Planting the Seeds: What Educators Can Do Now to Promote the Field of Teaching Among Minoritized High School Youth

Abstract

With a growing shortage of teachers of color in public schools, the author asserts a necessity for more Critical Educators of Color—educators from racially marginalized backgrounds willing to confront injustices plaguing under-resourced communities of color. Rooted in her formative K12 experiences as a student of color exposed to critical pedagogies and Critical Educators of Color coupled with the extant research literature, the author argues that there are immediate and practical steps educators can take to promote the field of teaching for minoritized students. The author suggests actions school leaders and classroom teachers can take currently to plant the seeds in nurturing the next generation of Critical Educators of Color, such as the following: (a) engender a school culture where staff, students, and families actively talk and address issues related to systemic oppression; (b) promote critical pedagogies in classrooms and throughout the school; and (c) elevate the voices of minoritized students through approaches such as critical youth research.

Notes

1 The author has sought permission to use their real names.