Ratchetdemic
What does it mean to be Ratchetdemic?
To be ratchetdemic is to have no part in starving the authentic self, while still maintaining high academic standards and high academic rigor. It's to exist in a space where we don't decide between binaries the society has constructed around what it looks like to be smart. To be ratchetdemic is to be free. And when I say free is to be free in expression, is to be free in thought, but also to be free in the pursuit of knowledge through whatever pathway makes sense for someone. So a ratchetdemic person doesn't walk into a classroom and say, how does being smart look like? How does being smart dress like? How should I raise my hand? Or how do I need to be complicit for the sake of making somebody else comfortable? It begins with saying, what do I need to be comfortable enough to learn, and then, how do I not lower academic expectations, lower rigor, lower standards, lower benchmarks, but recognize that the path to reaching those things looks drastically different in the way that it's been presented.
True or False
True knowledge is given.
False!
True knowledge is not given; it’s discovered. Educators should create conditions that awaken curiosity and allow students to make discoveries.
True or False. Culture is only the holidays, food, and dress that are passed down through generations.
False. Those subjects are surface level culture. Culture also includes shallow culture which are things such as beliefs and unspoken rules such as friendship, courtesy, concept of time, personal space, eye contact, or appropriate touching.
Deep culture governs our worldview. When these cultural ideas are challenged, it can trigger large emotional responses. Examples would be ethics, spirituality, or health.
An adult's own cultural values can impact which of these things:
a. how a child is expected to behave.
b. how children should take turns.
c. how children pass out materials.
d. all of the above.
D. Your cultural values impact all aspects of your life because they are engrained. What you believe is the "right way to do things" is inherent and you will often not know that is what is driving your decisions.
True or False?
Schooling has always been about the upholding of White middle-class ideals that even White individuals, who largely benefit from the enterprise, cannot fully align themselves to.
True!
Schools assault authenticity just as fervently as they embrace socialization. Both teachers and students are stigmatized for stepping out of the roles that have been defined for them.
True or False. Implicit bias is the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that shape our responses to certain groups.
True. Implicit biases are not intentional but should still be addressed and examined to avoid continued action of biases.
Using the chart provided, which of the five elements is being activated in the student's brain.
A student doesn't want to participate in gym class because it is playing tag and he doesn't run fast.
Is this an example of standing, certainty, control, connection, or equity?
B. standing, certainty, or control
True or False
Schools and society have created ridiculous binaries where students believe they have to choose between being "smart" or being themselves.
True!
The same phenomenon exists for teachers who have to choose between bringing life and joy to students or teaching for obedience, silence, and complicity.
True or false. Coping skills are mistaken for norms and beliefs.
True. What appears to be "culture"-are more accurately coping and surviving mechanisms that marginalized communities have used to navigate racial and economic inequalities.
Using the chart provided, which of the five elements is being activated in the student's brain.
A student will complete work for Mrs. Smith, but not for Mr. Smith. This student had Mrs. Smith as a kindergarten teacher as well.
Is this an example of standing, certainty, control, connection, or equity?
Control
True or False?
Ratchetdemic educators do not need to be an expert in content knowledge.
False!
Ratchetdemic educators are experts in content knowledge but are not constrained by it. They deliver content in a way that has contextual value and uplifts the student.
True or False. There is nothing I can do to change my implicit biases.
False. Learning about what implicit biases you have is the first step in making change.
If you want more information about what your implicit biases are, Harvard has an implicit bias test that you can take online for free.
Using the chart provided, which of the five elements is being activated in the student's brain.
A female student wants to try wrestling for the season. There is not girls team and she is unsure how to participate in the boys team.
Is this an example of standing, certainty, control, connection, or equity?
standing, certainty, control, equity
What was the original PRIDE Academy mascot going to be before the idea was SHOT DOWN by some rude person at the district level?
Peacock! We were trying to be the PRIDE Peacocks.
*sigh*
True or False
Deimatic behavior is a response to a threat that is designed to intimidate predators and dissuade or distract them from attacking. In the animal world, this can involve displaying colors of feathers or accentuating other features that may give pause to the attacker so they stop attacking and they can get away. It's a temporary role performance.
Black youth are in a system of education where they are under constant attack or threat, resulting in displaying deimatic behavior.
True!
When a student sees themselves as intelligent/artistic/creative/brilliant and then goes to a school where there is no space to express any of these pieces of the core self, or when the core self is threatened, they experience an authentic emotional and visceral response.
True of False. The United States is a collectivist culture.
False. The United States is the most individualistic country of the countries that have been studied across the world.
Using the chart provided, which of the five elements is being activated in the student's brain.
A student refuses to take a test. The teacher is confident in the abilities of the student. The student has always performed well on homework and check ins.
Is this an example of standing, certainty, control, connection, or equity?
Certainty, control
How old was Yeager when she and Chandler first crossed paths?
DOUBLE points if you can name where.
5 years old!
Mary Feeser Elementary. Hollllaaaa.