Toward Equitable Schools: Reflections and Challenges - Volume 17 - Fall 2005

Oct 15, 2026

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Engaging educational equity requires sustained urgency and a willingness to name the rage that drives social justice. The work frames progress for educational leaders as grounded in context: how schools communicate culture, power, and “silenced dialogue.” Drawing on Lisa Delpit’s argument to begin by listening and on Freire’s critique of “banking education,” it shows how pedagogy that mutes voices reproduces inequity and blocks emancipation across classrooms and broader systems.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

From Where We Have Come

Silenced dialogue and the culture of power

Reflections on the Authors’ Contributions

Advancing equity and closing gaps

School leadership as the lynchpin

Toward Equitable Schools: Reflections and Challenges Elizabeth C. Reilly Pepperdine University Abstract: To engage in the goal of equity requires a certain amount of rage in one’s belly. Understanding the context in which weare presently situated regarding our successes and challenges to achieve equity and social justice can serve to inform our future actions as educational leaders. From Where We Have Come For we live in what has been handed down tous, and this isnotjust a specific region of our experience of the world, specifically what we call the“cultural tradition”…No, itisthe world itself which is communicatively experienced andcontinuallyentrustedtousasaninfinitelyopentask.Itisnevertheworld as itwas on its first day, but as it has comedown tous. —Hans-Georg Gadamer In Other People’s Children, Lisa Delpit (1996) asserts that if we are to address issues of equity and social justice in schools, we must start by listening. By paving the way to hearthe voices of many perspectives, the“silenced dialogue” may become authentic conversation (p.24). To ap Volume 17, Fall 2005 125 proach this notion of silenced dialogue, she explicates several aspects of the culture of power that are present in classrooms. Codes and rules exist for entering into a culture which those in power have established. Additionally, those with the power are unaware or unwilling to acknowledge their power and those without this power are unaware of the cultural norms in the first place. The everyday happenings of the classroom and the school, then, could look like this: “I was in second grade and it was time to use the headsets for reading. I noticed that the teacher’saide would grab the headsetsfrom a box, but would reach for a headset from the drawer for the only African-American student. I knew that something about that was not right…. [And] my quest to achieve social justice began.” “IknewthatI was different from the other kids in school because I spoke a language that others did not….In the 1970s the greatest evil empire was the USSR and all those associated with that country were considered the enemy. I was not conflicted by these teachings because I had parents who had escaped Stalin’s wrath. Iwasnot the enemy. I came from a family that was a victim of Communism [and yet] I was not supported by my counselor who…believed that I was inferior because of my bilingualism. I truly wanted to take college bound classes, but [he] kept signing me up for basic classes.” “One day I realized I was the only Asian [in the school]. That was when the Bruce Lee and ching chong jokes started. Nothing was done when Itold the teacher other than her telling me,‘They don’t understand you; you’re different.’” These stories do not come from other people’s children. They come from my students who at the master’s level seek to obtain their first administrative positions and from my doctoral students who are veteran school leaders. They suggest strong instantiation for Delpit’s principles and echo Freire’s notion of banking education which “inhibits creativity and domesticates (although it cannot completely destroy) the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world, thereby denying people their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human (pp. 83-4).” In essence, educational pedagogy that silences voices is education that makes no room for equity and ultimately, no opportunity for emancipation. It is not a huge stretch to suggest that these stories exist and recur beyond the classroom—in the school, the school district, the parentteacher association, and with the boards of education. Leading an organization from a banking perspective, then, systemically perpetuatesa culture where voices are silent or silenced. The undercurrent—the thread, if you will—of my work with my students is an ongoing conver- 126 Educational Leadership and Administration sation about equity and social justice. I tell m

FAQs

What does the document argue is necessary to pursue equity in schools?

It argues that engaging the goal of equity requires a certain amount of rage and that leaders must understand the context of successes and challenges. This provides direction for future actions.

How does “silenced dialogue” relate to equity and social justice?

The document explains that silenced dialogue becomes authentic conversation when multiple perspectives are heard. When classrooms silence voices, education makes no room for equity and limits emancipation.

What is the role of school leadership in achieving equity goals?

It states that school leadership is the lynchpin for achieving the goal of even opportunities for all children and for persevering toward excellence in programs.

Oct 15, 2026

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