Each week, the White Privilege Conference and the Matrix Center for the Advancement of Social Equity and Inclusion, housed at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS), hosts a half hour radio show called Intersections Radio that features an interview with a different author, scholar, and/or speaker.
Glenn Eric Singleton is founder and president of Pacific Educational Group, Inc. In 1992, he created PEG to more closely support families in their transitions within and between K-12 and higher education. His company later grew into a vehicle for addressing systemic issues of educational inequity by providing guidance to schools and districts on meeting the needs of underserved students of color. In 1995, Singleton developed Beyond Diversity, a widely recognized seminar aimed at helping educators identify and examine the powerful intersection of race and schooling. Today, participants around the world use Singleton's Courageous Conversation Agreements, Conditions, and Compass, introduced to them in Beyond Diversity, as they strive to usher in culturally proficient curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Intersections Radio is hosted by Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., founder of the White Privilege Conference (WPC), which is held annually in cities across the United States; and Daryl Miller, who works with the WPC and other programs of the Matrix Center. The WPC is an award-winning national diversity conference that serves as a yearly opportunity to examine and explore difficult issues related to white privilege, white supremacy, and oppression, and works to dismantle systems of power, prejudice, and inequality. College students from around the country participate in the conference for academic credit.
Comments
Educational Inequality
My mother is student teaching this semester, and she has participated in a few trainings with her mentor teacher. At the most recent one, all participants were provided a handout with high school dropout rates for students of various racial backgrounds. She told me that the other teachers were all shocked to see that dropout rate for Mexican- and African-American students were the highest, nearly doubling white student dropout rates. In fact, the only racial group with a lower dropout rate than white students was for Asian-American students. She found it hilarious that other teachers were so shocked to see these results. She and I know that income and reading levels dramatically affect students' success; race, income, and reading level are all very closely connected, so it stands to reason that dropout rates for non-white students will be higher if we do not recognize the problem. If we can recognize the problem, we can begin determining a solution for the problem.
She also told me that the ESL teacher went to a training with the Colorado Department of Education, where she was told that if she does not see Mexican-American students before 3rd grade, the language barrier would be too great, and they were not worth educating. I was appalled to hear that this came from our state's Department of Education! Not only that, but what an awful, pessimistic attitude for educators to have! With an attitude like that, the students may never become properly educated, but it will be due to their teachers' unwillingness to work with them. I had the luxury of growing up in Italy, and I knew a lot of American children who went to Italian schools. They learned Italian and came out successfully. If we spend time educating students, and if we believe that all students are capable of learning, and all students deserve a quality education, I believe the majority of students will be successful in school.