Dear Future Teacher,
When I was a freshman, I was given an incredible piece of advice that I neglected to follow for over half of my college career. I was in an advising meeting and my advisor gave me a flyer that, in big lettering at the top, read: Racial Justice in Urban Schooling. As she encouraged me to research and ultimately pursue this minor, I quickly dismissed her. Not only did I want to explore a different minor, I did not see the value in having that particular minor. However, today, two years into my college career and now pursuing the minor, I have finally realized just how important it truly is for me as a future teacher, and just how crucial the knowledge that I have gained through the courses within this minor will be for my success in teaching my future students.
Within this minor, you take many different courses pertaining to different cultures, ethnicities, sexualities, and histories of humanity. You learn about the racial, social, and socio-economic hierarchies that exist within our society and how they affect teachers, students, and schools. You also understand how to effectively work with people of different cultures, and how to be successful even when social and societal pressures are working against you in your environment.
We live in a society where certain racial groups and social classes hold significant power, while others do not. We also live in a society where these positions of privilege are based on the racialized history of our nation and biases that many still hold. However, through this minor, you will learn to navigate the stories of history and the causes of these biases, while also learning how to counter these societal narratives. As James Baldwin quotes in his speech, “A Talk to Teachers”, “It is inconceivable that a sovereign people should continue, as we do so abjectly, to say, ‘I can’t do anything about it. It’s the government.’ The government is the creation of the people. It is responsible to the people. And the people are responsible for it” (Baldwin, 1963). No matter where or who you want to teach, it is incredibly important that teachers understand that they have the power to make a difference and create a change within society through their pedagogical practices. By teaching true stories of history and current events through a culturally relevant pedagogy, teachers can make a change within their classrooms, schools, and the lives of their students. And, the Racial Justice in Urban Schooling minor has the capability of equipping future educators with the specific knowledge and skills needed in order to do this. Whether you are going to work in a school with homogeneous students or a school with heterogeneous students, understanding and being able to teach about race, culture, class, and diversity is incredibly important in igniting this change. Furthermore, actively rejecting the norms of our socially and racially stratified society by administering equity within your classroom is incredibly important as a future educator.
I understand that, if this is your first year, you may not be ready to commit to a minor as you may still not be quite sure if the field of education is even the right one for you. However, I would like to argue that, although this minor does focus on schooling, the content that you learn about racial justice can be applied to all systems within our society whether that be a school, an office building, a hospital, a restaurant, a fire station, or any other job site that you could be working at. We live in a racialized society, in a country made up of people of all different cultures, classes, and backgrounds. Whether you want to go into education or not, it will benefit you immensely to learn about humanities, histories, and hierarchies in order to disrupt the negative, dominant narratives that exist within our world.
If I could go back in time, I wish I would have started this minor earlier. I wish that I would have more time in college to dive deeper into the subject matter and learn and grow my knowledge even more than I have. If you are pursuing a degree with the intention of becoming a teacher, or you are entering a career where you are going to be working closely with people, or you are planning on living within this racially, socially, and economically stratified society, this minor is essential for you. Understanding the way our society works and why is crucial to navigating it and disrupting the discrepancies within it in order to bring equity to all people.
Learn more about the Racial Justice in Urban Schooling minor.
