Trying to Answer Some of Our Questions

2/27/2024

These are versions of the questions you asked last week about Asao Inoue's Work (these are repeated in the Monday Update):

Questions We Want Answered from Antiracist Writing Assessment:

What does “antiracist assessment” look like in an actual classroom?
What does “sustainability” look like to him?
How do you antiracist grade an assignment?
How do you encourage other teachers to try antiracist assessments?
Do you think teachers who have taught in the current system/structures can/would be willing to learn this other way?
What should we do to reframe our ideas about good/antiracist writing practices
Where is the resistance to race and racism? And why do you think it happens?
What skills should we prioritize our students having when leaving our classrooms?
What do students think about these antiracist ecologies?
How do we create these sustainable places for living and learning?

Take some time to consider what you read in Inoue, what we all read in the introductory chapter, and what you heard from your colleagues. Feel free, of course, to look back to the text itself. Try to answer one to three of these questions now that you are more familiar with the text and with Inoue's argument. As you answer, if you can, try to reflect on your own practice in the classroom.

Rather than respond to responses in writing, let's come back to our zoom space and talk about what you had to say.

10 Comments

Devon M.

2/27/2024 04:28:46 pm

What skills should we prioritize our students having when leaving our classrooms?

I'm aware this question can't solely be answered by myself or in this one posting, but based on my experience teaching I will try. The last two years, I've done a skills/standards based grading system with my department. This is similar to what Sarah was mentioning last class with the rubric she showed in terms of the mastery, meeting, approaching, not yet "scale." Anyways, per grade level my department pulled 12 skills from the MA frameworks about 3 per section of reading, writing, speaking/listening, and language. For example, in writing I have narrative, argument, and informational. For speaking I have presenting in front of the class and small group conversations. The list goes on, and I can say more about it later if needed. It was hard because there were way more skills in this curriculum frameworks doc. As of now, I think it its made my lessons more intention to eliminate filler assignments etc. I've been back and forth about it on how to find a happy medium, but overall in terms of prioritizing, I think I've started to find a system that works for me.

2/27/2024 04:34:20 pm

Replying to myself...
How do we create these sustainable places for living and learning?

In regards to connecting back to chapter 2, sustainability looks like it may take a few more years to fully master as the teacher of what best practices truly work for me and especially the students sitting in my class each year. I view this constantly changing, which is mentioned a couple times in chapter 2 as ecologies and environments continue to change so will my practices as a teacher/society and the habitat I'm experiencing as a whole etc. This goes the same with my students and their human experience as well. I think one the big factors impacting this is creating this safe learning place for my students when they are completing writing assessments or just any task at hand. It can be the lighting in the class, it can be my vibe/mood that may impact them, it can be if I have chill music on etc. Like I said in my last part, I am aware it all needs some sort of balance and harmony. I just need to build more confidence with it and I think it will translate towards my students too.

2/27/2024 04:29:14 pm

I think that when you first start to read Inoue you think that "antiracist assessment" means something other than what it actually means. Essentially, Inoue is arguing that current assessment practices privilege without saying they privilege a white middle class way of being in the world. It doesn't challenge or even say that that's what it is. And, in doing so, it embodies racist practices that marginalizes a lot of our students. And what antiracist assessment really means is NOT about making it easier or grading certain students with less rigor than we grade other students or lowering standards or whatever. Rather, antiracist assessments acknowledge that merit as understood in the school is a myth and that the way you learn is by doing the work not getting graded.

The only way I've gotten fellow teachers to try this way of assessing is by making i t clear that it makes their lives easier as well. That equity is not just for students. It's for everyone engaged in the labor of teaching and learning.

Peyton DiTullio

2/27/2024 04:30:45 pm

1. What does "antiracist assessment" look like in an actual classroom?
To me, an antiracist writing assessment is a writing assessment that involves risk taking, collaboration, feedback, reflection, and trial an error. That way, students are actively participating in an ecology of living writing rather than "submitting" a piece of "dead writing" just for me to read once and grade. I gave students an antiracist writing assessment about 10 days ago in which they had many many many different prompts they could choose from at all sorts of "levels." Students engaged in a "12 minute essay" outline challenge, where they wrote freely about their ideas in response to the prompt and did not worry about making the writing "formal." Today, we began working in writing groups and students were given the space to digest the feedback I left them, give each other feedback, and reflect on what they wanted to change/add/get rid of in their next draft "which they will be working on tomorrow." Students seemed more excited over this writing assessment knowing it was something that we would be working on/discussing rather than submitting into the abyss.
2. How do you antiracist grade an assignment?
I think grading the student on what they did between draft 1 and draft 2 is way more beneficial than grading the student on how they "cleaned up" or "polished" the final product. This grading reflects the labor the student put into the assignment and the amount of risk taking they took.

Cassandra Peterson

2/27/2024 04:35:32 pm

I totally agree on the grading front! I try to give an extra point or two to students who showed me that they listened and made edits, despite that not being a part of the rubric my school uses. I often tell my kids that I just want their work to be their best, not someone else's. Unfortunately I still see a lot of anxiety about perfectionism when it comes to writing.

2/27/2024 04:32:31 pm

1. How do you antiracist grade an assignment?

After reading my chapter for today, I think there are few pieces to the answer to this question. One is the utilization of labor-based rubrics, which set goals for labor but leave out the rigidity that rubrics commonly used apply. For example, my school uses the MCAS writing rubric, and it is few and far between to find an 8th grader who gets an 8/8 on an essay when that rubric is used. I think my students benefit knowing that they are capable of a quantity of work.
This leads me to the second piece: goals that are clear, but consequences that look different for every student. The same amount of work should be put in by the students to achieve a product, but their writing can look very different. I really like this idea, especially since my students become more driven with simpler work based goals.

1.Where is the resistance to race and racism? And why do you think it happens?

A vast majority of the teachers in my district are white and over the age of 40. Though this is changing, those particular teachers are rather opposed to antiracist teaching. I think there are some deep societal roots that can be blamed for their resistance, but I also think that inaccurate media portrayals of CRT from fox news or biased sources can influence some white teachers. Though they preach the dangers of fake news and social media, there are many in my district that fall victim to it. It is also simply easier to stay the same than it is to change, and humans are sometimes self-centered creatures.

Sara

2/27/2024 04:33:57 pm

1) What should we do to reframe our ideas about good/antiracist writing practices

To reframe our ideas about antiracist writing practices, we must expose ourselves to other people’s perspectives and then reflect on our own educational practices. We cannot revise our practices unless we are willing to listen to other perspectives and consider where our practices might be lacking and in need of revision. Additionally, we should listen more to our students and involve them in the assessment process to ensure that they feel empowered by and not judged by our assessment power. If we can reframe our thinking in a way that prioritizes student voice and power, we will be on the right path towards antiracist teaching practices.

2) Where is the resistance to race and racism? And why do you think it happens?

Next, I think the resistance to race and racism discussions stems from discomfort and confusion. I would argue that the MAJORITY of teachers and educational professionals have the best intentions and are never trying to be intentionally racist in any way. So, to well-meaning teachers, it might feel accusatory to accuse them of being racist. However, I think Inoue is trying to argue that the system is racist and that is where the problem is.

Nick Elliott

2/27/2024 04:33:59 pm

I think grading assessments in a manner that is antiracist involves being constantly cognizant of the structures that are used to assess students and what they represent. Understanding that assessment is a demonstration of power by an individual over another, and that these power dynamics are part of a racist system is something that an educator should try to be aware of at all times. Being aware of the ways in which grading and assessment are used to uphold a racist system is part of antiracist grading, as well as being aware of the skills that you are assessing. Focusing your efforts on guiding students through a particular skill and not on student's "correct or incorrect" demonstration of skill is vital to beginning to assess students in an antiracist way.

I think encouraging other teachers to adopt this mindset in their assessment could be through a mutual understanding that teachers want what is best for their students, that the system affects all of us, and that we as teachers are not always consciously aware of the effects the system has on our students or ourselves. Broaching this subject can make others defensive (no one wants to do something others perceive as racist), but encouraging your colleague to see the ways in which the system harms them as well as their students may help them understand the importance of antiracist assessment.

Kasey P

2/27/2024 04:37:48 pm

How do you encourage other teachers to try antiracist assessments?
-I think that teachers would be willing to try antiracist assessments if they learned what antiracist assessments are. I think there may be a misconception about what this actually entails, but in reality, antiracist assessments are mostly revolving around incorporating lives of the individuals that we teach. I feel like those of us in the profession care about our students, so allowing them opportunities to share their own experiences naturally flows in a classroom. The author discusses in chapter one that assessments should allow students to understand that certain language is standardized, but their own vernaculars and languages are just as important. My assessments are not all a 5 paragraph essays that follows a tightly-knit rubric. They involve narratives, journaling, and pecha kuchas where students can reflect upon research of a topic they care about. I try to allow students to share their experiences through different avenues that encourage self-exploration and more stream-of-conscious thought, because their feelings are significant and relevant to the class and how we all see the world. Journaling can be an opportunity to share their thoughts and my grading isn't about spelling or grammar, it is an opportunity to allow students to develop positive relationships with writing or reflect on something meaningful. There are endless possibilities of antiracist assessments because if students are writing, learning, and thinking-critically, that's the most important thing.

Do you think teachers who have taught in the current system/structures can/would be willing to learn this other way?
-I think this is incredibly sad, but not fully. I think that many teachers are open to this, concept, but the realities of state testing are always looming over. The author discusses how state testing is inherently racist and limits the potential of students. It doesn't value student individuality or student choice, it only values a whitewashed version of education. I think teachers have become more limited because state testing determines not only funding for the school, but also a teacher's job. If a teacher doesn't get the scores that are hoped for, their job is then in jeopardy. In a way, the states are then forcing teachers to teach all one way, furthering the idea that the state does not value the individuality of the students we teach.

Dawna Vella

2/27/2024 04:39:12 pm

1. Where is the resistance to race and racism? And why do you think it happens?

In Ch 2, Inoue discusses that writing assessment ecologies are inherently political, as they are situations that involve power differentials. He also points out that race is a clear manifestation of these power differentials. So I think that a lot of the resistance comes from people being afraid of anything that has a political connotation, and since race is so deeply tied to politics, people resist talking about racism. People are also afraid to talk critically about issues related to identity, which is a serious impediment to social justice in general because we need to consider how certain identities are privileged/oppressed to varying degrees in different situations and institutions in order to make any progress. And also language has always been used to oppress, meaning it can also be used to liberate, so people resist considering the role of race/racism in language because doing so would disrupt the status quo.

2. What skills should we prioritize our students having when leaving our classrooms?

One important skill that I think Inoue would argue is essential for students is the ability to critically examine their own educational (assessment) situations and identify obstacles to social justice within those ecologies. This includes an awareness that there is no one standard of writing that we should be using to evaluate students. Once students have this awareness, they can see more clearly where assessment is biased and subsequently contribute to antiracist change (either in the classroom or beyond that, as they can apply these skills to situations outside of writing assessment).

Trying to Answer Some of Our Questions

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