Reflecting on Racial Justice in Education
As an educator with experience teaching English Language Arts (ELA) to middle school students at a private international school in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 2013 to 2015, I've been reflecting on these questions through the lens of Ontario's Ministry of Education policies on equity and inclusive education. Ontario's framework, as outlined in documents like Realizing the Promise of Diversity: Ontario's Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy, emphasizes creating learning environments free from discrimination, where all students feel valued and supported. My classroom in Mongolia consisted entirely of local Mongolian students, with about 80% fluent in English and 20% at very low proficiency levels. We followed the University of Cambridge International Examinations curriculum, which was rigorous but often Eurocentric, not always aligning with students' cultural contexts. Social dynamics there included urban-rural divides (city dwellers often looking down on countryside origins), strong anti-Chinese sentiments rooted in historical tensions, and occasional disturbing admiration among some students for figures like Hitler, whom they compared to Genghis Khan as "strong leaders." These experiences highlighted how biases can manifest in education, even in a seemingly homogeneous society, and how they might intensify in online settings where personal connections are harder to build. Below, I address each question based on these reflections.
What are the most significant barriers to racial justice in education?
In my experience, one major barrier is the assumption of cultural or linguistic deficiency among marginalized students, which aligns with Ontario's push to challenge biases in assessment and instruction. In Mongolia, the 20% of students with low English skills were often from rural backgrounds, and urban peers (and sometimes subtly, the system) viewed them as "less capable" due to accents or slower progress, mirroring class-based prejudices that can racialize rural identities. Another barrier was curriculum irrelevance, Cambridge materials rarely incorporated Mongolian history or perspectives, making racialized topics like anti-Chinese bias unaddressed, allowing stereotypes to fester. In an e-learning context, as noted in the topic resources, this could worsen if teachers can't "see" students' uniqueness, leading to disengagement. Systemic issues, like unequal access to resources (e.g., rural students lacking stable internet in a hypothetical online shift), further entrench inequities.
What can we, as individuals, do to disrupt racism within education?
As individuals, we can start by self-reflecting on our privileges and biases, as encouraged by Ontario's equity strategy, which calls for ongoing professional learning. In my ELA classes, I disrupted potential racism by adapting lessons to include Mongolian folktales alongside Western literature, as well as Jewish culture, such as reading Anne Frank, and introducing my cousin through Skype, who taught the students about Jewish holidays, thus validating students' lived experiences and countering the risk of privilege-laden language. For instance, when anti-Chinese sentiments arose in discussions of global history, I facilitated open dialogues to challenge them, drawing on resources like diverse texts to humanize "the other." In online environments, this means intentionally designing inclusive virtual activities, like breakout rooms for sharing cultural stories, and using tools to ensure low-proficiency students aren't sidelined; perhaps through subtitles or visual aids. We can also advocate for policy changes, like pushing for more diverse curricula, as I did by suggesting local integrations to school admins. They now also use the Mongolian national curriculum in nearly half their courses.
What does action look like?
Action looks like proactive, consistent steps beyond awareness, such as revising lesson plans to center marginalized voices and holding ourselves accountable through reflection. In Mongolia, action meant intervening when urban students mocked rural peers' English during group work, reframing it as an asset (e.g., bilingualism as strength) and tying it to themes in literature like identity in The Giver. It also involved collaborating with colleagues to address admiration for Hitler by incorporating Holocaust education sensitively, comparing it critically to Genghis Khan without glorification. In e-learning, action could include using platforms that allow anonymous feedback to surface biases safely, or curating resources that reflect students' realities, like videos on Mongolian history, to avoid materials that don't "speak" to them. Ontario's model supports this through school equity teams; action is modeling vulnerability, like admitting my own cultural blind spots as a non-Mongolian teacher.
What does accountability concerning racial justice look like in education?
Accountability involves measurable commitments, feedback loops, and consequences for inaction, as per Ontario's equity audits and reporting requirements. In my setting, it meant tracking participation from low-English students and adjusting if they were underrepresented in discussions, ensuring I didn't assume deficiency. If biases emerged (e.g., overlooking rural students' contributions), accountability was apologizing publicly in class and revising approaches. System-wide, it looks like schools reviewing suspension data for disparities, though rare in my school, anti-Chinese comments could lead to unaddressed tensions. In online learning, accountability might include logging virtual interactions for bias checks or peer reviews of digital content. Ultimately, it's tying personal growth to student outcomes, like surveying if students feel respected, and facing discomfort head-on rather than deflecting.
What is the role of relationship, community, and partnership in racial justice work?
Relationships are foundational, fostering trust that allows vulnerable conversations about race. In Mongolia, building community meant partnering with parents (many from rural areas) to co-create ELA projects incorporating family stories, bridging urban-rural divides and countering isolation for low-English learners. Partnerships with local educators helped adapt Cambridge exams to be more culturally responsive. Ontario emphasizes community engagement in equity plans, which resonates,; racial justice thrives when we co-learn, as in the "4 Big Questions" webinars. In e-learning, this role amplifies: virtual communities can connect isolated students, but without strong relationships, risks like not respecting individuality increase. Partnerships with anti-racism organizations could provide resources, ensuring work isn't siloed.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Look up the tag: @4bigquestions or search “4 Questions About Racism” on Twitter. Scroll through the discussion, comments and resources shared and find one or two threads or resource which stuck out to you or that had a focus on addressing racial justice and equity in an e-learning environment.
Scrolling through discussions around @4BigQuestions (an account dedicated to racial justice in Canadian education), I found reflections from their 2020 webinar series particularly relevant, as the online format itself demonstrated co-learning in a virtual space. One thread that stood out was by @MsCathrynWake, recapping a session: She highlighted "Consultation does not equal consent" when engaging BIPOC voices, warning against tokenization that could re-oppress in educational consultations. She also unpacked "discomfort vs. feeling unsafe" for educators, noting how white fragility might shut down equity work; crucial in e-learning where virtual distance can amplify misunderstandings.
Finally, she emphasized learning from student perspectives, like Charlotte's, which ties directly to respecting individuality online when we "cannot see them and their uniqueness." This resonated with my Mongolia experience, where online adaptations might have tokenized rural students' stories without true consent.
Another resource was a post from @KimLacelle2 on Week 2 discussions around Special Education and Equity: The quote "If an IEP doesn’t rip down barriers.. then don’t write it" stuck out, focusing on how equity plans must actively dismantle racism, especially in virtual classrooms where barriers like access or cultural mismatch are heightened.
This aligns with addressing deficiencies assumed in racialized students, and it's a call to action for inclusive e-learning design. These online shares exemplify the power of public digital forums for reflection, much like how we'd need to adapt in remote teaching to engage all voices equitably.
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