Educational Consultant, Designer and Learning Expert
Educational Consultant, Designer and Learning Expert
Jerome Bruner claimed “the construction of curricula proceeds in a world where changing social, cultural and political conditions continually alter the surroundings and the goals of schools and their students (Bruner, 1960, p. 8). ” This need to proceed in a changing world requires a pedagogical practice that allows teachers and students to discover and explore deeply embedded cultural assumptions. The lingering effects of Plessy V. Ferguson (1896) and the subsequent reversal of institutional racism in Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), demonstrate new challenges around equity, diversity and equality in American schooling systems. For example, endorsing the practice of color blindness as measure to equalize learning has harmful impacts primarily because it represses rather than exposes student identity and authentic meaning making. These challenges are increasingly troublesome as policing and trauma disproportionally affect students of color in American schools, and there is a need for alternative approach that empowers our youth.