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EDUC 323: Critical Pedagogy with Prof. Britney Jones
Description: How do schools marginalize and exclude students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? How can teachers create classroom environments that are more inclusive and relevant for a diverse student body? In this course students will examine instructional practices using a critical lens. They will examine critical theory and pedagogical frameworks (such as Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, Reality Pedagogy, and Abolitionist Teaching) to uncover equitable solutions for classroom practice. For the community-learning component, groups of students will design, conduct, and present research projects related to the implementation of these solutions.
Cross-referenced with Community Learning.
Prerequisite: C- or better in Educational Studies 200 or permission of instructor.

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Image first row: Begaeta (Nukic) Ahmic ’11, John Bonhom ’03, Danyelle Doldoorian ’14, Kate (McEachern) Bermingham ’07, Jessica Wagner ’07. Second row: Elaina Rollins ’16, Emily Meehan ’16, Keisha (John) Morris ’08, Luke Forshaw ’03, Cara Midlige ’17.

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Also for Spring 2022, Professor Megan Mackey will return to Trinity as a Visiting Associate Professor of Educational Studies to teach Educ 218: Special Education on Wednesdays 1:15-3:55pm. Dr. Mackey is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Central Connecticut State University, where she prepares pre-service teachers to work with students with disabilities in general and special education settings, and has taught introduction to special education, behavior management, assessment, learning disabilities, differentiation, curriculum design and adaptation, mathematics, reading, and educational psychology. Prior to her work at the university level, she was a middle school special education teacher.

During the 2022-23 academic year, Professor Britney Jones will join Trinity as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Educational Studies. She earned a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Brown University, and plans to receive her Ph.D. in the Learning, Leadership, and Education Policy program at the University of Connecticut in May 2022.  Her dissertation research examines how teachers understand and enact Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and one of her journal publications is “Preservice science teachers’ sociopolitical consciousness” in Science Education (2021). She previously taught fourth grade students for four years in Brooklyn, NY, and currently trains K-12 teachers in anti-racism and culturally relevant pedagogy workshops for the Capitol Region Education Council. In 2022-23 at Trinity, she will teach the Educ 200: Analyzing Schools introductory course and the Educ 400: Senior Research Seminar, and also offer a new 300-level research project seminar.

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Professor Castillo’s scholarly identity is shaped by her personal experience as a second-generation Filipina-American, and her professional experiences as a public school teacher in a high-poverty New York City neighborhood. She is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work examines the possibilities for, and limitations to, school choice policies for advancing racially integrated, equitable, and democratic public education. Her dissertation, “Progressive Education Meets the Market: Organizational Survival Among Independent Charter Schools,” compared three charter schools in New York City and how their school leaders and board trustees endeavored to sustain their initial racial diversity and progressive teaching missions amid accountability pressures. She found that school leaders and trustees adjusted or abandoned these founding missions in order to garner resources and legitimacy in a competitive charter school market. Professor Castillo’s work has been published in American Journal of Education, Education Policy Analysis Archives, and Educational Policy.

Professor Castillo’s commitment to equity and inclusion make her an ideal fit for Trinity and the Educational Studies Program. In her teaching, she fosters learning environments for students to examine K–12 public schools, education policy, and school reform through the lenses of racial equity, social justice, and democracy. In describing her approach to teaching, Professor Castillo writes, “I am committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable learning environment that supports the success of all students, regardless of their prior academic preparation. For example, I am mindful of how the ‘hidden curriculum’ on college campuses, or implicit expectations and norms, may be less familiar to first-generation students and others from historically marginalized groups. I strive to make the hidden curriculum explicit by, for instance, sharing exemplary samples of past student writing, so that my students see what constitutes an appropriate writing style and tone.”

Professor Castillo’s ongoing research and teaching includes projects connected to the broader Hartford community. In a Hartford-based research study, she is investigating the motivations of Asian American parents who participate in metropolitan Hartford’s magnet school system. In her upper-level elective, “Privatization and Public Policy,” Professor Castillo designed a partnership with The Connecticut Mirror, a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news site focused on state politics and policy. In Fall 2020, students each wrote pieces on privatization topics impacting Connecticut residents, which were published in The Connecticut Mirror’s “CT Viewpoints” section in a special collection entitled “Bantam Banter.”

Professor Castillo is also committed to supporting and mentoring students underrepresented in higher education. She says, “As a Filipina-American woman, I seldom see my identity represented in the academy. Thus, it is professionally and personally important to me to mentor students from underrepresented and historically marginalized groups.”

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During these recent days of protest against police brutality, we have heard from some of you who are seeking resources about anti-racist education. One alumna wrote to ask for book recommendations about race and education to share with other teachers at their school. Another wrote to ask for readings about systemic racism and white privilege to advance their own learning and to better educate white folks around them.

In response, we offer this list of resources, which are drawn from courses we have taught at Trinity, or from other educators and activists who have kindly shared their recommendations. First, let’s recognize some key principles:

• We all start from different places when learning about race and power. The paths we follow depend on our prior experiences and knowledge, how we identify ourselves racially and how other people identify us.

• We must recognize the dimensions of privilege and power we hold, especially in relation to systems of racism, white supremacy, and anti-blackness. If we have privilege, we should listen most closely to the voices of those most affected by oppression.

• At different points along our paths, we may not agree with each other. But genuine learning requires us to respect one another, and also for each of us to grow in understanding of ourselves and others.

• Reading can promote deeper reflection and insight into other people’s perspectives. But reading alone does not alter racism. We also need dialogue, experience, and thoughtful action.

Black lives matter.

Provocative readings on anti-racism and education:

Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist (One World/Random House, 2019), preview at https://books.google.com/books?id=lbqkDwAAQBAJ. — When updating my Educ 309 Race Class and Ed Policy seminar a year ago, I added the introduction and first chapter from this autobiographical reflection by Kendi, whose first publication won the National Book Award. Kendi seeks to shift our focus from opposing “racist people” to challenging “racist policies,” and whether or not you agree with his approach, it will make you think. To dig further, pair his book with a critical review by Kelefa Sanneh, “The Fight to Redefine Racism,” The New Yorker, August 12, 2019. – JD

Bettina Love, We Want To Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom (Beacon Press, 2019) — I assigned this book in my Educ 312: Education for Justice course in Spring 2020, and students really enjoyed it. Love pushes her readers to interrogate how our current education systems, as well as the reforms we often hear of to improve education, are rooted in racism and anti-blackness. Instead, she argues that educators should engage in abolitionist teaching, working in solidarity with communities of color to understand and resist oppression and nurturing joy, creativity, and resistance in young people of color. – SW

Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me (Penguin Random House, 2015) — Written as a letter to his teenage son, Coates reflects on the hopes and fears of being black in the United States. – SW

Video clips to promote deeper discussion:

Trevor Noah, “George Floyd and the Dominos of Racial Injustice,” The Daily Show, May 29, 2020, https://youtu.be/v4amCfVbA_c. — Recent protests across the globe were sparked by a series of videos that captured racism on camera, such as the shooting of jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, the Central Park woman who phoned police against bird watcher Christian Cooper, and the Minneapolis police homicide of George Floyd. Speaking directly to the camera, commentator Trevor Noah explains the domino effect of these videos, and how to interpret news coverage of Black Lives Matter protests. Current educators and future historians need to draw on videos like these to make sense of this video-driven movement. – JD

Anti-racist teaching resources for K-12 education:

Teaching for Black Lives, edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, Wayne Au. (Rethinking Schools Publication, 2018). https://rethinkingschools.org/books/title/teaching-for-black-lives. — The Rethinking Schools organization continually impresses me with the quality of classroom teachers’ reflections and curricular materials for engaging young people with challenging issues. I’ve assigned their materials in my courses and also handed them directly to Trinity students who are headed into teaching. See also this recent Washington Post recommendation with excerpts from the book. – JD
— To encourage educators to engage with the text, Rethinking Schools is currently offering the book at a 40% discount with code T4BL40, until June 11, 2020. — SW

Black Lives Matter at School — In 2016, educators in Seattle launched a Black Lives Matter day of action at their schools. The movement has since expanded to a week of action at various schools and districts across the country. The website includes lesson plans and other classroom resources, including ways to participate in the week of action. — SW

The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones and contributors for the New York Times received a 2020 Pulitzer Prize for its account of the legacy of slavery on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans to the American continent. The Pulitzer Center created The 1619 Project Curriculum with reading guides and activities to engage K-12 learners, and also a full PDF version of the original publication. — JD

Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race In School, edited by Mica Pollock (The New Press, 2008) — An edited volume designed to reach educators and parents. Each chapter is short and encourages readers to consider everyday implications. — SW

Education Week’s list of Classroom Resources for Discussing Racism, Policing, and Protest, June 2, 2020 — SW

Resources that may be especially important for white educators:

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo (2018), with publisher’s discussion guide for educators

Feeling White: Whiteness, Emotionality, and Education, by Cheryl Matias (2016)

For White Folks Who Teach In The Hood … and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education, by Christopher Emdin (2016)

We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools, 3rd edition, by Gary Howard (2016)

Other resources to understand racism, white supremacy, and anti-blackness in the current moment:

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (2016)

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement, by Angela Davis (2016)

Take Action Steps:

Investigate our institutions — Thoughtfully designing and carrying out a research project can be a good way to understand and draw attention to structural problems and potential solutions. For example, we recently shared our findings from a First-Generation/Low-Income Student Focus Group at Trinity (January 2020). Also, the Educ 309 Race Class & Ed Policy students presented their findings from interviews with first-year students about perceptions of race and social class in Hartford and Trinity (October 2019).

Change your teaching practice — What concrete curricular and/or pedagogical changes can you make to center black lives and anti-racism in your teaching? How can you push your colleagues, department, school, and/or district to do the same?

Talk to people in your life, particularly if you and they have privilege — How can you challenge family members, friends, neighbors, and loved ones to think differently about oppression, race, and racism?

Buy from people of color owned businesses — If you are making purchases, consider buying from businesses owned by people of color. For example, if you plan to buy any of the books on this list, check out these lists of black-ownedbookstores.

Protest or support protestors — If you are able, consider attending protests or marches for causes you support. But remember that protests are not the only ways to support anti-racist activism. See, for example, this resource, 26 Ways To Be In The Struggle Beyond the Streets, developed by disability rights activists.

Donate — If you are able, consider making financial contributions to organizations doing anti-racist work, especially organizations that are led by people of color.

Share more resources:

Expand on our starter list by sharing more anti-racist educational resources that you value, and tell us why. We encourage you to share these on Twitter and tag both of us: @stefaniejwong and @doughertyjack.

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Summary: What is “progressive education”? Can a charter school be progressive? In this lecture, Castillo will discuss different meanings of this phrase and draw upon case-study research of three New York City charter schools to illustrate how they defined it in terms of social efficiency, often at the expense of pedagogical and political progressivism.

The fellowship is named for Ann Plato, a 19th-century author and teacher of African American and Native American descent, who lived and wrote in Hartford. She was the second woman of color in the United States to publish a book, and the first to publish a book of essays and poems, titled Essays: Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces, in Prose and Poetry (1841).

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Anthony Jack, Assistant Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and author of a best-selling new book, The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students, will speak on Thursday, September 26th, 2019 at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

12:15-1:15pm “On Diversity: Access Ain’t Inclusion,” Common Hour lecture in the Washington Room, second floor of Mather Hall. This event is open to the public. Seating is limited to 450 people, so arrive early. Parking also is limited, so we recommend that visitors enter the Broad Street gate near New Britain Avenue, park near the Ferris Athletic Center, and walk a short distance toward the center of campus to Mather Hall. See Trinity campus map. Books may be signed during the last 15 minutes of this event.

Other events on this day:

11am-12 noon Anthony Jack meets with students in the Educ 309: Race Class and Ed Policy seminar, who are conducting a related study at Trinity. McCook Hall 305.

1:30-2:30pm  Lunch discussion with Anthony Jack for Trinity faculty and staff in Rittenberg Lounge, Mather Hall. Seating is limited. Please RSVP to Patricia.Maisch@trincoll.edu. Books may be signed during the last 15 minutes of this event.

2:55-4:10pm Conversation with Anthony Jack for Trinity student leaders in Hamlin Hall. Contact [email protected] for more info. Books may be signed during the last 15 minutes of this event.

4:30-5:30pm Video “(Un)Privileged: The Cost of Being Poor at An Elite Institution,” and discussion with director, Bettina Cecilia Gonzalez (Trinity ’16) in Terrace B & C, second floor of Mather Hall. Open to the public. (Un)Privileged is a documentary that explores the social and personal issues faced by many low-income and first-generation undergraduate students across wealthy private colleges and universities in the United States. The film includes a cast of diverse first-generation and low-income students from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and Columbia University in the heart of New York City.

Evening discussions: Resident Assistants and PRIDE leaders will organize small-group follow-up discussions with members of the Trinity community on topics raised earlier in the day by Anthony Jack.

About the speaker: Anthony Abraham Jack, a native of Miami, received a scholarship to attend Gulliver Preparatory School, an elite private high school in South Florida. He went on to receive degrees from Amherst College and Harvard University. He is currently a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows, an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Shutzer Assistant Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

About the book and lecture: Elite colleges are accepting diverse and disadvantaged students more than ever before, but access does not equal inclusion. Anthony Jack studies how poor students are often failed by the top schools that admit them and reframes the conversation surrounding poverty and higher education. His work explains the paths of two unique groups. First, the “privileged poor”: students from low-income, diverse backgrounds who attended elite prep or boarding school before attending college. The second are what Jack calls the “doubly disadvantaged”—students who arrive from underprivileged backgrounds without prep or boarding school to soften their college transition. Although both groups come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the privileged poor have more cultural capital to navigate and succeed—in the college environment and beyond. In many ways, rather than close the wealth gap, campus cultures at elite schools further alienate poor students by making them feel like they don’t belong. To challenge these deeply ingrained social, cultural, and economic disparities on campus, we must first begin to question what we take for granted. Jack speaks to how organizations—from administrators and association organizers, to educators and student activists—can ask the right questions and bridge the gap.

Sponsored by: Academic Affairs; Center for Teaching and Learning; Dean of Students Office; Educational Studies Program; Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Enrollment and Student Success; Neuroscience Program; and Political Science Department.

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