In this nation, how we educate our children can at times be abysmal with the best of the most naïve intentions. Far too often, the ones who suffer most are those who can afford it least: children of color and children of low wealth.

One of my favorite quotes about history is by Janet Lepore, who wrote:

“The past is an inheritance, a gift, and a burden. It can't be shirked. You carry it everywhere. There is nothing for it, but to get to know it.”

I did a keynote the other day at a Title I conference, and like most speeches and presentations, there were questions to field. One stuck with me. One for which I didn’t have a quick and simple answer but promised the educator who asked it to give it some thought.

Essentially, Greta, an educator, wanted to know how to address the inequities that someone is deeply connected to.

What have the Black and Brown children learned in the last few months leading up to this celebrated independence? Are the benefits of remote learning during a stay-at-home order bringing them the benefits of a high-quality public education? How can we celebrate when our children have seen the images of modern-day lynchings, the lives of George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery, and Rayshard Brooks pumped into their living room TVs and social media feeds? How do we celebrate the benefits of freedom for learners of color in the midst of a summer where our Black and Brown children fear both an unseen pandemic and lynchings at the hands of those sworn to “serve and protect” them?

What have the learners of color received as a benefit of this celebrated independence? Are the benefits of a disciplinary equity in public education truly extended to them? Where is their restorative justice? How can we celebrate when school systems across the nation still lack equity initiatives or are still at the “task force” stage in examining whether or not they have disciplinary equity? How do we celebrate the benefits of freedom for learners of color in the midst of yet another summer where immigrant brown children remain locked in detention centers?

This assessment is designed for school district leaders. It is designed to determine just how “mature” their school district is when it comes to the issue of educational equity.

In Education as Reeducation. Hess and Addison call out organizations and educators for embracing “junk science and performative wokeness.” So much in that statement alone, I almost don’t know where to begin.

The education revolution will not be televised…

DJ was always angry. He had no impulse control. He was the oldest of eight children with a mother only fourteen years his senior. His life trajectory was not good. Yet I was determined. This was one young, Black man for whom I would not support the system’s funneling of him into the school to prison pipeline. What to do with DJ?

The school as an organism was stuck. Stuck in a mindset that fostered inertia. Stuck in a mindset that said, "These kids can't learn, and if they can, we aren't set up to teach them."