Welcome to reteach a place where professors know that student equity gaps can be closed and are willing to put in the work to figure it out. We are dedicated to our teaching and our students. We are passionate about improving our classrooms and our communities. We can make a difference. We will make a difference. I am your host, Bruce Hoskins and my mind and heart are ready to learn. Hello everyone.
So a straight out , I really got like the first day of class jitters right now. You know what I'm saying? So , um , this is going to be my official first episode and everything and I've really been hesitant to say the absolute, very least in regards to what I felt was going to be the first episode. So when I was thinking about the first episode, I really had to get myself into a mindset of why should anybody be listening to a guy like me, right? I mean, look, this is not about my credentials.
This is not even about my passion. This is about me really trying to figure out is trying to close student equity gaps, like chasing Unicorns. You know, and look, we had a amazing example of this, even a movie outstanding deliver in regards to a man by the name of Jaime Escalante who in teaching in I believe it was South East Los Angeles , a place that's like over like 90% Hispanic.
And being able to get the students in that space , um, and uh , Hispanic and poor I should say, and to try to get students in a space to be able to pass the calculus test , but not only just like a few of his students to pass the AP Calculus exam, but literally to get 100% of his students for at least three years, three or four years or whatever, to 100% passed the AP Calculus exam. So we know that unicorns exist , so it can be done.
There are some teachers who can cross this bridge who can make this happen, to close the student equity gaps and to get their students to perform at a level that is comparable, if not surpasses the performance of white students. And so it is in that vein, and I say this with great humility folks, I really hope you understand this. This is not ego talking. This is just me stating statistical facts. Is that the reason why you may want to listen to a guy like me?
There's simply because I have been able to close the student equity gap between black students and white students and my introduction to sociology class. So what does that mean? Um, so in my department, my department, the African African American student success is about 68% and in my class it's 85% for white students. My department numbers , um, are 80% while students, white students pass my class at 85%. And so it is a statistical thing that I'm saying to you.
I'm not trying to be on some soapbox or anything. I really want to explain to you and tell you from my heart that it can be done. This can be done. And although I speak from a space of humility, I do want to let you understand that I do feel good about this. Like if something that was very validating to me because when I first got to this campus, you know, almost 15 years ago, my style was definitely critiqued.
And I'm not going to say that when I first started that I had the same student equity's success. But I did feel that in the beginning that when I told people, especially white people, that I have this kind of hip hop feel to me. I want to bring this hip hop fos into my classroom. That this is something that's very important to me and that it's a worldview for me. It's not just a culture, it is a worldview.
It is a way that I view the world is through hip hop and the white older white male that was there. He asked me like this , um, he said, so how many black students do you have in your classes? And I was like, well in my intro class two, maybe three, and he was like, well, well how do you think teaching hip hop or the way that you do then affects the white students who are in your class? And that really threw me for a loop.
I'm not even going to lie to you and I feel like I have been struggling to try to figure out what the effect of my hip hop style or the way that I conduct myself in the classroom. What effect has it had on people especially that are white students. It's like I, I'm seriously concerned but in looking at my numbers , um, there's no other way to say this folks. Like, look, I'm better for white students than white teachers are.
And I really know, like I, I really feel like I can pinpoint down the space to where I feel like I'm having a little bit more success with white students. And that is, I really, for whatever reason, I do really well with like white students who were like really creative, like the creatives out there. I'm sure it has something to do, if not everything to do with the fact that I have creative responses in my class, but I really wanted to say homeless, like a mountain top .
Okay .
That I didn't hurt white people when I was doing this. I don't know why I feel like I have to say that.
Yeah .
But I guess I do because you know, hidden in the assumptions or hidden in the statement that this older white professor was saying to me was almost an acknowledgement from his side to say, you know that yes, maybe I'm white and well not maybe, but that he's white and maybe his style doesn't benefit black students. But he was thinking that, okay , so you're black, but that's not gonna benefit. That'll benefit black students, but it won't benefit white students.
And you know, really I , Golly, I mean if you really think about that, it's like, it's, so, I don't even know what the word is. I think the word I want to say is insulting to think that he was thinking that this is all about race and that is not about teaching. Right. And so when I think about like the benefits to my white students have had in my class, it always comes back down to me to teaching. It's like my teaching is different. It's such that white students benefit in my class also.
And just so that you can really get a sense that this is really about teaching. My Hispanic students are doing better than my department's average also. So in my department, Hispanic students are succeeding at 70% in my class. Is that 78% now for me, that's still a student equity gap. It's like they're not performing at the same level as black students and white students. And so I'm working on that quite honestly.
I actually have a plan in place called embedded tutoring that's going to help me , um, that I feel like is going to help me or close that gap down. But also for Asian students, Asian students, they were already doing just as well as white students. In my class, I'm at about 82% actually a little bit better than white students. And , um , in my class that was in my department, 82 is in the department, but in my class they succeed at 89%.
You know, and I already can hear the kinds of arguments that people are gonna come at me with. And that is, oh Bruce, you just made your class easier for everyone. Well , check this. If my class really was just easier for everyone, then that means everyone's percentage should have went up. Okay. So I don't know who this group of people are, but they're unknown. Like they're racist, unknown, like the unknown racial student . I don't want to assume anything about who these students are.
Okay. I don't want to assume that they're white, black or mixed or whatever. Well, actually we do have a category for mixed race or for multi-racial folks and whatnot in multiracial folks who are doing just fine in my too. Um, but students whose race was unknown, the department average is 75% while in my class is 58% as, oh look, the n is pretty small. It's like 12 students to start. Seven students were successful.
And so, you know, with the end that small , uh , with the population down small , um, you know, anything can, a lot of things can happen in that space. But I don't, I don't want to excuse anything. And yet at the same time, if it's unknown what their race is, I don't, I don't, I can't address that. Right. The unknown, I can't address the unknown.
However, this is something that I've been able to kind of think about in regards to why this group may not do as well in my class is because if they're unknown, that might mean it might, it might mean that they're not comfortable talking about race. Cause if they're not comfortable stating their race and they might not be and probably are not comfortable with talking about race. Well, in my classes we talk about race a lot. We talk about sex, gender and sexuality a lot.
We talk about poverty and class issues a lot too. So it's not just race , but if you're not comfortable with talking about race, yeah it might, it's going to be a long haul for you. Right. And so anyway, but that's what I was thinking of it . So in my classes , just easier than that means everyone should be succeeding at the same rate. And that's just not the case.
Another thing that people may argue with me about is that I teach this this class called summer bridge, which is for high school, like black students who are in high school or they're recently graduated. And um, well right there that should already let you know, it's like, okay , that's not easy. That's not necessarily the demographic that's like super succeeding anyway and yet.
Um, but I have ias, I have instructional assistants when I'm teaching summer bridge and yet at the same time I feel like that kind of balances out because the students are high school students. And so it really , um, having the extra help definitely. Um, you know, benefits the students greatly.
And here's the A , and I know a lot of people, especially white folks with all love and respect, I know that a lot of white folks are going to be like, the reason why you could close those gaps is because you're black, you know, to close the gaps with black students. And I'm like, you know what, there might be something to that.
And there's definitely something to in the , uh, the data about hiring people of color and that students of color tend to do better in classes with, with teachers of color. I get that. And yet at the same time, look, when you think it's just me being black, I really believe people like this, this idea that it's just because I'm black, that it's happening. It's quite honestly, it's insulting.
It's insulting to all the white teachers that I had that really actually benefited me greatly by intervening in my life at very key moments to encourage me to be the person that I am today to, to pursue the educational path that I'm on. And um, right. And those teachers, those white teachers specifically have definitely helped me become the person that I am. So you can't let yourself off the hook with this.
The other part of this that's really insulting is that it comes back to people really think this is just about race when it really is about teaching, right? I mean it really is about teaching and that we can be teachers that can close student equity gaps. Period, point blank. No if, ands, or buts about it.
If you need any evidence, you can look at my numbers if you want to, but look, folks, you know, I'm really passionate about this, but I still want to make sure that you understand that this is coming from a place of humility because I didn't start off this way, right? I mean, I really started off as replicating the system when I first was giving exams. I would, I could measure it that the first exam over half of my class would fail. My first exam.
I kid you not folks like I started in the space where I was replicating the very system that I was trying to fight it against. I was replicated in the system that I, that that raised, that socialized me to think that I was less than or less intelligent and whatnot, and so I started off replicating that very same system and I had to get to a space where I understood that in order for me to be better, I had to radically rethink a lot of the things that I thought were essential to teaching.
Some of those things being like how I view discipline in the class, how I give exams in the classroom, how, what is the overall philosophy of my class? Why do I give certain exams and things like that. It's like literally had to rethink a lot of the things and I know, I know, I know. I know there's a lot of people going like, well, tell me, tell me what are you doing? And it's like, look, I can't tell you what you need to do in order to close student equity gaps.
What I can do is I can tell you what I've done to close student equity gaps. This is going to be a piece by piece journey. A lot of this is philosophical, but some of it is very like practical things. Honestly . I would say most of it is about very practical things that we can do in the classroom that will help us be , um, overall just better teachers. But as far as the student equity effect , if you would, this is a journey that we can take together.
As a matter of fact, that's what this podcast is for, is for us to walk down this path together. I'm going to talk to you about all the questions that I asked myself about all the situations that I had to think myself grew and the discussions that I had with my colleagues, which happened mostly in hallways. Like for real, there was no teacher lounge or whatever happening or whatnot.
It was literally me just talking to, you know, my colleagues in all these different spaces and really just try my hardest to be the best teacher I could be. Right? And for me, that means I'm gunning for and will always go for 100% of my students passing my class. And I can tell you right now, if you're not thinking about it like that, you'll never close student equity gaps if you're not thinking about it like that.
If you take it some way, shape or form, I'm going to give you this, this today, right? If you think in some way, shape or form that students must fail your class in order for you to be successful or that that's good teaching is to or whatever, this is definitely not the podcast for you. I am definitely not the mentor you are seeking. Knock yourself out. Right? You got to go find somebody else for that.
But if you have the goal of it or if you want the goal of, Yo, I want 100% of my students to pass my class, well now we can talk. Because to me that's the first step because anyone who thinks that 100% of their students cannot pass their class is already setting a student equity trap. I mean, there's no really other way to say that folks. And so it's with that, right? You shoot for the stars and maybe you hit the moon. Well, that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to travel to galaxy folks.
So now that one ,
we know that it can be done. What are we going to do about it? That's what reteaches about, folks. That's what we're going to do here. Hope you learned something. Peace. Thank you for listening to this episode of reteach. If you want to learn more about me or my open source introduction to sociology textbook, please go to Bruce hoskins.com in closing, I want to leave us all with a question.
If you learned something today that you think would help close your student equity gaps, how long would it take to incorporate this into your classroom? A year , a semester, next month. Today, no matter the time table , we must commit ourselves to becoming better teachers. Our students deserve it. All of them, not just the ones that are good already.
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