{"id":453,"date":"2021-01-25T06:50:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T10:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dueeast.org\/?p=453"},"modified":"2021-01-25T06:50:35","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T10:50:35","slug":"recognizing-and-addressing-harmful-language-part-2-the-school-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dueeast.org\/recognizing-and-addressing-harmful-language-part-2-the-school-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Recognizing and Addressing Harmful Language Part 2: The School Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last year we released our first article– a collaboration between Due East Educational Equity Collaborative<\/a> and Sourcewell<\/a> called Recognizing and Addressing Harmful Language<\/a> — which helped us think through language choices connected to race, gender and relationships, social constructs and the white racial frame. This article focused on recognizing the impact of the words we choose. Our first collaboration was a start to recognizing common harmful phrases that we should stop using, as well as language swaps we should use instead. In the first article, some of the phrases and swaps were connected to a school setting, but many applied to broader societal concepts.\u00a0 In Recognizing and Addressing Harmful Language Part 2:\u00a0 The School Edition<\/em><\/strong>, we focus the discussion on harmful language that is commonly used in school settings, addressing the exchange of language and concepts among educators and with students and families.<\/p>\n Language is powerful! Schools are profoundly influential in the development of young people.\u00a0 The language we use in schools has the power to impact and shape whole generations.\u00a0 Think back to the last time a teacher complimented you or cut you down.\u00a0 It most likely created a feeling, a lasting impression, and it may have even shaped the way you view yourself.\u00a0 Educators hold influence, authority, and power. Our words carry tremendous weight; the power to lift up or tear down.<\/p>\n I remember as a 6th grader, overhearing my teacher proudly tell her colleague that she had arranged our student groupings so well. \u201cLook at this!\u00a0 I have 6 kids that passed this (advanced) test, and I have one of each of these six kids in every student pod.\u00a0 I wanted a little starch in each group and look at this!\u201d I had passed that test.\u00a0 Did this mean I was the \u201cstarch\u201d in my student pod?\u00a0 (Whatever that meant.) Did this mean I was a leader?\u00a0 That I was smart?\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t completely sure, but based on how my teacher was talking, I knew it was a good thing.\u00a0 It positively shaped the way I thought of myself moving forward, all because of one (most likely biased) advanced test I had taken.\u00a0 But imagine another classmate overhearing this same conversation and knowing they were not one of the 6 that passed the test.\u00a0 How would this child interpret this overheard conversation:\u00a0 I\u2019m not smart?\u00a0 I\u2019m not a leader? I\u2019m not\u2026. starchy?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The language and words we choose to use in schools not only have power but can show up in a variety of ways.\u00a0 Sometimes the language is direct and blatantly harmful.\u00a0 One student shared with us a time when he was asked to stand up in front of his middle school class.\u00a0 The teacher asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up and he answered, \u201cfinish high school and go to college.\u201d\u00a0 His teacher let out a loud laugh,\u00a0 \u201cCollege! Ha!\u00a0 You\u2019ll be lucky if you even graduate high school!\u201d<\/p>\n This is overtly harmful and damaging, but sometimes school language is more coded, more subtle, and has dangerous undertones.\u00a0 Like the child that is very \u201cspirited\/not living up to their potential\u201d or those \u201clow babies\u201d that are just breaking your heart; if only you could \u201ctake them home [with you] and raise them [yourself].\u201d<\/p>\n I knew my son was brilliant, creative, thoughtful, and outgoing. But I always dreaded parent\/teacher conferences. My son was tall for his age (6\u20192\u201d at twelve years old) and a Black male student in a school that had cemented biases against him. Every parent\/teacher conference was heavy with words and phrases that devalued his learning style or contributions to the classroom.\u00a0 I was told more times than I can remember that he was an \u201cunderachiever,\u201d a \u201cblurter,\u201d and a \u201croamer\u201d which I imagine meant he did not stay in his chair. I never left these conversations with an understanding of my son\u2019s strengths or contributions to the classroom, although I knew he had many. My son was always sullen at his parent teacher\/conferences and by middle school refused to attend with me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n This blog post is dedicated to recognizing, examining, and addressing harmful language in schools, both overt and covert. We interviewed educators to ask them the most common harmful language they hear. Based on feedback from educators across the education spectrum, we sorted common school-based harmful language into four categories: words that divide and stratify students, words that negatively label students, words that negatively label families, and words that reinforce dominant cultural norms<\/em>, addressing how and why these are problematic as well as ways to respond when you hear them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s safe to say we\u2019ve all heard or even said something along the lines of, \u201cmy low kids\u201d or \u201cmy high flyers\u201d while discussing different groups of students and their achievement.\u00a0 Do any of these academic labels look familiar to you?<\/p>\n Sometimes educators even get creative and color code, my \u201cred kids and my green kids,\u201d but we know what this really boils down to and so do our students.\u00a0 Educators also have language that names various categories of those kids<\/em> including \u201cEL Students,\u201d \u201cSpec. Ed Students,\u201d \u201capartment kids,\u201d \u201cthe east hallway\u201d to identify certain groups of students, usually ones with whom the teacher is struggling to connect. But how am I supposed to talk about my students if I cannot label and group them?<\/em> Many educators report these types of labels are an efficient, quick, and easy way to group and talk about students. But when we fall into these language habits, we are unconsciously revealing to ourselves, our colleagues, and our students the \u00a0levels of expectation we hold for student achievement. We are also revealing our limited ability to see students as whole and unique young people. Many of these divisive and stratifying labels are infused with bias and racism. Additionally, research shows that what teachers believe about student success has a direct impact on students\u2019 academic growth[1]<\/a>. And finally, ALL<\/em> students are gifted and talented in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How many times have you been in a conversation with other educators (or even in conversation with yourself in your head) and heard a certain student negatively labeled? Sometimes that label comes with a \u201clook\u201d or a \u201cnod\u201d between staff that indicates to colleagues a collective opinion about an individual student.\u00a0 How many times have you been reading or completing school-based student information forms (IEP\u2019s or discipline referrals for example) and seen students negatively labeled? Students are routinely labeled for their personality like \u201cshe is bossy,\u201d labeled for their cognitive style or academic progress like \u201che is a struggling learner,\u201d or labeled for perceived behaviors like \u201cshe is disrespectful.\u201d Negatively labeling our students positions educators as victims, righteous, or judgmental and hinders deep and effective relationships with our students. Students are very aware of the labels we use and either internalize those labels (adding to negative self-perception) or instinctually reject the labels and<\/em> the adults who apply them– often leading to a disconnection from school. Some common negative labels and words placed on students include:<\/p>\n Similar to words that divide and stratify students, words that negatively label individual students are deeply hurtful and reflective of our levels of expectation for student achievement. These words also reveal our limited ability to see students as whole and unique young people and are infused with bias and racism.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI just wish I could take them all home and raise them myself.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ve heard this phrase in more than one school, in more than one district, and in more than one state. And while the intentions behind this phrase may<\/em> be good, the impact is harmful.\u00a0 What do we really mean when we say things like this?\u00a0 That our families are better?\u00a0 Healthier?\u00a0 Preferred?\u00a0 How many of these phrases sound familiar?<\/p>\n What about when the label \u201cbroken home\u201d is assigned to a single parent raising their children?\u00a0 Or when the label \u201cchaotic home\u201d is given to the multigenerational family unit?\u00a0 What makes us think that the family or culture to which our students belong is less than<\/em>, or inferior to something we could offer? Or to their time at school?<\/p>\n We need to be self-reflective about what we mean and the impact we have when we use these phrases.\u00a0 Sure, there are circumstances when extra support and a trauma-informed lens is needed; addiction, abuse, homelessness are all real.\u00a0 But it is not our role nor right to be in judgement, viewing students or their families and caregivers as damaged beyond repair. These judgements are also often infused with bias, classism, and racism. No, these labels are not caring. Caring is fulfilling our responsibility to educate students in collaboration with their families\u2014the most important people in their lives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Schools are also infused with language that reinforces and prioritizes dominant cultural norms. This language de-values the differences in experiences, goals, values, and behaviors that our students bring with them to their learning and prioritizes compliance with established dominant norms. By reinforcing dominant cultural norms and assumptions, we maintain existing power and privilege stratifications. These normative references are almost always connected to whiteness and power. When we reinforce dominant cultural norms we reinforce racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, xenophobia\u2014all the oppressive ideologies. Some of the language we use in schools that contributes to reinforcing dominant cultural norms include:<\/p>\n Recognize and de-center whiteness or any other dominant cultural norm as the only way of operating.\u00a0 Eliminate any qualifiers that indicate there is an \u201cideal,\u201d \u201cpreferred,\u201d or \u201cright\u201d way to learn and be.\u00a0 Look for ways to be inclusive of multiple ways of being. For example, do we want our students to be \u201ccollege- and career-ready\u201d? Or are we assisting them with tapping into and leveraging their passions, power, and purpose? Are we encouraging students to recognize gifts in each other and build community or are they just climbing the college- and career-ready ladder? Additionally, using the label \u201cachievement gap\u201d fails to recognize how layered and complex that concept is.\u00a0 An opportunity<\/em> gap or an access<\/em> gap is a much more accurate reflection of the disparities we see, rather than holding comparative measures of academic achievement in comparison to one group of students (usually white) or to one biased\/racist standardized test.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What do we really mean when we say these things as educators?\u00a0 What is the intention behind these words?\u00a0 What does this reveal about our true beliefs connected to students\u2019 cognitive levels, creativity, passions, morality, humanity?<\/p>\n Grouping and labeling students does not take into consideration students as individuals, or the complexity of school systems.\u00a0 Traditional school structures (including curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices) were designed for a narrow purpose and a narrow group of students, often perpetuating biased and racist assumptions and practices.\u00a0 When we label students, we are not acknowledging the biases that we bring as teachers, influencing the ways we instruct and interact with students.\u00a0 When we label students, we are not acknowledging the multitude of gifts and talents each child brings with them each day that may or may not match up with our skills and abilities as educators.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Educators committed to expanding educational equity and the success and belonging of all students must break solidarity when we find ourselves in toxic school cultures that are engaging in obvious and blatant harmful language towards children or families. We must recognize and uncover the potentially subconscious bias or racism that is connected to phrases that are commonplace at staff meetings, with colleagues, in our classroom, and even within our own thoughts. Now that we\u2019ve identified words that divide and stratify students, words that negatively label students, words that negatively label families, and words that reinforce dominant cultural norms<\/em>, it is your responsibility to shift the language, expectations and culture within your sphere of influence\u2014including your own thinking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nA story\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n
Another story\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n
Words that divide and stratify students<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Who gets to determine the criteria for these labels?\u00a0 What biases are present in stratifying students? How does grouping our students reinforce racism and inequity? Are we identifying the gifts of all of our students? <\/em><\/h5>\n
Words that negatively label individual students <\/strong><\/h4>\n
personality, cognitive and behavioral labels <\/em><\/h5>\n
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What are the criteria for these types of labels?\u00a0 What biases are present when labeling individual students? How does labeling our students reinforce racism and inequity? Are we valuing the voice and gifts of our students? <\/em><\/h5>\n
Words that negatively impact families<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Whose criteria are we using when we judge families and communities?\u00a0 What biases are present in these labels? How does judging students\u2019 families and communities contribute to racism and inequity?<\/em><\/h5>\n
Words that reinforce dominant cultural norms<\/strong><\/h4>\n
power and privilege inequities<\/em><\/h5>\n
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What criteria are we using when we connect to cultural norms?\u00a0 What biases are present in these cultural norms? How do dominant cultural norms contribute to racism and inequity?<\/em><\/h5>\n
Reframing and Reforming<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Solutions and Approaches <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Reflection Questions:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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