"The Struggle Itself Is the Point": Critical Race Analyses of the Preparation and Praxis of Teachers of Color

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session utilizes critical race theory (CRT) to examine how structures of racism shape the experiences of teachers of Color. Composed of five empirical studies, the panel will: 1) identify the community cultural wealth held by teachers of Color; 2) critique the commodified labor of teachers of color; 3) conceptualize teachers of Color as political agents, 4) illuminate teachers of Color who work against imperialism and colonialism, and 5) examine storytelling as pedagogy with veteran teachers of Color. In so doing, we focus on their strengths and struggles of teachers of Color, as well as subsequent ways CRT is productive for understanding power. More importantly, we offer models by which educators resist oppressive conditions.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Critical Educators for Social Justice

Chair

• Arturo Nevarez, University of California - Riverside

Papers

• Chicana/o Latina/o Teacher Candidates: A Community's Cultural Wealth Overlooked - Diane Nevárez, University of Southern California

• Separating Our Labor From Our Humanity: The Commodification of Teachers of Color - Rita Kohli, University of California - Riverside; Josephine Pham, University of California - Los Angeles

• Teachers of Color as Political Agents Taking Up Educational Justice - Conra D. Gist, University of Arkansas

• Toward a Filipina/o American Critical Race Theory in Education - Edward Ryan Curammeng, University of California - Los Angeles

• Stories as Pedagogy: Storytelling With Veteran Chicana Teachers - Elexia Reyes McGovern, California State University - Dominguez Hills

Discussant

• Lisa (Leigh) Patel, Boston College