Episode Nine: Putting Race, Equity, and Justice at the Center of Teaching with Dr. Rich Milner

Ready to Teach Podcast

Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Rich Milner (Ph.D.) joins the Ready to Teach Podcast to have a candid discussion about how to address issues of race and injustice in our teaching. Takeaways from this week’s episode: 1) As an educator, we need to constantly ask ourselves questions like, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” and “Why do I believe some groups of students are underprepared in comparison to other groups of students?” 2) Develop a community of critical colleagues to help each other think through decisions we’re making in the classroom. 3) Family members and community members are experts of students’ experiences. 4) We as teachers have to value and understand the deep levels of expertise, assets, and strengths that every community possesses. 5) Teachers have to know students’ lived experiences and understand the history that influences their community. 6) Relationships are at the core of what makes instructional practices culturally relevant. 7) Conversations about race are essential to our curriculum because race is essential to our identity. 8) White is a race, and white teachers need to be mindful of our racial and ethnic background. 9) The stronger students feel about their racial and ethnic identities, the stronger their outcomes (in other words, we must stop thinking that students of color can only succeed in spite of their racial or ethnic identity). 10) There is no neutral work when it comes to race: We are either advocating for racial justice, or advocating against it. Resources: Follow Dr. Milner on Twitter @MilnerHRich Rac(e)ing to Class: Confronting Poverty and Race in Schools and Classrooms by H. Richard Milner IV https://www.amazon.com/Rac-ing-Class-Confronting-Classrooms/dp/1612507867/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499902860&sr=8-1&keywords=racing+to+class Start where you are but don’t stay there: Understanding diversity, opportunity gaps, and teaching in today’s classrooms by H. Richard Milner IV https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934742767/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i2?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=1934742767&pd_rd_r=3FVD2Z16645JWA0VADX0&pd_rd_w=GFQ3i&pd_rd_wg=pju26&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=GBA1HVCN0RVWMQJE86NS&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=781f4767-b4d4-466b-8c26-2639359664eb&pf_rd_i=desktop Blog Posts from Voices in Education (Harvard Education Publishing) http://hepg.org/blog/understanding-diversity-what%E2%80%99s-a-parent-to-do http://hepg.org/blog/ten-teacher-recommendations-in-facilitating-conver READYTOTEACH.COM