Equity in the Classroom

Almost 200 years after public schools moved toward free education for all children, educators are still exploring the best approaches for promoting equitable student growth. In early 2020, Covid-19 operational changes and the challenge to confront America’s most profound racial problems exposed many equity issues in schools. As a result, educators were called to reimagine the field of education as the curtain closed on the first quarter of the 21st century. The essays in this book challenge classroom instructors to consider new approaches to education theory, classroom praxis and teaching content. The chapters herein draw on mixed-methods and narrative form essays to provide practical tools and techniques for building equitable schools. Viewing schools as extensions of society-at-large, this book delivers innovative curricular approaches to STEM education, the Humanities and applied theater. The authors offer methods for empowering student voices, managing moments of crisis, increasing representation in computer science and implementing restorative justice disciplinary practices in learning institutions. Essays provide all educators with proven instructional models for curricular equity with the goal of moving America closer to a multicultural democracy.

Todd M. Mealy (Ph.D., American studies, Penn State University) is a writer who specializes in 19th and 20th century civil rights history and sports culture. A contributor to Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Heather Bennett assists public school boards and districts with educational equity focused tools, programming, and research. Her scholarship and practice focus on the intersection of education, law, and policy. She lives in Bangkok, Thailand.

Edited by Todd M. Mealy and Heather Bennett

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 298
Bibliographic Info: bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8703-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4658-9
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction
Todd M. Mealy and Heather Bennett 1
In the Context of “Additional Context”: A Syllabus
Connor Towne O’Neill 7
Towards an Inclusive and Equitable Future: The Imperative to Broaden Participation in Computing
Monique S. Ross 15
Training the Next Generation of Science Activists Using Critical Race Pedagogy
Lisette E. Torres 31
Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices in the Mathematics Classroom
Tressa D. Matthews and Jennifer D. Banks 48
Healing Through Stories: How Picture Books and Storytelling Can Cultivate Caring Spaces in Early Elementary Classrooms
Dominique Herard 68
Freedom Dreaming Through Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy
Ling-Se ­Chesnakas 87
Pedagogical Practices to Thwart Voicelessness Among America’s Silenced Students
Patrice W. Glenn Jones and Kevin A. Rolle 111
­Post-Pandemic Solidarity Through Social Justice Pedagogy in America and Beyond: An AsianCrit Autoethnographic Account of Race, Justice, and Education
Aaron Teo 131
­Under-Resourced, Underfunded, and Covid: What a Pandemic Can Teach Schools Seeking Racial Equity
N.J. Akbar, Jennifer L. Martin, Christie Magoulias, and Dayle Rebelsky 145
Isolation, Incarceration, and Institutions: Exploring Abolitionist Policies for ­Post-Pandemic Education
Ebony L. Perro and Ted Nelson 169
From Woke to Action: School Counselors’ Quest for Educational Equity and Social Justice in the Midst of Systemic
Racism and ­Covid-19
Marsha L. Rutledge and Tinisha Parker 192
Dismantling Disproportionality in Special Education Through Antiracist Practices
Dena D. Slanda, Lindsey M. Pike, Léa Herbert, Eric B. Wells, and Candace Pelt 218
­Re-Imagining Racial Liberation Within the Applied Theatre Classroom and Beyond
Amanda Masterpaul 265
About the Contributors 283
Index 289

“Informative…timely, thought-provoking, and ‘real world’ relevant…especially recommended”—Midwest Book Review