Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Brilla: Shining On Through A Pandemic, Tracey R. Jones, Erica Silva

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This article highlights the community partnership between a primary school Dual Language program and university Spanish students. In this submission related to personal experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of classroom teachers within the BRILLA (Bilingual Readiness through Interaction, Language, Literacy and Alliances) program is explored. Teachers are the light bearers who make human connection and authentic learning happen in-person and over screens; pandemic, or no pandemic, they shine.

Microaggressions In Academia: One Black Woman’S Story, Victoria Carter Jones

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Abstract

As a Black instructor in higher education, I know all about the challenges that marginalized people face on a regular basis. After all, racism is deeply rooted in the foundation of our American culture and society. So, I guess I should not have been surprised when two senior professors made assumptions about who I am as a Black American woman and my intelligence in academia. This paper gives a subtle and brief look into my experiences of microaggressions as a new Black woman instructor at a predominantly White institution.

Being Triggered As Faculty Of Color: Reflections On Teaching Diversity During The Trump Era, Lakia M. Scott

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Much has been written about the Black academic’s experiences of teaching in predominately White spaces. However, less has been shared about being triggered, especially when teaching during the time of the Trump administration. This essay discusses an email encounter with a White female student who was enrolled in a graduate diversity issues course. As articulated in her email response, after declining an informal conferencing opportunity with the instructor, the student critiqued the tenets of the course because of her own conceptions of Whiteness. Many of the comments made were similar to the onslaught of hate-speech and racial bias and intimidation …

Examining The Children’S Defense Fund Freedom Schools Model On Middle School Students’ Reading Achievement, Lakia M. Scott, Rachel Renbarger, Yasmin Laird

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In effort to curb summer learning loss, the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools program identifies as a six-week summer literacy program for students in grades K-12. This study explored the impact of the Freedom School program on 128 middle school students’ reading achievement using Johns (2005) Basic Reading Inventory. Findings support the program’s effectiveness in increasing students’ reading outcomes, as demonstrated in the existent literature, but unlike other studies, data provided for both independent and instructional levels across three fluency indicators. In recognition of heightened state of summer learning loss for students with lack of access to quality enrichment summer …