It’s TimeBy Hanna Morrison

I’m lateThere it is again, the look she gives me most morningsYes, I’m late, againYour eyes tell me you think I must not care, but I do.I don’t always get the choice to prioritize my education.Baby sister had to be fedPaperwork had to be translated and readI’ve been up for hours, though you think I just rolled out of bed. I’m just in time to mumble, “one nation, under God, with freedom and justice for all” mindlessly. Afsana, behind me, just moved here from Syria—that’s all I know about her since she never talks,Behind her, there’s Yusei and Mas—saying words I wonder if they understand,Behind them, Joy whose mom comes to class every other dayReads us stories one by oneI scan the room and wonder, “freedom and justice for all” Does it exist? Does my teacher think so? I don’t know.

It’s literacy blockHow come there’s no one like me in this book?Her face was blank, then nervousShe tells us that good readers make connections with the textThen, give me something I can connect to! Write about a memorable vacation, it saysA memorable vacation? My mind races to commercials T.V. shows I’ve seen that might give me some ideas. While everyone else scribbles away, I’m afraid to ask for fear of sticking out.I’m supposed to be the sameMeant to conform if I’m to succeed“This is the better life,” my parents sayBut do they know how much of myself I must hide each day?

Please don’t ask me to speak on behalf of my entire ethnicity,

How do I know what the others think, feel? Are you the same as all White, middle-class people? Or, just the same as every teacher I’ve had so far? It is clear what the books think, what the system preachesWhat do you think? Who are you?

Who am I? I had better know As a teacher, rather, as a person in this world, I’d better know myself.Only when I know where I come from can I connect with you. I realize that everyone has biases, hiddenThey need to surfaceLike you, I am complex I am on a journey of self-

discoveryIt may take a whileMeanwhile I address you every single dayWhen I slow down, reflect, teach with intentI see you. I Notice more than color I Hear more than languageI See more than scores When I think I figured you out, I’ve barely begunI see you. What you bring through the door when the bell rings is a gift, A chance for others to open their eyes, to broaden their mind,A chance for me to know who you really are,So bring it with you through the door.Bring your words, thoughts, values, ideas, misconceptions, insecurities, beliefs, and realities They have a place hereThey are welcome here They are essential here.

A system of dominance no longer works for the massesIt’s about cultural competence, now—no, has been—

crossing barriers of race, gender, classes.“Freedom and justice for all”Its meaning ever changingDo you want to live according to the past or prepare for the future? We are today and tomorrow’s leaders, policy makers, SuperintendentsExpect equality for all.Act yesterday.We’re late.

Author’s Note

This poem depicts the struggle of students from minority cultures to be

themselves in today’s education system, despite a teacher’s best intentions. Becoming a

culturally competent person takes introspection and intentional action. In the first stanza,

the student speaker describes his classmates, representing the widening range of diversity

in today’s classrooms.

Teachers must take the time to learn about their students and get to know their

cultural backgrounds. Culture is constantly impacting an educator’s work. American

schools are faced with a great challenge to provide effective education for all students,

regardless of their economic status, race, language, etc. However, it is also a blessing, or

‘gift,’ that children are given the opportunity to learn acceptance and tolerance of people

of different cultures. Educators must become aware of the cultural diversity in their

classrooms, otherwise they fail to make space for that diversity to be highlighted and are

doing a disservice to students who need to be able to interact harmoniously and

productively with people from diverse backgrounds.

The second stanza alludes to the fact that curricula, instruction and assessment

used in public schools widely presents information from a dominant, white culture

perspective. According to James A. Banks (1996), “an important goal of education is to

free students from their cultural and ethnic boundaries and enable them to cross cultural

borders freely” (p. 12). Educators must be cognizant of the fact that “textbooks present a

highly selective view of social reality” and is only one voice that contributes to the

classroom forum, along with the teacher’s biases and student perspectives (Banks, 1996,

p. 22). Teachers must plan activities that engage students of all cultural backgrounds and

supplement curricula with materials that reflect the population in the classroom. Students

can construct their own interpretation of events “when students study content, concepts,

and events from the perspectives of the diverse groups that shaped the events” (Banks,

1996, p. 334). Banks also argues, "the implementation of multicultural education requires

not only curriculum reform but also reform of teaching, planning, and classroom

organization" (p. 125). It is nearly impossible to create tests that don't reflect a particular

culture. The way intelligence is measured today is unfair "because traditional tests have

difficulty taking into account the effects of culture and experience" (Hillis, 1996, p. 123).

How can teachers fairly assess students who do not have the same prior knowledge and

personal experience? Teachers need to know how to facilitate improvement by teaching

in ways that build upon the knowledge and skills students bring to school. One size does

not fit all.

As soon as one assumes one person from a culture is like another, stereotypes are

at play. Stereotyping "fails to recognize the variation that exists within

particular ethnic, cultural, and religious groups" (Banks, 1996, p. 119).

Unfortunately, stereotyping is very common in society and in the

school system. Ethnic groups are often labeled as having certain

values toward education, for example. To break stereotypes down, it is

critical that teachers become aware of what biases they have, and

address them by viewing each student, each family, as individuals.

The student speaker notices a pattern that all of his teachers

have been White, middle-class females. Expectations and standards

about what good behavior looks like, what intelligence sounds like, and

what interests should be pursued are mainstreamed according to the

rather homogeneous school staff. The result is that we end up “asking

students to change for the schools rather than changing the schools so

that they satisfy the needs of the students" (Davis, 1996, p. 121). The

minority student loses part of himself, trying to conform to the

mainstream.

Significant learning only occurs when a strong relationship is

formed between the teacher and student. This requires the teacher to

be reflective and intentional about each interaction. The second to last

stanza focuses on the teacher’s effort to sort out her own identity. The

last stanza reflects on the education system as a whole and calls on

students, teachers, administrators, and lawmakers to start making

changes to promote multicultural education. With our population

changing, so should teachers. School staffs should represent the

communities they serve. A staff with diverse skills, attitudes, racial

backgrounds, genders, and ethnicities will be able to more effectively

build trusting relationships with students and families. Also, they would

be able to better prepare students to understand members of different

cultural groups, reduce prejudice, and form successful cross-cultural

friendships, some of the key goals of multicultural education. Until

these ideals are modeled throughout schools, we cannot expect

students to exhibit them.

References

Banks, J.A. (1996). Multicultural Education, Transformative Knowledge,

and Action: Historical and contemporary perspectives. New York:

Teachers College Press.