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Awareness & Impact of Identities

It is an immense joy to serve our community as a public school servant. As a seasoned public school educator of nearly twenty years, I wholeheartedly believe that public schools can work for ALL students! The tension in this statement is partially rooted in the level of consciousness and actions among the individuals who operate in these learning spaces. Learning, schooling and education do not manifest themselves in a vacuum! Individuals bring the beauty and baggage of life with them into learning spaces. This lived reality thrusts those who are called to educate into a very delicate context. Public education today is a very complex situation and in a very nuanced ministry.

Successfully operating in today's learning systems requires individuals to engage in a high level of consciousness, most pointedly around identity and interdependence. For instance, given the intersectional identities of our students and of the individuals who are connected to our students, a thriving educator must be acutely aware of one's own identity and how identity traits can become so overwhelming that it becomes the golden benchmark. Some identity traits can be so pervasive that it suffocates any other forms of being and/or learning! Without a high level of consciousness and short of understanding how these elements are at play, certain traits, beliefs, assumptions, identities and/or values can marginalize others. A lack of self-knowledge can push out those identities that are "less dominant," less common and/or without more social power. The dominance can be as transparent and as critical as the very oxygen we breathe in! We read about this phenomenon in the body of research conducted by Dr. Monique W. Morris (Pushout). We hear about this in narratives from our LGBTQ communities....

 Here are some activating questions, as we grapple with this issue together:

What identity (or identities) do you hold?
What hunches might you have about characteristics that are held in highest regard?
Who represents intellectual aptitude in your learning system? How do you know?
What are some common characteristics of those who are frequently absent and/or disciplined?
What adjustments are needed, if any?
Dr. BLM

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