I Just Want to Teach My Kids

• In Event: We Don't Need No More Trouble: Reimagining the Educational System Using Perspectives of Black Teachers

Abstract

Objective/ Purpose
One of my struggles as a teacher has been feeling like I was always fighting to do what I was trained and hired to do: teach. Whether I was attending PTA meetings and speaking up for my parents who were working and could not show up or sending anonymous letters to school and district leaders about the way my students with special needs were being disserviced, my love for my students and my community meant I was willing to push boundaries and cross lines that I had been told to avoid. I have learned, fighting for my kids also means teaching them to fight for themselves. The purpose of this session and consequently our paper is to discuss ways we can provide space for students to critically analyze an issue facing them and guide them to come up with their own possible solutions.

Perspective or Theoretical Framework
Understanding the theoretical lens and context from which an idea is interpreted allows researchers to critically evaluate topics and arguments. When researchers present concepts from limited points of view, they disregard the lived experiences of many people. To understand historical and current education issues, it is necessary to pursue traditionally and purposely excluded perspectives. This session will employ a critical theoretical framework that requires attendees to consider the inherent inequality in the educational system so that we can reimagine what learning processes foster equity for those students who have been pushed to the margins. Hays and Singh (2012) explain that by using a critical theoretical perspective, “researchers not only seek to understand a phenomenon through various subjective lenses, but they also strive to create social and political changes to improve the lives of participants” (p. 41). In order to foster equity, disrupt systemic inequality, and deepen learning, it is important for teachers to be critical in their interactions with students. Teachers should also create a classroom environment that welcomes and encourages them to question inequitable and oppressive rules or policies. Finally, teachers must understand that sometimes the best lessons will not always come from a lesson plan, but from classroom experiences that help students discover their passion for justice and equity.
Data Sources, evidences, objects, and materials
This paper will employ narrative inquiry to make meaning of my experience and the experiences of my students. Through using narrative inquiry and critical race theory, I will analyze my own experiences to uncover the systemic inequity that is perpetuated through school policies. I will use this data to reimagine new ways of fighting for and alongside students while also deepening their learning.
Significance
To reimagine education for Black students in oppressive systems is to be willing to fight to tear down these systems. This paper can be a model for educators hoping to embrace activism in their classrooms. Ultimately, the goal is to foster equity, disrupt systemic inequality, and help students see their own brilliance and power.

Author

• Shae Earls, Georgia State University