The ways in which deficit thinking has been masked within our education system is daunting. For folks who have attended schools with few racial minorities may not have confronted deficit thinking in the same ways as students of color. White students may have also never been challenged to think about what privilege and power means within education. Others have been deeply immersed in racially diverse classrooms and still remain resistant to seeing or acknowledging how stereotypes and deficit thinking have fogged the lens in which we see students. Educators come from all walks of life. They too have lived experiences. Students of color experience the world in vary different ways. Navigating the education system is but one journey that they will have to take as they are confronted with how race, identity, skin color, gender, sexuality, class, and culture impact the ways in which they are valued by society. The purpose of this website was to create a resource and begin a dialogue with educators and communities members on the detrimental impact of the cultural deficit model. Simultaneously, the purpose was to highlight how such model is rooted in racism. By exploring the subtopics of academic tracking, standardized testing, and Critical Race Theory (CRT), we (the authors) tried to problematize the notion of deficit thinking while offering hopeful insight into theories that are informing education from a assets (or cultural capital) approach. A series of recommendations have been listed below for educators who are invested in learning more about the deficit model and its connection to racism.
· Read over this website and take time to explore the resources documented
· Think about what stereotypes we hold of specific communities and how those stereotypes impact the way we engage with our students
· Commit yourself to reading the entire Readings for Diversity and Social Justice by Adams, M., Blumenfeld, Casteneda, Hackma, Peteres (2013) and meet with your community of support to talk about how it makes you feel challenged and uncomfortable
· Lean into discomfort when you feel yourself bothered by dialogues about race and racism in education
· Explore multicultural education text and academic articles
· Think about what expectations you have of the students you work with. Are they the same? Do they differ according to a particular identity? Give yourself space to write and reflect on why you have such expectations.
· Acknowledge the power dynamic that are in our favor when we are the teachers or supervisors of students. Move beyond acknowledging this by getting to know your students and trusting in them to also be teachers
· Read Pedagogy of the Oppressed with a partner. It will blow your mind! And you will need support in understanding this intense but foundational piece on liberatory education
· Shares you cultural wealth with students by giving examples of unconventional notions of capital and encourage your students to do the same
· See, acknowledge, and maneuver educational institutions knowing that racism is alive. Racism maybe masked in deficit thinking models or practices, but it is your duty as an educator for social justice to challenge this
· Learn about Critical Race Theory, counternarratives, culturally relevant curriculum, praxis, democratic education, and more. And learn about these with the intention of finding strategies or creating strategies to enacting social justice practices in your educational work.
Creating this website has been a challenging but beneficial experience. I have gotten to learn more about my co-author’s cultural capital, engaged in creating a virtual social justice project, and gained a better understanding of why I believe the cultural deficit model is deeply rooted in race and racism. Eden is a resilient and compassionate educator who is committed to social justice. I could feel this in the work we have done together. Amidst the busy days and long hours of class and work, she continues to support and challenge me. Having a partner in this process made this website/blog more management and enjoyable. This virtual social justice project is the beginning to a conversation. It is here to entice educators to learn about the cultural deficit model and practices used to reinforce its racist agenda. By creating a website that unmasks the cultural deficit model, I feel a sense of pride and commitment to continue to learn and share more about this issue. Lastly, I have no doubt in my mind that the cultural deficit model is rooted in the various –isms that dominate society. By gathering data, reading blogs, researching art, and writing about my own cultural capital, my commitment to being a democratic educator that listens to and empowers the voices of the marginalized has strengthen. As I continue on this life-long learning process, I look forward to building more strategies on how to unmask the cultural deficit model prominent in our education system.
· Read over this website and take time to explore the resources documented
· Think about what stereotypes we hold of specific communities and how those stereotypes impact the way we engage with our students
· Commit yourself to reading the entire Readings for Diversity and Social Justice by Adams, M., Blumenfeld, Casteneda, Hackma, Peteres (2013) and meet with your community of support to talk about how it makes you feel challenged and uncomfortable
· Lean into discomfort when you feel yourself bothered by dialogues about race and racism in education
· Explore multicultural education text and academic articles
· Think about what expectations you have of the students you work with. Are they the same? Do they differ according to a particular identity? Give yourself space to write and reflect on why you have such expectations.
· Acknowledge the power dynamic that are in our favor when we are the teachers or supervisors of students. Move beyond acknowledging this by getting to know your students and trusting in them to also be teachers
· Read Pedagogy of the Oppressed with a partner. It will blow your mind! And you will need support in understanding this intense but foundational piece on liberatory education
· Shares you cultural wealth with students by giving examples of unconventional notions of capital and encourage your students to do the same
· See, acknowledge, and maneuver educational institutions knowing that racism is alive. Racism maybe masked in deficit thinking models or practices, but it is your duty as an educator for social justice to challenge this
· Learn about Critical Race Theory, counternarratives, culturally relevant curriculum, praxis, democratic education, and more. And learn about these with the intention of finding strategies or creating strategies to enacting social justice practices in your educational work.
Creating this website has been a challenging but beneficial experience. I have gotten to learn more about my co-author’s cultural capital, engaged in creating a virtual social justice project, and gained a better understanding of why I believe the cultural deficit model is deeply rooted in race and racism. Eden is a resilient and compassionate educator who is committed to social justice. I could feel this in the work we have done together. Amidst the busy days and long hours of class and work, she continues to support and challenge me. Having a partner in this process made this website/blog more management and enjoyable. This virtual social justice project is the beginning to a conversation. It is here to entice educators to learn about the cultural deficit model and practices used to reinforce its racist agenda. By creating a website that unmasks the cultural deficit model, I feel a sense of pride and commitment to continue to learn and share more about this issue. Lastly, I have no doubt in my mind that the cultural deficit model is rooted in the various –isms that dominate society. By gathering data, reading blogs, researching art, and writing about my own cultural capital, my commitment to being a democratic educator that listens to and empowers the voices of the marginalized has strengthen. As I continue on this life-long learning process, I look forward to building more strategies on how to unmask the cultural deficit model prominent in our education system.