The Other Elephant in the (Class)room

Purposeful, intentional racial bias poses an obvious threat to the possibility of real equity in schools. In this volume, antiracist educators explore an equally troubling, but insufficiently explored threat: the racism upheld by schools and districts that claim an antiracist commitment. These institutions perpetuate disparities by enacting that commitment through surface-level and soft diversity and inclusion goals and popular initiatives that are more equity optics than antiracism. This book asks: How is racism perpetuated through actions, programs, practices, and initiatives that might appear to be inclusion-oriented or “progressive,” but never quite get around to eliminating racism? How do these efforts pose as racial equity while protecting systems of advantage and disadvantage—creating a sort of equity inertia? The book then asks: What would antiracism look like if we enacted a deeper antiracist approach? What is a truer vision for racial equity? Diverse authors apply these questions to an equally diverse assortment of programs and practices, such as trauma-informed care, social–emotional learning, restorative practices, anti-bias work in early childhood education, Montessori schooling, “inclusive” social studies curricula, and toxic positivity and “niceness” as stand-ins for racial equity.

Book Features:

• Illustrates how K–12 educators can adopt more authentically justice-oriented approaches to antiracism.
• Draws on existing theoretical frameworks such as critical race theory, critical whiteness studies, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and equity literacy.
• Examines concepts such as white fragility, racial battle fatigue, white privilege, and interest convergence.
• Includes a range of authors, from racial justice scholars to classroom teachers.
• Offers an engaging and accessible format that combines narrative with theoretical grounding, bridging critical analysis to visions for moving forward.

Cheryl E. Matias is a full professor in the School of Leadership and Educational Sciences at the University of San Diego. Paul C. Gorski is the founder of the Equity Literacy Institute and author of Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap, Second Edition.

“In this volume, Matias, Gorski, and their contributors take to task the intellectual alibi of conservatism in education. Not only is liberal bourgeois white ideology not the solution to our racial strife, but it is part of the problem. Eschewing analysis of white supremacy, liberal whiteness continues its missionary zeal to alleviate suffering while being an agent of it. The Other Elephant in the (Class)room challenges liberal white educators to question our deeply held beliefs in progress and freedom rooted in individual, incremental improvements. It is time for another vision of education worth the name.”
—Zeus Leonardo, author, Race Frameworks: A Multidimensional Theory of Racism and Education

“The Other Elephant in the (Class)room is the book white liberals need. Matias and Gorski challenge readers to carefully scrutinize the difference between a commitment to equity and one to equality, and to actively confront white supremacy. Savor each essay; dissect and embrace the outpouring of knowledge that guides the reader toward honest transformation and active social change.”
—Eddie Moore, Jr., founder and executive director, The Privilege Institute

“Editors Matias and Gorski, along with the contributors in this volume, make it clear: K–12 education must address the insidiousness of racism. The challenge is ensuring these efforts go beyond performative and superficial attempts and target racism at its institutional and structural core. This powerful, timely text provides a bird's-eye view of how liberal approaches to addressing racism reinforce and fail to disrupt whiteness, and offers a way forward to more authentically transformative and just practice. This book is a must-read for educators who want to understand how whiteness can undermine racial remedy, especially among those well intentioned who are most excited to undertake racial justice work. At a time when addressing racism is under attack in our nation’s schools, those of us committed to this work cannot afford to miss the mark.”
—Keffrelyn D. Brown, professor, The University of Texas at Austin and author, After the “At-Risk” Label: Reorienting Educational Policy and Practice

Contents

Introduction Cheryl E. Matias and Paul C. Gorski  1

Part I: White Liberalism and the Illusion of Transformative Intent

1.  “Peel It Like an Onion”: A Proactive Challenge to White Liberalism Inside a Progressive Teachers Union  21
Theresa Montaño and Betty Forrester
Introduction  21
White Liberalism: Inside the Onion  22
“It Can’t Just Be About Racial Justice”  23
White Liberalism, Racial Microaggressions, and Racial Battle Fatigue  24
Putting Race at the Center  24
Racial Justice Is Social Justice Work  25
You Don’t See Me: Womxn of Color Are Union Leaders!  27
Sustaining Our Spirits With Action From White Liberalism to Racial Justice  29

2.  The End of Altruism: Moving From White Hero Discourse to Racial Justice Praxis  32
J.P.B. Gerald
Introduction  32
Altruism and Conceptualizations of White Heroism  33
Altruism as Obstacle to Racial Justice  34
From Altruism to Racial Justice Praxis  35
Conclusion  39

3.  Exposing the Other Elephant: White Liberal Discourses and the (Re)Production of Racism in K–12 Education  41
Lindsay Lyons and Cherie Bridges Patrick
Introduction  41
From Deficit Narratives to Systemic Change  42
How We Interpret White Liberalism  43
White Liberalism in Action  44
Disproportionate Discipline and School Leadership  45
Disproportionate Discipline Beyond Schools  46
Moving Toward Racial Justice  48

4.  How Toxic Positivity Prevents Equity for ESOL Students: Getting Uncomfortable for the Sake of Equity  51
Elisabeth Chan, Lavette Coney, and Heidi Faust
Introduction  51
Language, Race, and ESOL  52
Understanding Toxic Positivity and ELs  52
Scenarios  54
Conclusion  56

Part II: White Liberalism in Diversity, Equity, Inclusiveness, and Belonging Efforts

5.  Colorblindness, White Paternalism, and the Limits of School Desegregation and Diversity Reform  61
Anna Kushner
Colorblindness  63
White Paternalism  65
Conclusion  68

6.  Deploying White Liberal Antiracism to Avoid Accountability: Racial Appropriation in Educational Leadership  71
Tracey A. Benson
The Initial Training: Planting the Seeds of Discomfort  73
Collective Derailment: The Characters of White “Liberal” Fragility  75
Taking Responsibility: My Three Fundamental Oversights  79
A Bitter End: Weaponizing White Fragility and Enacting White Rage  81
A Way Forward: Changing the Paradigm  84
Truth and Reconciliation  87

7.  “We Aren’t Going There Today!”: Unpacking and Challenging White Liberalism, Racial Silence, and What Kids Are “Ready” for in the Early Childhood Classroom  89
Andréa C. Minkoff and Katherine Wood
White Liberalism, White Fragility, and Racial Silence  91
White Liberal Racial Silencing in the Early Childhood Classroom  92
Challenging White Liberalism, Racial Silence, and What Kids Are “Ready” for in the Early Childhood Classroom  94

Part III: White Liberalism in Curriculum and Instruction

8.  White Teachers’ Black Historical Consciousness: Can We Teach Black History?  101
Brianne Pitts, Daniel Tulino, and Greg Simmons
Can “Good” White Liberals Teach Black History?  101
Purpose and Definitions  102
Examples in Practice  104
From BHM to BHC  105
Enacting the BHC Framework  106
Conclusion  109

9.  Overpromising and Underdelivering: White Liberal Narratives in Arts Education  111
Alina Campana and Amelia M. Kraehe
A Vignette  113
The “Arts Teach Social Emotional Skills” Narrative  114
“The Arts Bridge Differences” Narrative  115
Recommendations  117

10.  White Liberalism in the U.S. History Curriculum: Issues of Diversity and Accountability  121
Chris Seeger and Maria Gabriela Paz
Introduction  121
The Diversity Problem  122
Individual Versus Group Representation  123
The Privilege of Individuality  125
Avoiding Accountability  126
Teaching U.S. History Through a Racial Justice Lens  127

Part IV: White Liberalism in Popular Programs and Initiatives

11.  Liberalism to Liberation: Reimagining Montessori Education  133
Daisy Han and Katie Kitchens
Introduction  133
Dr. Maria Montessori: The Hero, Legend, and Racist  134
Demystifying the Deity  135
The White Liberal Montessori Practice  136
What Is Liberation?  140
Conclusion  144

12.  White Liberalism, Racism, and Restorative Justice in Schools  146
Crystena Parker-Shandal
How RJE Reproduces Racism Through White Liberal Ideologies  147
Principles to Guide Antiracist RJE  150
Moving Forward With Authentic Efforts for Racial Justice Through Restorative Justice  153

13.  Seeing Systems: The Case for Systemically Trauma-Informed Practice Instead of White Saviorism  156
Debi Khasnabis, Simona Goldin, and Addison Duane
Introduction  156
Understanding Systems and Trauma-Informed Practice  157
White Liberalism and Trauma-Informed Practice  158
From Savior to SysTIP  163
Conclusion  166

14.  Interrupting the White Liberalism of Social Emotional Learning  169
Jennifer C. Dauphinais and Jenna Kamrass Morvay
Introduction  169
Letters  171
Recommendations  177
Conclusion  179

15.  White Liberalism, Positive Behavior Supports, and Black, Indigenous Students of Color: “We’re Teaching Them to Do School”  180
Jeanne Connelly
Whiteness and White Liberalism in Schools  181
Case Study: Culturally Responsive Practices and Positive Behavior Supports  182
Tensions Between PBIS and Culturally Responsive Practices (CRPS)  183
Transformative Practices: BISOC  186
Transformative Opportunities in Disability Critical Race Theory  187
Conclusion  189

Notes  191

Index  192

About the Editors and Contributors  199