Students opted to move away from a “sugar-coated, black-and-white history of the civil rights movement,” says Tran, and toward a celebration of the diverse populations that have made grassroots contributions to civil rights. assembly, the BSU persuaded school leaders to open up the conversation about social justice. The students in the BSU continue to be agents of change. BSU explained how hurtful it was to them, that this was their passion and not something to be made fun of.” “They were freshmen, they were goofing around they just didn’t understand the impact of their joke. “There was a restorative circle conducted with the two kids who orchestrated the whole thing,” remembers Tran. The backlash has since quieted down, and even the “white student union” incident was seen as an opportunity for growth. River Ridge’s administration offered support in the face of the pushback, fielding calls from families and community members about the nature of the club. And they’ve formed a business of their own. Another way the group fosters Black representation and community is by patronizing Black-owned businesses. Excited to serve as mentors, members even donated their own hand-drawn portraits of prominent Black historical figures to the elementary school they partner with most often. When the local elementary schools heard about the club, the BSU began getting requests to speak at assemblies honoring Dr. Tran remembers, “ said if they had seen more teachers of color, adults of color, older students of color in the classroom, it would’ve been a different experience at school for them.” Education literature, they learned, posits that teachers of color tend to perceive students of color-and all students-more positively than other teachers.Īccording to the 2017 report “ The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers,” having just one Black teacher in elementary school cuts high school dropout rates by 39 percent.įollowing these conversations, BSU students resolved to mentor their younger peers. Students also used meeting time to discuss the “Pygmalion effect”: the theory that a teacher’s expectations of a student significantly influence the student’s academic future. “We wanted to teach it in a way that honors and doesn’t make them ashamed or embarrassed about their history.”īut learning doesn’t just focus on the past. “It goes back to honoring these kids,” she reflects. Tran says students began by expressing a strong desire to learn more about their own histories, cultures and communities. The group’s constitution outlines its mission and philosophy, which features five key pillars: education, outreach, representation, civic engagement and economic empowerment. “I want to be somebody in the history of the race who did something important.” He attributes his drive to an innate desire to lead: “I want to make a difference in my community,” he says. Alexander, who has ADHD, says writing this document was the most focused effort he had ever put into anything in his entire life. Then-sophomore Drayden Alexander was tapped to draft the BSU’s first constitution. She agreed, and after a few months, they decided to form a Black student union. They knew Tran had co-founded the school’s multicultural club, so they asked if she wanted to collaborate. The students who gathered in Tran’s room had a problem with this. Consequently, Black students do not get to see a lot of representation at school. Just under 7 percent of the school’s students are Black, and 74 percent of Lacey residents are white. River Ridge is located in Lacey, Washington.
0 kommentar(er)
