CRT
What is CRT?
Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic and legal framework that denotes that systemic racism is part of American society - from education and housing to employment and healthcare.
What is SEL?
Social emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply life skills such as developing healthy identities, managing emotions and achieving personal and collective goals, feeling and showing empathy for others, establishing and maintaining supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
Similarities between CRT and SEL
Increasing educational equity and lessening the opportunity gap
Culturally Responsive Teaching
The process of using familiar cultural information and processes to scaffold learning. Emphasizes communal orientation and is focused on relationships, cognitive scaffolding, and social awareness.
Ignite - get the brain's attention
Chunk - make information digestible
Chew - actively process new info
Review - apply new learning
History of CRT
"three waves" of CRT
1. Crenshaw (1988) and Bell (1992) used CRT to expose and transcend two contradictions born in the post-civil rights era (activists were demanding equal outcomes rather than equal opportunities-and that the duty of the state was to offer the latter). Opposers argued that the existence of civil rights legislation was taken as evidence that the US provided equal opportunities to everyone, and that any resulting inequality was, therefore, the fault of the group. *CRT was then developed in order to take an institution that was supposedly race-neutral (the legal system) and to work against its structural racism.
2. Delgado & Stefancic (1995) helped spread interest of CRT through their book "Critical race theory: the cutting edge."
Three outstanding points: 1) racism exists in American society, 2) the myth that minorities are seeking dominance, 3) white elites only make anti-racist concessions if it benefits the white elite.
Ladson-Billings' 1999 paper "Just what is critical race theory, and what's it doing in a nice field like education?" shows how Delgado & Stefancic's principles of CRT apply to education.
3. Early 2000s - continued discussion of CRT in education and sociology.
SEL implementation leads to...
Improved attitudes, relationships, academic performance, and perceptions of classroom and school climate.
*92% of surveyed executives say skills such as problem-solving and communicating clearly are equal to or more important than technical skills, yet 89% said they have a very or somewhat difficult time finding employees with those skills
Differences between CRT and SEL
CRT and SEL are entirely different constructs. Implementing an SEL curriculum like Second Step does not mean schools are teaching critical race theory.
Universal Design for Learning
A set of principles for curriculum implementation that provide supports and structures allowing all students to learn. It offers flexibility and options for how information is presented, how students respond or demonstrate their understanding or mastery of the content presented, and ways to engage and motivate students.
Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education (Landson-Billings & Tate, 1995)
Three propositions:
1. race continues to be significant in the United States
2. U. S. society is based on property rights rather than human rights
*"When the pilgrims came to New England they too were coming not to vacant land but to territory inhabited by tribes of Indians. The governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony created the excuse to take Indian land by declaring the area legally a "vacuum". The Indians, he said, had not "subdued" the land, and therefore had only a "natural" right to it, but not a "civil right." A "natural right" did not have a legal standing... There exists a tension between property rights and human rights... This tension was greatly exacerbated by the presence of African peoples as slaves in America. The purpose of the government was to protect the main object of society-property."
3. the intersection of race and property creates an analytical tool for understanding inequity
"By arguing that race remains untheorized, we are not suggesting that other scholars have not looked carefully at race as a powerful tool for explaining social inequity, but that the social intellectual salience of this theorizing has not been systematically employed in the analysis of educational inequality"
CASEL and state standards
CASEL
1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Responsible Decision Making
4. Relationship Skills
5. Social Awareness
WA State Standards
1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Self-efficacy
4. Social awareness
5. Social Management
6. Social Engagement
Trauma-Informed Practices
A trauma informed approach is a universal approach to address trauma that requires changes to all aspects of how a school operates to ensure that all staff understand and can recognize the effects of trauma on students and staff and respond in ways that promote healing and resilience, along with avoiding re-traumatizing students.
Key practices:
1. create predictable routines
2. build strong and supportive relationships
3. empower students' agency
4. support the development of self-regulation skills
5. provide opportunities to explore individual and community identities
Promoting SEL at home
Talk with your child's teacher and see if the curriculum offers home-based activities or resources.
CASEL guidance: Our children are leaders quiz
What does SEL look like?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS0PvJC0Fm4
- reflection questions
- modeling and practice
- integrated throughout the day
- additional supports based on student need
*Resiliency and other life skills benefits students academics... Ex: completing difficult assignments
For SEL to be effective, it must be SAFE
Sequenced - skills are learned sequentially
Active - role-plays, behavioral rehearsal
Focused - time is devoted to implementation
Explicit - targets specific skills
Assessment
Multi-mode assessment that gives information on students' strengths and areas for growth based on a set of standards (typically 3x/year)
-self-report measure
-teacher measure
*SEL assessment must first be approved by caregivers and consent can be removed at any time.
*Guides instruction, not graded