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<p>As faculty and those who work with students in all other ways, we want students to <em>know better</em>, don't we? We hope we will inspire them to become life-long learners, to maintain interest and receptiveness to learning about ideas and areas that may fall outside of their perceived comfort zones. We may even have them question the very notion of a "comfort zone," and all it implies. We stress to students that paying attention, synthesizing ideas, and being always curious are the hallmarks of a "college educated" mind. We also want them to practice intellectual humility. Knowledge is never complete. There's always more to learn.</p>
<p>What applies to students applies to ourselves, too. Despite the positions and ranks we occupy, we have more that we can learn about our subject areas, and about teaching and learning. We can know and do better.</p>
<p>The same is true about diversity, equity and inclusion. Even though these are professed values at the heart of a community college mission, no one is without room to learn and grow. The learning and the doing, the hard work, should not fall solely upon those who, because of racism or other forms of bigotry and social marginalization, already carry a heavy load.</p>
<p>So this year, the TCC is inviting all faculty and professional staff to engage in a sustained process of inquiry: of learning something more deeply than you started the year knowing. The lens through which to undertake such inquiry is a broad one: <strong>any aspect about equity</strong> (or, as it may be, about the systemic racism and historical inequity) as it relates to your profession, your area of expertise, or to some wider issue regarding MCC organization and culture.</p>
<p>The specific subjects, and thus the nature, of this inquiry are for faculty/staff to decide for themselves, within whatever framework/design makes sense: as a full department, a division or office, a smaller learning community, an affinity group, and so on. Maybe there is a relevant book in your discipline that examines the historical inequity built into the field, or into higher education generally. Perhaps you are curious about what colleagues in other institutions are doing in response to the demands for justice and change across the nation right now. Or perhaps you and your colleagues have just never had any discussion about systemic racism, the forms it takes, or about how it manifests within our fields, our classrooms, our institutions. There is no shortage of subjects to research and learn more about. [For ideas, scan <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/13b98eMUGremcMU8esL8NNaMtSDHy4e2JPwt7I86QE2M/edit">this list of books, articles, and websites</a> that specifically address equity and becoming anti-racist within a higher education context.]</p>
<p>There are no quick fixes to systemic problems that are embedded into the very layers of our disciplines or operations. At the same time, just learning and thinking about things isn't enough. So, while shared, sustained inquiry is the goal for this year, it will culminate in the <strong>June 2021 Teaching and Learning Conference</strong>, where groups will present on their year-long, deep-dives, and we can synthesize our efforts into some larger, collective commitment to deep change at MCC.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.aacu.org/blog/paradoxes-allyship#:~:text=Allyship%20is%20full%20of%20paradoxes,history%20and%20making%20the%20rules.">recent blog post</a> on the AAC&amp;U site, Cia Verschelden offers a roadmap for commencing such a project, and she presses the urgency of it, too:</p>
<p><em>To begin, people in every sector of an institution--from recruitment to admissions to advising to classrooms (attendance, grading, deadlines, etc.)--can look closely at policies, procedures, and practices, both official and assumed, and ask:</em><em> </em></p>
<ul>
<li><em>Who do they benefit?</em></li>
<li><em>Who do they exclude?</em></li>
<li><em>What systems do they maintain?</em></li>
<li><em>From what cultural lens are they understood?</em></li>
<li><em>Are they relevant today or holdovers from an earlier time?</em></li>
<li><em>If they are problematic, what will it take to change them?</em></li>
</ul>
<p><em>Then, do something. In consultation with representatives from diverse groups in genuine, open-minded conversation, make some efforts to chip away at the things that maintain systems of privilege and disadvantage that are woven into most of our institutions. </em><em> </em></p>
<p>[end of quoted passage]</p>
<p>Asking those questions is one way to commit to <em>good trouble</em>. It is also a way for each of us--especially, but not solely, those of us who are white--to commit to what Dr. Moore, Jr., referred to as the <strong>competence </strong>necessary for really being the inclusive and equitable person one claims to be. "Incompetence has consequences," he reminded us. A refusal to move beyond a cursory understanding of matters, to stay squarely within comfort zones, is a luxury that none of us at MCC during changing, extraordinary times, can afford.</p>
<p>Dr. Paul Gorski, in his article <a href="http://www.edchange.org/publications/Avoiding-Racial-Equity-Detours-Gorski.pdf">"Avoiding Racial Equity Detours,"</a> tells us why: <em>"Equity is a lens and an ideological commitment. No strategy can help us cultivate equitable schools if we're unwilling to understand how racism operates. Professional development opportunities related to equity should emphasize the ideological work required to more deeply understand the dynamics of racism in society and schools."</em></p>
<p>So, here's one opportunity. Over the next couple of weeks, speak with your colleagues and your co-workers to decide what specific topic you want to pursue with each other this year. Start somewhere, and see what kind of good trouble you can get into.</p>
<p> </p>

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MCC Daily Tribune

Year-Long Inquiry Projects for Advancing Equity-Mindedness

"Once you know better, you can do better." -Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., during his keynote address to MCC on September 18, 2020.

As faculty and those who work with students in all other ways, we want students to know better, don't we? We hope we will inspire them to become life-long learners, to maintain interest and receptiveness to learning about ideas and areas that may fall outside of their perceived comfort zones. We may even have them question the very notion of a "comfort zone," and all it implies. We stress to students that paying attention, synthesizing ideas, and being always curious are the hallmarks of a "college educated" mind. We also want them to practice intellectual humility. Knowledge is never complete. There's always more to learn.

What applies to students applies to ourselves, too. Despite the positions and ranks we occupy, we have more that we can learn about our subject areas, and about teaching and learning. We can know and do better.

The same is true about diversity, equity and inclusion. Even though these are professed values at the heart of a community college mission, no one is without room to learn and grow. The learning and the doing, the hard work, should not fall solely upon those who, because of racism or other forms of bigotry and social marginalization, already carry a heavy load.

So this year, the TCC is inviting all faculty and professional staff to engage in a sustained process of inquiry: of learning something more deeply than you started the year knowing. The lens through which to undertake such inquiry is a broad one: any aspect about equity (or, as it may be, about the systemic racism and historical inequity) as it relates to your profession, your area of expertise, or to some wider issue regarding MCC organization and culture.

The specific subjects, and thus the nature, of this inquiry are for faculty/staff to decide for themselves, within whatever framework/design makes sense: as a full department, a division or office, a smaller learning community, an affinity group, and so on. Maybe there is a relevant book in your discipline that examines the historical inequity built into the field, or into higher education generally. Perhaps you are curious about what colleagues in other institutions are doing in response to the demands for justice and change across the nation right now. Or perhaps you and your colleagues have just never had any discussion about systemic racism, the forms it takes, or about how it manifests within our fields, our classrooms, our institutions. There is no shortage of subjects to research and learn more about. [For ideas, scan this list of books, articles, and websites that specifically address equity and becoming anti-racist within a higher education context.]

There are no quick fixes to systemic problems that are embedded into the very layers of our disciplines or operations. At the same time, just learning and thinking about things isn't enough. So, while shared, sustained inquiry is the goal for this year, it will culminate in the June 2021 Teaching and Learning Conference, where groups will present on their year-long, deep-dives, and we can synthesize our efforts into some larger, collective commitment to deep change at MCC.

In a recent blog post on the AAC&U site, Cia Verschelden offers a roadmap for commencing such a project, and she presses the urgency of it, too:

To begin, people in every sector of an institution--from recruitment to admissions to advising to classrooms (attendance, grading, deadlines, etc.)--can look closely at policies, procedures, and practices, both official and assumed, and ask:

  • Who do they benefit?
  • Who do they exclude?
  • What systems do they maintain?
  • From what cultural lens are they understood?
  • Are they relevant today or holdovers from an earlier time?
  • If they are problematic, what will it take to change them?

Then, do something. In consultation with representatives from diverse groups in genuine, open-minded conversation, make some efforts to chip away at the things that maintain systems of privilege and disadvantage that are woven into most of our institutions.

[end of quoted passage]

Asking those questions is one way to commit to good trouble. It is also a way for each of us--especially, but not solely, those of us who are white--to commit to what Dr. Moore, Jr., referred to as the competence necessary for really being the inclusive and equitable person one claims to be. "Incompetence has consequences," he reminded us. A refusal to move beyond a cursory understanding of matters, to stay squarely within comfort zones, is a luxury that none of us at MCC during changing, extraordinary times, can afford.

Dr. Paul Gorski, in his article "Avoiding Racial Equity Detours," tells us why: "Equity is a lens and an ideological commitment. No strategy can help us cultivate equitable schools if we're unwilling to understand how racism operates. Professional development opportunities related to equity should emphasize the ideological work required to more deeply understand the dynamics of racism in society and schools."

So, here's one opportunity. Over the next couple of weeks, speak with your colleagues and your co-workers to decide what specific topic you want to pursue with each other this year. Start somewhere, and see what kind of good trouble you can get into.

 

Amy Burtner
Teaching and Creativity Center
09/21/2020