I have always believed in equal rights. I truly believe each of us is equal and deserves to be treated with kindness and respect (unless they are doing something to hurt you or those you love). I have shown this side of me throughout Crafty Moms Share and am a proud member of Multicultural Kids Blogs and reviewer (and have been cohost) of Read Your World Day (formerly Multicultural Children's Book Day). As a teacher I have worked hard to make students of different cultures, ethnicities, races, genders, abilities, etc. feel welcome and included. I began teaching in public schools in the mid 1990's. There was some diversity as to race in the schools I taught in but not much. Most was due to busing programs in Boston. I helped develop and run diversity programs in several schools in which I taught and went through various diversity training. I have even been an advisor/chaperone at Anytown. Each of these trainings and experiences have made me a better teacher. In general, I try not to get involved in politics or speak about them here. However sometimes I find I have to speak out. This is one of those times. My heart is breaking as President Trump is trying to get rid of DEI programs in schools as well as elsewhere. Today I am going to share why I feel it is so important to have DEI programs in schools.
What is DEI?
Let's begin with what DEI is. DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. The programs they are trying to get rid of have been called different things throughout the years. They all stem back to civil rights though. We have seen multicultural initiatives and diversity ones. I have gone through several training programs and have taken students to various programs to learn more about diversity and inclusion. These are encouraged in schools because in school we are trying to put an end to racism, ablism, and more. As we have included more students into regular school and gotten rid of some of the expensive special programs for various disabilities, inclusion is an important part of DEI.
DEI initiatives in the workplaces have helped make sure diverse people have similar chances at high paying jobs. They also help each of us learn about each other and possibly be able to empathize with one another or at the very least understand each other more. The only time we should consider getting rid of DEI programs in our world is when racism, sexism, and all the other -isms are gone completely. I do not see that time ever happening. DEI programs help protect the rights our mothers and grandmothers fought for as well as all the Civil Right activists. Taking them away is opening the door to issues like segregation.
What Does DEI Look Like in a School?
There is the story of the one Black student in a class being asked to share his or her thoughts on what is happening to the Black character(s) in a book. That one student does not want to be an authority for all Black people nor should he or she. DEI training helps make sure this doesn't happen anymore. It also helps teachers understand that students have different cultures and family lives. What I went through as a child is not the same for each of my students. Some students have different religions, financial means, cultures and so much more and we have to make sure we are not projecting our own situations on them. We need to understand a bit about where they are coming from. DEI training helps with this.
Then there is equity. Equity does not mean we give every student the same aids. It means we give each student what he or she needs to be at equal beginning points. For example, I may help a student with dyslexia on an exam understand what a question is asking by verbalizing the question. Most students won't need this, but someone who struggles with reading may. Or a student with dysgraphia, may have a scribe on a test or get copies of notes because he or she struggles with the actual skill of writing. Equity means we are meeting each student (or person) with where they are at and giving them support to make sure they are at the same starting point as everyone else.
Inclusion is an important one. In education inclusion has meant that kids with disabilities have been coming out of the special classrooms and put in mainstream classrooms. However, that is not all inclusion really means. Inclusion can also mean that a teacher is calling on the girls as much as he or she is the boys. (And yes, I have had students complain about this with student teachers.) A good example of lack of inclusion is when I was the only female in a section at college. The TA teaching the section stared at me and made me feel unwelcome and awkward. The males in my class were friends so I was comfortable with them. They helped me as much as they could, but our TA obviously did not want me there. I was not included. I did go talk with the professor to let him know what was happening and he was apologetic. He had similar complaints before.
Programs that teach teachers, coaches, counselors and other adults about diversity, equity and inclusion are extremely important to help our children learn, empathize, and understand. This training helps make sure all the adults who are being paid to work with kids can do it effectively and fairly. President Trump is now trying to take away such training as well as programs like this in schools. This is awful and will destroy our country's future. After all our future leaders are in these schools. They may not develop the thoughts and confidence they need without these trainings.
Some Reflection
I have heard many a white person say that affirmative action is discrimination against white people. I feel this is why President Trump and the other conservatives are attacking DEI programs. It shows their white, straight, male privilege. They have never been "the only" in a class or group. They have not experienced being overlooked because of their gender, race, etc. They also are not ready to give up that privilege or be "the only". They fear giving power to other groups because it means they will not have all the advantages and power. As much as I hate seeing DEI in companies and the federal government attacked, I am most worried about what it will do in the schools and to our children as well as our future.
I have joined in Read Your World Day every year except one since it began in 2012. I know it is important to have books, movies, television shows and more that represent all types of people. Kids have more confidence in themselves as well as pride in their own history when they have representation. This matters in schools even more. Whether it is representation by teachers or lessons, it makes a difference! I remember being in an IEP (special education) meeting for a Black male student and it was brought up that all of his teachers were white women. We all felt it would help him to have a male teacher as a role model and certainly help to have a Black male. This is why DEI programs were put in place in schools. We need to help these kids learn their own history. History is not just about what the white males did yet that is the majority of what history textbooks are about. A good history teacher is no longer only using these white male oriented textbooks. They are teaching the roles of females as well as the minority races. We are a country that claims to be a melting pot of different cultures yet in our classrooms, there are a group of conservatives that only want the lessons to be about white people and in particular white, straight males. This hurts our country. (By the way the teaching the history of other races, genders, ethnicities is what they have labeled as "critical race theory" and it is why they are so against it. They do not want Black students to know that the White House was built by Black slaves or how their ancestors treated minorities.) However, not knowing the real history only weakens us. Not seeing ourselves or our race, our people, etc. being successful holds us back. As more and more groups are emerging (and this is what is really scaring the conservatives), there is more of a need for representation. It is why we are seeing in Read Our World Day books about neurodivergent people, LGBTQ+ people and so much more.
Now more than ever we need to band together and stand up to the white males in charge. They are pushing their needs to keep others inferior to them and not letting the true advancement happen by giving everyone an equal footing.
