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The recent election cycle has underscored an undeniable truth: we don’t have the luxury of time. Our students deserve an education that is not only a pathway to knowledge but a laboratory for critical thinking, resilience, and social critique. The age of Trump serves as a stark reminder that progress can be fragile and that our role as educators extends beyond lesson plans and curriculum goals. It calls for an unwavering commitment to justice and equity in every classroom and school policy.
Yet, in too many schools, we see a painful contradiction. Well-meaning educators may voice support for their students, yet their actions—particularly outside the classroom—can reinforce the systemic inequities their students face. The same educators who voice concerns for students of marginalized backgrounds will vote against their best interest. The greatest lesson this election has shown us is that neutrality is a choice, and inaction is a loud declaration. I'm sure I speak for many educators who are working for justice when I say...
You should be too!
Tired of accepting and perpetuating practices that aren't good enough for your own children or family members.
Tired of squandering the brilliance that walks into your classroom daily.
Tired of being complicity to a system designed to perpetuate inequity.
Tired of equity existing on your website but failing to be embodied at your school.
The way forward must involve an urgency that refuses to return back to our regularly scheduled program.
Recognizing the Equity Traps and Tropes
Dr. Jamila Dugan’s framework on equity traps and tropes helps illuminate where our efforts can falter. For educators seeking to take action in this urgent climate, it’s essential to sidestep these pitfalls:
“Doing” Equity Without Committing to It: Equity is often treated as a checklist of actions rather than a commitment woven into the school’s fabric. We might see it in a new training session or curriculum update touted as a cure-all. This approach overlooks the complexity of institutional change. True equity work is continuous, reflective, and connected to the broader school ecosystem. Beware when your school has the yearly training on equity that never materializes during the year.
Siloing Equity: Efforts to foster inclusion and justice often end up isolated in “special” committees or task forces. When equity is separated from core instruction and culture, it becomes an optional add-on rather than the essence of the school’s mission. This siloed approach fails to disrupt the foundational practices that perpetuate inequality. Equity becomes an optional side dish on an overflowing plate of oppression.
Tokenizing Leadership: Another trap lies in delegating equity work to a single individual or a small group, often those who belong to marginalized communities themselves. This isolates the responsibility and signals that equity is someone else’s job. In reality, the responsibility for equity should be shared by every educator and leader within the school.
Are you the educator who will quietly commend the disruptor(s) at your school after the meeting yet remained silent the entire time? Your silence speaks to the priority of your comfort over student outcomes.
Action Steps for Educators
To move beyond intention and engage in genuine, urgent equity work, consider the following actions:
1. Integrate Equity into Everyday Practice
Equity should be as integral to our classrooms as the subjects we teach. This means viewing every decision—from lesson planning to disciplinary measures—through an equity lens. Ask yourself: Does this policy or practice uplift or stifle the students it impacts? Commit to examining how implicit bias might shape your responses and interactions. In whose image and based on whose values is your school culture based?
I'm indebted to the work of Dr. Paul Gorski and the folks at the Equity Literacy Institute for their language around transformative equity. Transformational equity is a commitement to equity that informs every aspect of instituational policy and practice at all times. It means identifying and working to eradicate all forms of oppression out of the institution completely.
Equity and deficit ideology cannot exist in the same space.
2. Foster Collective Responsibility
Equity cannot rest on the shoulders of a few. Schools must nurture an environment where all staff feel accountable for and invested in equity work. This requires ongoing conversations, shared goals, and a community willing to challenge norms. It also means leaders should amplify diverse voices and practice distributed leadership rather than tokenizing a single “equity champion.” It means that White educators who claim to be about this work should be the one speaking up the most to their white colleagues. It means that you can't continue to outsource your work to the Black and Brown colleagues at your school.
3. Embrace Radical Humility and Lifelong Learning
No teacher or leader should consider themselves “finished” in their equity journey. Humility demands that we question our assumptions and remain open to growth. This can mean seeking feedback from students about their experiences, adapting based on what we learn, and staying committed to self-education and reflection. It means that you can no longer outsource responsibility for your professional growth to your school or district leaders. Reject perfectionism that says you must have it all together in order to act. You'll make mistakes. Just make sure all your fallouts are with forward motion. Keep pushing!
Ensuring high outcomes for all students is not a one-time task but an ongoing pursuit. Equity isn’t just a point on a strategic plan; it is the heartbeat of an educational system that truly values every student. As educators, we must recognize that we hold the power to either reinforce the status quo or disrupt it meaningfully. In this age of urgency, let us choose disruption—not for the sake of chaos, but for the sake of justice and a future where all students can thrive.
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