Lessons in higher education: What California can learn
Keeping California public university options open
Superintendents: Well-paid and walking away
The debt to degree connection
College in prison: How earning a degree can lead to a new life
Library or police, a small town’s struggle puts a spotlight on library inequities across California
Whenever and however schools open for in-person instruction — during and after the pandemic — we cannot go back to business as usual.
Many of our students will need something different, something transformative, something deeply rooted in our commitment to provide students a significantly different type of school environment.
This moment calls for radical care.
Radical care is a fundamental belief that students need something different from what schools have typically offered. Many educators offer shallow platitudes about how much they care about students, yet will engage in practices that dehumanize and render them invisible.
Others educators remain indifferent in the face of policies, attitudes and beliefs that are centered on blaming students and families for the effects of structural racism and generational poverty, which has placed many children and families into some of the most untenable situations.
Radical care means:
Our students possess a wealth of intellect, wisdom, curiosity and deep desire to do well in schools. They just need caring, consistent and culturally connected adults in schools.
When school personnel recognize that students possess deep funds of knowledge and a tremendous depth and breadth of cultural wealth then they can learn more about the various forces that shape their lives — including not just the challenges they face, but also their values, interests, ambitions, cultural traditions, family histories, out-of-school learning opportunities and more — they are better able to leverage those resources both in and out of the classroom.
Why is radical care needed? A recent report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research reported that 45% of California youth between 12 and 17 reported having recently struggled with mental health issues during the pandemic.
Nearly a third of them experienced serious psychological distress that interferes with their academic and social functioning. They also found that the rates of depression and anxiety were highest among poor, multiracial, female and gender non-conforming students.
These data tell us that many of our students are emotionally frayed and psychologically distressed due to social isolation, disconnection and Covid fatigue. Student fear and our focus on relationship building matters more now than it has in a long time. Schools that are committed to showing radical care will take necessary steps to ensure they have highly resourced social workers in place, consistent nurses, supportive school staff, and patient, giving and loving educators and administrators.
Many students, like adults, are exhausted from Zoom, frustrated with being disconnected from peers and school personnel, and want something resembling normalcy again. Yet returning to schools cannot be exactly what we had prior to March 2020. It has to feel different, look different and ultimately schools need to be different.
Radical care should be less about what we say, and more about what we do. How can we show up for students when they need us the most? We show up by creating different types of schools where outside recreation, collaborative learning, safety, no standardized testing, discovery learning, teacher supports and holistic learning environments are the norm.
Practices and an ethos that are rooted in hope, love and a radical care that sees all students, but in particular our most vulnerable students must be our aim.
•••
Tyrone C. Howard is a professor at the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA. He is also the Pritzker Family Endowed Chair in Education to Strengthen Children & Families and director of the UCLA Black Male Institute.
The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
The system has enrolled more in-state residents, but not enough to meet targets set by the state.
Two prominent organizations say the proposal would dismantle progress made to improve reading instruction for those students.
Fresno City College professor Tom Boroujeni is unable to fulfill his duties as academic senate president while on leave, the latest update reads.
This is a continuing EdSource series on proven innovations in higher education that relate to the problems facing California’s higher education systems.
Comments (3)
Comments Policy
We welcome your comments. All comments are moderated for civility, relevance and other considerations. Click here for EdSource's Comments Policy.
Brenda Lebsack 3 years ago3 years ago
Dr Howard, thank you for the article. As a teacher, I would like to clarify this comment from your article. "Creating schools that are equipped with teachers who engage in culturally sustaining pedagogy, are “warm demanders” and engage in their work in a manner that is anti-racist, has no tolerance for anti-black racism, and is inclusive." A veteran teacher in the Buffalo Public School system explained their districts' anti-racist classrooms as: … Read More
Dr Howard, thank you for the article. As a teacher, I would like to clarify this comment from your article. “Creating schools that are equipped with teachers who engage in culturally sustaining pedagogy, are “warm demanders” and engage in their work in a manner that is anti-racist, has no tolerance for anti-black racism, and is inclusive.”
A veteran teacher in the Buffalo Public School system explained their districts’ anti-racist classrooms as: “scoldings, guilt-trips, and demands to demean oneself simply to make another feel empowered…systematic use of shaming to make even the youngest students feel personally responsible for historical events over which they had no control.”
https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2021/04/06/the_other_problem_with_woke_schooling_its_psychological_child_abuse_771388.html
I remember when you spoke at my school districts’ back to school celebration for teachers (PreCovid). Many teachers left the session upset. They felt your teachings were racially divisive rather than unifying. And I teach in a Title 1 District.
Let’s be clear about inclusion, “warm demands” that do not allow for tolerance. It all sounds nice, however, this inclusion you refer to includes radical extremist ideologies of open-ended gender identities.
Jim 3 years ago3 years ago
So move away from “education” and move into “parenting”?
Dr. Bill Conrad 3 years ago3 years ago
This moment calls for teachers and administrators to like the children, show them respect, and give them voice in the classroom. Students and families also expect the teachers to know their content well and teach it well.
That is the shot.
No need to engage in hyperbolic language.
Keep it simple and effective.