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MCC Daily Tribune

TCC: Kudos for Completing the Equity Literacy Institute's Mini-Courses

Last year, the Teaching and Creativity Center purchased a license for faculty and staff to participate in two mini-courses offered by the Equity Literacy Institute: “Racial Equity and Education: Informing Ourselves, Transforming Our Schools” (~21 hours of content) and “Ditching Deficit Ideology: The First Step Toward Cultivating an Equity Commitment” (~4 hours of content).

Congratulations to the following faculty and staff for completing the courses! (If you haven't yet completed the courses, you still have the full year to do so)

  • Renee Battle
  • Maria Brandt
  • Meghan Glaser
  • Patricia Kress
  • Meryl Pentz
  • Jodell Raymond
  • Mark Ricci
  • Candy Shaffer
  • Ahchaka Stanley
  • Nicholas Wockasen

They come highly recommended. Here are some comments from past and current participants:

I thought the content of this course was effective in making the concepts around equity very real, especially to someone new to or skeptical about the subject.  Also the time commitment is reasonable.  I would highly recommend it. Eileen Wirley (CIO and AVP Technology Services)

I thought I was a pretty “woke” person but found that I have/had a lot of deeply ingrained harmful ideologies. Candy Shaffer (ICT)

The discussions of the origin of race were powerful; I had never been exposed to these ideas before, and it informs how I now view the systems that exist at multiple societal levels that continue to oppress and limit access to resources and power/privilege. I also greatly benefitted from the action-oriented steps outlined in the courses to: 1.) recognize inequity/biases (hard but critically important practice for those of us who belong to a majority and have not had first-hand experience) 2.) gain the knowledge/skills to respond/react/engage 3.) redress the inequity 4.) actively cultivate equity 5.) sustain equity. I am eager to have institutional dialogue and action in regard to these ideas, though I do my part to be a disruptor within my own spheres of influence for now. The idea of “equity detours” also resonated with me and challenges me to do better than attempt to participate in the “optics of change” rather than doing the work to identify and confront the greater issues that exist and serve to perpetuate inequities. Meghan Glaser (ESOL/TRS)

If you are interested in taking these asynchronous mini-courses, please contact Gena Merliss (emerliss@monroecc.edu) for access. Visit the TCC's Blackboard site to access the Equity Literacy Institute's free courses.

Eugenia Merliss
Teaching & Creativity Center
12/09/2021