Equitable Mindsets, Empowering Pedagogies, and Love: Learning from a Master Teacher

Abstract

Perspectives and Purpose: As educators, we must take responsibility for “the roles we play in sustaining an array of social and educational inequities…in racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse P–12 schools” (AERA 2021, Annual Meeting Theme). The shameful legacy of racism, xenophobia, ethnic cleansing and genocide of people of color in the U.S. tells us that we have much work to do as we witness the continued, state-sanctioned murder of black people by the police, the ongoing trickery of the federal government as they dishonor treaties with Native Americans and fraudulently claim their lands, and the recent ICE ruling that threatened to oust one million international students from the country if they dared to take only online courses during a COVID pandemic crisis in the US. Education is supposed to be a vehicle of enlightenment and change, and teachers are supposed to be agents of change, and yet we seem to have failed miserably to nurture young people who grow into adults who embrace diversity, resist racism, advocate for justice and truly love each person as if she were their sister. At the same time, there are always teachers who are consistently successful at achieving these critical aims, teachers who should be highlighted and studied, so we can learn from them what truly works to equalize educational opportunities and interrupt the tide of poor outcomes for racially, culturally and linguistically diverse students. The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyze and theorize the practice of such a master teacher, who successfully supports the growth and achievement of immigrant youth who are newcomers and also beginning English learners. In Rebecca’s class, students shine, learn to tell their story, work together, take action and make a difference in their communities, students who typically experience “marginalization, denigration, segregation, and denial of competence” (Liu & Ball, 2019, p. 71), and are perceived as deficient and unworthy. Modes of Inquiry and Data Sources: Data were collected through several dialogic interviews with Rebecca that blurred researcher-participant boundaries and disrupted subject-object dichotomies. This mode of inquiry enabled us to collectively build a narrative of Rebecca’s practice through conversational inquiry, reflexive introspection, and autoethnographic story telling. Other data sources included student artifacts, and curriculum plans/materials which revealed Rebecca’s pedagogical decision-making. Conclusions and Scholarly Significance: The data reveal how a skillful teacher taps into immigrant youths’ deep awareness of policies that threaten their lives and their possible futures, and activates their prior knowledge to scaffold new understandings. By engaging students in meaningful curriculum around issues relevant to them and encouraging them to find their voice, Rebecca enables her students to achieve state-sanctioned benchmarks, such as strong performance on standardized assessments, by supporting them to exercise their agency for the purpose of social action. Rebecca is a master teacher from whom we can learn much about teaching for justice and equity; there is much too that her students can share with us about how teachers can/do make a difference in the lives of immigrant and minoritized youth.