This blog post was written by NCTE member Dr. Marlee Bunch.
Recently, I collaborated with Smith College instructors to introduce my forthcoming book The Magnitude of Us (Teachers College Press, 2024) to preservice teachers. Though at times, we do not name preservice preparation as an equity issue, it is most certainly an area of great importance, and therefore, listening to the needs and feedback of this group can offer important insights into ways to improve education. As I reflect on the experience, there are a few important lessons that come to mind regarding best classroom practices, specifically related to culturally responsive and community-immersive teaching. The students in the class were introduced to the un/HUSH framework included in the book, and we interrogated how the framework could be applied and how the power of unlearning can improve our craft as educators.
We discussed the role of unlearning, and one of the exercises we walked through together was a positionality exercise.
Here are some of the key take aways from the feedback offered by these emerging educators after completing the exercise:
- Encouraging educators to pause and reflect is an important aspect of planning lessons and pedagogy. Thinking deeply about our own areas for growth will ultimately improve the students’ experiences.
- Collaboration and immersing ourselves in community with others help to expand our perspective.
- The concept of unlearning can remind us to pause, take inventory of ourselves, and consider our positionality (the lens through which we view the world).
- Teachers and preservice teachers need time and space to discuss, collaborate, and assess.
Listening to the needs of our preservice educators and being in community with others help us become better at what we do and move us toward creating culturally responsive and sustaining classrooms.
Dr. Marlee Bunch’s experiences teaching at the secondary and postsecondary levels have allowed her to write curriculum, mentor teachers, create workshops, advocate for equity and justice, and, most importantly, support students. Her research, teaching, and educational advocacy work seeks to disrupt inequities, advocate for educational reform, and illuminate the power of storytelling and history. Her research focuses on the oral histories of Black female educators. She is the founder of the un/HUSH teaching framework. She has two forthcoming books: The Magnitude of Us, Teachers College Press 2024, and un/Hushed: Oral Histories of Black Female Educators, University of Illinois Press 2025. You can learn more at www.drmarleebunch.com or by contacting her.
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