ABOUT Hugo Lawton
It’s a conversation I have had so many times with so many different people, from family members to guidance counselors: why do you want to work in education in America? As an Australian citizen with my entire family living in the Sydney area, it’s a complex question to answer. I’ll always remember a conversation I had last Christmas with my younger cousin’s girlfriend’s parents when I was back visiting my family (a time when a lot of these types of awkward encounters occur). They could not understand why I would want to work as a teacher in America, where “the kids are tough, there are no resources, and you get paid half as much”. This statement was troubling to me, because it illustrated a common perception of America in the eyes of people around the world.
I would not argue that the educational climate in the United States today is acceptable in any manner, nor has it been at any point. Traditionally, education in many places of the world has been utilized as a tool for the oppression and alienation of marginalized communities; students who are poor, immigrants, and of color have been largely ignored in teacher preparation programs, leaving unchecked implicit and explicit biases within teachers in communities across the world that cause tangible damage for students. Bringing with me my experience of schooling in Australia, New Zealand, and Michigan, I recognize the differences between the cultures of these places but also the similarities in how education is structured to serve the powerful and maintain the status quo. At the same time, I can vividly see the potential that education has to reverse this trend - to prepare teachers who are culturally competent and who recognize their privilege, using it to lift up the voices of those who have traditionally been silenced. I know that, with strong leaders and aware teachers, America has the capability to lead the world in educational practices that serve all students equitably.
After graduating from the social justice-oriented teaching program at the University of Michigan, I conducted an extensive search for a school community that would help me learn about the best ways to serve students traditionally overlooked by the system but who have an immense amount of experience and knowledge to offer the world. Traveling among 12 cities within the United States, I searched for a community in which I could contribute to reversing systemic education trends while also learning from a diverse community of educators and families to inform my work.
So far, in my role as a teacher and teacher coach in Oakland, California, I have started to explore the ways that educators can resist the systemic forces of inequity embedded in education through robust community partnership and high expectations of students. I have conducted home visits with students’ families and organized events with community members. In the classroom, I have designed an alternative to the social studies curriculum in use in my grade level that prioritizes the voices of Native Americans, African Americans, immigrants, and women during several events in California’s history. I frequently ask community members to share their expertise with my students, and open time in the class schedule to empower students to learn about issues of importance to them. I have worked with families to change systems-level practices to involve more thorough involvement from a variety of stakeholders in matters like budgeting, the development of strategic priorities, and dual language programming. I have partnered with community organizers in Oakland including REACH and OCO to further initiatives benefiting students and empower community members to offer their voice in political decisions.
The work of a culturally-responsive educator must begin with a thorough understanding of the context in which they teach, involving the history of education as an institution and the history of the community in which they wish to teach. As a member of the teacher preparation community, I plan to provide candidates with the tools through which to learn from and build relationships with their communities. It is important, however, that this learning moves to action and is not simply passive. I plan to support teachers in analyzing curriculum to identify biases and gaps, and then use other resources to highlight the missing perspectives. This action within the classroom must continue into advocacy outside the classroom, as teachers work to leverage their voices to increase access to community members in decision-making processes. I plan to help teacher candidates understand the ways that the education system creates inequitable barriers for students and families, and give them community organizing tools to be able to work to reverse that trend. Finally, the importance of reflection will be a major focus of my work with teacher candidates, as they work to improve their practice and seek out feedback from stakeholders that will change both their mindsets and actions to better serve their students.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, I know that I won’t ever have all the answers to the questions I am asked by my cousin’s girlfriend’s parents, but I owe it to my students, my fellow educators, and every child to learn as much as I can and to work as hard as I can to promote equity for all kids as they learn and develop. Because the least we can do is to give them that chance.
