40 years of change?

Recently, while researching the topic of racism in rural public schools, we came across a paper published by the University of Maryland called “Racism in the Public Schools: A Model for Change.” Contained within it is a discussion of two conferences conducted with public school educators focusing on the experience of race in their school districts. William Sedlacek and Glenwood Brooks, the authors of the study, suggest a model for change aimed primarily at “white oriented institutions, or in essence…the bulk of the education system.” The surprise we found? This paper was published in 1973, with themes so current and relevant it’s as if it was written yesterday.

Participants at these two conferences were described as “overwhelmingly white.” Nationwide, the homogenous character of school faculties may have become less true in the years that have followed. However, it is certainly still the case in Vermont, as documented in our recent Educator Diversity Survey, which indicates that over 99% of Vermont teachers and administrators are white.

Sedlacek and Brooks describe race-related educational problems as “often hard to pinpoint, difficult to work with and highly emotional,” which remains the case here in Vermont in 2010. Assertions made by both the consultants at the conference and by the participants remain true today, such as “most white teachers are not prepared by background or training to work with most of the black students they encounter,” and “understanding cultural and racial differences and designing educational experiences and reinforcing in that context is crucial to any education.” Culturally competent recruiting and hiring processes are still nearly absent in Vermont. Sedlacek and Burns also mentioned the tendency for teachers to have lower standards and expectations for black students, and how this is a detriment to all students. When we met with Veronica White, an African-American teacher at South Burlington High School, we heard of this same problem in our institutions today. Ms. White said that African-American males are especially affected, and are often described in teacher preparation programs as “expected to be a problem.” She believes these problems stem from a gap in achievement, and says that many claim “it doesn’t matter who is put in to teach them.” She sees educators approach these children with the attitude that they can’t learn, but believes that intervention is necessary and can definitely be effective.

Other additional social problems discussed in this paper are also still relevant. One point that was emphasized repeatedly was that results, and not intentions, are the most important component. This notion is crucial because, as the authors say, “most racism is unknowing or unintentional,” and that “everyday practices of teachers, administrators, and policy makers could be detrimental to blacks, regardless of intentions.” Many of the participants in the study would not acknowledge this, even after confronted with the results of a survey that revealed their unconscious racist attitudes. The authors state that “the epithet ‘I treat everyone exactly alike’ was heard often,” which we also witnessed in our recent Educator Diversity Survey. Sedlacek and Brooks reported “participants were very heterogeneous with some having knowledge of racial issues and others who had never before dealt with the topic. This was particularly true in the smaller conference where participants from schools with no black students viewed the session much like a class in medieval history. That is, it was of academic interest but they felt it of no practical use to them.” We saw similar problems from Vermont educators in our recent survey. Respondents seemed to dismiss the issue of race, saying things like “many folks from a diverse background wish to stay and serve the children in their own communities,” “we may be too rural to attract applicants of diverse backgrounds,” “there isn’t very much cultural diversity within our immediate vicinity,” “we are in Vermont. There are few to none minority applicants that apply,” “we have barriers to recruitment,” and “our communities are very small and rural.” 91.7% of the districts said that “our community is too isolated to offer the wide range of cultural activities that teachers and administrators with diverse cultural backgrounds find appealing.”

Sedlacek and Brooks also stated that many participants were uninterested in the existing cultural competence materials (of the time), reporting that they “are available but often sit on library shelves.” This is a problem, according to the study, because “[since] most of the society is run by and for whites, racism is primarily a white problem. Unless whites are able to change individually and collectively through institutions, white racism is likely to remain.” They make the point that “whites must initiate and ‘carry the ball’ in working on their own racism.” The authors make other recommendations for these problems that could be effectively put into practice in Vermont today. They assert “the nature of prejudice and racism should be taught at all educational levels. This is particularly crucial for young whites,” and that “black culturally relevant content should be an integral part of the regular curriculum and not isolated as black week,’ etc.” They also state that “effective recruitment of black administrators and teachers” should be practiced, “the institutionalized practices which keep blacks from applying must be overcome,” and that “experience with and understanding of race relations should be required for hiring and promotion.”

Nearly all of the issues addressed by this paper are still shockingly relevant, despite the fact that nearly 40 years have passed. The paper’s authors acknowledge that change can be a slow process, but we ask: are several decades truly necessary? We can still learn from many of the authors’ recommendations. We ought to put them into practice swiftly, and not delay or deceive ourselves any longer.