I recently read about a proposed state law in Texas called the F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act, where public schools were prohibited from providing litter boxes for their students who have identified as “furries.” My initial thoughts were “What in the world is going on in Texas?” As I looked further into the story, I discovered that the Congressman who wrote the law and pushed for its passage did not know of one school in the state of Texas providing litter boxes for students who identified as animals and lacked evidence overall of any of the behaviors the act addressed happening within public schools. It wasn’t happening. This proposal fueled the fires of parental control and concerns about schools, deepened the potential divide between parents and teachers, and undermined the credibility of public schools in Texas. A line can be drawn from this type of legal action to what is happening with DEI in the schools. The federal mandate to end DEI in schools is yet another example of reacting to misconceptions and exaggerations.
DEI has been painted as harmful to students, teaching some to believe that they are helpless victims of society, while traumatizing others by labeling them as oppressors who should feel guilty about their privilege. If this was the case, it could especially be problematic for the newly emergent self-identities of young adolescents seeking to belong. We know that early adolescence is a time of figuring out who you are, what you believe, and how to interact with and understand others. Adolescents are learning to find their voice and make their own decisions. This is a pivotal time in the development of every person. Studies indicate that the decisions that one makes in this time of life likely have long and impactful consequences for the rest of one’s life. So, the need for adult advocates to carefully consider how what happens in a classroom affects middle level learners is important. If we unpack the DEI label and misunderstandings of what actually happens in schools, middle level educators may be able to better move away from having to defend teaching practices and belief systems as we strive to meet the needs of all learners.
The use of DEI to undermine teacher voice, best practices, and relationships between teachers, their students, parents, and the community, is becoming increasingly central to the conversations about teaching and learning. The good news is that the middle school philosophy has been grounded in doing what is best for every student, long before this label and political conflict existed. Conveying this may help us reduce the misconceptions of what is and is not going on in middle schools every day.
Diversity and Student-Centeredness
The middle school movement has always been about meeting the needs of diverse learners. Diverse simply means that everyone is different. The Cambridge Dictionary defines diversity as “the fact of many different types of things or people being included in something; a range of different things or people.” At the middle level we have always seen students as different in a myriad of ways, with race, gender and ethnicity representing an important, but only a part of diversity. Anyone who tries to teach in middle school classroom soon recognizes that an apparent monolithic and homogeneous, classroom is in fact not either of those things. If you teach a classroom full of all white, middle-class girls, who live in a small town in the Midwest, you might think they are all alike. The need to diversify your instructional strategies could be masked. But we know at this age every student is changing at different rates, even within themselves. Difference in cognitive, social, emotional, physical, moral, spiritual, and identity development is the only norm. Every child is different.
This is not to minimize the significance of the impact of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and peoples’ lived realities on students. But what it does allow middle school teachers to do is to consider the variety of differences that every young adolescent brings into the classroom. This consideration is a mandate for the teacher to design learning that is flexible, relevant, responsive and that enables students in any place along the learning and lived experiences spectrum to have their needs met. Young adolescents are figuring out who they are, what they are good at, where they belong, how to solve problems, how to have voice and how to make decisions. In essence, they are learning how to become. Our pedagogies, curricula, and relationships are by the definition of middle level philosophy, diversified. It is virtually a non-issue for middle level educators paradoxically because it is the central issue. It is what we do, who we are as practitioners, and honestly nothing new. It is being student centered and learner responsive. If you ask parents if they support diversity, you will get a range of responses and likely reactions. If you ask them should teachers center their teaching on students and make sure to give their child what they need to learn, I believe the response would be in the affirmative.
Equity and Fairness
The term equity has also been problematized in today’s political context. The educational definition of equity refers to an educational asset or right that students need in order to be successful in school and beyond. In middle schooler’s language the focus is on being fair. Developmentally, the concept of fairness is front and center in their cognitive and moral development, as well as within their social interactions.
So, what is fair? This is something that I have discussed and defined both with my students in middle school and in undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation. The guiding principle in equity, which middle schoolers define as fairness, is that fair is not the same thing as equal. On its surface this seems counterintuitive but is easily exemplified. We’ve all seen the meme about standardized testing where an elephant, a monkey, and a fish are all giving the equal task of climbing a tree as their assessment. Clearly this is not fair, even though it is clearly equal. Another graphic represents three little boys, all of varying heights, looking over a fence to watch a baseball game. The representation of equal is that each boy gets the same size box to stand on, ultimately only allowing the tallest boy a view. Fair is represented by each boy getting to stand on whatever height box is needed for all of them to be able to see. If you ask parents whether they support equity, you will get a range of responses. If you ask if they support fairness, I believe will get a nearly unanimous “yes.”
Inclusion and Not Leaving Anyone Out
Of all three of the terms comprising DEI, I find the resistance to inclusion the most confusing. What does inclusion mean to people? If parents have been led to believe that inclusion in the classroom means anything goes, there is no sense of right or wrong, and my child will be taught things that are being normalized that in fact should not be, I am better able to understand the concerns. Again, if we listen to how middle schoolers might think about inclusion, it would likely be” not leaving anybody out.” Some politically portray schools as pushing certain agendas, for example as related to gender identity and exclusion of Christian beliefs. As our world becomes more connected by technology and media, it also becomes seemingly more complicated. However, differences in religious beliefs, gender and sexual orientation, and cultural and personal values and morals have always existed. In fact, they often been the source of major conflicts and even wars throughout history.
We are fighting a paper tiger. I have yet to find a school, specifically a middle school, where anyone is pushing any belief system on students as part of its agenda, curriculum or structure. What the middle school philosophy has always been committed to is making sure that every student has an advocate and support regardless of their background, beliefs, or special needs. If a child is in a wheelchair and needs a ramp to get into the classroom, we have a ramp. If a child feels more comfortable being called by a different name (which has always happened in middle school long before fear of preferred names meaning gender ideological differences) we use that name. In middle level schools, and hopefully life in general, we learn not to make fun of people, call names or leave people out because they are not exactly like us.
One of the golden rules of traditional society as well as major world religions across the globe is to treat others as we would like to be treated. That is what inclusion is in middle school philosophy. Middle schools strive to make sure everyone feels safe and has the right to be part of the classroom and gets the instruction and support they need. It doesn’t mean you have to change your belief systems, who you are, or even embrace others’ differences. It does mean that no one is mistreated or left out simply for being who they are. This is especially important during early adolescence when students are figuring out who they are by trying on different roles, perspectives, styles, and friend groups as a natural part of their development. Parents across the political spectrum, including those who are against teaching about white privilege as well as those who support their trans child, would say they don’t want their children to made to feel bad about themselves because of who they are, or to be left out of or denied opportunities to be well educated and live happy, productive lives.
Taking Control of the Narrative
Middle school has always embraced students as individuals, fairness for all, and not leaving any student out of belonging in their school and classroom community. There is a commitment to designing learning opportunities for all students to be successful in school and life. The DEI political rhetoric has been used to support opposing political agendas and schools have been caught in the middle. We can not let our teachers, curriculum, instruction and relationships with students and parents be the victims. By being true to who we are as middle level educators, we can build on common ground with parents and resist getting caught up in the paradigm word war. Embracing The Successful Middle School: This We Believe and the research and terminology that guides our practices may help us to take control of the DEI narrative as we tell the middle school story. The story is about belonging and the dedication to meet the needs of all young adolescent learners and valuing them for who they are to help them to find who they can become.
Dr. Holly Thornton has been in middle level education both as a classroom teacher and professor for nearly 40 years and is the author of The It Factor: What Makes a Teacher Great. She currently serves as a Professor of Middle Level Education at Appalachian State University.