Cathy Flores, Principal of an alternative high school in California and senior director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging, talks about the complexities educators of color navigate on their campuses and throughout their careers. Shining a light on the added responsibilities these educators bear in educating their peers about cultural sensitivity and inclusivity, Cathy brings to light the silent, heavy, and unrecognized burdens they carry. A collective effort towards recognizing these challenges and actively working towards an educational environment that values and supports diversity at its core is necessary at this moment to meet the social crisis facing our society.
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Transcript:
Educators of Color & The Weight They Carry
"The theme that constantly comes up for our educators of color is the way they carry in helping white educators understand things. So when there is harm that's done, it's it's like the educator of color needs to address it. So it's this constant weight and toll of having to shoulder the the understanding of others. You know, 'here's how you created harm and here's how you can help repair or restore that relationship'.
And it's it's very rarely someone saying, well, let me examine my whiteness and consider how I show up in this space as an educator. Like how does my white identity impact or my grading practices or the curriculum I select or the the books I'm teaching in my class? You know, how does it connect to the how does it impact the connections? I'm trying to make with my students of color?
You know, and educators of color are exhausted. They're exhausted. And I get it because I'm exhausted, too!"
-Cathy Flores