Defining Equity

In this episode, we explore a dynamic definition of equity, and our discussion springboards from a collage of quotes from our colleagues. Join us as we build off our first episode about the artform of teaching and use an artful lens to get into the nitty-gritty of racial equity. The paradigm is shifting, balance is coming, and shame wants to stop us from the full embrace. We all have a unique part to play in dismantling white body supremacy in our society, and enter into the discussion of what that can look like for us as educators.

Notes and Highlights

01:57-Clip from a colleague: Elias-“I think equity looks like adults out of the way at its best…student leaders making decisions around what their school can be for them…equity work at its core, when it’s really working, it’s responsive to what students are, and students are having that self determination around what direction they want things to go.”

03:20 link to artform of teaching episode

03:46- Jesse references knowledge of self is the 5th element of Hip Hop- self actualization.

04:35- Desmond: “The system incentivizes you to not be engaged, to try and figure out what’s the least amount of work I can do to get the top result versus how do I learn, how do I better myself and gain skills and confidence.”

05:48 Jesse - “One of our challenges as educators is to model bringing our genius in the classroom.”

06:16 Clip from a colleague- Daniel: “We make adjustments to our approach and curriculum …. Striving for equality…When it’s working well students are feeling empowered and energized and getting what they need.”

07:50- link to Ungrading episode coming soon

07:55 what is racial equity?

08:20- Jesse- “for equity to happen we need to approach teaching from a vantage point of the knowledge of white supremacy is happening and we’re steeped in it.”

08:30 Jesse and Des- explore the metaphor- guitar string needs tension to create beautiful music. We are invited to lean into the tension of creating equitable systems.

09:23 Invite teachers and students to understand systems. Desmond “we need to start recognizing and seeing as much of the system as we can.” Improving relationships between the parts of the system.

10:00- Exploring how we isolate ourselves as teachers. Our culture's emphasis on independence.

12:50- how can we serve the whole?

13:20- “doing what’s best for you and just thinking about the next class.” What percentage of the time are you in this mindset?

14:25- Jesse- self-actualizing isn’t in our justice b description but is the bedrock of teaching. link to how to self actualize

14:55 Des’s idea- teach who you are ————>teach who you want to be

16:35- Two BARS pause- guided meditation

18:43- Clip from a colleague: Ken- about equity being radical acceptance

20:20- Jesse- each of us has an invitation and part to play in healing the inequities

20:45 Des- radical acceptance- accepting each other at the core of who we are.

21:46- Desmond- radical acceptance is maintaining the human-to-human relationship. active listening

22:49 Jesse- part of the risk is to slow down and really listen- see ourselves, see our students, see our colleagues.

25:50- Desmond- “if you're used to going a 100mph and someone is asking you to stop. That’s some tension coming to that stop.”

26- Jesse- taking two BARS to take a pause to connect with the breath. Link to dynamic mindfulness training out of Oakland.

29:24- Desmond "...It (emotional intelligence) doesn’t help us navigate the old paradigm. Paradigms are shifting- we are moving from productivity at all costs to a balance. Design for productivity vs Design for resilience."

31:25-Desmond- the radical acceptance and listening needs to be grounded in the new paradigm of a design for resilience. “If the system and the paradigm is still about okay, how we can be better to fix our problem quickly- then it doesn’t change. If it's about- okay come talk and share your experience so we can all collectively adjust to this paradigm, adjust our views and get a better understanding that we are all valuing and wanting the same core things as far as being able to live and enjoy life. But yet the way that we’ve designed the systems society makes that difficult for some people and easier for others.”

32:25-Jesse- Part of the New Paradigm is prioritizing slowing down, community connection, and emotional intelligence.

32:40- Desmond- “As things start to fall and change, and rearrange. I think racial inequities and all kinds of inequities just keep going on because we’ve set it up to where that folks with the means, the resources, the power, and the status then move up the societal hierarchy. They make decisions that aren’t actually serving the masses that create the hierarchy. It serves their position so they can maintain and hoard. All the efforts desist because we want to be like them.”

33:17- Clip from a colleague: Sam Thompson- “For me equity is about being impartial, giving people an opportunity to have a fair shake. A lot of times we focus on equality when what we really need is equity. Equity is being fair. That's what we want the most as people is fairness... I run a basketball camp in the summer. If I wanted to practice equality I would give everyone size 13 shoes. Everybody gets the exact same thing. But being equitable I ask all the players- what size shoe do you wear so you can get exactly what you need. That's what equity is, meeting people where they’re at, being fair, and giving people exactly what they need to be able to succeed.”

34:30 Desmond- “ Fairness in this context is seeing what people need... To call it out as we should- the system is designed to meet the needs of white male bodies. So it's already asking them what they need and want. It's not asking what Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks, LBGTQ+, it's not asking what they want or need. Then these groups force a conversation, cause we need stuff like any other human... How do we then create the ability within those who have the resources to have the capacity... to be able to truly hear it and connect.

36:20- Jesse- “Another analogy is that you need the correct medicine for your symptom. You don’t need Tylenol for everything. What do you need for your genius to awaken? Not everyone needs the same assignment....”

37:00 min- Jesse- “All our work is to dismantle the white body supremacy so everyone is getting their needs met.” Jesse’s following words about white folks using the victim card here are influenced by the quote and article - “If you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”

37:50- Jesse- “I have a part to play in this work- I can’t lean on my friends and colleagues of color to do the work and tell me what's up and give me that stamp of approval that I’m one of the good ones. I have my work to do and my part to play...”

38:13- Jesse- “I need to create a platform so all voices can get heard... and integrated... We’re forming a different system...Trying to be a white man isn’t what everyone’s goal is. We are taking down this whole hierarchy ideally. And that comes back to not just teaching who you are but teaching who you want to be. Teaching as a way of that I’m one of many voices in this room that has skills, stories, and knowledge to share.”

38:55- Desmond- “Flipping it to- its work to do, and hence the name of the podcast- Worth Work. This work restores the perception of worth within yourself. I say perception because that's how we determine if we’re a good person or not... When perceptions keep us in shame spirals that's where the problem occurs.”

39:46 Desmond- “To me racism at its core is a shame system. If I can get people who don’t look like me, darker-skinned people, to inherently hate themselves. And look up to what I want and what I have then I can have control and power over them. That is the foundation of the country.”

40:45- Desmond- “Being uncomfortable when you're used to having a life of comfort- is scary. In my Grandmother's Hands, there is this idea of White Fragility. Link to my Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menekem Link to White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. Podcast with both Resmaa and Robin- Onbeing

43- Desmond- Exploring the depth of privilege, resilience, and race. “Needs are dynamic.”

44:45- Desmond- “We are all conditioned to learn in a certain way. I call it 'pretend learning.' If you not engaging fully in the content and you’re getting an A... if you're not making mistakes if you're not pushing yourself to that place where you’re not understanding it, and pushing yourself. Then all you’re doing is playing school, and not actually challenging yourself to grow. That what the whole system does.”

Jesse- “That's what we need to do as Educators is have a culture of growth as well. Not just I’ve taught this curriculum for this many years, take a test and show me you have the knowledge too.

47:37- Desmond's definition of equity is meeting students' needs, not their wants. Example- of deepening reasoning. “What do you want to do with your success?”

48:16- Jesse references RZA’s Tao of Wu book. Pillar of Wisdom- The Call. Part of educating is unlearning, and understanding why we were taught what we were taught in the first place.

49:20- Desmond- “You get that 4.0, and prove to yourself that I’m the type of person that values my education. Now what?... What do I want to do next?”

49:55- Jesse- “The question of what is equity? takes us back to the layers of what it means to be human. Those questions put us on this quest of what matters in life... How do I live from my heart?... and stay aligned with it.”

50:50- Desmond- “The problem with words is that they don’t keep going. Have a dynamic definition of equity means that you evolve... It's good to remind ourselves that at one point equity was equal, now it's realizing the needs of each of us and taking the time necessary to figure that out..... and our students get better at that... and thinking long-term... Equity is understanding that we all have worth and working for that. ”

52:15- Keywords and phrases Freestyle edition- Keywords: equity, beyond compliance education, white body supremacy, tension for music, get in your bag, teach who you want to be.”