangedfromhowtoeducateeverychildto

beallaboutthosewithspecialneeds.

Mrs.Cooper,theEnglishteacher,issimilartomebecausewhilesheisnotanew

teacherthisisherfirstyearinColfax-Mingo.Mrs.Cooper’sthoughtsandcommentsarevery

similartomine.Mrs.Cooperstatesthatthecommunityasawholedoesnotvalueeducation.Forexample,afteramisbehavingstudentreceivedadetention,themothercomplainedandthe

principalputacamerainMrs.Cooper’sroomtorecordthebehavior.Mrs.Cooperwastoldshe

neededthecameratorecordthebehavior,becausetheyneededproofthatthiswas

happening.Thepoliceareoftenroutinelycalled,simplyasameasureofdocumentation.This



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leavesMrs.Cooperfeelinglikeheropinionasaneducatorisinvalidandshe’sfrustrated

becausetheresponseistodocumentinsteadoftreatthebehavior.Mrs.Cooperhasspent

countlesshoursonthephone,communicatinghometoparentsofstudents.Shealsosends

personal,handwrittenletterstoparents,andattheendofthelastsemestersheoffered

special,individualizedtaskstostudentswhowerefailingtoallowthemtopasswithaD-grade.

Mrs.Cooperdidthislastpartbecausewehadallbeenyelledatinthebeginningoftheyearfor

simplyfailingtoomanystudents.AccordingtoMrs.Cooper,onestudent“wasfailingwitha

20%.Allshehadtodowaswriteatwo-pagepaperaboutherselftogetaD-andnotfail.”Mrs.

Cooperrecognizesthatthiswaswhatshecalled“theeasywayout”butshehadstudentsnot

evencompletetheseminortaskstobringuptheirowngradeatthelastminute.Shealsotold

methatshehadafewstudentsnottakeheruponthisverygraciousoffer.

Colfax-Mingoisamainlywhitedistrict,withoneAfricanAmericanchildandthreeAsian

foreignexchangestudentscurrently.SoitisfairtosaythatourissueinColfax-Mingois

socioeconomicdisparity.Icametothisconclusiononmyown,butthisismostlybecauseIhave

workedinotherschoolsystemsbefore.Iworkedinanaffluentschoolthatwasraciallyand

ethnicallydiverseformyinternship,butthecommunitystillvaluededucation.Allkindsof

studentswereenrolledinadvancedcourses–fromwhitetoblackandrichtopoor.Everyonce

inawhile,ateacherwouldmakeacommentaboutwhyastudentwastheways/hewas,butitseemslikeeverychildatColfax-Mingohasoneofthesestories.StudentAactsupanddoesn’t

turninworkbecausehisdadkilledhimself,StudentBisquietandwithdrawnbecausehermom

cheatedonherdad,StudentCdoesn’tparticipateinclassandistardyallthetimebecause

momcouldn’taffordtokeeptheminherlastschooldistrict,andsoonandsoon.Young

deaths,financialhardship,etc.areallcharacteristicsofpoverty.Iunderstandthatevery

child/personhasastory,butitseemsthatthere’salwayssomehomestorytojustifywhythe

“bad”behaviorisoccurringinthisdistrictinsteadofhowtoimproveit.AftertalkingwithJones,Pace,andCooperwhoallseemedtovalidatemythoughts

aboutourschoolsystem,IwaskindofshockedwhenIgottheresultsbackfrommyanonymous

surveyaboutdiversityinourschoolsystem.Theeducatorswhorespondedhavebeenin

educationforaslittleastwoyearsandasmuchasthirty-nineyears.Theeducatorwiththe



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mostexperienceinsideColfax-MingoCSDhad36years.Theiranswerstothesurveywerevery

interesting.

Theeducatorswhorespondedappearedsplitonmostquestions.Forexample,when

askedabouttheschoolengaging“inpracticesthataddressdiverselearningstyles,”halfthe

respondersstatedthattheyagreedthattheschooldidthiswhiletheotherhalfdisagreed.

Quiteafewotherquestionshadsimilarresponses.Forexample,whenaskedifour“school

emphasizesrespectforallstudents’culturalbeliefsandpractices”andifwhethertheschool

“fostersanenvironmentofappreciationandrespectforstudentdiversity”57%ofresponders

agreedwhile43%disagreedonbothquestions.Oneteacherstatedthats/heoftenhearsracial

slurstargetedatAfricanAmericanandHispanicgroups.Thisteacherhasevenheardstudents

callingourloneAfrican-Americanstudentthe“n”word,butstatedthatwhenthecommentwas

addressedthatthestudentssaidtheAfricanAmericanchildsimply“laughedaboutit.”Similar

resultswerefoundwhenaskedaboutifourschooltextbookscontainmultipleordiverse

perspectives.

Onthequestionsthatreceivedamajorityvote,IoftenfoundthatIpersonallydisagreed.

Outoftheeducatorspolled,71%believethattheschoolsetshighstandardsforacademic

performancewhenitcomestoallstudents.OnereasonIdisagreeisbecausesometeachers

simplyassignahomeworkpacketthatneedstobeturnedinbytesttime,butdoesnotgooveritwiththestudents.Hesimplygradesitandhandsitback.Recently,twostudentswerecaught

cheatingontheassignment.Whilethestudentsdidinfactcheat,Ibelieveit’stheteacher’s

faultbecause(1)heassignsmeaninglesspaperwork,(2)hehandedbackgradedpacketsfrom

studentwho’dalreadyturneditinbeforetheywereevendue,allowinganeasycheating

system.Thistypeofhomeworkismeaninglessbecausethestudentsaresimplycompleting

paperwork–there’snolearningorinstructioninvolved.Onanotherquestion71%ofpolled

educatorsagreedthattheschool“encouragesstudentstoenrollinrigorouscourses–suchashonorsanddualenrollment–regardlessofrace,ethnicity,ornationality.”Perhapsitismy

faultinthewording,becauseiftherace,ethnicity,andnationalitypartswerearequired

portionwhenansweringthequestionIwouldhavetoagreewiththem;however,asawhole

ourstudentsdonothavethesamerigorouscourseworkthatI’veseeninotherschools.Yes,



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weofferDMACCcertifiedclassesbutweonlyhave3studentsintheSpanishcourseandmaybe

10intheEnglishone.Alotofadvancedcoursesareofferedonline,andwhileIunderstand

learningismovingtowardsthisstyle,itisnotourowneducatorsinstructingthecourses.Ialso

believeourcoursesaren’trigorousbecausewehavetwostudentswhospendhalfoftheir

schooldayatanotherschoolinordertoreceiveinstructionforcoreclasses,likemath,English,

andscience.Intheirwords,theclasseshere“justaren’tchallengingenoughandthekidshere

misbehavetoomuch.”

ThepartsofthepollIagreedwithdealwithourleadershipexpectationsofstudentsas

wellasthemultitudeofopportunitiesthatstudentshavetohelpthecommunityorother

people.Around85%statedthattheydidnotthinkweobtained“diversestudentperspectives

throughregularleadershipopportunities”whilewhenaskedaveryquestion,“Thisschool

considersperspectivesobtainedfromdiversestudentpopulationsindecision-making,”43%of

staffdisagreedandanother14%thoughtthisquestionwasnotapplicabletoourschool.Imust

agreewiththefindings.Ibelievewhenitcomestostudentleadership,wearelacking.Atmy

previousschool,Iwitnessedthepowerofeffectivestudentleadership.Whiletherewasacore

groupofseniorswholedbyexample,theywerealwaysaskingforeveryone’sinputor

encouragingallkindsyoungsterstudentstoparticipate.Thestudentsactedlikeeveryonewasa

brotherorsister.Itwasreallyapositiveandpowerfulthingtowitnessasateacher.NowatColfax-Mingo,Iwatchthesamegroupofkidsgettingtomakeadecisionwhenstudentsare

askedforopinions.Ioftenfeel,andIbelievethestudentsgetthisfeelingaswell,thatthey’re

onlyaskedfortheiropiniontosaythey’vebeenaskedforit,butthattheiropinionsarenever

actuallytakenintoaccount.Accordingtothestudentcounselrepresentative,thekidsareoften

afraidwhentheprincipalwantstomeetwiththemandtheyoftentrytoavoidit.Eventhough

wemaynotdothiswellinourschool,itisclearlyobviousthatourschoolvaluescommunity

servicebecause100%ofindividualspolledsaidthattheschooloffersmanyopportunitiesforstudentsto“makeadifference.”Spanishclubisusuallywherethemostopportunitiesare

offered,butIwillputastipulationonthisandsaythatittendstobethesamegroupof

individuals(justlikeinstudentcouncil)thatheaduptheseendeavorsaswell.Opportunities

includeMakeaDifferenceDay,RacefortheCure,andtheSeniorCitizensProm.



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MostofthequestionsIaskedrelatedtothestudentexperience,howeverIthoughtit

wasappropriatetoaddsomeabouttheteachers’experiencesinregardstodiversityand

equity.Everyteacherpolledagreedthatwemonitorstudentprogressatthisschool.Thiscan

beattributedtothefactthatwe’reontheWatchListbecauseoflow-testscores,and

administratorsneverletusforgetthat.However,theeffectofthismonitoringdoesnot

necessarilytranslateintopositivethoughtsaboutthewayadministratorsarehandlingit.With

somuchemphasisonhelpingourstudentsreadmoreeffectively,28%ofteachersstilldonot

believewearedevelopingpoliciesandprogramsasaresultofthatdata.Thissurprisesme

personallybecauseitseemslikeI’malwaysbeingtoldoneextrathingthatIneedtobedoing.

Inregardstobeinggiventheright“materials,resourcesandtrainingneededtoeffectivelywork

withdiversestudents”71%saidthattheythoughtweaseducatorsdidnothavethesetools.

Whilealllearningdoesnotneedtocomefromabook,IknowIamnottheonlyonewhohasto

gowithoutone.I’vealsohadpersonalconversationsaboutnotknowinghowtoreachthe

studentswhosimplywon’tconnect.ThedataI’vediscussedinthissectiontellsmethatwe

needtodomorethanemphasizethefactthatourstudentsdon’ttaketestswell,butthatwe

needhelpourselvesingettingthemtowheretheyneedtobe.Ourstudentsaresodiversethat

we’reunsurehowtoreachallofthem.

Thisassignmenthasbeenveryinsightfulforme.Ithasputtheissuespresentedinthetextintocontext,andit’salsomadethisissuereal.Ithashelpedmedefinemyperspectiveof

theschoolIcurrentlyteachat,aswellaspossiblyunderstandthewhybehinditall.I’mgoingto

encourageasimilarsurveytomysuperintendentandprincipalsothattheycangetsome

honestfeedbackfromthestaff.It’simportantforadministratorstoknowthatweneedmore

resources.Instead,we’reallscaredtosaywhatwereallyfeelandresultantlyaren’tgetting

whatweneedinordertobebetterteachers.Oncetheeducatorsstartgettingwhattheyneed

tobebetter,ourstudentswillbecomebetteraswell.



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diversity and equity interviews

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