Blog 4- Kassa Valz

Blog 4-Kassa Valz

Decoding the new language of racial hierarchy (2015) discusses a sad but true reality. As a minority growing up in Canada I can now begin to reflect on my own experiences with racial hierarchy in and outside of school. I was reading an article that discussed the notion of ‘equity pedagogy’ which are “teaching strategies that help learners from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural groups attain knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to function effectively within, and help create and perpetuate a just, humane, and democratic society” (Banks & Banks, 1995). Equity Pedagogy also requires a dismantling of current school structures that foster inequality. This practice of equity pedagogy should be developed and proposed to all of the country’s institutions that foster some form of racial or cultural inferiority. With new progressive leaders like Prime Minister Trudeau such an idea might not seem so farfetched.  Not so long ago the whole idea of racial inferiority and determinism was a principal for the Harper lead Conservative government.

At that very contentious time minority (Muslim) communities didn’t have to look across the Atlantic to realize that racial inferiority and think was still present in contemporary times. We just needed to turn on CBC or read the local newspaper. How can a leader of such a progressive country like Canada say such things like certain cultural practices are “barbaric” or traditions ‘rooted in a culture that is anti-women?’ It is through the new language of racial hierarchy, instilling a fear of the ‘other’, pitting mainstream Canadians against minority Canadian.

As new progressive educators we must confront and dismantle the idea of the hidden curriculum. To do this educator must become aware of the cultural diversity that makes this country great. Once educators become culturally conscious and only then can the ideas of equity pedagogy be implemented when educating twenty-first century learners.      

Reference

McGee Banks, C. A., & Banks, J. A. (1995). Equity pedagogy: An essential component of multicultural education. Theory into practice, 34(3), 152-158.