“We are all born with equal opportunity to be unequal.”—Dan Gable
There is so much jargon in education and not nearly enough education. I am increasingly disturbed by the efforts to address inequity by focusing on equal outcomes rather than equal opportunity. I often feel I am being told to remove the obstacles rather than to provide the skills necessary to overcome them. I perceive an underlying tone that under-represented students “can’t, so….” I don’t see this in my students. I see them as capable but under-prepared. I often see the potential that others have denied them. Our greatest challenge as educators is not in providing students with a path to a degree. Rather, our opportunity is to provide students with a path to an education.
I am hearing phrases like “equity grading” and “ungrading.” I hear “race” in the conversations about “racial bias.” By this I mean, I am made to feel racist because I am a white male professor. Because I am white I have to change my teaching (and grading) for my non-white students. I am not to have racial bias, but I am to have different expectations on the basis of race. I am sorry, if this offends, but I believe my students are all capable of succeeding no matter what their race or socio-economic background. I will not lower my standards because of race. I will do my absolute best to motivate my students and help them find the potential within themselves. I will not give them excuses (or allow them to hear the excuses they are being fed by others). I will not change my grading to help them “succeed.” Instead, I will change my teaching.
I see education like swimming lessons. One can be given a certificate of completion (whether they learn to swim or not); one can be pushed into the water to sink or swim; or one can be joined in the water by the instructor who will let the student struggle (without drowning) and help them to swim.
Part of learning is struggling. Everyone’s struggle is different. Equity in education is to recognize this and guide the student through the struggle. It is not to remove the struggle.
Education is to bring the student to the realization that they can. It is not simply to confer a degree. As an educator, my greatest reward is in seeing a student (regardless of race) recognize a potential that they could not see when they entered college. It is humbling when a former student later thanks you for helping them recognize their potential. No student has ever thanked me for making it “easier” for them to get a degree.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!