Milner, H. R. (2015). Rac(e)ing to class: Confronting poverty and race in schools and classrooms. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Published in 2015, Milner’s book is amazingly prescient in its emphasis on students who are school-dependent. The harsh reality, brought to the forefront by the challenges of remote schooling, is that some children depend on public schools much more than do others, and are, therefore, much more seriously disadvantaged by the educational fallout of the pandemic.
Milner emphasizes early in the book that although race is a social construct, developed by human beings so that one group might benefit at the expense of others, the consequence – racism – is very real and affects the lives of students everyday. He advocates for radical school reform so that we can realize “…an educational system where every child has an equal opportunity to succeed because it is not only his or her constitutional right, but also our nation’s moral responsibility and imperative (p. 26).
School-dependent children count on school for more than just an education. For many students, school provides breakfast, lunch, and healthy snacks, academic and social supports, and exposure to enriching experiences like museums, libraries, and cultural events. For school- dependent children and youth, a teacher can be one of the critical people in their life who notices them and their needs and who makes a significant difference to their learning and well-being.
Milner applies an equity lens to his work with school-dependent students. Equity does not mean the same for everyone; students living in poverty, for instance, may need more from school than do other students. Equity isn’t equality, but it’s “…being responsive to the particulars of the circumstances” (p. 34).
Even school-dependent students and their families have assets, what Moll and his colleagues (1992) call “funds of knowledge.” Students have learned many things from life experience, their culture, their families, their neighborhoods and communities.. Milner expresses this strengths perspective when he asserts that, “It is important that conversations about meeting the needs of school-dependent students (1) acknowledge the fact that some students’ needs are being met at home while others may not be and (2) take place within a space of possibility, optimism, and hope” (p. 50). Effective teachers and school staff “…practice at the intersection of students’ home and school lives” (p. 68).
To find out about students’ funds of knowledge, upon which teachers can build learning and development, Milner says we need to listen to their voices. He has talked with hundreds of students over many years, asking them about what they think teachers can do to meet their needs. These four themes have emerged:
· Teachers need to be patient with students and motivate them to learn, as learning is a developmental process.
· Teachers need to increase the rigor of their classes and their expectations of students.
· Teachers need to dedicate themselves to their work, to plan and put forth effort, and to find joy in what they do.
· Teachers need to communicate more often, more openly, and more directly with their students.
Most of Milner’s book is a series of practical ideas for helping school-dependent students learn, from reading, writing, and vocabulary to social skills, collaboration, and conflict resolution to relationship-building and culturally-responsive practice with students and their parents. He shares a series of case studies to illustrate the application of the ideas and approaches.
This book was compelling to me when I read it a year ago and now, when teachers and school staff are struggling with how to maintain education quality in mostly remote classrooms, Milner’s wisdom is even more important in this moment. The appreciation of the fact that some students are more school-dependent than others will help us remember that those students need even more from their schools now and we can apply some of Milner’s ideas to our work today to help all students thrive even in these trying times.
Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992, Spring). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, XXXI (2).