CRE STORIES
Stories are powerful points of entry for new ideas and ways of being. Get to know more about Culturally Responsive Education through the stories of people who have shaped and been shaped by it. Check out more about CRE on NYU Metro Center's CRE Hub.
Seen in the Classroom
What becomes possible when students learn from educators that share part of their cultural experience? Or when they learn curriculum that honors and sustains their distinct history?
Aaron Harris, a New York City public school teacher, is one of just four male teachers of color at a school with a predominantly Black student body. A Washington, D.C. native, Aaron shares his experiences as a teacher of color in the classroom, and how race and ethnicity inform the role educators play in their students’ lives.
Being Culturally Responsive as a White Teacher
When Erin Dunlevy left her hometown in suburban New Jersey to teach in the South Bronx, she was shocked to see a line of 2,500 students wrapped around the school building waiting to pass through the only operational metal detector on campus.
Erin shares her learning about what it means to be an ally who is responsive to community needs and to honor community voices.
This is especially important when we consider that over 80% of teachers nationally are white. In New York City schools, white teachers make up 70% of the teacher workforce in schools that predominantly serve students of color in under-resourced communities.
The Archaeology of the Self
How do issues of race, class, religion, and sexual orientation live within us? How does our societal conditioning shape the way educators show up in classrooms?
Bronx native Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz challenges educators to examine their views on the communities and students they serve.
Using an archaeological approach, Sealey-Ruiz mentors educators of all backgrounds on how to do the "deep work" of excavating their personal histories and activating their racial consciousness as a precursor to theorizing about pedagogy.
Race Conversations in the Classroom
Jillian McRae and Sam North co-facilitate a course about classism, sexism, and racism at Ossining High School in Westchester County, New York that creates space for students to have courageous conversations and make intentional choices about their involvement in their communities.
How do students react when the conversation centers institutional structures rather than individual acts?
What happens when high school students frame their examination of systems around those who benefit the most from them, and are encouraged to have honest discussions about the “-isms” these systems create with their peers?
Breaking the Stereotype of the Uncaring Black Parent
Before her appointment to the Parent Teacher Association at her youngest child's school, Zakiyah Ansari raised and supported four of her children through college.
Despite her demonstrated interest in the future of her children and their education, Zakiyah is often met with cynicism and low expectations held by other adults who believe black and brown families are unconcerned about their children’s studies.
This animated film shares Zakiyah's testimony about how stereotypes function in schools and shape the students expectations for themselves and their learning environments.
Raising a Critically Conscious Teaching Force
To what extent are we influenced by our inherent biases? Can honest, genuine, and critical human connection serve as a solution to institutional racism? If so, what does that look like in practice?
Paul Forbes and Natalie Zwerger work to develop individual school and district-wide understandings of race, power, and privilege.
A Principal's Perspective
What happens when the racial makeup of a community changes? How does the historical context of the American public education system affect students learning in a more diverse society?
When a fight occurs at a school basketball game, racial tensions run high and spill into the community. In its wake, Ann Dealy’s stance ensures that institutions respond to the needs of each and every student, particularly students of color. Using her privilege, voice, and position as a school principal, Dealy demonstrates what it looks like to hear, see, and respect students.
Relearning History, Telling New Stories
As a child, New York Times bestselling author Daniel José Olde, was unable to see the world he was experiencing represented in the books he read. As an adult, he creates characters which bring the realities of young people of color to life.
Karyn Parsons, actress, author, founder of Sweet Blackberry, saw disparities between the facts she discovered as an adult and those taught in the history classes of her youth.
How does representation (or a lack thereof) in curricula affect the way children view themselves? How much agency do students deserve in their classroom? Motivated by their own childhood experiences, Daniel and Karyn tell new stories and surface tales of the past to ensure the stories of today are a more accurate illustration of history, truth, and lived experience.
Practicing Culturally Responsive Education
Whose voices are heard and unheard in the classroom? What do students have to teach their teachers? How can teachers overcome taboos around race talk?
Current and former teachers share their experience learning and practicing culturally responsive education in their classrooms and beyond.