Black and Brown Students Need Culturally Competent Teachers
was told by the Greenfield Unified School District that I could not wear a t-shirt with the words “Phenomenally Black” because they said it was the same thing as wearing a “Make America Great Again” shirt. A Black colleague then later told me the administration asked if I was trying to push a Black agenda on campus. And yet when I wore a “Phenomenally Woman” shirt, there was no issue.
I wore the shirt to show my students how to embrace self-love and love for your culture. When I was in high school, I had a college counselor tell me I didn’t need to try because I was going to end up at the community college anyway. This is the Bakersfield education system I grew up in. An education that told Black students they didn’t have a future. I decided to become a teacher so that I could positively impact students like myself and be the person I needed when I was younger.
I know students who were told by educators that Trump is doing the right thing by building the wall. Others were called dumb for chanting “Black Lives Matter” and were forced to stand up for the pledge of allegiance.
I know students who were told by educators that Trump is doing the right thing by building the wall. Others were called dumb for chanting “Black Lives Matter” and were forced to stand up for the pledge of allegiance.
My story is the story of many young Black and brown students in California’s Central Valley. I know students who were told by educators that Trump is doing the right thing by building the wall. Others were called dumb for chanting “Black Lives Matter” and were forced to stand up for the pledge of allegiance.
Discrimination and racial insensitivity against Black and brown students are sadly commonplace in Kern County schools, and protests and complaints are condemned.
Before I started teaching at Greenfield Unified, I established a competitive cheer team at Ollivier Middle School. After the district dismissed me, I was told by district leadership that I wasn’t allowed on campus because they “want to keep the campus safe.” The students and their parents felt differently, so we moved practices off school campus. Despite the turmoil we faced when I was not allowed on campus, we still won a CONTINUE READING: Black and Brown Students Need Culturally Competent Teachers - LA Progressive