If Equity is Effective, What Would it Look Like in Schools?
Denise Fawcett Facey @Edufacey
Educator, Author, Blogger & Speaker
@Edufacey
School administrators quite often equate equity with inclusion when it comes to academic staff and faculty. Inviting a few people of color and other underrepresented groups “to the table” as participants in committees and conferences and as workshop presenters, those in authority engender a false sense of diversity that is not equity at all. Although their efforts may be a sincere attempt to broaden representation, true equity transcends tokenism. Indeed, effective equity provides a paradigm shift that also shifts the balance of power, creating an equitable distribution of that power for adults as well as equitable access to resources and advantages for students.
Effective equity moves those invited to the table out of the role of “guest” and provides them parity with those who usually extend the invitation. Together, they all determine who is invited to the table, what the agenda will be at that table as well as what decisions ultimately arise from meeting at the table. In short, effective equity empowers everyone with opportunity, accessibility, and authority.
As a result, people of color—and others not traditionally included—garner professional respect as educators, having their opinions, perspectives and counsel sought just as much as others and knowing that their contributions are valued, as they see them implemented. Effective equity also gains them leadership positions, administrative positions, and other opportunities from which they might otherwise have been excluded. What’s more, education becomes more culturally responsive, more accurately reflecting not just the dominant culture but that of all the students and faculty as well.
For students, providing effective equity also ensures that all students—across race, gender, and ability—not only have access to all resources but also are provided the support system that enables them to succeed. This includes technological equity. So, for students without technology at home nor access to Wi-Fi, for example, schools ensure that those students have laptops and internet access even when they are not in the school building. Additionally, no longer are students of color overrepresented in special education classes and underrepresented in gifted classes. Instead, students are provided education that genuinely meets their abilities and needs, opening access to gifted classes, STEM classes and others that are so often closed to these students and to girls.
Ultimately, effective equity levels the playing field. It discards the antiquated and detrimental practice of one group holding all the power and others being expected to be grateful just to be present, with little to no recognition nor opportunities for advancement. Instead, effective equity places everyone on equal footing, acknowledges what each brings to the table and appreciates the variety, not perceiving differences as aberrant but as beneficial. Effective equity affords everyone equal access to all that each needs for progress and success. And, yes, once achieved, effective equity then holds everyone equally accountable.
Denise Fawcett Facey is an award-winning educator with many years' experience motivating students to discover their best qualities and to use them in achieving a fulfilling life. The author of two other books (Can I Be in Your Class and The Social Studies Helper, both Rowman and Littlefield Education), she is also a public speaker and workshop presenter. She holds a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in sociology and psychology.
Effective equity moves those invited to the table out of the role of “guest” and provides them parity with those who usually extend the invitation. Together, they all determine who is invited to the table, what the agenda will be at that table as well as what decisions ultimately arise from meeting at the table. In short, effective equity empowers everyone with opportunity, accessibility, and authority.
As a result, people of color—and others not traditionally included—garner professional respect as educators, having their opinions, perspectives and counsel sought just as much as others and knowing that their contributions are valued, as they see them implemented. Effective equity also gains them leadership positions, administrative positions, and other opportunities from which they might otherwise have been excluded. What’s more, education becomes more culturally responsive, more accurately reflecting not just the dominant culture but that of all the students and faculty as well.
For students, providing effective equity also ensures that all students—across race, gender, and ability—not only have access to all resources but also are provided the support system that enables them to succeed. This includes technological equity. So, for students without technology at home nor access to Wi-Fi, for example, schools ensure that those students have laptops and internet access even when they are not in the school building. Additionally, no longer are students of color overrepresented in special education classes and underrepresented in gifted classes. Instead, students are provided education that genuinely meets their abilities and needs, opening access to gifted classes, STEM classes and others that are so often closed to these students and to girls.
Ultimately, effective equity levels the playing field. It discards the antiquated and detrimental practice of one group holding all the power and others being expected to be grateful just to be present, with little to no recognition nor opportunities for advancement. Instead, effective equity places everyone on equal footing, acknowledges what each brings to the table and appreciates the variety, not perceiving differences as aberrant but as beneficial. Effective equity affords everyone equal access to all that each needs for progress and success. And, yes, once achieved, effective equity then holds everyone equally accountable.
Denise Fawcett Facey is an award-winning educator with many years' experience motivating students to discover their best qualities and to use them in achieving a fulfilling life. The author of two other books (Can I Be in Your Class and The Social Studies Helper, both Rowman and Littlefield Education), she is also a public speaker and workshop presenter. She holds a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in sociology and psychology.