Читать книгу Assessing with Respect - Starr Sackstein - Страница 7

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In my first teaching position, I learned a lot about myself and how much I had to learn as a teacher and as a human. Although the school was just five miles from where I grew up, the socioeconomic divide and the racial disparity were greater than I had realized. Each day, I learned something new about my students and myself. I made terrible assumptions that would later smack reality across my face, and I came to see that I faced a chasm that would require a considerable amount of learning if I wanted to become a better person and educator.

Over the years, I have had many teachers and friends who have helped me explore my implicit bias, privilege, and ignorance. Although I have been working for a long time on improving my understanding, I can never truly know what it means to be a person of color. What I can do is continue to be an anti-racist and an ally for those who don't have my luxury of privilege.

I truly appreciate those who have helped me look in the mirror and recognize uncomfortable things about myself, who have had difficult conversations with me when they didn't have to, and who have pointed me in the right direction in terms of what to read, whom to listen to, and how to dialogue when the time came. I know I still have a lot to learn, and I'm open and ready to engage in those conversations.

This book only scratches the surface of the topic of the relationship between assessment and social and emotional learning, but I hope it will introduce the idea to those of you who are new to this work and provide enough resources for additional consideration. Although it didn't start out as a book about equity, the current climate dictated that it not ignore some evident realities. For those who helped me realize my own gaps of knowledge and begin to fill them, I am grateful.

Thank you to the countless people of color who have taught me over the years about grace and anger and humility. I appreciate those of you who have taken the time to talk to me frankly and help me realize I shouldn't punish myself too much for not knowing more, as this is a life's journey and not something I can accomplish in one sitting. Those who have helped me include students who taught me about their lives and freely invited me in. Others include the scholars whose work I have read and will continue to read as I move forward on this journey.

A big thank-you to Marisol Rerucha for sharing your story and being a part of my learning. Thank you to Angela Stockman for the care, kindness, and support you provided as I struggled through writing this book. It has been a tremendous learning experience, and your knowledge and thoughtful feedback helped make it something I'm really proud of.

Thank you to my Core Collaborative family—Dr. Paul Bloomberg and Tony Francouer, Alison Cox and Donnie Luehring, Isaiah McGee and Isaac Wells, Sarah Stevens and Lori Cook—for your willingness to contribute to the book in whatever way you could. I put up the bat signal, and you all answered in your own way. I appreciate you all.

Thanks to the other contributors: Dr. John Castronova, Jessica Cimini-Samuels, Zak Cohen, Mark Erlenwein, Greg Fredericks, Allison Hamilton, Katrina Letter, Natalie McCutchen, Chrissy Romano, and Faith Tripp.

A big thank-you to former students who also answered my call when I put it out there, and to 8th grade teacher Andi Jackson, who saw one of my Facebook posts and got her students involved, too.

Much of the assessment work I have done is in service of students like my son, Logan Miller, who generously shared some of his experiences with me for this book. I'm super-proud of you, Logan, and no grade will ever define you or your capacity to succeed.

Last but certainly not least is a big thank-you to my husband, Charlie Anstadt, whose patience and contribution to my life exceed the word limit for this book. You are both a calming and an exciting influence, and I'm so lucky to be on this journey with you.