In securing the coveted Apple Ballot endorsement, Natalie Zimmerman who is running for BOE District 2, completed a questionnaire where she professed to be an abolitionist educator.
While parts of MoCo are probably highly aware of what this language means, we are guessing that the Leisure World mee-maw and the 60 hour a week plumber are a bit confused. So, we scoured the internet to bring you the latest on what it means to be an abolitionist teacher.
Abolitionist teaching, also known as abolitionist pedagogy, is a set of practices and approaches to teaching that emphasize abolishing educational practices considered by its proponents to be inherently problematic and oppressive. (link to Wikipedia)
Sounds somewhat reasonable right? I mean who doesn’t want to get rid of “inherently problematic and oppressive” practices? Well, let’s dive deeper and gain a better understanding of how this is defined and what it includes in today’s context.
Wikipedia provides a general summary, stating:
Proponents of the approach have criticized test-taking and prohibitions on cheating, as well as deemphasize traditional literacy and math improvement programs.
But if you explore further, you will uncover the Abolitionist Teaching Network, that claims it is a “a network of critical educators committed to the abolition of the school-prison nexus and the radical transformation of all learning spaces.” In 2020 it published a guide, titled “Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning”, where it more explicitly outlines an Abolitionists Demands in different areas of the education system. These include:
- Hiring and Support: Free, antiracist therapy for White educators and support staff
- Discipline: Reparations for Children of Color stolen by the school-to-prison pipeline
- Evaluation: End high-stakes standardized testing
It also provides an extensive list of resources to other leaders in this movement. One such leader, Bettina Love, a cofounder of the Abolitionist Teaching Network. Bettina has published multiple papers and various videos outlining the tenants and direction of this movement. In an interview with the University of Pennsylvania, she provided a helpful graphic outlining what abolitionist teaching is:
In an interview Dr. Love has stated:
Abolitionist teaching is not about trying to reform a school system. It’s trying to say the school system needs to be dismantled so it can benefit all students.
Of course, Ms. Zimmerman is free to hold this view and even profess it. The question is more around how much of the abolitionist viewpoint does she adhere to and support?
- Does she oppose standardized testing?
- Does she oppose zero tolerance policies?
- Does she believe prisons should be abolished? How about banks?
- Does she believe poor people or POC have no chance of success as MCPS is currently structured?
- Is every white student (or teacher) guilty of racism?
- Is America and her policies anti-black, racist, discriminatory, and unjust?
And the biggest question of all: Will she attempt to dismantle MCPS and rebuild it in the abolitionist view if elected to the Board of Education?
A few screen shots from Facebook for ATN:
