In times of crisis, systemic gaps are illuminated
The following are snippets from conversations I’ve had with students and families over the last couple months:
“Mr. Steele, I know what you were talking about now. He does work when he feels like it. You weren’t lying!”
“Mr. Steele, my husband, and his father, was found dead right before all of this stuff started. I haven’t been able to even look at the email from the school yet.”
“Mr. Steele, his dad and I are both essential, so he’s trying to do work while also taking care of his little sister.” “Mr. Steele, yo hairline looking a lil rough right now!” While phrases like “unprecedented times” or “out of an abundance of caution” flood our inboxes and social media, these are the words that have guided my emotions as a teacher.
Most of the time, they have brought me sadness, anger, and a host of other negative emotions. Yet, sometimes, they do bring me joy – even if it is at the back-end of being checked.
I’m struggling, as I’m sure many teachers are
I expected a more auspicious ending to my twoyear journey as a Teach For America corps member. My second year as a teacher has been a thousand times better than the first. I’ve built relationships with all of my students as well as their parents. I’ve started to know what I was doing in front of 75 budding teenagers every day. I was ready to see the fruits of our labor manifest on state testing. But alas, we find ourselves here, in a circumstance we never expected to be in.
A thought I have been sitting with recently is that we are literally watching the achievement gap widen in front of our eyes. As many more privileged students have not missed a beat in their education, many of our students are experiencing a premature summer slide while also being at the brunt of many other systemic inequities.
I’ve already seen my fellow corps members meet the needs of their students and their families by organizing food, academic packet, and chromebook distributions for their school communities. Just imagine how going through this moment now positions us to make more impactful change not only in education but also on the systems that affect our school communities more broadly. Because of structures outside of education, I’ve had to message one student on Instagram because he only has limited internet access on his phone. I’ve had to counsel another student because not only did his grandfather die from COVID-19, but his grandmother and sister also contracted the virus.
We’ve seen those gaps now, during COVID-19, more clearly than ever when it comes to access and opportunity for our students.
What are we going to do about it?
My challenge to everyone is to make it your mission to tackle the gaps our students face that have been magnified in this moment – whether in education, healthcare, technology, or any other sector.
Please don’t let the uniqueness of this time pass in vain. Don’t let the pain that our communities have experienced be for not. If you let it, this moment could be the catalyst to systems-level change in any field, with you leading the charge and equity for all as the outcome.
Brennan Steele is an eighth grade math teacher at Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School and just finished the second year of his Teach For America commitment.