Celebrating Diversity and Fostering Growth in Education

This edition of Margin Notes is guest written by Naledi Sean Semela, Director of Equitable Practices and Social Impact

Anything that professes to be “for all” is liable to draw inexorable criticism. Invariably, a tailored fit is preferable to a “one size fits all” design. This truism extends beyond fashion and into education pedagogy, quite naturally. 

As Todd Rose examines in his 2016 book The End of Average, every child comes to us with unique gifts, talents, and challenges. Not a single student can be described as “average” in every dimension of learning. It is in the challenge of supporting each individual child who comes to our school where we pursue equitable practices. 

Equity, which is not to be mistaken for the goal of engineering equal outcomes, is dedicated to examining and creating the appropriate conditions for fairness. Equitable practices have the power to improve one’s overall experience, even when one’s opportunities were not encumbered in the first place.

For example, many walk on two legs and have the ability to climb several flights of stairs; many do not. While the building of an escalator removes a barrier for some, it does not present any significant obstacle for the ambulatory person in achieving the same goal.  Additionally, escalators and elevators are often used by many who are capable of climbing stairs. 

Our school is an arena for the pursuit of excellence. It is a learning community where growth is achieved through intentional challenge and opportunity to rise to challenges. When students succeed in learning, when they accumulate knowledge, skills, and expertise at the expense of effort and commitment—it is fitting for those students to find reward on the other side. It is, therefore, natural for any school to breed a sense of competitiveness, directed both internally (I am in competition with my previous efforts) and externally (my effort is in competition with that of my peers). 

Equitable practices remove barriers to enable students to strive, to achieve, and to find reward. Browning has no intention of removing challenge in order to guarantee achievement or reward in the same way that an escalator is not built in order to advantage its riders in comparison to those who walk up stairs and suffer fatigue. 

Preparing our young people for a world rich with diversity means that we honor and value individuals; we uphold the dignity of those with identities familiar to us as well as those new to our consciousness. We teach that there is no undue sacrifice inherent in finding opportunities for inclusion and promoting belonging for each person whom we encounter. This idea ought not be confused with targeting the lowest common denominator, but it is a disposition toward curiosity, flexibility, and accommodation.

Equity also means examining where structures and practices exist with implicit bias, where assumptions have guided traditional models and have the impact of othering those about whom such assumptions do not hold. Such assumptions might include ease of transportation to school, a quiet environment for homework, or exposure to vocabulary associated with a specific cultural context. Again, the goal is not to eliminate challenges, which are essential for learning and growth; instead, the goal is to identify and address barriers to that learning and growth, which inevitably have an uneven or disproportionately negative impact on certain individuals through no fault of their own. It is imperative that addressing such issues is also done without judgment. 

As we foster the development of young men of courage and compassion who will contribute meaningfully to our shared world, we endeavor to do so in a way that celebrates diversity, that recognizes the needs of individuals, and that honors dignity by promoting fairness. When someone can find an avenue to strive for success as a result of reasonable and conscientious accommodation, we see that as a victory of equitable practices. We take great care in examining our practices, and when we find cause we build “escalators,” we do so, not because one size fits all, but because we are dedicated to meeting the needs of our community members and because we believe each person in our community is capable of making us a better one.