Virtual Networks Follow Paths to Equity

• Published in: The learning professional 2021-02, Vol.42 (1), p.36-39
• Main Authors: Anton, Mary, Teitel, Lee, Williams, Tamisha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collaboration; Collaborative learning; Collectivism; Community Relations; COVID-19; Delivery Systems; Distance learning; Educational Technology; Equal Education; Equality; Faculty Development; Geography; Group Dynamics; Individualism; Leaders; Leadership; Minority Group Teachers; Networks; Pandemics; Power; Professional Training; Race; Racial Differences; Racism; Schools; Social justice; Social Networks; Superintendents; Teachers; Teaching Methods; White Teachers; Workbooks
• ISSN: 2476-194X

In the chaos and upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been hard to keep a focus on race and equity in schools. And yet in this time of disruption of the very notion of what it means to be a teacher and how teachers do school, keeping race and equity at the center of this work is essential. In this time of exhaustion and uncertainty, there is great hope for a future beyond the pandemic that is not a return to the status quo. This hope is rooted in the power of what the collective can do and in the roles that virtual networks play in promoting that power. Virtual networks can inform and connect; they can nurture and disrupt. Networks are powerful real-world examples of the value of collectivism at work. Networks bring together people across geography, ability, and types of institutions. They harness the collective knowledge and wisdom of an array of experienced practitioners, experts, individuals, and teams. Individuals benefit from the experience of the whole, and the whole grows stronger through collaboration. Out of individualism and isolation, collectives have been forming in ways that were rarely possible when educators were bounded by time and geographic space. For educators of color, the opportunity to lean into affinity and multiracial spaces to collectively work toward dismantling racism has led to collective healing. For white educators, these networks offer a space in which they can be challenged and learn from collective wisdom without overburdening the often-limited number of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) colleagues in their settings. This shift from embracing norms of individualism ("I can figure this out myself") to collectivism ("We are in this together, and together we are stronger") represents a profound philosophical shift and is a shift to cultural ways of being often associated with Black and Brown communities throughout the world.