EDTalks: Addressing Race and Culture in the Classroom

Join us for two timely EDTalks addressing the importance of conversation around race and culture with our students.

Cultural Responsiveness In and Outside the Classroom

Dr. Courtney Bell-Duncan defines epistemological oppression as the lack of understanding and knowledge of one’s experience and identity by self or others because of historic exclusion or limiting of access to information. This oppression, which impacts both disenfranchised and franchised children in our schools, leads to false inferiority (or superiority) and racist ideologies, systems and behaviors that often result in a loss of life or life chances as children move into adulthood. In this talk, Courtney will discuss how culturally responsive pedagogy has the power to counter and actively disarm epistemic violence against K-12 schools. She will also lay a foundation for transformational shifts in thinking about culture in schools and the broader society.

Presenter: Dr. Courtney Bell-Duncan, a passionate educator, education consultant and founder of Courtney S. Bell Consulting LLC, works to co-create educational equity solutions with PreK-12 educational institutions. While serving as a classroom teacher, she witnessed the power of caring relationships and high expectations for children. She later went on to become an educational leader and consultant with the goal of spreading her love of education more broadly. A proud graduate of North High Community High School, Courtney attended the University of Minnesota, where she completed her BA in Sociology, her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction and Ph.D. In Education Policy and Leadership. In 2018 she was a finalist for the 2018 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award.

Let’s Talk About Race in School

Until the 1960s, legal and de facto racial segregation existed in almost every corner of the U.S. This politically and socially enforced separation of white and Black people over the course of hundreds of years created a society in which discrimination thrived. Today, in the wake of a renewed civil rights movement, we are faced with the reality that racism and discrimination are alive and well. What’s worse is that as a society, we still haven’t figured out how to have honest conversations about race. In this EDTalk, Minneapolis Public Schools counseling services manager Derek Francis will talk about the critical importance of talking about race in our classrooms, and offer some strategies on how to do it right. 

Presenter: Derek Francis is a passionate and experienced school counselor who approaches his work from a proactive and equity-based space.  He currently serves as the manager of counseling services for Minneapolis Public Schools, where he specializes in helping students and staff build trusting cross-cultural relationships. He has presented at conferences throughout the country including the American School Counselors Association, Minnesota School Counselors Association, Texas School Counselors Association and Wisconsin School Counselors Association. He recently led a webinar for over 20,000 U.S. counselors and educators on “Proactive School Counseling After a Major Racial Incident.” Derek’s published work includes contributions to Contemporary Case Studies in School Counseling, a recent blog entitled “This Is Not A Fire Drill – Supporting students after George Floyd” and articles for the American School Counselors Association and American School Board Journal.