We All Want More Teachers of Color, Right?: Concerns and Considerations about the Emergent Consensus

Policy Brief - Jul 21, 2020

Author(s) - Thomas M. Philip, University of California, Berkeley; Anthony L. Brown, University of Texas at Austin

The brief, titled, We All Want More Teachers of Color, Right?: Concerns and Considerations about the Emergent Consensus, explores the question, "How might we acknowledge and work toward the important task of diversifying the educator workforce while maintaining a healthy skepticism about the confluence of actors with their differing motivations who are promoting the diversification of the teaching profession?" The brief's authors – Thomas M. Philip of the University of California, Berkeley and Anthony L. Brown of the University of Texas at Austin – caution in particular against the "no excuses" school model, where teachers of color must try to satisfy irreconcilable demands focused on extreme accountability on one hand and commitments for cultural relevance and justice on the other.