1. Institutional Racism and Bias in Healthcare

Racism and bias in healthcare has been widely acknowledged as a major contributor to the high maternal mortality rate among black women. Historically, black people have faced discrimination and mistreatment within the medical system, and these disparities persist today. In many cases, black women’s pain and symptoms are not taken as seriously by medical professionals, leading to inadequate treatment and neglected complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

2. Lack of Access to Quality Healthcare Services

Another factor that contributes to higher maternal mortality rates among black women is the limited access to quality healthcare services in predominantly African American neighborhoods. These communities often lack well-funded hospitals and clinics equipped with essential resources and experienced healthcare providers who are knowledgeable about the unique needs of black women during pregnancy.

3. Socioeconomic Factors

The socioeconomic factors that contribute to higher maternal mortality rates for black women include limited access to prenatal care, inadequate health insurance coverage, chronic stress due to systemic racism, and income inequality. These factors combine to create an environment where black women are less able to receive the necessary care and support needed for a safe pregnancy and positive birth outcomes.

4. Pre-existing Health Conditions

Disparities in maternal mortality among black women can also be attributed to a higher prevalence of pre-existing health conditions that increase the risk of complications during pregnancy or childbirth. Conditions such as hypertension, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are more likely to affect black women due to genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors influenced by socioeconomic status.

5. Lack of Culturally Competent Care

While it is crucial for healthcare providers to be knowledgeable about the unique needs of pregnant black women, cultural incompetence often prevents appropriate care from being provided. A lack of understanding of African American culture, communication styles, and beliefs can further exacerbate existing disparities and contribute to higher maternal mortality rates.

Conclusion

The staggering disparity in maternal mortality among black women highlights the urgent need for change within our healthcare system and society. By addressing institutional racism and bias in healthcare, ensuring access to quality services for all, addressing socioeconomic inequalities, and promoting culturally competent care, we can work towards reducing the number of preventable deaths among pregnant black women in the United States.

The post Why Do So Many Black Women Die in Childbirth? appeared first on The Edvocate.

Some specialists that can assist families include social workers, medical doctors, mental health counselors, speech-language pathologists, and teachers. Researchers found that 61% of homeless children younger than five years old had at least one developmental delay, and 44% exhibited two or more delays. These delays can set up the child to factor into the school to pipeline system without intervention assisting language.

Researchers state that much of children’s environmental exposure to language occurs through interactions with responsive caregivers in early childhood. To foster language development, specialists such as speech-language pathologists can work in a parent client interaction team to model language and speech in an early intervention program for children.

It is essential to consider how homelessness and poverty can have various factors that may influence language development and social-emotional delays. Suppose maternal sensitivity plays a mediating role with children who experience homelessness, and the child is given a multimodal intervention in preschool. In that case, social-emotional regulation will increase, and language delays in at least one out of four language modalities: auditory comprehension, verbal expression, reading, and writing will improve.

The post Supporting Families Who Are Experiencing Homelessness appeared first on The Edvocate.

Safety Challenges for LGBTQ+ Kids in PreK-12 Schools

1. Bullying and Harassment: One pervasive issue faced by many LGBTQ+ students is bullying or harassment based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) reports that 70% of LGBTQ+ youth experience verbal harassment at school, while more than 50% report experiencing cyberbullying.

2. Unsupportive School Environments: Many schools lack the necessary policies or initiatives to support LGBTQ+ students’ safety, such as anti-bullying policies or gender-neutral dress codes and restroom options.

3. Lack of Representation: Visibility is crucial for fostering understanding and inclusivity. Unfortunately, teachers frequently exclude LGBTQ+ history or literature from their curriculums, making it difficult for queer and transgender youths to see themselves represented accurately in the academic world.

Safety Challenges for Students of Color in PreK-12 Schools

1. Racial Discrimination: Students of color often face racial discrimination within school settings that can manifest in various forms. This includes outright racist remarks from peers or staff members as well as microaggressions – subtle actions or comments that convey discriminatory beliefs.

2. The School-to-Prison Pipeline: The school-to-prison pipeline is a phenomenon wherein students of color are disproportionately disciplined relative to their white peers, resulting in an increased likelihood of encounters with the criminal justice system. This pattern of severe school discipline and surveillance disproportionately harms these students, fueling a negative cycle of exclusion and marginalization.

3. Cultural Bias: The educational system often caters to the dominant culture’s norms and experiences rather than recognizing or validating that of minority students. As a result, students of color frequently encounter racial disparities in academic expectations, which may contribute to lower achievement levels and increased dropout rates.

Strategies for Creating Inclusive PreK-12 Schools and Colleges

1. Implement Comprehensive Anti-bullying Policies: Schools must establish anti-bullying policies that explicitly include protections for LGBTQ+ students and students of color to ensure everyone feels safe.

2. Provide Training for Teachers and Staff: Incorporating ongoing diversity training can foster understanding, sensitivity, and awareness among school employees while providing them with the tools necessary to create inclusive environments.

3. Integrate Inclusive Curriculum: By incorporating LGBTQ+ history, literature, and topics related to race and ethnicity into lesson plans, educators can promote understanding and celebrate the contributions of various populations.

4. Encourage Student-Led Diversity Clubs: Schools should support student-driven diversity clubs or organizations that provide safe spaces for LGBTQ+ kids or students of color to find camaraderie and support networks.

Conclusion

To foster inclusive educational environments for LGBTQ+ kids and students of color in American PreK-12 schools and colleges, it is essential to address the unique safety challenges they face. With systemic action that includes comprehensive policies, staff training, diverse curriculums, and student-led initiatives, these marginalized student populations can experience safer places to learn where they feel valued and respected.

The post LGBTQ+ Kids and Students of Color Feel Less Safe in American PreK-12 Schools and Colleges appeared first on The Edvocate.

The Need for Diversity in K-12 Textbooks

Throughout history, K-12 textbooks have predominantly featured the stories, perspectives, and experiences of a select group of people, mainly those from white, Eurocentric backgrounds. This lack of diversity has left many students feeling unrepresented and disconnected from their learning materials.

1. Representation

One significant reason behind the push to diversify textbooks is to ensure that all students see themselves represented in their learning materials. As the demographics of our classrooms change, textbooks should reflect a wide array of perspectives, experiences, and identities. Representation in textbooks can lead to increased self-esteem and motivation for students who may have previously felt marginalized.

2. Promoting Empathy and Understanding

An essential purpose of education is to foster empathy and understanding, equipping students with the ability to embrace different perspectives and respect various cultures. By exposing students to diverse characters and narratives in textbooks, we can help foster a more empathic and inclusive mindset.

3. Encouraging Critical Thinking Skills

Presenting multiple perspectives in K-12 textbooks allows students to weigh competing ideas, engage in thoughtful discussion, and develop critical thinking skills. Exposure to diverse viewpoints can challenge existing biases and assumptions, encouraging students to form well-rounded opinions.

Efforts to Diversify Textbooks

There are several notable efforts underway to diversify K-12 textbooks:

1. Multicultural Classroom Libraries

Educators increasingly recognize the need for multicultural classroom libraries featuring books written by authors from various backgrounds, including works centered around marginalized communities.

2. Inclusive Curricula

Several states are taking legislative action to mandate the inclusion of diverse perspectives in K-12 curricula. For example, in 2019, New Jersey passed a law requiring schools to include LGBTQ+ history in the curriculum.

3. Advocacy Organizations

Organizations such as We Need Diverse Books are working to promote diversity in literature for children and young adults. They advocate for changes within the publishing industry to ensure that a wider array of voices and stories are shared.

Challenges and Objections to Diversifying Textbooks

Although there is increasing support for textbook diversity, some obstacles still need to be addressed:

1. Resistance from Parents and Communities

Some parents and community members may push back against efforts to diversify textbooks, fearing that it will lead to a dilution of essential content or the promotion of specific political agendas.

2. Limited Resources for Schools

For schools with tight budgets, purchasing diverse, high-quality textbooks can be a significant challenge.

Conclusion

The push to diversify K-12 textbooks is an essential step towards creating a more inclusive educational landscape that promotes empathy, critical thinking, and representation for all students. This movement has gained momentum in recent years, but continued advocacy and commitment from educators, parents, and policymakers are necessary to ensure that every student can see themselves reflected in their learning materials.

The post Discussing the Push to Diversify K-12 Textbooks appeared first on The Edvocate.

More people of color in college leadership positions

Though he has not introduced any official legislation that demands more people of color in leadership spots, the President’s mere presence in the nation’s highest position has paved the way for others to step up in their own industries. I predict a steep rise in minority faculty members, deans and college presidents in the coming decade due indirectly to the example set by this President. His push for more minority graduates will also mean more minority college leaders being fed into university systems.

More minorities graduating from college

The rate of students entering colleges across the nation was already at a record-high when President Obama took office, but so was college debt. Between unchecked student loan interest rates and for-profit universities recruiting non-traditional and minority students without the right support programs in place for those students to graduate, the college landscape had become ineffective for many of the nation’s students. In his tenure, President Obama has worked hard to make the cost of college more affordable, through more federal Pell grants and more federally-backed student loans, as well as loan repayment programs that offer caps on income or loan forgiveness clauses. This has helped all students but an argument can be made that making college more affordable will prove a long-term improvement when it comes to minority graduates who were deterred by the high cost in the first place.

Specifically, President Obama has put minority-friendly programs in place like My Brother’s Keeper that address the specific problems that particular groups face when it comes to obtaining an education. He has also made K-12 schools more accountable for getting their students college-ready with federally-funded incentives like Race to the Top, which focuses on closing the achievement gap between white and minority students. In order to feed colleges more minority students who are ready for the tasks, the grades that come before the college years must be considered – and the President seems get that, and to have a good grasp of the bigger picture of what a college education means for minorities.

More high-skilled minorities in the workforce

With his proposal for tuition-free community college for the first two years for all students, President Obama is ensuring that this next generation of high school graduates will be able to elevate their educations beyond the K-12 years. This applies to all students, but here again is a point where minorities will benefit most. By essentially making the first two years of a college education an extension of the high school years, with some performance requirements attached, minorities will not face the financial roadblock that often accompanies entering college right after high school. Perhaps the area where minorities will see the biggest boost if this proposal becomes law is in the portion that will allow older students who never completed college right after high school to go back to school too. Non-traditional minority students will not have to go the for-profit college route to return to school or find a way to carve out tuition to community colleges from household budgets.

President Obama has always been outspoken about his goals of breaking down barriers in the way of minorities who want to obtain a college education, particularly young men of color. As he completes his term in office, I expect to see him confront these initiatives with even more aggression to cement his legacy as a President that worked hard to improve the diversity on American college campuses.

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

The post What Will Obama’s Legacy be when it Comes to Diversity on College Campuses? appeared first on The Edvocate.

In a story that ran in The Guardian, reproductive specialist Dr. Geeta Nargund says that schools are spending so much time trying to prevent pregnancy that young people are missing out on important knowledge about their own fertility. In her own practice Nargund counsels many women who did not have the facts about their own ability to conceive children until it was too late for it to happen naturally.

That, argues Nargund, is grounded in the misconception that women who wait to have children until they are financially and emotionally ready can do so later in life. The real science is much starker and fertility drops dramatically after women hit their 30s, and continues to fall with each passing year.

I think Nargund has a valid point. If we want students to have all the facts about sex, then let’s not just present one side of the story. Women who want to wait to have children should certainly be able to make that choice but should have all of the information in front of them.

What’s your stance on sex education as it relates to fertility?

The post Should sex ed include fertility information? appeared first on The Edvocate.

A guest post by Beth Ellor

Picture a 5th Grade classroom in Chinatown on New York’s Lower East Side. Twenty-seven mostly Asian children – when I use the classic ‘clap, clap, clap-clap-clap’ signal, they fall silent immediately, eyes on me. Thorough plans from their teacher, including Social Studies – based on a Scholastic News magazine article about Selma and Civil Rights.

How do we introduce this to first generation immigrants (based on their accented English and preference for conversing in Chinese) who clearly have no context for that time? We read the article round-robin (a rarity these days), but the follow-up questions are met with blank stares. To enliven the short article, I’ve found some archival photos online to project on the Smartboard, and invite some discussion of how people might have felt then, seeing the shocking images on TV for the first time ever. Then I continue to a video from the recent 50 year anniversary celebration, specifically the speech made by John Lewis before he introduced President Obama. Immediately I regret this, for so many reasons.

The computer is set to the wrong screen resolution, stretching the images too wide. The sound quality is poor, and Rep. Lewis, with his strong Southern accent and also choked with emotion, induces snickers and imitations. My heart freezes. The mikes, positioned for the tall president, virtually obscure the much shorter Georgia Representative Lewis, so he appears to be bobbing in and out of sight. Suddenly, a Civil Rights icon and personal hero of mine is being subjected to derisive whispers and mirth. I find myself reminding them sharply that this man was willing to give his life for his beliefs throughout the Civil Rights struggle, and on that day, he almost did. The youngsters straighten their faces and attempt to pay attention, but there is no resonance for them. Someone else’s fight in some distant time, and definitely not about them. Epic Fail.

During lunch, I examine the bulletin boards around the room, which are based on their study of the Civil War era. Contemporary illustrations have been pinned up, surrounded by hand-written responses by the children. Around an engraving of enslaved people hoeing land and planting, an overseer on horseback holding a whip, and a white man lounging against a fence, watching, the children have noted: “The people want to get all the work done.” “He needs to make sure the work gets done.” (The overseer) And “He is watching to make sure the work will be finished in time.” (The white man) No-one remarks on the whip, the ethnicity of the characters, or the leisurely stance of the slave-owner.

I fall back on my own stereotypes of China under Chairman Mao, with the devotion of workers to collectivism, common goals of productivity, and self-effacing obedience. 60 plus years have passed since the Cultural Revolution, but how do Civil Rights images look to an Asian immigrant compared to a child born in the South Bronx, in Newark, NJ, or in Selma, Alabama? How does a teacher bring up the subject effectively in a 5th Grade classroom in Chinatown? And does it matter?

So it was with perfect synchronicity that I attended a meeting on May 12th called Digging Deeper: Teaching Rights and Social Justice in a Post-(Michael) Brown Era, offered by the Institute for Public Knowledge at NYU, in partnership with:

International Perspectives on Human Rights Ed, International Ed Program, Dept. of Humanities and Social Services, Steinhardt School.

NYU Partnership Schools Program

Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, NYU.

The event was spearheaded by Carol Anne Spreen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Steinhardt, NYU, and Chrissie Monaghan, Ph.D. Coordinator, NYC-RTE.

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty/Carol_Anne_Spreen Faculty biography.

http://curry.virginia.edu/articles/right-to-education, including links to other published works.

Her immediate boss, Jonathan Zimmerman, was also there to give an outline of his own contributions to the subject.

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty/Jonathan_Zimmerman Faculty Biography

Also on hand was David E. Kirkland, who spoke from both a professional and personal perspective about the systemic factors influencing people and communities of color in recent times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgOoLi1iE7k – for a video with Assistant Professor of English Education David Kirkland discussing how we can understand the complex literate lives of urban youth in and outside of the classroom and the experiences that develop their identity and engagement with the larger world.

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty/David_Kirkland Faculty biography.

Following these presentations, short introductions were given by representatives of organizations which provide various forms of support and expertise to schools and public forums. I was already familiar with several of these, such as

Teaching Tolerance, http://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources

Which is the education arm of the

Southern Poverty Law Center, http://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do/teaching-tolerance Also

Howard Zinn’s education site https://zinnedproject.org/ -in conjunction with:-

Teaching for Change, http://www.teachingforchange.org/ and

Rethinking Schools, http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml

But there are so many dedicated organizations also offering social justice education programs!

Oxfam; http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education

Facing History, Facing Ourselves; https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-resources#bottom

Equitas; https://equitas.org/en (look under educational resources)

Amnesty International: http://www.amnestyusa.org/resources/educators

Asia Society:  http://asiasociety.org/education

Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/about

Global Nomads Group:  http://gng.org/program-pathways

Speak Truth to Power:  http://rfkcenter.org/speak-truth-to-power and http://curriculum.rfkcenter.org/

Street Law Inc.  http://www.streetlaw.org/en/home

Brooklyn 826 (Valencia 826) http://826nyc.org/

Educational Video Center:  http://www.evc.org/tools

Voice of Witness:  http://voiceofwitness.org/education-about/

While each of these offer distinctive resources and focus, every educator who cares about increasing the depth of exposure and understanding of their students will find a wealth of support here. As with all resources, find the one(s) which meet your needs, match your voice and purpose, and stick with it.

To return briefly to my 5th graders – the educators I spoke to had two important messages.

• it is best to start with personal stories and experiences before launching into the topic, so that you can create common ground between your students and the theme you plan to launch.
• (this especially from Facing History, Facing Ourselvespresenter Daniel Braunfeld), create the plans around the age and experience of the students themselves. What works for one group may be entirely inaccessible for another of the same age/grade, so Facing History curriculum is always developed together with teachers on site, not scripted in a pre-digested format.

An article in Scholastic in 5th Grade will be too early and a mismatch for the children’s historical perspective, compared to mine after decades of living through it myself! I hope they will eventually get to discover for themselves, using one of these wonderful programs which are free and available to teachers and schools everywhere!

This post originally appeared on Beth Ellor’s examiner.com page, and was republished with permission.

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Beth Ellor has explored the New York City schools as a parent, as an early childhood teacher, and as a retiree currently providing professional development to inner city schools (as an independent contractor for a celebrated i3 provider). Also a substitute teacher in a wide range of schools, she is a close observer of the reality behind the rhetoric of school success, struggle and reform.

The post How should we teach about social justice in a post-(Michael) Brown world? appeared first on The Edvocate.

A guest post by Julian Vasquez Heilig

Why are we sending droves of young Black and Brown students into the school-to-prison pipeline via our harsh discipline policies when there are better alternatives?

In this newly published chapter in the Handbook of Urban Educational Leadership, we examine a unique peer run youth court at an urban middle school to contextualize social justice in action. The youth court was developed through a collaborative partnership with the local university’s law school and the administrators and teachers of a high poverty, high minority inner city middle school in Texas. Social justice leaders from both institutions identified a troubling trend: students from the middle school were being increasingly tracked into the juvenile justice system. Relying on the theoretical principles of social justice leadership, we explore the principal and school leaders’ implementation of the youth court and their decisions and challenges over three years of the program’s operation. In addition, we delved into the design of the program’s core curriculum based on a restorative justice model that is built upon the foundations of social justice: inclusion and respect. With the backdrop of punitive disciplinary policies, we highlight the courage and commitment of school leaders to go against the grain and fashion an alternative disciplinary program that is significantly changing the trajectories of at-risk youth.

What is a Youth Court?      

The youth court model in many ways mirrors traditional adult courts. Teachers, school officials or police can offer juveniles the option of youth court following their arrest, or after referrals. To qualify for the youth court, juveniles must admit guilt. The youth court is responsible for determining the consequences of the action, taking into account any material put before it by the juvenile or other parties. The entire court, including judge, attorneys, jurors, bailiff and clerk are student peers. If a juvenile declines to go to youth court, he or she may be subject to a referral to juvenile court, a criminal record and the penalties that may be imposed including fines and possible confinement to a juvenile detention center (Poch, 2000).

According to the research, the main goal of youth court and what distinguishes it from traditional courts is its attempt to prevent the criminalization of students by directing them away from the formal intake of the juvenile justice system. With youth court, they will not have a criminal record nor be subjected to the more constraining conditions imposed by a real court of justice. Youth courts create a different pathway for addressing student misconduct. In a sense, they reject traditionally held views about the management of student behavior and more importantly, the superiority of the teacher and administrator to determine appropriate consequences for students.

The youth court model is based on a restorative justice underpinning (Godwin, 2001). Restorative justice in turn, is supported by core restoration values. These values reflect the underlying beliefs that: 1) children are rich resources that can benefit communities; 2) young people are educators’ social equals; 3) children can develop problem-solving skills, pro-social character traits, and healthy self-concepts; 4) children’s physical, educational, social, spiritual, and emotional needs must be met; 5) families are the best environments for healthy development of children, but everyone can help; and 6) every child succeeds; no child fails (Brendtro, Ness, & Mitchell, 2001, pp. 156-158).
The supporters of the peer run youth court believe that a discipline model run by youth will be more effective in addressing problem behavior and deterring future misconduct. The architects of youth courts strongly design their programs in an effort to decrease referrals to the juvenile courts and ultimately decrease problem behavior as students take responsibility not only for their own actions, but also for those of their fellow students through their participation in a student run system (Ashworth et al., 2008). As youth courts continue to take shape around the country, the assumptions of its advocates seem to be true. They are indeed, an alternative to the proverbial school to prison pipeline (Authors, 2011).

A youth court was firmly established at Wilson Middle School (pseudonym) as an alternative to the school to prison pipeline. Most of the literature on this phenomenon has been largely descriptive, documenting the problems with the system but offering little by way of solutions. For the leaders of the Wilson youth court, action was the only solution. They developed youth court specifically as a tool to combat the school to prison pipeline and every leader interviewed articulated a clear connection between the program and the school to prison pipeline.

A number of the school administrators indicated how important youth court was as an alternative to traditional punitive options that are commonplace in the Lone Star State and elsewhere. The Wilson youth court truly is a solution for those struggling to find positive ways of dealing with problematic student behavior. As one vice principal honestly proffered, “I don’t know what we would do without youth court. It gives us an option.” The leaders that rely on youth court rely on it as a real mechanism for change. It is not just another program or silver bullet flying by— it is a restorative justice solution for so many students whose traditional options are far less than ideal.

Conclusion      

When social justice is placed at the core of how school leaders operate and function, a paradigm shift must occur. The cultural and organizational aspects of schools and communities must also fundamentally change. This requires a strong sense of will and purpose. Paradigm shifts, such as limiting punitive disciplinary approaches, are not easy in the current “no excuses” educational policy environment. To facilitate notion of restorative justice in disciplinary policy, school leaders need to identify not just their goals but the foundations of those goals. A surface understanding will not suffice. Change in school disciplinary policy requires a fully informed consciousness, a true equity consciousness. School leaders must serve as change agents, helping others to recognize, access and buttress the abilities of each student and providing each one with the opportunity to succeed via school disciplinary policy.

Instigating a paradigm shift from punitive to restorative school disciplinary policy can be a slow and painful process but important improvements can and do take place (Author, 2011). At the Wilson youth court, change is happening as the program evolves and expands. The positive school response from the teachers and students taking part in the program is paving the way for the court to be scaled up and operationalized at another school. This will provide important comparative data for the program and help substantiate what is already observed by school leaders at Wilson Middle School— students are staying in class and learning not being excluded from instruction and set on the path to dropping out, or worse, sitting in a county jail cell. Students are also learning about what it means to build relationships and how to foster trust and respect in the classroom— in their school and beyond.

The vision of Wilson principal is having a ripple effect. Seeing the strengths of his students, rather than their deficits, he was determined to provide them with the tools they needed to succeed, to stay in school and to never head down the destructive path to prison. Thus, the youth court is not just an alternative discipline program— it is something much greater— a reflection, an inspiration to greater ideals of social justice in majority minority urban middle schools. The youth court is school reform in action and exemplifies how the tireless dedication school and community leaders working together can lead to social justice in action and stem the school-to-prison pipeline.

This post originally appeared on Cloaking Inequality, and was republished with permission. Follow Julian Vasquez Heilig on Twitter: @professorjvh. 

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Julian Vasquez Heilig is an award-winning researcher and teacher. He is currently a Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and the Director of the Doctorate in Educational Leadership at California State Sacramento.

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Board Republicans are hesitant to approve such a move, saying that individual school districts already have the authority to teach such classes if they want. Some have even gone so far as to say that the move will inject “leftist ideals” into classrooms. Opponents also say that adding the course to the official state elective list could end up costing the state “millions,” according to Lady Theresa Thombs, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Board.

In Texas, people of Hispanic descent make up 51 percent of the population. More than 30 people testified in favor of the course addition at a Board meeting on Tuesday, including Tony Diaz, a member of MAS Texas and director of intercultural initiatives at Lone Star College in Harris County. Diaz pointed out that the Board adding the class is about more than giving permission to school districts to teach the class — but is also about leading the way when it comes to saying that Mexican-American heritage is something worth putting on the official curriculum.

The Board was scheduled to vote on the measure on Wednesday, but managed to avoid the vote, so the answer as to whether or not it will end up on the official elective list remains in the air.

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To grapple with this issue, I spoke to Dr. Adriel A. Hilton, Director, College Student Personnel Program & Assistant Professor of College Student Personnel at Western Carolina University. Dr. Hilton served as past director for the Center for African American Research and Policy as well as Assistant Vice President for Inclusion Initiatives at Grand Valley State University. He also served as chief diversity officer and executive assistant to the President & Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees at Upper Iowa University.

Q: Concentrating on this issue of equality and diversity, first, let’s talk about how they are related. How do you see the relationship between equality and diversity in higher education?

A: I find it interesting that two words with contrasting meanings are used jointly as a way to improve higher education. Equality is synonymous with likeness, uniformity, fairness, and homology; while diversity, on the other hand, means unlikeness, variance, mixed, and heterogeneity. Yet, when the words are synced with higher education, they become mutually beneficial, having a powerful impact.

Much research has been done on the effects of diversity in higher education, concluding it has very positive effects on students. Exposure to diversity—whether it be cultural, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or those with disabilities—provides students the opportunity to learn about and from each other, resulting in cognitive growth and citizenship.

The equality factor in higher education is to assure all students legally start off on a level playing field. Equity policies have evolved over the years—from the first affirmative action laws in the 60s to the One Florida Initiative of the late 90s to the Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013. These laws were not intended to give preferential treatment, but are an effort to break down the barriers that discourage underrepresented populations from enrolling in college and suffering injustices in the workplace. These efforts are still widely debated, particularly quotas, but with colleges today focusing on promoting diversity, having some sort of equality policies in place on campus set expectations for students, faculty, and staff. They set standards of respect and call for all students to view each other as equals and for faculty and staff to treat each student, regardless of his or her differences, the same.

Q: Do you think higher education institutions are sufficiently aware of the difference and if not, why not?

A: I would like to think that anyone employed in higher education appreciates equality and diversity and acts accordingly, but I am not that naive—hence the need for equality regulations and policies. Personal experience has proved that people in higher education are human first, with learned prejudices that have been passed down through the generations and of which are hard to let go. It is only through knowledge of and exposure to people of different races, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and those with disabilities, that insight is gained about another person’s lived experiences. Without this knowledge, any degree of empathy, respect, or joy about any person who is unlike us is impossible to understand. When no conscious effort is made to learn about diversity and equality, progress is impeded.

Q: Explain why you feel it is imperative that courses in diversity and equality are included in college curricula.

A: The obvious answer is knowledge about diversity equips our graduates with the tools needed to effectively cope in today’s diverse workplace and global society. We now live in an age where technology has allowed us to easily connect with all types of people from around the world. Sensitivity toward a person’s culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and disability is an absolute must.

Community service is another motivation for colleges to offer diversity and equality courses. Who better to pass on the importance of a college education to underrepresented teens than someone who has been through the process? When college students serve as role models through partnership programs with local public schools, it can be very fulfilling and even lead to a lifelong passion for community service.

However, the main reason diversity and equality should be taught at the college level is that it helps to develop empathetic, socially conscious individuals. I think former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is a good example of a college-educated, empathetic, and socially conscious, wealthy white male.

According to the NCSL (National Council of State Legislatures) website, when Governor Bush issued the One Florida Initiative in 1999, his intent was to reform college preparation in Florida public schools (P-12) for all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, and to do away with race-based college admissions. He stated in a press release, “With my One Florida Initiative, we can increase opportunity and diversity in the state universities and state contracting without using policies that discriminate or pit one racial group against another.”

According to the Foundation for Excellence in Education (Bush is founder and board chairman of FEE) website “…during his two terms, Bush championed major reform of education in Florida, raised academic standards, required accountability in public schools …created the most ambitious school choice program in the nation …progress is measurable …more high school seniors are earning a diploma …fewer students are dropping out …third through 10th grade students are outscoring 60-70 percent of their peers in all other states in both reading and math.”

Bush recognized a problem, developed a solution, and put it into action. In my opinion, without a strong conviction toward diversity and equity, Bush would not have seen the potential in all students, no matter their class, race, gender, religion, or disability, nor would he have been empathetic or cared enough to want to help the under-served population so they too had a chance to be successful.

Q: What advice would you give to fellow academics and administrators looking to teach diversity and equality and promote it?

A: Be objective. Teach from diverse perspectives – the first-generation Black male, the low-income Hispanic teen, women, disabled Veterans. Tell people’s stories, past and present. Bring in experts to speak. But most importantly, have your students be a part of the discussion by honestly sharing their own experiences, asking hard questions, and having healthy debates so that they become personally vested in the learning process. Finally, initiate community service programs that partner with local schools to get students involved. It is through service that they will be able to see first-hand what a positive impact they can have on the lives of others. Remember, as instructors, our job is to plant the seed. It is the student’s responsibility to take that seed (knowledge) and, hopefully, choose to nurture it and make it grow.

We would like to thank Dr. Hilton for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with us.

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