12/1/2020 Teachers, We Cannot Go Back to the Way Things Were - Education Week

OPINION

Teachers, We Cannot Go Back to the Way Things Were

Schools were failing students even before the pandemic
By Bettina L. Love
April 29, 2020

The impossible is becoming possible. As we all stand in the

midst of a world crisis, those of us who can dream must
dream. And after we dream, we must demand and act. I want
to acknowledge my privilege from the onset of this essay. I
am a tenured college professor with access to the internet,
university resources, and a reliable income.

But I am not writing about dreaming oblivious to the crisis we

are living in. As a Black woman, I am keenly aware of how
this virus is disproportionately killing Black people because of
environmental racism, medical and housing discrimination, and
a racist educational school system that leads to low-wage jobs
for Black and Brown Americans, which is why Black people are
a large majority of the essential workers in this crisis and
those dying on the front lines. In the face of that racism and
resistance, it may seem pointless, but this is the perfect time
to radically dream.

We must radically dream because before COVID-19 closed our schools and dismantled our way of life,
schools were failing not only children of color but all children. High-stakes testing, large class sizes, and
the disproportionate expulsion and suspension of Black and Brown students were the norm. Teachers had
low expectations of Black and Brown children and high burnout. School shootings were disturbingly
common. Schools lacked both adequate funding and inclusive classrooms for students with disabilities.
Segregation and corporal punishment persisted. There was a scarcity of educators of color. There were
more police in schools than counselors, and racism permeated every inch of our nation’s school system.

We all knew it was happening, but it felt too big to take down, too big to rescue. "We now have the
This pitiful existence of the education system has become normalized to the point opportunity not to
that many teachers are broken, fighting to just survive, and working to protect just reimagine
children from the very system that is intended to uplift them. This situation is schooling or try to
what we have been given, but that does not mean it is what we have to take. reform injustice
but to start over."
We cannot go back. We now have the opportunity not to just reimagine schooling
or try to reform injustice but to start over. Starting over is hard but not impossible; we now have a
skeleton of a playbook. It starts with creativity, teacher-student relationships, and teacher autonomy.

When schools reopen, they could be spaces of justice, high expectations, creativity, and processing the
collective trauma of COVID-19. Some school leaders are stepping up. In my home state of Georgia, the
state’s school superintendent issued a letter to teachers and parents calling for “compassion over
compliance” as we all try to reach students during a pandemic. In mid-April, Atlanta’s superintendent
moved the district to a four-day teaching schedule. Teachers are to use Fridays for professional
development and to be available to students who are behind. We need that same energy, understanding,
and creativity from our school leaders when schools reopen.

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12/1/2020 Teachers, We Cannot Go Back to the Way Things Were - Education Week

More From This Author:

"An Essay for Teachers Who Understand Racism Is Real"
"White Teachers Need Anti-Racist Therapy
"How Schools Are 'Spirit Murdering' Black and Brown Students"
"Dear White Teachers: You Can't Love Your Black Students If You Don't Know Them"
"'Grit Is in Our DNA': Why Teaching Grit Is Inherently Anti-Black"

As I watch my wife—a 4th grade teacher—teach and my kids—two 4th graders—learn during this crisis, I
see the possibilities for an education system now forced to trust teachers, give students autonomy, and
rely on the ingenuity of parents. I also see the loss of schools as places of refuge, safety, family services,
and invaluable social interactions.

My social-media timeline is filled with stories from teachers around the country finding innovative ways to
reach their students. School districts are giving out laptops and books to students–items that were never
allowed to leave the building before. Companies are offering free internet to families. Communities are
rallying together to support families in need. Schools are relying on different indicators of achievement
other than standardized testing to measure improvement, such as parent engagement, teacher-outreach
levels, and interactive lessons. Teachers are making the social-emotional learning of their students their
top priority. Students are having more time for physical activity and art. And they are researching and
learning about things they feel passionate about but never had time to explore before.

The virus has made this new system the expectation of teachers, parents, and school districts. Asking
teachers to be creative, react to the needs of students and families with resources backed by the district,
and provide instruction driven by a teacher’s pedagogy rather than a test is our new norm. However, this
new normal will be short-lived if we do not fight to keep it when we return to school.

Educational testing companies stand ready to profit from this MORE OPINION
crisis. They will introduce tests to measure gaps in learning
after school closures. They will market tests to close these
gaps, even though those tests have never closed the so-called
achievement gap before. Schools will insist on surveilling
teachers to make sure they are getting students back on track
instead of trusting teachers and their skill sets. Education
technology companies will try to convince school districts that
moving an entire nation’s educational system online was
beneficial and can continue in some variation. Follow Opinion here.

Schools will expect parents to go back to homework duty and be less involved. The creativity of teachers
and the trusting of students will be replaced with standardized testing, rote learning over critical thinking,
and punitive school policies.

Our education system is allergic to change and comfortable with oppression, so if the system is not
physically and theoretically pushed to stay in the direction of progress, it will revert back to its obsolete
purpose.

We cannot go back. We must return to teaching in schools with a deeper understanding of how racism
and capitalism limited our reach in offering all students the resources and instruction they needed and
deserved before and after schools closed. This is more important than ever as COVID-19 exacerbates the
educational opportunity gap.

The alternative ways educators are learning to exist in our new world cannot be lost when we reopen our
society because that world only worked for some and was consumed by racism. What was said to be
impossible in education is now here, and we must act for it to stay our reality.

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