TC PUBLIC SPACECommunity through dialogue,discussion, and dissent.

Volume III, Issue 2 Monday, November 30, 2015

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A CALL TO ADDRESS MICROAGGRESSIONS AT TCChristina Chaise

Racial microaggressions are brief, ordinary instances of verbal, non-verbal and/or visual/environmental indignitiesthat impart disparaging messages, consciously and unconsciously towards racial/ethnic minorities (Sue, et al. 2007).Intentional or not, they have real implications for students of color. Some even argue that these everyday experiences ofracial aggression and trauma affect students of color more negatively than acts of overt racism (Solorzano, Ceja, &Yosso, 2000). Unfortunately, these occurrences are so normalized in our language and behaviors that we do not alwaysrecognize when we are experiencing them or producing them ourselves. They may not even be visible in our words, butin the subtleties of our actions, like a particular look, gesture, or even change in our tone of voice. They can also beenvironmental, where particular spaces can unintentionally invalidate our identities and experiences (e.g. the exclusionof representation — visual, literary, and auditory in the university). Navigating dominant white spaces can be difficultfor students of color when exchanges like these occur, as they have real consequences for our spiritual/emotional well-being, our self-esteem as a person and as a scholar, as well as for our standard of living and self-determination.It is important that we bring these phenomena to light, especially in a school of education where we are being trained

to work with diverse populations of youth and adults. Without a comprehensive, self-reflective understanding anddisruption of the oppressive ideas about race, class, gender, ability, etc., that we have all internalized, we will continueto perpetuate these ideas within the spaces we inhabit. This is detrimental to us as social justice workers, and it isharmful to the students we come in contact with, as it impacts their identity development and self-worth. Withoutilluminating this normalized activity, it will stay normal and remain invisible, which deters us from realizing andaddressing our own perpetration and complicity in these acts and their harmful implications for racial/ethnic minorities,including our colleagues. It is also vital to understand this behavior through the lens of sustaining inequality, not justideologically, but economically as well, since they also play a role in maintaining disparities in education, employment,health care and other areas. continued on page 3

FIRE IN THE SCHOOL HOUSE:THE REPRODUCTION OF TEACHER BURNOUT

Jennifer Dauphinais

Teaching is a second career for me. I came to the field after an unfulfilling run in journalism and marketing, holding abelief that the lessons and insights of an adverse childhood made me a logical fit for bolstering youth. But after a seriousbout of burnout within my first five years of teaching, I made the decision to continue my education at Teachers College,if only to gain some footing on the foundation that had quickly slipped from underneath me. The system was far biggerand more complex than I had anticipated, and my place in it — nominal in scale. I had been eaten alive.

Having had a personal meditation and yoga practice for nearly twenty years, I found it peculiar that such a thingcould happen. I sought out my own support through a series of self-funded and grant-provided trainings on mindfulnessand yoga for stress and trauma. I became familiar with a variety of spiritual modalities that had been transposed intopractical skills and techniques for use by both teachers and students. I sought out the research of those within thesciences and social sciences. I further investigated ancient and ethereal texts and began to apply them to my classroompractice. Over the past few years, I have found myself in opportune circumstances, which have allowed me to facilitatemindfulness workshops and contemplative teaching practices for teachers.

But my story is rare.I have gained enough leverage to lend a hand to others around me, but the stories of burnout are copious, and they

singe the skin upon hearing. During the summer, a fellow researcher and I presented on mindfulness as part of teacherself-care at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) TEACH15 conference in Washington, D.C. When we saw...

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WHAT THIS PASTYEAR TAUGHT MEIN GRAD SCHOOL

Anastasiya Tsoy

Ilya Benjamin Washington

When I started my first year ofgrad school, I thought it would be thesame as my undergrad experience—busy and overwhelming — quizzes,midterms, a lot of research studies toread, and a lot of events to attend.However, it was not that difficult toadjust my time and willingness towork in the field that I wanted todevote my life.

The many readings became atangible platform for my researchstudy, and events helped me to meetnew people. I was so fascinated to bein a group of young people with thesame interests and career path but… Idid not think that an actual curriculumfrom the syllabus might affect me totake action. I started to thinkdifferently, I started to think critically,and it opened my mind to somethingnew, the field that was never shown tome before - the field of psychology ofhuman life. Despite the fact that Iwanted to be a psychologist, I did notwant to look to my field fromdifferent angles, and looking back, Irealized that it WAS difficult to startthinking outside-the-box, outside ofmy habitual style of thinking, and tostart speaking up about it.

During my undergraduate studies,professors taught me the theory of myfield, psychology. In most cases, youcould not oppose the guru’s ideas orcritique them, whereas in graduateschool you MUST critique andexpand your knowledge based ontheirs.

The first struggle was to critiqueFreud, Klein, Winnicott, Horney andothers. How could I, the student,contradict their ideas and propose myown? How could I critique themwithout a tangible psychological basebehind my thoughts? How could Iargue with my professor about atheory that was proved hundreds ofyears ago? The answer was, “Yes,” …I could do it in grad school.

After my first year in grad school, Irealized that professors who pushedme to critique and think criticallyhelped me to expand my knowledgeand to see the world outside of thebox. I started to view thingsdifferently, think differently, and seewhat was hidden under the actualcurriculum.

The curriculum itself is afoundation of students’ thinking.Professor Lesko, a professor ofEducation at TC, told me once that,“Teachers are mediators between

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FIRE IN THE SCHOOL HOUSEcontinued from page 1

...the room filled to capacity with educators, we realized how their attendancemarked an enormous need and an unspoken consent to be acknowledged aspart of a collective voice searching for transformation, the chance to surviveand potentially thrive in the field.

My academic work at TC has prompted me to make swift connectionsbetween theory and daily life lived. I have embraced a renewed logic thatacknowledges educational institutions as places of conflict and inequity.When we talk about the “hidden curriculum,” we often focus the conversationon the unspoken or informal values and lessons transferred to students, oftentimes reifying a social status of oppression. My work with mindfulness inschools has redirected that lens toward looking at the way the current cultureof teachers is constituted. I find myself stepping back to consider how thecultural institution of education acts upon the teacher. I scrutinize the way inwhich the scarred performance of struggling teachers diminishes teacheragency, and how our current system seems dependent upon teacher burnout.

Unfortunately, the majority of current research on teacher emotions andburnout relies on the logic of a problematized teacher, and even more so,teachers’ problematic feelings. These “hot topic” conversations distract fromthe critique of the broken system that puts teachers at risk. The system asksteachers to overcome their instincts — instincts that signal to them that theyare tired, sick, or angry due to overwork or complexities out of their control.Instead, a self-improving, or self-perfecting condition, which seeks toconstruct a better teacher, is put in the spotlight. The message becomes, “Fixthe teacher.” And school institutions have become the outlet for thiscampaign.

The smoke is thick, and the conflicts remain consistent. Today, the lives ofteachers and students are running in tandem even more than we may assume,both situated as problematic by those in power, and in need of being actedupon to correct alleged failures. In this dilemma, several stereotypes becomeapparent: the teacher hero, the burnt out teacher, the bad teacher. While theculture of teachers transfers the expectations to be selfless, resilient, growth-minded, and unshakable in the face of day-to-day challenges andcomplexities, the social and political structures in schools reproduce thesymptoms of struggle. Operating in a continuous loop of limited agencycreates a smoldering condition of desensitization to one’s ability to confrontthe problems at hand. It becomes difficult to process a fair analysis of thesocial, emotional, or political demands one might face, or to provideopportunities for a solution generated from the center of teachers’experiences. Yet, the policymakers, rather than the teachers, choose the planof action, and the stereotypes are reinforced, making teacher tiering andmanagement seem necessary. More importantly, the strategies andinterventions for teacher self-care and performance in curricula ofprofessional development are consumed with little critique. Teachers are insuch need to find a way that the formal and informal lessons of living up tothe “good teacher” image often arrive in moments of the most vulnerability.

Such theoretical concerns are brought to life when encountering theinflammatory atmosphere of faculty break rooms, or felt fully when policiesare set, which squelch professionalism through breaches of ethics ormechanized expectations. Relationships become stretched; our perceptionsshift and bend; layer upon layer of initiatives are introduced like jugglingballs in a circus act. Our pedagogical roots are tested over and over again. Ourexertion of voice, often regulated and limited, is habitually met byincongruous solutions. As teachers, we feel fixed in our position with littleleverage or opportunity to exert change or leadership, while the symptoms ofweariness reinforce our perceived immobility. As the smoke rises, the powersthat be remain stable while hundreds of thousands “drop out” of theprofession annually. The unspoken lessons of teacher failure are taught yearafter year backed by the endorsement of its numerous “graduates.”

Have a conversation you would like to start? Want to respondto an article in this issue? TCPS is open to a variety of writtenand visual submissions. Email us at tcpublicspace@gmail.com.

BRINGING MICROAGGRESSIONS OUT OFTHE SHADOWS AT TC

Matthew Gonzales, TCPS

The theme of this issue is the “Hidden Curriculum,” which refers to theunwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values and perspectivesthat students learn in school. While pondering what this concept meant to me asa former teacher, I began to consider what this means to me with regard to mypositionality as a student of color at Teachers College. I began to ask myself,“What is the ‘hidden curriculum’ at TC, and how does it manifest itself?”

While there are countless directions this concept can be taken, whatimmediately popped into my head was microaggressions — a topic that manyof my fellow colleagues and I have encountered and discussed at great length.For those who are unfamiliar (not to insult anyone’s intelligence), amicroaggression is “an everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slight,snub, or insult, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile,derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon theirmarginalized group membership” (from “Diversity in the Classroom,” UCLADiversity & Faculty Development, 2014).

Microaggressions occur on a regular basis and can often be overlooked.However, they are powerful. The power of microaggressions is not just derivedfrom the words, but from the relationships of power they represent. It iscritically important to understand that microaggressions only exist because ofmacroaggressions. That is, without the broader structures of racial andeconomic stratification and hegemony, microaggressions would not evoke suchpain and frustration for historically marginalized groups.

In order to illustrate the manifestation of microaggressions at TeachersCollege, I have compiled stories from across the campus. These stories wereshared anonymously through a new Facebook page titled, “Teachers CollegeMicroaggressions.” It was created for the historically marginalized students atTC to share their stories safely, and it culminated with a microaggressionsevent sponsored by the Black Student Network and the Coalition of Latin@Scholars on November 6. I have assigned each story with a major theme ofracial microaggressions; however, these experiences go beyond race, to class,gender, ability and sexuality.

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Beatriz Albuquerque, TCPS

"ALTERNATIVES"Mike Ramsey

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of learning” — a completely unknown andentirely fabricated quote from R. U. Gullible. Even though that individual mayvery well be made up, the point remains. There is a special union betweenlearning and how it relates to happiness, just as the original sentence in theDeclaration of Independence states. Learning fosters our self-creation.Happiness can often be found through understanding what we enjoy andembracing it wholly. What we learn continually transforms us, molds us intowho we have yet to become. Education not only opens the door to the mysteriesand specifics of this world but also to our own mental, physical, and soulfuldevelopment.

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“Life in Classrooms”

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A CALL TO ADDRESSMICROAGGRESSIONS

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In order to become more critical of ourwords and actions — to hold each other andourselves accountable in disrupting thereproduction of racism and other forms ofoppression — we must initiate our journey inbecoming racially literate. Racial literacy is askill and practice, cultivated and strengthenedeveryday, where people engage in dialoguesaround the construction of race, how racismworks and exists ideologically andinstitutionally, and deconstruct the racialstereotypes we have internalized as adults(Sealey-Ruiz & Greene, 2015).

The implementation of racial literacy in thecontent and pedagogy of our classes isimportant and definitely a first step indismantling the oppressive lens through whichwe look at communities of color, each other,and ourselves. This necessitates the brave act ofanalyzing oneself to recognize the negativemessages and perceptions we haveincorporated into our schema, to own them,critique them and eventually transform them.Self-examination, along with critical texts of allforms of literacy and dialogue, can give us thecourage to constructively engage in dialogue onrace (rather than be fearful of it) and enable usto take a stance against racist anddiscriminatory practices. When we are able tosee ourselves as more than educators andpractitioners, but as creators of socialjustice/disrupters of injustice, then our workand lives become more meaningful.

However, there is a need to shift the currentethos alive in our classrooms and at TC at-large, where discussions on race and other“difficult dialogues” are either deficit-orientedor non-existent. That begins with us — thatbegins with us bringing in race and other topicsthat make people feel uncomfortable, into classdiscussions; that begins with us asking ourprofessors to introduce more critical texts(including those by authors of color) to thesyllabus when we realize its absence; thatbegins with us having the courage to address astatement made in class that may be racist,classist, sexist, or ableist; that begins with usbeing empowered and having faith in ourvoices and ability to disrupt.

Besides illuminating the issue of racialmicroaggressions that happen on campus, myintention for writing this is such: to encourageyou to interrogate what brought you here, whyyou do the work that you do, and what youwant to gain from your TC experience. For me,I came here to be trained under the lens ofsocial justice. I do the work I do because I wanta better society for me, my community, and myfuture kids. From TC, I hope to gain theknowledge, skills, and strength to navigate mysocial world and contribute to it in a way that ismeaningful and powerful. I believe that’s whywe all come here, but if we do not begin toquestion the frameworks and beliefs fromwhich we operate, then we hinder the potentialgrowth we can cultivate here at TC. Perhapsnot all of our classes foster this opportunity, butwe can together, and in doing so, hold eachother and ourselves accountable.

EXPERIENCING MICROAGRESSION:A (DIS)ABLED PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE

Allison Baldwin

My name is Allison Baldwin. I am currently in my third and final year of the Master’s program inCurriculum and Teaching. I have a particular interest in children’s literacy and disability studies. I spent myfirst two years at Teachers College as a member of the Student Senate, in the roles of Academic AffairsCommittee Chair and Communications Officer, respectively, a member of the Teachers College CommunityChoir, and as the Communications Assistant for the Teachers College Office of School and CommunityPartnerships.

I live on campus, which means I am around often, so most people know my face. I say hello to multiplepeople on a daily basis, and, if time permits, am more than open to having longer conversations with anyonewho is willing. I have often been told that I am outgoing and friendly, intelligent and talented, and that Ipossess a perspective unlike anyone else.

Throughout my time at TC, I have discovered a wonderful community of friends and colleagues, peoplewho have pushed me to be better than I was before I came here, people who refuse to allow me to doubt myown worth, and people who have opened my eyes to all the beauty around me, even and especially on thedays when I am unable to see.

It is because of these people that I have been able to learn the truth about myself — I am far more thanwhat people see or what my physical appearance communicates.

There are many people at TC andelsewhere who know this and remind meof this fact every day.

But sometimes, there are others.Others who remind me that not everyonesees me in the same way. Others whoremind me — in not so nice ways — ofmy differences.

Last week, I experienced what Iconsider to be a microaggression. Bydefinition, a microaggression is “a subtleor offensive comment or action directedat a minority or other non-dominantgroup that is often unintentional orunconsciously reinforces a stereotype.”

Although I am white, the fact that Iam both a woman and a person with adisability makes me a minority. I am inno way ashamed of either of theseaspects of my identity, and contrary towhat others may think, am not offendedwhen people ask me questions about mydisability.

Since I use a walker, it is impossibleto hide it from anyone, nor would I if Icould. However, I most certainly getoffended when people try to use mydisability, whether consciously orunconsciously, to make themselves feelbetter about their own situations. That isexactly what I believe happened lastweek.

I was studying in Everett Café whenan acquaintance of mine came in to ordersomething, and upon seeing me, cameover to say hello. The person asked mewhat I was reading, and when I told themI was reading a book for my thesisproject, they made a face and asked if itwas a “kid’s book.”

When I repeated that it was, and that itwas for my thesis project, their onlyresponse was, “Good for you.”

They did not even ask about thenature of the project. Following that, theyclaimed that I was so amazing. When Isaid something about how I was not surehow that was true, they responded thatthey always see me around studying anddoing my homework all the time, andthen mentioned how they always put offtheir own schoolwork because they do so

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“Everything is Everything (after Lauryn Hill)”Aliyah Taylor, TCPS

"BOMB SHELTER"Jody Rita Chan

I always think, “I should write more political poems,”but every time I try,my anger comes out as an apology.I write manifestos that sound like love letters.

My body is a settler on the land of otherwomen’s battered bonesbecause mine have never known how to take up spaceand I have been told too many timeshow my feelings spill out of my eyes when I’m not carefuland make me hard to look at.

It is so much easier to turn every scar into a joke.As if, when we cut someone and they bleed,it is their fault for dirtying the earthwhere we bury them.As if they have chosen weakness over strength.As if strength is just the absence of pain.

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OUT OF THE SHADOWScontinued from page 2

Do You Really Belong Here? — Criminality#1: In the first few weeks of school. I was really excited to behere at Teachers College. So excited I took a picture of mystudent ID just to show the world how official I was. A person ofcolor getting a graduate degree at Columbia! I had made itright?! Wrong! Little did I know that very same student ID wouldbe the source of my first of many micro aggressions here at TC.When you swipe your ID to enter the building, a picture of youand your name appears on the security officers screen. I swipedto enter into the Whittier side of the building, and when I walkedin for the second time ever, the security officer asked to see myID. I thought nothing of it, showed my ID and kept it moving. Butthen, it happened again. I was asked multiple times as I enteredthe first few weeks to see my ID. On a few of those occasions Iwalked in with people who didn't appear to be people of color.The security officers never asked to see their ID. The securityofficers never asked them to validate their presence here atTeachers College. Or was it only me because I fit so many of thecharacteristics of the invisible man? Black, bearded, 6"0,heavyset, male. I feel like I fit a lot of the descriptions of thepersons of interest in those TC email alerts. It's amazing asecurity officer hasn't stopped me for that...yet...

Do You Deserve To Be Here? — Ascription of Intelligence#4: I was talking to a colleague of mine, we worked in the samelab, both students at Columbia, and we went to the same (wellknown and prestigious) undergraduate university. Discussing atask to be completed I offered to take it on and she replied, "it'sok, we should have someone who is educated do it. "I was too inshock to respond.

Dress For Success — Pathologizing Cultural Values#5: My first of several incidences of microaggressions occurringat TC happened my third day here. While walking through thecafeteria, a random individual felt the need to stop and informme “that the way I was dressed was not acceptable and studentsdon’t dress like that here” I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt,sneakers and a fitted hat along with my brown skin which I thinkwas the issue.

Where Is Your Accent From? — Alien in Own Land#7: During a group project, we were engaging in a classdiscussion. In the middle of when I was talking, a classmateinterrupted stating that I had an accent. I offered an explanationstating that it might be due to the fact that I was from out ofstate. The person continued to say that my accent was similar toaccents of students who he had taught in a foreign country. 1)not only was the place that he had taught is across the countryfrom where my parents were from (so different accent)...but 2) Iwas born and raised in America...

I Am In Charge! You’re Just Here To Listen.#9: While we were discussing Dewey in class, I said that itthought that the fact that Dewey wanted to differentiate betweendemocratic education while also using comparisons of savageryand civilization was hypocritical towards the experiences of theso-called "savages". The Professor said: "you need to keep itshort. Your ideas are so far, that they’re going past the BrooklynBridge". I just looked at him and slapped him mentally. But inreality I couldn't do a thing. The lack of social manners put mein a position to take it or have a "when keepin' it real goeswrong moment."

These stories are the first step to helping us further thedialogue on microaggressions. I want to thank the courageousstudents who shared these stories. There are many more, and Iencourage you to explore this page, these stories, and evencontribute your own experiences with microaggressions. Onlythrough open discussion and interruption of these false narrativescan we begin to articulate a new future. It is time to bring this“Hidden Curriculum” of Teachers College out of the shadows.

EXPERIENCING MICROAGGRESSIONcontinued from page 3

Some people may not find this interaction offensive, but I do.First off, I did not appreciate getting snubbed for reading a “kid’s book.” Brushing off

children’s literature as simply “kids’ books” implies that books written for children aresomehow of lesser quality than those written for adults. Furthermore it also implies thatchildren themselves are somehow lesser than adults.

Neither of these assumptions are correct. In my short experience working with children, Ihave found them to be more open-minded, empathetic, and aware than most adults. And quitefrankly, if an author can write in such a way that these concepts reach children, then he or sheis a far better author than any who write for an adult audience. After all, is not the goal ofwriting to make knowledge accessible and understandable to everyone? If so, we should bestriving to make our language simpler, not more complicated.

Secondly, and on a more personal note, I am NOT amazing for studying and doing myhomework. And certainly someone else is no better than I am because they do not have timeto do their own homework.

As graduate students at Teachers College, I imagine we are all busy; we all have a numberof extracurricular activities, and we are all trying to build our resumes. These out-of-classroom experiences do not excuse any of us from adhering to our academic obligations. I,too, have felt the pull between school, work, and enrichment activities, and can certainly, andoften will, commiserate with someone. But I WILL NOT allow anyone to make themselvesfeel better by backhandedly inferring all the things I cannot or do not do.

Lastly, by implying that I am amazing because I always study and do my homework, thisperson unconsciously reinforced the stereotype that people with disabilities, whether physicalor cognitive, lack intelligence and/or the ability and skills necessary to obtain an education. Iam not inspirational because I can do most things that others consider normal parts of dailyliving. I am not here to remind you of what you could not handle were you in my shoes. And Iam certainly not here to make you more comfortable with your own complacency.Furthermore, I am already well aware that I overcompensate for my physical challenges bytaking extra care to exceed intellectually. I do not need anyone reminding me.

But the purpose of this piece is not to get angry, or to make the person who interacted withme feel bad. I know they did not mean to hurt me by saying what they said. The point is, wecan no longer allow conversations like the one above to go unchecked. All of us need to beaware; we need to develop a consciousness toward these issues and how we are bothcombating and maintaining them.

As a proponent of inclusive practices, I have always said that the barriers we face are moremental than anything else. When both a mental barrier and a physical barrier exist together,obstacles are nearly impossible to surmount, but take the mental barriers away and thosephysical barriers become problems, problems that can be solved by employing creativesolutions.

I wrote this piece to start a conversation that I believe is necessary. And I hope that mystory will be the first of many of this nature to be printed. I am a writer because I find greatjoy in helping other people find their voices. But in the voices of others, I also find my own.

As Paulo Freire wrote, “Human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, inaction-reflection. …word is not the privilege of some few persons, but the right of everyone.Consequently, no one can say a true word alone — nor can she say it for another” (p. 88).*

I hope this piece allows each of us to speak our truest words.

*Friere, P. (2000) [1973] Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th Anniversary edn., trans. M.B. Ramos (NewYork, Continuum).

“Multicultural Family Dinner Revisited.”Joshua Weiner ’12

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"ALTERNATIVES"continued from page 2

We are an expansive species, with countless different ideologies, personalities,perspectives, likes, dislikes, ignorances, and knowledge, among other complexities.Learning helps us strengthen our uniqueness, spurring variation through contentment— ideally, of course!

It is a relatively general, or “popular” understanding, I would presume, that humansare as various as the stars are luminous, or as different as they say the designs ofsnowflakes can be. It would be impressive finding someone who has a differentopinion. This simple but complicated and overwhelming truth is at the heart of theissue around a large problem in education. I will present this problem in the form of aquestion, and that question being (Perd Hapley, anyone?) — What is the value ofdifference in education?

At first, I would say that there is not much value in alternative learning, at least as itpresents itself in the common classroom, or at least bring up the question: what does iteven look like to provide an alternative learning space? Is it something that wequestion? I know the idea escapes me often, and I am writing about the topic for cryingout loud! It does indeed exist, as the counter-culture to educational normalcy found inthe federal, state, and city/local educational standards carried out through assessments,common curricula, mass published textbooks, and mirror-like educational settings (e.g.classrooms, sage-style teaching, etc.). It is interesting that with so many variationsamong humans, we generally create commonly stiff learning environments. In thesystems designed to unite people under similar knowledge, a standardized curricularmodel, in reality, separates us.

Since I am talking about general education, I will continue to write in grossgeneralities. I mean “gross” in the sense of distaste too (e.g. terrible, disgusting, funkyand NASTY). There is nothing more distasteful than boiling down the history, skills,accomplishments and failures of humanity into a handful of texts to teach studentsaround the country who are connected to various subjects, authors, environments,communities, and families. In this, there is a problem with learning. It becomes bland.Another gross concept.

My intent is not to solve the problems of our school systems by bringing this issueup. That would take many more pages/actions/reflections with many more authors andmany more revelations, or even revolutions, to make such a change occur. I bring it upbecause of our location — Teachers College. We are in a building built for the pursuitof learning across all fields where learning is valued and essential. I bring this upbecause bland learning might very well be introduced to you in the classes within thesedoors. After all, this college is part of the general learning system and cannotcompletely escape the gross ideas of minimizing variations to sameness. Education,and therefore learning, is at the heart of this college, and within these walls theconversations we have should not only be of general learning, but different sorts oflearning.

Alternatives offer a change in perspective. We have our own individual thoughtsand interests, and usually seek others out with whom we share similarities. How can welearn when we are surrounded by similarity? Some of us believe in what should be;some of us believe in what is. If we do not merge the two, and challenge the other, wewill always be where we are and become complacent. One of the worst things one cando with their life is to become comfortable in complacency. Not to say complacent issynonymous with routine, because it is not. By seeking out, finding, and understandingthe alternatives, would you not learn more of what you want?

"BOMB SHELTER"

My heart still gets shattered by every bullet point listticking off the tragedies of people I don’t knowbut even then, the explosions leavethe bomb shelter of my rib cage intact.

That privilege is knowing my family will lay their headson their white pillowcases in bed at night,not on sand stained red with their own deathlike refugee blood on the shores of foreign beacheseven though my country helped to build the bombs.

When I close my eyes,the darkness behind my eyelidsis a candle that lights my dreams to the waya sister, a hundred brothers, a thousand mothersare being laid to rest tonight.

I will never know how to multiply trauma.I have tried, but my hands were like bowls collecting the rainthat refuses to fall from the skyand my sunshine pooled in puddles on the floor.

I don’t want to write about breaking anymore.I will not feel guilty about writing love letters.

This one is for the women who raise hellagainst a world that wants them to be victimsand paints them demon when theyfail to bear injustice in silence.

This is for the women whose heart stringsring to the vibrations of an orchestratuned to the sound of sincerity.

This is for the ones who have survivedall of the hardest days of their lives,and for the ones who are still hurting,whose blood sings so loud in their veinsbirds come to their windows in the morning to hear it.

Let us bare our heartswith full knowing and no more shame,until the cages they built for us out of their Adam’s ribs collapse,until the cracked foundations of our soulsraise a house for those naked hearts to live.We will have the only keys,and we will never have to use them.

In my opinion, this school is an opportunity to grow, and an opportunity, I can safely claim, that grows heftier in the wallet with every passing year. If wedo not seek alternatives in our learning, but only accept what is taught without question or play (after all, not all of alternatives have to be serious!), then wewill only learn what is given to us whether we like it or not. What we like, we connect with and hopefully grow from. What we do not like, I can only assumewe toss aside as “general knowledge.” This was my path for quite some time, disregarding ideas, people, or actions I did not prefer. Coming to terms withthings we do not like is a part of growing up. We change as we grow. Why not be introduced to new ideas as we grow so our learning changes with us as muchas our clothes, food choices or identities?

Becoming educated about alternatives, embracing them, understanding them, creating them, expanding them — it is important to always challenge what weand others think and/or believe is correct, right, true, or plain “common sense.” If we cannot do that, we will never develop what we believe in. Or help othersdo so. We grow stronger in our beliefs as we develop theories and practice to back them up. Why else would we be interested in education, attending a schoolcentered on education? One answer might be to become as knowledgeable as possible in our field of education. It is our duty as lovers of learning to seek outthe alternative in teaching styles, in knowledge, in policy — and to push our professors to show us. Profess in a manner that varies from the norm. Assign usreadings that we may not have found on our own. Be the unpopular voice in the room, the one who takes a risk. Discover the alternatives to learning so we canbecome experienced and equipped to tackle the various learning opportunities that will continue to come our way.

I leave you with what I find as crucial questions to ponder: Why are you here? What brought you here? What does education or alternative education meanto you? These are just reflections I thought might be of interest as we indulge our minds in educative treats. Take them or leave them; do with them as you like.I do hope though that you quest for something different while sitting in these rooms. Challenge who you are and grow by utilizing each other, the various,complicated, experienced others that make up our student population. Learn, ask, argue, agree, search, learn more and most importantly, enjoy it!

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Have a suggestion for next issue's theme?Share your ideas by posting on our FacebookPage or via Twitter @TCPublicSpace.

Community through dialogue,discussion, and dissent.

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“Teacher-centeredness caught at scene!”

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR:"NAVIGATING TC'S HIDDEN CURRICULUM"

The term “hidden curriculum” is credited to the late Philip W. Jackson, whodedicated an entire chapter to the concept in perhaps his most well known publishedwork, Life in Classrooms (1968). Jackson, to whom this issue of TC Public Space isdedicated, died this past July due to health complications related to cancer, according toan online article posted by UChicagoNews of The University of Chicago. Jackson spentmuch of his scholarly career at The University of Chicago, and after retiring held theposition of Professor Emeritus.

What exactly was Jackson referring to when he coined the term “hiddencurriculum”? Here, it is worth quoting him at length:

…the crowds, the praise, and the power that combine to give a distinctive flavor toclassroom life collectively form a hidden curriculum which each student (and teacher)must master if he is to make his way satisfactorily through the school. The demandscreated by these features of classroom life may be contrasted with the academicdemands — the “official” curriculum, so to speak — to which educators traditionallyhave paid the most attention (pp. 33-34).

In a way, the “hidden curriculum” ironically constitutes elements of traditionalschooling which are most explicit and basic — namely, social interaction andrelationship-building that are central to any lived human experience. The social aspectsof teaching and learning are not so much “hidden” as they are overshadowed by thelarger institutional structure of academia, according to Jackson who made this claimnearly half a century ago. Yet, while the importance and value of social interaction tothe process of learning within a given educative experience has since become a growingarea of interdisciplinary interest, it remains largely instrumental and peripheral incomparison to more quantitatively-friendly research topics. In other words, thequestion, “What can be gleaned from the observable classroom conversation,” takesprecedence over the question, “What does a particular ‘educational’ relationship revealabout the involved persons’ shared desire to understand one another?”

After all, relationship-building in the form of spoken language enables the conceptof education to become intelligible in the first place. The desire to understand, andlikewise, to be understood impregnates shared concepts with meaning and socialsignificance.

I believe this instinctual urge to understand writ large speaks to the core mission ofthis publication — to offer an open and public platform within a community of diverselearners where individuals can seek to understand and be understood by one another.The original work of TC authors and artists that comprise this issue both reflect greatprogress toward this notion of relational understanding across historically impenetrablesocial barriers, and point to the immense amount of work that still needs to be done.

For example, Sylvia Ryzewska’s article develops communication-based themes of“school culture” and a shared, communal vision, both of which intimately connect withthe ethical crux of Jennifer Dauphinais’ article. Together, Ryzewska and Dauphinaishelp to elucidate the overarching ethical question of what it means to live wellalongside one’s colleagues and peers; they draw attention to the controversial manner inwhich such a notion of living well has been popularized and brought to the forefront ofa “problematized” educational/schooling paradigm. This concept of well-being loomslarge in how individual students and teachers construct meaningfulness in their livesand livelihoods, how they self-identify as persons in this world, how they form andreflect on their experience.

The two articles by Anastasiya Tsoy, in tandem, exemplify and expand upon thecontinuity and nonlinearity of this never-ending “journey” of self-formation. Ethnicity,gender, sexuality, belief, doubt — these concepts along with others structure the pathwe choose to follow, and to a certain degree, create. To this point, Mike Ramsey’sarticle reminds us no individual’s journey of self-formation takes the exact same path asanother. Still, the powerful words of Jody Chan offer a first-personal glimpse of thepain often felt as myriad paths converge and fork.

The contributions of Allison Baldwin, Christina Chaise, and Matt Gonzales aboutmicroaggression speak to the importance of engaging in these moments of convergenceand divergence despite the pain, in having the tough conversations that will ultimatelylead to a forgiveness of past transgressions and generate newfound compassion forothers. Moreover, this necessary dialogue will help to smooth the bumps in the path forthose whose travels go on after one’s own has ended.

In attempting to find connections between these enriching and diverse voices of TC,it seems Jackson’s juxtaposition of the “hidden” with the “official” curriculum onlypartly captures the vastness of the idea to which he was referring. In other words, the“hidden” curriculum is not merely a course of study — informal or ancillary — to becompleted in addition to the explicitly “official” curricular requirements. Rather, itconstitutes a course of living well, and of understanding what this means by bothattending to one’s own flourishing and relating to others similarly formativeexperiences.

The “hidden curriculum” is anything but.

Di Yu

Joe Marinelli, TCPS

THE SECRET INGREDIENT: HOW TOIMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTVIA THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM

Sylvia Ryszewska ’15

It is no secret that the environment of a school affects theeducational outcomes of its students. When children and staff arerespectful to one another and well aware of their roles, everyonethrives.

When we speak about how to improve student achievement, wemention factors like strong leadership, teacher collaboration, closemonitoring of student progress, and a common and coherentcurriculum, but we do not mention the “hidden curriculum.” Apositive school culture can benefit everyone by fostering effort andproductivity, increasing collaboration, and improvingcommunication. These positive changes can help faculty and studentsfoster relationships amongst themselves and develop a strongeridentification with the school.

It is vital for there to be a set of norms and values that focuseveryone's attention on what is most important and motivates them towork hard toward a common goal. The hidden curriculum will help toguide effective choices at every level of the school. It is preciselythrough school culture that effective schools emit a clear and constantmessage about the roles and responsibilities of staff and students.This presence, when harnessed properly, will lead to greatness.

A school's culture originates from its vision and establishedvalues; what determines whether it is weak or strong is how closelythe actions, traditions, and rituals are aligned with the vision.Members in effective schools continually see concrete signs thatstrengthen the school’s culture.

WHAT THIS PAST YEAR TAUGHTME IN GRAD SCHOOL

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As a graduate student completing my second and last year ofschool, I want to encourage incoming students to view the curriculumwith an open-mind. Be open to new thoughts and contradictions thatyou may face, because learning to think outside-of-the-box is noteasy… but it is the biggest accomplishment that you will earn duringyour time at graduate school.

Over the past year, I have come to realize that grad school will notPUSH you to study and learn, it will ENCOURAGE and INSPIREyou to follow your dream, to create your own career path and becomea leader in your field. And one more piece of advice - Please enjoyevery minute of the process of learning and meeting new people.

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The Sexuality, Women, and Gender Project (SWG) announced the first New York Stateapproved certificate program in Sexuality, Women and Gender in Psychology and Education of itskind — a world-renowned training ground for the next generation of educators, researchers,practitioners, administrators, and activists interested in learning the next wave of theories andpractices to improve the well-being for LGBTQ individuals and women.

The process of getting a certificate include SWG related classes, research project and asemester long volunteer/service experience. Research project topics include: understanding therelationship between minority stress and attachment satisfaction of sexual minorities; the impact ofgender discrimination on career satisfaction of women in male dominated professions;understanding the link between first generation female college students and academic self-efficacy; understanding marginalization faced by partners of transgender individuals.

The certificate program in Sexuality, Women and Gender is strongly committed to socialjustice and multiculturalism as it pertains to issues of equity and access for sexual and genderminorities and women. In the spirit of this commitment, all candidates for certificate program willbe expected to complete a semester long volunteer/service experience in an agency that serves theaforementioned populations.

THE SECRET INGREDIENTcontinued from page 6

The school culture is not just about the environment; itis about how that environment affects the education ofthose in it. It is not something that is out of our control. Weneed to discuss it, work on it, and use it to get the outcomeswe desire.

A positive school climate is not just an environment thathas an absence of violence or discipline problems but anenvironment that nurtures its inhabitants and motivatesthem to be the best that they can be. Schools need to take aproactive approach to establishing this type of culture inwhich expectations are clear. However, this is notsomething that happens overnight. A strong culture isformed bit by bit, day by day, and is the result of manysocial exchanges. It takes a long time to build and sustainthis type of energy, but when it is established, excellencewill be promoted, achievement will be enhanced, andstudents and staff will have a lifetime love of learning.

There is increasing pressure for improved studentachievement and more equitable outcomes, yet, we are notutilizing all the tools that we have at our disposal.Developing a strong hidden curriculum in a school is by nomeans quick or easy, but it is necessary if we want schoolsto achieve what we expect of them. This can and will helpevery type of student.

Students on the autism spectrum often have difficultyunderstanding the hidden curriculum in their environmentsdue to social challenges; their teachers make it a priority toteach the hidden curriculum. They help students becomeaware of the various items and how they impact them bothin the school and home environment.

The first step is to bring the topic of school culture andits importance to light.

Sylvia Ryszewska is a graduate of the Master’s inDevelopmental Psychology program at Teachers College,Columbia University. She is a former teacher’s aide of theNew York City Department of Education, researchassistant at the NYU Child Study Center, and AppliedBehavioral Analysis Therapist. She currently works atWeill Cornell Medicine as a psychiatry research assistantyet, she still continues to work privately with typicallydeveloping children and children with autism spectrumdisorder.

Put in positive terms, it is everything that describes theundeniably social core of experiential living. Indeed, howelse can learning occur, be recognized, and called as such?

I believe unparalleled attention to the crucial role ofdialogue in this process of learning translates to a dynamicyet coherent vision for Teachers College, and for thatmatter, any social institution formally charged with the taskof educating. Likewise, the guiding mission of TCPS seeksto realize this educational ideal of self-formative sociallearning through visible and sustained communitydialogue.

Only through the communicable experiencing of sharedexperiences can we work collaboratively andconstructively toward building greater social capacity andconsciousness in and out of class, within both TC and thelarger educational enterprise of humankind. It is about timewe broaden the scope of our species’ historical narrative.

LETTER FROM THE EDITORcontinued from page 6

Disclaimer: TC Public Space is an open forum forthe Teachers College community, the contents ofwhich do not necessarily reflect the opinions of theeditorial board of TC Public Space.

THE SEXUALITY, WOMEN, & GENDER PROJECTAnastasiya Tsoy

The Sexuality, Women, and GenderProject (SWG) was co-founded in Fall2012 by three professors in the Counselingand Clinical Psychology Department, Drs.Aurelie Athan, Melanie Brewster, andRiddhi Sandil with funding from aTeachers College Provost InvestmentGrant. Athan, Brewster, and Sandil werejoined by Dr. Gregory Payton (PointScholar and Lecturer at Teachers College)in 2015. The SWG promote the needs ofLGBTQ individuals and women. Further,SWG has an executive advisory boardcomposed of Drs. Tom Rock (AssociateProvost) and Marie Miville (Director ofthe Counseling and Clinical PsychologyDepartment). With the mentorship of thisboard, SWG keeps a pulse on diversestudent recruitment, retention, andintegration of our mission throughoutTeachers College.

Three Branches. The goals of SWG are threefold: (1) to promote learning through innovativepedagogy and implementation of LGBTQ and gender-specific coursework, (2) to provide intensiveresearch mentorship and production, and (3) to apply gender and sexuality theories into practicesettings across New York City and the tri-state area such as local schools, mental/health facilities,and community organizations. SWG will work across departments within TC and schools of CU topromote the trans-disciplinary dialogues needed to solve complex, real-world problems: Education,Counseling & Clinical Psychology, Public Health, Gender and Queer Studies, ReproductivePsychiatry, Sociology, and Law, among others.

For more details about the Certificate Program and how to get involved with the SWG Project,please visit our website: www.swgproject.org.

“Does My Body Offend You”Nicole Avery

While strides of racial freedom are emerging socio-politically throughout contemporary America, the femaleblack body, and its components, continues in 2015 to offend, as it is historically bound to Western ideologiesof hyper-visibility, over-sexualization, and atypical standards within sectors of the performing arts.

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STAFF LISTJoe Marinelli.........................................................................................................................................................................Co-Editor-in-chiefSara Hardman.......................................................................................................................................................................Co-Editor-in-chiefDavid Perrett................................................................................................................................................................................Layout EditorShannon Duncan......................................................................................................................................................Communications ManagerBrenna Mossman........................................................................................................................................................Communications LiaisonMatthew Gonzales..........................................................................................................................................................................Copy EditorJillian Feinstein...............................................................................................................................................................................Copy EditorBeatriz Dixo Sousa Albuquerque Mendes....................................................................................................................................Visual EditorAliyah Taylor................................................................................................................................................................................Visual EditorPatrick Williamson...........................................................................................................................................................................Web EditorT. Derrick Hull...............................................................................................................................................................Distribution Manager

“Entrance to Columbia University Main Campus”Mikel D. Moss