Historically Responsive Literacy

The education system is failing by not reaching many students, “especially black students,             because the curricula and standards are lacking” (Muhammad). 

This is Muhammad’s critique of the education system in a one sentence answer. Let’s dig deeper into the reasoning for this and what her framework looks like in the classroom. The dress analogy she shares during the interview is a great way to explain the issue at hand.

The dress analogy as told by Gholdy Muhammad→ If you're a size ten and only size two dresses are available, you are not going to be able to fit. In the education system it means that you can try to fit the students into the curriculum, but it was not defined for them so it is simply not going to work and be successful, it's not going to “fit” them.

The system needs to be dismantled because it favors whiteness and shows no room for students of color. We keep trying to put a band-aid over the problem as a quick and easy fix but what really needs to be done is dismantling the system and reworking it from the bare bones. Part of the process of creating assessment, curriculum, standards should be that all students are included and represented and this is not happening for black and brown students in the education system. Muhammad tells us that there is great justice centered work but the problem is that, "They're doing it around a jacked-up system, you know? So what happens is that you have social justice not deeply intricate and threaded throughout the fabric of the United States or the district school system" (Muhammad).

The justification for the framework→ Muhammad did research on what the black folks were writing about, what they defined literacy as, what their goals for learning were, and so on. By doing this, she came up with the 4 layers of her framework. Muhammad discovered that the black folks gathered together to write in an effort to improve life for themselves as well as the entire society. In response to this, Gholdy states that, “When you improve the society within blackness, you can improve the society for all” (Muhammad).


                                    

4 layers: The layers should be treated equally!

Identity- Students need to see themselves within the curriculum, to relate to it. Identity is who you are and what you desire to be. It’s important to find yourself as well as interact with people who are different from you. Identity is important in the classroom because the literature that we often work with does not represent people of color well enough. Therefore, in the classroom we must work on identity with our students so that they feel valued and that they are an equal part of society. I had overall good experiences with being comfortable with my identity other than my family dynamic of coming from a divorced family and having a step mother/father. I sometimes felt like the odd one out when my peers told me it was weird. The many different family dynamics need to be normalized in the classroom because it certainly does not define someone.

Skills- An example of skills is the common core. In ELA as Gholdy states, it can be citing textual evidence. Tools that we need in order to further ourselves. Skills are embedded everywhere but it does not always have to be just about skills. We do not define someone based on a specific skill that they can or cannot do. I’ve struggled with math my entire life and I have always felt that I failed in this aspect of grade school. Gholdy says that it is not all about the skill and she is so right here. This is what teachers have been conditioned to do, drill the skill into the student to prepare them for the test. I had to learn how to do fractions so I could pass the test. What about applying it to a real-life situation? I never had the opportunity to do that in school.

Intellect- Knowledge! Applying your knowledge to something. Knowing your content and seeing it everywhere you go, making connections, seeking ways to create intellectual students in the classroom. Always being a model for your students so it will rub off onto them. I had a teacher in high school that I was immediately reminded of because she would always come in with a connection to the book we were reading and the topics we were discussing in class. Whether it was an experience she had herself or something she read, I could tell she knew her content.


                                          

Criticality-Helping students actively read, write and think. Teaching students to question what they hear and what they see. We do not want students to just take what they see and say “okay that is it”. We want them to question it, to think about it. We want our students to question what they see in terms of oppression and racism, to act on it, to speak on it. When I was listening to the podcast and this particular conversation about criticality, I thought about what is going on around the world right now with racism and the notion that being quiet is not the best option. People think because they are quiet that they are not racist and this has something that I have seen people talking about on social media.

Teaching ELA using Muhammad’s Framework

-As educators, we can teach our students criticality by showing them how to question what they see and what they are reading. We want students to have those conversations on oppression that they see around them. A good example of this in the classroom is taking time each week to discuss any current events that are happening and questioning them. Having those conversations with the students to help them learn how to speak on issues in the world and not simply take one answer as the right one without any discussion.

-Identity work in the classroom should be happening every day. It is important that at the beginning of the year, the teacher makes the classroom a welcoming environment where all identities are safe. The curriculum should reflect the students and their identities. Allowing the students at certain times to choose their own topic to write about is an adequate way of showing them that you as their teacher care who they are and what their hobbies/interests are.

                                      

-Creating an intellectual culture in the classroom is important. Allowing students to critique your ideas as Muhammad states in the interview. I want my students to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts on my teaching. I want my classroom walls to inspire them and I want us to feel like we are all learning together as a community.

-Students need skills in the classroom but what you then do with those skills is the important part. We should not just be testing students on the skills but having them put the skills to use using their knowledge. Perhaps after teaching students about a concept, we actually have them put it to use rather than take a test to see how much they can cram into their brain and remember so that they can then forget it after they take the test.

I’ll leave off with a quote that I took from the podcast that stuck with me as I listened:)

“This is humanizing work we are doing”- Gholdy Muhammad

                                                              

The Impacts of COVID-19

    While COVID-19 is the virus that is hitting hard everywhere right now, it looks different for Latinx and Indigenous people as compared to whites. The disparity is disturbing as Dr. Galvez speaks about in the article based on her experience with testing for the virus. Dr. Tricia Rose speaks on structural racism and provides explanation on what it is, what it stems from, and what it looks like. COVID-19 is an example of how structural racism creates injustice in the Latinx and Indigenous communities.


    I think it’s important to first lay out what Dr. Tricia Rose presents because this is important in understanding how it then affects the communities based on their race and class in terms of the virus. While delivering her speech, Dr. Rose provides us with the following definition of structural racism:

“The normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics—historical, cultural, institutional, and interpersonal—that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color” (Rose).

Where is structural racism seen the most? In the following five areas that Dr. Rose lists.

                        o Criminal Justice-black people have a higher rate of incarceration and longer sentences than whites
                        o Housing-lack of affordable housing, segregation
                        o Education- segregation
                        o Wealth/Jobs- high rate of unemployment
                        o Mass Media-race issues in the news

    Dr. Rose makes it clear that these are not the only problem areas but they are ones that show up the most involving structural racism. Included in her presentation is the story of Trayvon Martin and how structural racism is seen in that case.





How structural racism shapes COVID-19 outcomes for Latinx and Indigenous people

    How is the above information connected to the NY Times article and the Washington Post article? Well, structural racism determines how the virus affects the population in different ways. Specifically for the Latinx and Indigenous people, we learn that the outcomes are very poor compared to whites. The virus is impacting Latinos and African-Americans at a higher rate because of the broken system we live in. Let’s look at some of the ways in which this is seen as discussed by Dr. Galvez in the article.

The issue (NY Times)- Housing is an issue for these communities in terms of COVID-19 because they cannot separate from each other if “they live in close quarters, often multiple families to a house or with several farmworkers crowded into a barracks-style room, where social distancing and self-isolation are impossible” (Jordan and Oppel). If one gets sick, how are they supposed to quarantine and distance from others? It is impossible and therefore, the virus will continue to spread.

Why (Dr. Rose)- Housing is segregated to put the poorest in one area and “section” them off from the more wealthy people. The housing is unaffordable in the higher income areas and therefore, lower income families are forced to congregate in one area of town in housing that may have tight living quarters. They have no choice but to live there and this is how structural racism affects the ability to quarantine and social distance.

The issue (NY Times)- Jobs are another factor because according to the article, Latinos work in “low-paying service jobs that require them to work through the pandemic, interacting with the public. A large number also lack access to healthcare, which contributes to higher rates of diabetes and other conditions that can worsen infections” (Jordan and Oppel). Throughout this pandemic, those who are essential have not stopped working. They are at a higher risk of contracting the virus and then spreading it amongst their family. The lack of healthcare also makes it difficult to seek medical treatment therefore people are struggling through the virus and for many, it’s fatal.

Why (Dr. Rose)- Job disparities between people of color and whites has been an ongoing issue for years. This can also be related to the housing situation because money is tight and since housing is segregated, those who do not have a car have limited opportunity to travel outside of town to get a better job. This leaves the low-wage jobs open which are ones that likely stayed open during the pandemic.

Check out this video on the pandemic which includes information on town close by, Boston. Boston Medical Center doctors discuss the pandemic and its effects on communities of color.


    The virus is also hitting the Navajo Nation which has been hit by many epidemics over the years. I am linking this article here that goes into a bit more detail on the struggles of the Navajo Nation during this pandemic. Climate change has affected the Indian country and has killed their crops in which they rely on as the main food source. This means that they were lacking the nutrients needed to stay healthy and fight off viruses. The Navajo Nation also has a water shortage as the Washington Post article states and this can result in many difficulties such as cleanliness and hydration. Structural racism is evident in this community as well. The outcome of the pandemic has been traumatic for Latinx and Indigenous people.

Health Based on Wealth

A high percentage of babies DIE within their first year of life

There are 47 MILLION people without health coverage in America. 

The US is 30th in life expectancy 

yet.... 

We spend 2 TRILLION dollars per year on medical care 

 

What's wrong here? SO much is wrong. 

         The episode "In Sickness and in Wealth" dives into the issues of these statements and why America is failing in terms of health. In short, your wealth depicts your health. More money= better health and less money=poor health. More money= longer life expectancy and less money=shorter life expectancy. Economic stresses make people fall ill which means that those who do not worry about their economic status are less likely to become sick. Low rate Americans have twice the amount of disease as the affluent. The video states that social conditions make bad health and such examples of this are neighborhoods and that social determinants shape the health outcomes. The higher up on the ladder you are, the less likely you are to have health problems and your life expectancy is greater. Those at the bottom of the ladder struggle the most with health and their life expectancy is four years less than those at the top. In Kentucky, traveling to different districts gives a view of how health is different depending on the wealth of the location. Those in wealthy areas are healthy and feel good for their age. Those in low income areas suffer from health issues such as diabetes and some of their health issues may be from financial stress.

           In Flint Michigan we see how those on the lower part of the ladder are unfairly affected by the quality of water in their town. Their health is compromised because of the led and unfortunately, the residents do not have the money to up and move out of town. They are stuck there but not by their own fault, the state is failing them by not stepping up and helping solve the crisis. There are long term health issues associated with this crisis that those that live in other towns do not suffer from because of their economic status.

 

Capitalism creates injustice in many different ways. As we saw in the video, your wealth depicts your health which means that those who are unfairly treated due to capitalism suffer financially. Due to the fact that they suffer financially, they likely suffer by not having healthcare and poor health.

                                

Capitalism creates unequal health outcomes due to lack of healthcare and due to employees being overworked and underpaid. The company gets bigger and the employee puts in more hours but does not see a pay raise. The employer (capitalist) has more power than their employees which means that they call the rules and the employee must obey in order to keep the job. Vivek Chibber states, “But in fact, the worker will always be more desperate than the employer. She typically has very little savings to tide her over, is living hand to mouth…” (8). Due to capitalism, the worker is stuck obeying the unequal rules because the employer will quickly replace them if they refuse to obey.

Unfortunately for the employee, long work days are not good for their health. The financial, mental, and physical stress does damage to a body. This only increases when the company grows bigger and the employer wants their employees to work faster doing twice the amount of work because hiring more workers is more money out of their pocket.

As ELA educators, it is crucial that we are aware of the different types of situations that our students come from. During the pandemic, stress is high for the students and their families. The stress from parents/guardians may be affecting the student and as educators, we must how to support them through these trying times. 

It is also likely that parents are working still because they need to provide for the family which means that during the day when school is in session, the student does not have help at home like they would in the physical classroom.

Depending on the economic status of the family, students may not have all the resources they need which requires the teacher to be flexible. The student or someone in their family may become ill and it is important that the teacher understands that time off may be required in order to restore good health. Unprecedented times call for flexibility and understanding!

                  

 

Check out this website for ways to support students during the pandemic! Teaching tolerance has some great resources for educators.