Toward a teacher solidarity lens: former teachers of color (re)envisioning educational research

Abstract

Based on a two-year self-study by a group of early-career scholars of color, we explore and purposefully name our role, within the contemporary context of neoliberal reform, as educational researchers of color who are former K-12 teachers. We capture the insights that emerged from our self-study through a close reading of dominant neoliberal educational reform discourses, particularly through an examination of the writings of Michelle Rhee and Wendy Kopp. Along three dimensions of: (1) experience as teachers; (2) solidarity with teachers; and (3) analyses of racism in schooling, we characterize prominent discourses through which educators, researchers, and the public describe teachers and teaching. We name these discursive frames to make explicit the assumptions that are embedded in each and the intentional or inadvertent consequences of each. Finally, we propose a teacher solidarity lens through which we strive to approach our research and work with teachers.

Keywords:

• educational research
• former K-12 teachers
• teacher solidarity
• neoliberalism
• ideology
• teachers of color

Acknowledgements

We thank Ursula Aldana, Elexia Reyes McGovern, and Oscar Navarro for their participation in the Teacher Solidarity Research Group at UCLA. Their contributions to our collective dialogue form the foundation for this manuscript. We also thank Karen Zapata and Jeremiah Jeffries (lead organizers of the San Francisco based grassroots teacher movement, Teachers for Social Justice) and Christine Sleeter and Cynthia Dillard for their feedback on an early version of this manuscript presented at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in San Francisco in 2013.

Notes

1. The links between the popular media, and the public faces and the funders of neoliberal reform are quite intricate. Waiting for Superman paints a gloomy picture of the current public education system, particularly the failure of teachers and their unions. This image of public schooling is juxtaposed with overly optimistic portraits of charter schools and their practices. The film also follows Michelle Rhee as she ‘cleans up’ Washington, DC schools. The reform movements depicted in this film are heavily funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and were glorified The Oprah Winfrey Show, which at the time was the highest rated talk show in the US. It is important not to underestimate the influence of outlets like The Oprah Winfrey Show on public discourse – Oprah Winfrey has been ranked repeatedly as the one of the most influential women in recent history by leading news outlets in the US such as Time, CNN, USA Today, Forbes, and Life.