White rules for black people

5 questions for social emotional expert, Dena Simmons

When I was working on my book, Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists, I knew I wanted to do a profile of a teacher. I asked a friend of mine, “Who is the most powerful young teacher you’ve ever seen in the classroom?”

Without skipping a beat, this friend said, “Dena Simmons.”

I called Dena and she seemed appropriately skeptical. Since when do journalists just want to cover regular classroom teaching? Especially in the Bronx? I explained that my project was to try to understand how ordinary young people were making meaning in their lives and sticking to challenging activist work despite the inevitable setbacks. She invited me up and I was BLOWN AWAY by the love and intention that this woman brought to her classroom every damn day. She’s since become someone who trains teachers how to bring that same love into their own classrooms, with a particular focus on race, gender, and equity. I count myself so lucky to be influenced by her deep wisdom, but also to have her as a dear friend.

I thought in this time of school upheaval, it would be helpful to talk with her a bit about what we’re experiencing, and what we might be able to re-imagine, so here she is…

Courtney: You do such important work on the emotional safety of kids, especially kids of color. I've been thinking so much about young people who are stuck in homes where they don't feel safe right now. As have you (check out this brilliant piece Dena just published on Wednesday.) Any thoughts about how we can be supportive from afar? 

Dena: The truth is that many of us are all a little scared and anxious as we try to comprehend our new world of social distance. So, having the space and safety to feel our feels and to communicate them is a start for all of us. For youth who are in the company of a perpetrator at home and are more unsafe now than before COVID-19, the people who know them--educators, friends, and family members--need to be checking in on them by calling or FaceTiming them, giving them the opportunity to express how they are doing, sharing resources for support and for reporting, and more. It is a very difficult situation to be stuck with little support and no reprieve during this already emotionally tense time, and I wish we could do more to alleviate their suffering than digital check-ins. 

Courtney: I've been so impressed with how educators at my kid's school are staying in touch with their students, recording stories online, and supporting parents to keep learning going. Feels like one more indication that teachers are the foundation of our civic health. How can we lift that up right now?  

Dena: It should not have taken a pandemic to realize the gift that teachers are to society. We can start by sharing our gratitude with educators by sending thank-you videos to teachers in our lives. And, we can send our children's teachers gift certificates that will facilitate their self-care (because teachers are generally stressed and burnt out). Generally, we need to advocate for higher teacher pay, for elevating the status of teaching, and for changing the narrative of teachers as the people who teach because there is nothing else they can do well. Our teachers are our nation's backbone--and as you say, the foundation of our civic health, and I would add, society. 

Courtney: We have an opportunity in the wake of this traumatic moment, to re-imagine so many institutions and systems. Anything you've been dreaming about for our students? How might our education system change for the better out of all this?  

Dena: This pandemic has exposed the grave inequities in our education system and society writ large, and although I have all of these dreams of innovative and radical ways to re-imagine our education systems and institutions, my first desire would be to ensure that all students get what they need to thrive at school and in life. Our education system needs to make educational equity a priority not just in writing or verbally, but also in action. Without equity, any educational dream or innovation I or anyone else has would be moot because it won't be able to benefit every single child.

Courtney: You're working on a book, Can you give us a little sneak peak? What are you writing about and what has the process been like for you? 

Dena: I am working on a book--albeit slowly--called White Rules for Black People. To sum it up, it is a reflection and meditation on race using personal narrative, research, and current events as I make sense of my journey from the Bronx to the Ivy League where I am on faculty. It’s about the rules I have had to follow to get access to the better and more of my mother's dreams, and of my own, and everything I lost and gained in the process.

Courtney: In addition to being an expert on social emotional learning and cultural competency, you're a badass cook. What is your favorite dish to make for sheltering in?

Dena: Ha! Thank you, but I consider myself more of a resource in social emotional learning and cultural competency than an expert. I am always learning and have so much more to learn, but it is good to know people respect me enough to consider me as such. At any rate, cooking is part of my emotion regulation. It allows me to be creative and it also distracts me from the craziness in the world -- not just during a pandemic. Good sheltering-in meals are meals that nourish you and can be cooked in a big batch at once. So, curries, chili dishes, or beans and lentils are good options. You can throw in vegetables and protein in and get the nourishment you need while not having to cook something new each night. It's a win-win if you ask me.

You can read more about Dena’s work here, watch her TED talk, sign up for her newsletter, or follow her on Instagram and/or Twitter.