Adaptability instead of Equal Access

Draft started 4/16/2020

I'm gonna start this thought before I lose it and before I do any scientific research.  Ugghhh, grad school severely altered my ability to develop a full thought without thinking about quantifying data.  With the craziness of the school closures and distance learning, I've read over and over remarks from teachers about equal access.  I've been there, and sometimes, I linger here still -- the idea that all students should have equal access.

It's easy and simple.  I only have to create one lesson plan to push out with the expectation that all students have equal access and that no issues will arise as students complete the assignment.  Ok, none of us teachers really believes this myth.  We may long for it, but we don't believe it will ever happen.  Sometimes, magically, we get close??? 

Teacher background and education level, age and experience all contribute to ideology.   As an illustration:  younger teachers with less experience, especially those who come from upper middle class backgrounds tend to see the world differently.  When I first moved to Austin from rural central Texas, I didn't see the world the same way many of my fellow graduate program students did.  In fact, there were lots of discussions in my program that often got heated between those of us who were older with previous teaching experience.

What I now understand is that a teacher's real job is to teach students to adapt to situations, not to try to provide equal access.  Honestly, I've known this for a long time and tend to forget it at time.  I know I was not truly prepared to understand the deeper reality of teaching in my teacher preparation courses - either in undergrad or grad school.  For so long, I thought I was supposed to know everything I could about my subject matter and hold this absurd expectations that I could somehow magically pour years of education and research into the brains of my students. Teaching in an inner city school with a 100% low SES changed that thought forever.  Many of my students in that inner city were homeless, living way below the poverty level, wearing ankle monitors and only at school most days to eat the free breakfast and lunch.

This reality is not one someone from a middle class background in a rural area can fully understand or appreciate.  And if you happen to read this and disagree with me, prove me wrong.

My rant here started because of very heated debate that happened in a Facebook teacher group I am a member of.  If I can ever find the original cartoon meme, I will share.  A poorly dressed student is staring into the window of a classmate with a computer, tablet and smart phone on a desk.  It is simliar to the photo I'm sharing here now.

I've seen something similar to this in the past, and it made me think of conversations I had in grad school about how horrible it was that not all students have the same access to education.  Before you lose your mind......I would love nothing better than for equality to exist.  I think it is a travesty that school districts across the state of Texas vary so greatly.

But pause for a second.  Think about this statement.  Local school boards have the power to make local decisions about school funding.  Would you want students in very rural West Texas to be taught exactly the same way as a student in Houston?  Ideology aside, the world is not equal in any shape or form.  Even when equal access is available, families have different perspectives about the role of education in the lives of their children.  I feel that spending too much time focused on the reality of inequality truly distracts from the real purpose of education........to teach our students to meet the challenges they are facing.

I could seriously write a book about this topic.  From standardized testing to the poor telecommunications infrastructure, lack of job opportunities, government mandates without funding......the list is enormous.  And here lies the truth:  Without resiliency, all the opportunities (or lack thereof) will not help a person.  Years ago, I began to use the terms "consistency and constancy" to help me explore my own thoughts on this ideal that we must have a consistent purpose to which to aspire.  To have true long term success, you need to be able to shift when needed, but not to veer off course.

Take students where you meet them:  broken, lost, confused, compromised, traumatized, scared.....and teach students how to access their own unique voice.  Teach students how to access resources.  Meet students where they are - not with pity, but with an arsenal of tools to help students deal with the issues restricting their ability to see a better world.