Jen.Made

By a Teacher Who Sees It Every Day When most people hear the word equity , their minds jump straight to race, culture, and religion. And yes, those are critical aspects. We absolutely must acknowledge historical and ongoing inequities based on race and identity. But if we stop there, we miss the bigger picture. Equity is not a checkbox. It’s a lens—a way of seeing every child, every family, every circumstance, and asking: What do they need to thrive? Let’s get real: equity shows up in the shoes a student wears to school, the food (or lack of food) in their lunchbox, and the chaos (or calm) they return to at home. It’s in whether a child has a quiet place to do homework or is babysitting siblings all evening. It’s whether a student has access to the internet, a functioning Chromebook, or someone at home who can help them with fractions. Equity is giving kids what they need—not what’s equal. Because fair doesn’t always mean “the same.” Fair sometimes means offering extended test time...

  As a teacher, you learn pretty quickly that admin is rarely the thing that makes or breaks your ability to do your job. Sometimes you have great admin, sometimes they’re just there, and other times, they’re frustrating. But at the end of the day, no matter who’s sitting in that office, our job stays the same—teaching kids. There’s a big difference between admin making decisions that are annoying or unpopular and admin actually preventing you from doing your job. If you have an admin who is truly making it impossible for teachers to teach or for students to learn, that’s a problem. But if the frustration comes from things that don’t directly impact what’s happening in the classroom, then maybe the energy is better spent elsewhere. Who Actually Supports You? The reality is, admin changes. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But your team—the teachers around you—is what truly makes or breaks your day-to-day experience. • Do you have people you trust when things get to...