Anti-Oppressive Education in "Elite" Schools

Katy Swalwell is a former classroom teacher and professor who currently serves as lead equity specialist with the Equity Literacy Institute. Daniel Spikes is an academic and K-12 educator. Together, they cofacilitate sustained professional development nationwide on critical consciousness and the instructional, curricular, and systemic changes needed to work toward equity and justice in education.

• ContentsAcknowledgments xiIntroduction: One Way to Make Change?  1Katy SwalwellPART I: WHAT’S THE POINT? JUSTIFYING AND FRAMING ANTI-OPPRESSIVE EDUCATION IN “ELITE” SCHOOLS 131.  Combating the Pathology of Class Privilege: A Critical Education for the Elites 15Quentin Wheeler-Bell2.  Intrinsic Aspects of Class Privilege 27Adam Howard3.  Is Becoming an Oppressor Ever a Privilege? “Elite” Schools and Social Justice as Mutual Aid 39Nicolas Tanchuk, Tomas Rocha, and Marc KrusePART II: CAUTIONARY TALES: PROBLEMATIC MODELS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION IN “ELITE” SCHOOLS 514.  Beyond Wokeness: How White Educators Can Work Toward Dismantling Whiteness and White Supremacy in Suburban Schools 53Gabriel Rodriguez5.  Dead Ends and Paths Forward: White Teachers Committed to Anti-Racist Teaching in White Spaces 63Petra Lange and Callie Kane6.  Unspoken Rules, White Communication Styles, and White Blinders: Why “Elite” Independent Schools Can’t Retain Black and Brown Faculty 73Ayo Magwood7.  Critical Service Learning: Moving from Transactional Experiences of Service Toward a Social Justice Praxis 85Tania D. Mitchell8.  The “Duality of Life” in “Elite” Sustainability Education: Tensions, Pitfalls, and Possibilities 97Kristin Sinclair, Ashley Akerberg, and Brady Wheatley9.  The Possibility of Critical Language Awareness Through Volunteer English Teaching Abroad 109Cori JakubiakPART III: PROMISING PRACTICES? IDEAS FOR ENACTING ANTI-OPPRESSIVE EDUCATION IN “ELITE” SCHOOLS 12110.  Living Up to Our Legacy: One School’s Effort to Build Momentum, Capacity, and Commitment to Social Justice 123Christiane M. Connors, Steven Lee, Stacy Smith, and Damian R. Jones11.  Facilitating Socially Just Discussions in Elite Schools 135Lisa Sibbett12.  Mobilizing Privileged Youth and Teachers for Justice-Oriented Work in Science and Education 147Alexa Schindel, Brandon Grossman, and Sara Tolbert13.  Opening the Proverbial Can O’ Worms: Teaching Social Justice to Educated Elites in Suburban Detroit 159Robin Moten14.  Intersectional Feminist and Political Education with Privileged Girls 169Beth Cooper Benjamin, Amira Proweller, Beth Catlett, Andrea Jacobs, and Sonya Crabtree-Nelson15.  “Not Me!” Anticipating, Preventing, and Working with Pushback to Social Justice Education 181Diane Goodman and Rebecca DragoPART IV: CONVERSATIONS WITH COLLEAGUES 19316.  Out of This Chaos, Beauty Comes: Democratic Schooling in a Progressive Independent Middle School 195Allen Cross17.  We Are Afraid They Won’t Feel Bad: Using Simulations to Teach for Social Justice at the Elementary Level 201Gabby Arca and Nina Sethi18.  Harnessing the Curiosity of Rich People’s Children: International Travel as a Tool of Anti-Oppressive Education 207Alethea Tyner Paradis19.  Building a Class: The Role of Admissions in Anti-Oppressive Education 213Sherry Smith20.  “It Shouldn’t Be that Hard”: Student Activists’ Frustrations and Demands 219Julia Chen, Haley Hamilton, Vidya Iyer, Alfreda Jarue, Catalina Samaniego, Catreena Wang, and Jenna WoodsmallAfterword 229Paul GorskiAbout the Editors and Contributors 235Index 243