TRUTH BE TOLD
CLASS DIVIDE: WHAT MARGINALIZED FAMILIES EXPERIENCE
Dr. Rashmee Karnad-Janiis an outstanding teacher, consultant and curriculum leader.
By DR VICKI BISMILLA
During the pandemic, schools were rightly closed for months at a time with students learning online.
This was neither easy for students nor for parents. Even the most tech-savvy parents found that juggling their work from home and ensuring their children coped was frustrating and stressful. Add to this the anxiety of parents for whom English is not the mother tongue and those working shifts in precarious jobs for whom childcare and putting food on the table are highest priorities. Thus the disparity in the education of children from privileged homes and children in struggling families became more pronounced.
A phenomenal educator who is studying this gap and one whose work I have admired for two decades, has found that there are lessons for all of us to remember.
Dr. Rashmee Karnad-Jani has always been an outstanding teacher, consultant and curriculum leader, but the aspect of her work that I admire most can best be described as seva. Rashmee places the learning needs of her students above all else and helps their parents help their children. She serves an area of the GTA with among the highest percentage of multilingual families and the findings of this brilliant scholar, speaker, thinker, disrupter and champion for students and parents are eye-opening.
One astonishing piece of data that emerged in her doctoral research is that teachers of marginalized students do not bring parents into the learning loop in the same way that they engage affluent parents. Even though the government policy document requires teachers to involve parents in student learning, the disjuncture between that promise and the actual experience of parents is stark.
“The socially dominant footsteps” are heard loudly and clearly as Rashmee compared the policy with what was actually occurring in schools. Settlement workers whom she interviewed confirmed that COVID has highlighted this disjuncture but it has always existed for the non-English speaking parents and unnoticed by the socioeconomically affluent. Teachers do, in fact, regulate parents’ time at home every time they suggest/recommend/demand what parents need to do at home with a student. This can be extremely stressful in primarily racialized homes where English is not the dominant language.
A key notion that Rashmee examines is that of Standard North American Family (SNAF) which is the standard of the ideal family – the two parent English-speaking family where the father’s job allows the mother to have the means and time to devote to the careful cultivation of opportunities for their children.
The other is Ruling Relations which subconsciously guide government policies and unintentionally create barriers for those who do not fit the SNAF model. So, for example, if a family states that their mother tongue is Hindi or Urdu (or any language other than English) on their immigration and other official forms, this information enters their children’s schooling records and years later will require them as adults to take a qualifying English exam to enter university even if they are fluent and are formally educated in English.
Her study found that parents who are ethno-culturally different from historically dominant English-speaking communities are engaged in a less complete way. Attempts are not often made to bridge gaps. Settlement workers, cultural liaisons and fellow educators, if included with parental permission, can bring parents to the conversation table where appropriate pedagogy can be discovered.
Sometimes, the child can be the most informative conduit between a teacher and parent. But assumptions made about the role of children in their own learning and their role in their families, often underestimate the value of children’s place as keys to school-home pathways to understanding.
As one student put it, “My mother doesn’t talk like the other teachers, not even you... so don’t call home!”
Out of the mouths of babes a truth so profound that escaped multi-credentialed teachers.
Granted that schools do acknowledge special heritage months like South Asian Month, but as one of Rashmee’s podcast colleagues pointed out, these special months are “one and done”.
There is a need to tap into the cultural resources of families and not just their food and dance.
For example, could O Canada be played using different musical instruments from different parts of the world? Teachers who respect ethno-culturally diverse homes and create classrooms where all participants are learners, including the teacher, create the most robust and rewarding learning spaces. Teachers must not require children to leave pieces of themselves like their language, their family’s memories, their inclination for code-switching in the way they speak, at the door. Students must be encouraged to bring these rich experiences into the classroom and become true global citizens.
Students and parents bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge. Do not become complicit in the dominant pedagogy and dominant practices.
I understand that teachers are taught to use educational lenses based on government policies but as educated adults they must examine those policies critically and challenge premises like SNAF.
As Rashmee succinctly says, “Educational lenses are important but educational mirrors are important too,” meaning educational mirrors allow educators to take a closer look at ourselves and how we relate with students, their families and our colleagues.
Dr Vicki Bismilla is a retired Superintendent of Schools and retired college Vice-President, Academic, and Chief Learning Officer. She has authored two books.