3 Day Startup’s Interview
This interview by colleagues at 3 Day Startup offers one of the best explanations for the profundity of equity that I’ve read, probably ever.
For me, the interviewer G.E. Loveless facilitates an exploration of equity, taken at its root, as a core belief in the right to quality of life.
Explicitly the contributors Chandell Stone and Erika Haskins state that “some people’s problems are not more important than other people’s problems.” Their discussion implies the simple truth that we are all seeking quality of life for ourselves and our communities, and that the field of challenges is broad, varied, and open to innovation.
The best way to collectively solve our diverse array of challenges is to make space for diverse arrays of lived experiences and homegrown expertise that naturally takes root at the foot of every problem. Said another way, those who are most impacted are most capable of creating impact, and thereby shift paradigms towards more positive outcomes for their communities.
Placed within the context of special education, this rendering of equity as a pursuit of the right to quality of life makes the prospect of diversifying teacher education programs with disabled educators so crucial.
It is very easy to find disaggregated data about teacher diversity related to ethnicity, degree level, and gender. Comparatively, it is very difficult to find this data as it relates to the number of disabled teachers, in Texas or across the United States.
Research from the Disabled Teachers Network and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education indicates that in spite of federal protections from disability discrimination provided by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), bias and stigma (not capability) are often insurmountable barriers to access into the teaching profession for people with disabilities, even while 15% or 7.2 million children in public schools in the United States are disabled.
The paradox of this scenario is the same as in other areas of under representation in public education - hard to grapple with.
The assumptions are the same as well.
In a time when we now know more than ever that representation matters, and indeed, that the vitality of our communities depends on equity, inclusion, and teacher diversity, The Kaleidoscope Collaborative is proud to work alongside allied organizations like the Texas Parent2Parent Network to support Texas disability legislation that promotes equitable employment and college admission policies.
Representation matters.
Equity is vitality.
Read the interview in entirety here: https://lnkd.in/ga_jFTvB
