Taking an Anti-racist Approach to SEL and Mental Health in Schools

December 3rd, 2020

2

Daren Graves

Associate Professor,

Simmons College

Today’s Speakers

3

Dawon Dicks

Diversity & Inclusion

Coordinator

Northeast Metropolitan

Regional Vocational

High School

Scott Seider

Associate Professor,

Boston College

Sharifa Bernard

Director of District

Partnerships,

AdaptiveX

Overview of Today’s Webinar

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2

3

Bringing an Anti-Racism Lens to SEL Teaching Practices

Schooling for Critical Consciousness

Reflections from the Field

4 Q&A and Discussion

Bringing an Anti-Racism Lens to SEL Teaching Practices

5

Sharifa Bernard, Director of District Partnerships, AdaptiveX

AdaptiveXDirector of District Partnerships,

Sharifa Bernard, MPA

The Colonizer Mindset

Anglicization of America

1. Historical Whiteness- how did this come to be?

2. “The Standard”

The White Racial Frame

“Because whiteness is internalized unconsciously, people can consciously disclaim the ideology of whiteness while simultaneously behaving in ways that assume the superiority of whites and the right of Euro (white) people, to dominate social space and interactions, to set rules of engagement, to apply their Euro (white, Anglo-Saxon) cultural norms as expected and universally appropriate norms. Whiteness is manifested in behavior—regardless of conscious disclaimers of the ideology. Through careful ongoing self-observation and honest critical interrogation, especially in dialogue with others, practitioners of whiteness may come to a better awareness of the ways they act in accord with norms and codes of whiteness” - Joe Egan (The White Racial Frame)

Challenging Aspects of SEL

1. Certain SEL tenants celebrate paternalism

2. Ignore student capital they bring to the classroom

Questions to Consider

How did certain aspects of whiteness come to form my personality?

How do I express the parts of my personality that are most informed by whiteness? What does that look like? Who can help me to identify it?

What aspects of white supremacist culture are centered and celebrated in my classroom expectations?

Schooling for Critical Consciousness

13

Daren Graves, Associate Professor, Simmons College

Scott Seider, Associate Professor, Boston College

Schooling for Critical Consciousness

Education Development Center

December 3, 2020

Daren Graves, Simmons University

Scott Seider, Boston College

Young People’s Awareness of Racism

• Six-year-old children of color in the U.S. demonstrate awareness of stereotypes about their own racial group (Bigler, Averhart, & Liben, 2003)

• 77% of African American adolescents report at least one incident of experienced discrimination within the past three months (Prelow, Danoff-Burg,

Swenson, & Pulgiano, 2004; Seaton, 2010)

Defining Critical Consciousness

• To recognize oppressive social forces shaping society and take action against them (Freire, 1973)

• “Read the word to read the world”

What Critical Consciousness Sounds Like

• “Racism is something that’s kind of imprinted in the history of this country. Like White people have had more like opportunities throughout history and then um, like when the Japanese people came over, they were like pushed to the side. Like, different groups and ethnicities and races don’t all have equal opportunities and it’s just kind of like in people’s minds and it’s really hard to get out.”

--Melissa, 9th grader, Tubman HS

Why Critical Consciousness Matters

• Resilience/healing (Ginwright, 2010)

• Self-esteem (Godfrey et al., 2019)

• Political engagement (Diemer & Li, 2011)

• Professional aspirations (Diemer & Blustein, 2006)

• Academic engagement (O’Connor, 1997)

• Academic achievement (Seider, Clark, & Graves, 2020)

Dimensions of Critical Consciousness

Political Agency

Social Action

Social Analysis

Watts, Diemer, & Voight, 2011

Social Analysis

The ability to name and analyze the social, political, and economic forces that contribute to inequity and inequality.

Political Agency

The belief that one has the capacity to effect social or political change

Social Action

A wide range of activities through which individuals seek to resist and challenge oppressive forces.

Key Tools for Fostering Critical Consciousness

Political Agency

Social Action

Social Analysis

Make the Road Academy

Mission: To offer students an education that strengthens our community by

equipping them to address educational and social inequities.

Sample Item: “Prejudice and discrimination in the educational system limit the success

of Black and Latino people.” (5-point Likert scale)

3.46 3.48

3.853.63

3.883.68

4.013.86

4.234.03

MTRA FIVE FEATURED SCHOOLS

Social Analysis: Awareness of Systemic Racism

Time1 Time2 Time3 Time4 Time5

The Three I’s

Interpersonal

Internalized

Institutional

Social Engagement @ MtRA

Applying the Three I’s

Applying the Three I’s Framework

• “Like, in our city, it’s a lot of Chicken Shacks everywhere. You can always find a Chicken Shack here, but if you go out to like the suburbs or something like that, you’re not gonna find one nowhere around. Like you might find a Whole Foods or like a farmer’s market or something like that. The options of everything is just much different, and it just seem like certain things are put where they put for a reason… Freshman year, when we was in the [Social Engagement] class, it made me think about stuff differently, and once I started thinking about it, you start putting the pieces together, and you start noticing like nothing happens just because. Like, it’s all for some reason, like somebody’s benefitting from everything, somebody’s not benefitting from everything. It’s set up this way for a certain reason.”

--Michael, 12th grader, Make the Road Academy

Applying a Framework• “Like, in our city, it’s a lot of Chicken Shacks everywhere. You can always find a Chicken

Shack here, but if you go out to like the suburbs or something like that, you’re not gonna find one nowhere around. Like you might find a Whole Foods or like a farmer’s market or something like that. The options of everything is just much different, and it just seem like certain things are put where they put for a reason… Freshman year, when we was in the [Social Engagement] class, it made me think about stuff differently, and once I started thinking about it, you start putting the pieces together, and you start noticing like nothing happens just because. Like, it’s all for some reason, like somebody’s benefitting from everything, somebody’s not benefitting from everything. It’s set up this way for a certain reason.”

--Michael, 12th grader, Make the Road Academy

The Three I’s in Elementary Math

Social Analysis in Elementary Science

Social Analysis in Middle School Social Studies

Dimensions of Critical Consciousness

Political Agency

Social Action

Social Analysis

Reflections from the Field

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Dawon Dicks, Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator,

Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School

Dawon Dicks,

Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator

Northeast Metro Tech Regional Vocational High School

100 Hemlock Road

Wakefield, MA 018110

MY STORY.

• How does your personal experiences inform your role today as an educator

in the context of supporting students?

The Work.

Disclaimer. Within my presentation, I do

not take the stance of being an

expert within this difficult and

even controversial subject

matter. In potentially

influencing your respective

thoughts and feelings, I remind

each of You that my objective

is to tangibly

add value and practical

solutions to our roles as

educators, administrators,

counselors, and servants

to the youth.

“ The men shrugged. It’s always been that way, they

told him. No blacks allowed.

Which is when Robert dropped his napkin on his

plate, said good night, and left.

I suppose I could spend time brooding over those

men in the club, file it as evidence that white people

maintain a simmering hostility toward those like me.

But I don’t want to confer on such bigotry a power it

no longer possesses.

I chose to think about Robert instead, and the small

but difficult gesture he made.

If a young man like Robert can make the effort to

cross the currents of habit and fear in order to do

what he knows is right, then I want to be sure that

I’m there to meet him on the other side and help him

onto shore.”

~ Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope –

Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

OBSTACLE (“we” vs. “me”)

“ A n e y e - f o r - a n - e y e l e a v e s t h e w h o l e w o r l d b l i n d . ”

Ubuntu ( “I Exist because We Exist” )

• In an African Village, an

anthropologist invited

children to play a game.

• The Prize: an entire bowl

of sweet fruit.

• The Strategy: Get to the

tree first!

• The Result: they locked

hands and ran together.

• The Confusion: Why not

“win” and enjoy all of the

fruit without sharing?

“ Is it possible

for one to be

happy, when

everyone else is sad?

Educator Strategy and Ground Rules.

• 1. Identify a clear purpose.

• 2. Establish ground rules.

• 3. Provide a common base for understanding.

• 4. Create a framework for the decision that maintains focus and flow.

• 5. Include everyone (diversity – inclusion – equity).

• 6. Be an active facilitator.

• 7. Summarize discussion and gather student feedback.

• 8. Mediate often and as necessary.

• 9. Report Out as Needed (department head / school leadership).

• 10. Was the intended purpose met?

*Class Norms / Class Practices / Class Expectations.

The Steps. 1. The Instructor.

2. The Students.

3. The Curriculum.

4. The Pedagogy.

5. Classroom Climate and Group Dynamics.

Let’s Talk about Race, but not really!

• I am afraid of saying the wrong thing.

• I am afraid of being called a racist.

• I am not the authority on anti-racism.

• The conversation may not change

anything.

• I don’t want to be challenged and not

have a “good enough” answer.

• My students of color will better engage with the material.

• My students will feel seen and validated.

• My students will expand their awareness of race and racial identification.

• My students will better analyze racial disparities and inequities.

• My students will learn the importance of their voice.

• My students will learn the importance of addressing race and taking effective action.

https://youtu.be/aBe9PgV6UjY • Black Student Schools Her White Teacher on Racism and American Politics

“What if You can’t rap a lyric or dribble a ball?”(Student Response, “It ain’t this.”)

https://youtu.be/NWQ48jiqE8U

“You don’t know nothing.”

“What are You doing in here that has

anything to do with my life?”

“You hate me?”

“Can I please get out of here?”

“Do You know what’s going to

happen when You die?”

“I am not going to give you my

respect because You a teacher.”

- Freedom Writers -

“You don’t know the pain we feel!”

“Stop acting like you tryin’ to understand Us!”

Q&A / Discussion

47

Daren Graves

Dawon DicksScott Seider

Sharifa Bernard

Next Steps?

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Let’s Continue the Conversation…

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Peer Sharing CallThursday

December 10

11-12pm

Upcoming Events: Academy Institutes

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• Session 1A- January 13 2:00pm-4:00pm

• Session 1B- January/February

• Session 2A- March 8 10:00am-12:00pm

• Session 2B- March/April

• Session 3A- May 3 10:00am-12:00pm

• Session 3B- May/June

Tell Us How We Did…

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Evaluation Form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Anti-racism-in-SEL-MH