Leading Equity. Sheldon L. Eakins

It is thought provoking, moving, and helps the reader grow into a better human and educator. This should be required reading for anyone working with kids.”

      —Todd Nesloney, Director of Culture and Strategic Leadership at TEPSA, bestselling author, international speaker

“Dr. Sheldon Eakins' Leading Equity book is the culturally responsive actionable guide that every teacher needs! Stemming from his impressive scholar/practitioner background, it engages critical topics like asset-based pedagogy, decolonizing the classroom, acknowledging privileges/biases and embracing humility and discomfort with lesson plans, case studies, and prompts for all to engage and apply. It is comprehensive in scope and relentlessly committed to more just classrooms, schools, and societies.”

      —Emily Affolter, Ph.D., Prescott College Faculty in Sustainability Education

      “Leading Equity is a must read for educators and school leaders. Amidst so much controversy and politicization, it's easy to forget how vital questions of identity are to ensuring equitable and positive schooling outcomes, yet Sheldon Eakin's text invites us in accessible, welcoming ways to consider how we can help students navigate the complicated terrain of race, identity and culture in classrooms, while supporting educators to reflect productively on our own identities and responsibilities in the classroom. This is a real contribution to how we approach our diverse classrooms in the present era.”

      —Michael C. Domínguez, Associate Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies, San Diego State University

      “Dr. Eakins takes us on a profound journey of self-reflection and improvement, weaving together real-life stories and practical reflection activities to help us recognize and understand our privileges and biases. Sheldon guides us through the often uncomfortable admission that is necessary for us to embrace the challenge of self-reflection so we can better understand, connect with, and support our students, colleagues, and community members.”

      —Jeff Gargas, COO/Co-Founder, Teach Better Team

“Leading Equity by Sheldon Eakins is an evergreen AND relevant book ‘for the times’ as it accomplishes inclusivity and access for all educators, including equity skeptics! In the opening paragraph of chapter one, Sheldon isn't shy about addressing the elephant in the room—instead, he writes, ‘Sometimes, when we hear the word privilege, we default to the popular term, White privilege. The reality is, though, we all have some form of privilege.’ I appreciate his honesty for colleagues who already understand this but are made to feel otherwise. In current troubling times, teaching teams need warm and truthful feedback—we also need to learn how to be inclusive and collegial to raise equity for vulnerable students. Through the powerful reflective activities found in this book, Sheldon expertly provides what schools need to begin and sustain equity efforts!”

      —Jorge Valenzuela, Education Coach, Author and Advocate

Leading Equity

      Becoming an Advocate for All Students

       Sheldon L. Eakins, PhD

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      FIRST EDITION

This book is dedicated to all the educators who continue to go above and beyond the call for their students despite everything happening within their personal and professional lives.

Preface

      And what did you do?

       —Anonymous

      I have spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be an advocate. It is a concept that I find intriguing as many of us have different thoughts regarding what it means. An advocate recognizes that we do not live in a just society. Advocates are not satisfied with the status quo and are willing to speak up on behalf of others. I know it sounds good on paper, and I do not say this to you as if I have always been on my game when it comes to doing advocacy work in education. I've made mistakes; I've missed opportunities; I'm not flawless in my approach because many situations I have faced have caught me off guard and have left me without the words or mental preparation to respond. I believe we are all on a journey in which there is no end or final arrival.

This book will help guide you in your daily approaches to becoming a better advocate in education. For more than a decade, I've interacted with many educators who have asked questions about what language they can use to address their concerns. See, for some of us, doing this work may mean that we might have to place our professional relationships at risk. It might even cause us to jeopardize our jobs and positions in our school's community. I get it; it's not always fun to tell peers that what they said or did negatively impacts a particular group of people.

      We live