Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Gorski, P., & Swalwell, K. (2015, March). Equity literacy for all. Educational Leadership, 34-40.
Focus Questions:
1. What are some problems that the authors have with regard to how schools incorporate “diversity” into the curriculum?
2. What do the authors mean by “equity literacy”? What advice do they offer for teachers and schools to embed equity
literacy within the curriculum?
3. Connections: To what extent did your K-12 schools acknowledge or teach about issues of equity and social justice? If
very little, what do you think accounted for the silence? If frequently, how would you characterize those learning
experiences?
4. Connections: What do you make of the authors’ argument that teaching (or not teaching) for equity literacy is a politica
act?
Equity Schools can commit
Lıteracy
to a more robust
multiculturalism by
putting equity, rather
than culture, at the
center of the diversity
Paul C. Gorski food or music, but that’s about it. I them. The Multicultural Curriculum
and Katy Swalwell don’t see the purpose.” Initiative was his brainchild, his baby.
I
Then Cynthia, who had remained Jonathan decorated his office door
feel like a visitor in my own quiet through most of the hourlong with quotes about diversity and his
school—that hasn’t changed,” discussion, slammed her fist on the office walls with artwork depicting
Samantha said, confusion and table, exclaiming, “That multicultural diverse groups of youth. “We see
despair in her voice. We were initiative means nothing. There’s diversity as our greatest asset. That’s
at the tail end of a focus group racism at this school, and nobody’s what this initiative is all about. What
discussion with African American doing anything about it!” we aim to do here,” he explained with
students at Green Hills High, a pre- We found ourselves only a few measured intensity, “is to celebrate
dominantly white, economically moments later in our next scheduled the joys of diversity.” When we shared
diverse school. We had been invited to focus group, surrounded by the with Jonathan the concerns raised
conduct an equity assessment, exam- school’s power brokers: the prin- by the African American students,
ining the extent to which Green Hills cipal, assistant principals, deans, and he appeared confused and genuinely
was an equitable learning environment department chairs. Still taken—maybe concerned. “They said that?” he asked,
for all. We had asked Samantha and even a little shaken—by what we had before interrupting a member of his
a small group of her classmates how heard from the young women and leadership team who had begun to
they would characterize their school’s men who felt fairly powerless at Green defend the initiative. “Maybe it’s time
two-year-old Multicultural Curriculum Hills, we asked the administrators to rethink this.”
Initiative, touted by school adminis- about the purpose of the Multicultural
trators as a comprehensive effort to Curriculum Initiative. Beyond Artwork
infuse a multicultural perspective into After a brief silence, Jonathan, the and Celebrations
all aspects of school life. principal, leaned back in his chair. If we’ve learned anything working
“I’m invisible,” Sean added, “but We had observed him over the past with schools across the United States,
also hypervisible. Maybe twice a year few days interacting with students, it’s this: When it comes to education
there’s a program about somebody’s and it was clear he cared deeply about equity, the trouble is not a lack of
ASCD / WWW.ASCD.ORG 37
ASCD / WWW.ASCD.ORG 39
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