What's the best time to implement change in schools?

Argument #5: There is so much important work that schools have to do. I believe in this, but we just can’t afford to work on it now.

        As I get ready for back to school, I find myself thinking more and more about this argument. We have so much work to do in schools. This is not to say that our schools are terrible, which they aren’t, or that schools can only focus on one thing at a time, which is preposterous. But we can all agree that student achievement is the essential thing we work for, even if we don’t agree about how it should be measured. That being said, as I get ready for school, I find myself focusing more on the classroom experience of my students, rather than strictly on their achievement in Latin. How can I make my students feel like they are in an environment that values them and in which it is safe to learn? How do I show them that showing up, both literally and figuratively, really matters? Building relationships with students is a great way to do this and it is something that I strive for each and every year.

        So how does relationship building relate to gender disparity in schools? I think that one key to that puzzle might lie in the question of representation. The experiences that students have in school shape their beliefs about themselves and others for the rest of their lives. Representation of students’ various identities is vital in order for teachers to create a sense of positive identity and to allow students to dream outside of the availability heuristic they have when they come to school. However, we know that there are many places in our schools where gender disparity sends our kids a negative message. For example, a student whose curriculum features predominately white, male writers might believe that women and people of color just don’t write things worth reading. Is this what the school was trying to convey? I’m sure not. But by choosing a  curriculum that represents authors as mostly male and white-centric, the school imparts that message. This curricular choice also says to those not represented that their voices are just not really worth hearing.

        Eliminating gender disparity in schools is a lofty goal and it isn’t something that you can just do, say, next Tuesday, after a particularly inspiring PD. But as you get back to school and start doing the work, think about gender and representation along with the other hundred or so things you do every day. Perhaps you ask a colleague to sit in and simply count how many times you call on girls and compare it to how many times you call on boys. Ask your curriculum supervisor to lead a charge to bring more diverse voices into your subject matter. Volunteer for a hiring committee and point out when problematic dialogue regarding gender roles, expectations, or appearances starts. Spend your social and cultural capital at school making it a better place, so that kids will see themselves represented and their horizons for what is possible are expanded.. The argument is right, in a sense, that schools do have a tremendous amount of work to do. But the time for making sure that kids see themselves and learn to value their own voices is now. All the work starts with us. Happy 2018-2019 school year!

- Amy