CRT & The COVID-19 Pandemic

So I’ve been reading Zaretta Hammond’s Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain, and it’s incredible. I mean, I’ve known for a while that CRT is critical to helping my students of color out of the achievement gap. But learning HOW the brain forms neural pathways and connections to make learning possible is something I’ve NOT been exposed to before.

And I’ve had a realization I need to share with you.

It is a fact that the human brain is wired above all else to avoid threats and to keep us safe at all costs. A brain cannot learn if its systems cannot meet the criteria for optimal performance. Basic needs such as food, shelter, social interaction and relationships (which have physical as well as emotional components), and a general sense of well-being are a few of the conditions that affect the brain and how well it functions. Events that cause stress or anxiety trigger a response in the brain that essentially shuts down neural pathways, making it near impossible to learn. That is why students of color are more likely to encounter greater challenges when it comes to reaching their intellectual potential: the brain is not often in a state conducive to learning because basic needs are not being met.

As I was reading this portion of the book - about the science behind how the brain makes learning possible - I realized that the world (and by default, the lens through which I’m now reading the book) is VERY different than even just 6 months ago.

How will ANY child be able to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic since these basic needs and conditions, which must be met, cannot be?

Facing exposure to a deadly virus.

Perpetually spread out farther than arm’s length from one another.

Hidden behind a mask.

At risk of losing housing or access to food.

Unable to benefit from ANY age-appropriate interaction.

My heart breaks thinking of the monumental task we are asking of our children, ESPECIALLY for those BIPOC students who deal with systemic racism and the injustices that stem from it on top of basic survival. Can you even imagine what must be going through their minds?

The children in our schools haven’t physically changed since the onset of the coronavirus, but their brains have. While each child has different capabilities when dealing with the current situation, it is a fact that not ONE child’s brain is the same as before this all started; not one of them is fully prepared to learn. And that, as both a teacher and parent, is a terrifying thought.

But maybe we can see this as an opportunity instead of a hindrance. Maybe this is our collective chance for implementing radical change in our educational system. This can be the year where educators can finally prioritize our students’ basic needs and well-being over teaching to a standardized test. Instead of focusing on how the most advantaged children will fall behind, we can focus on developing the intellectual capacity of our most disadvantaged students and supply them with resources to raise them up. We can have time in our day dedicated to having those difficult conversations about race, and form those interpersonal relationships that will make achievement possible for all when the world returns to “normal”.

Maybe this pandemic is the reset we need for our broken society.

One can hope.