Ken Williams argues in Chapter Nine of “Ruthless Equity” that educators have to decide to become ruthless, and they need to make decisions in their day-to-day practices that help every student reach “the crown” set for them.
Early in the section, Williams says: “When you ‘de-cide’ it means you’ve put ALL other options to death” (186). Teachers need to make intentional choices in their work every day. Settling for ‘less than’ is a disservice to students, and leads educators into a state of complacency, which Williams mentions often. He argues that once this decision is made, the results will be clear.
“If you decide to take this powerful step, I promise that you'll look back on this moment as a career turning point” (186). This particularly struck me. Are educators conscious of this shift? At what point would I know if this moment is reached? Or is it not one moment, but an evolving mindset?
“Complenancy shows up when you decide students need multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery” (186). Why? Is this saying providing more than one at-bat on an assignment or task is not the best way to do it? That does not seem fair. Or, is this the idea that I as the educator should have taught it right the first time, and they should have understood it? Either way this confirms Williams point- it is important to hold both myself and my students to high expectations to avoid that feeling of complacency.
“I am because of who they are” (187). This is a powerful statement. Having individuals in our lives who see us and support us is an unmatched feeling. Sometimes, just ourselves is not enough, and we need people to help push us to strive for more than we think we deserve or can do. The work though, is still difficult. Williams supplements this idea with his own stories in this chapter about people who inspired him and pushed him to write this book. Motivation can be an important determinant.
“While not letting someone down isn’t the most authentic way to move forward, it was effective because once I broke through my own barriers and saw results, my moving forward became intrinsic” (187). In my Psychological Perspectives on Learning and Teaching course, we spent a good chunk of time discussing motivations both extrinsic and intrinsic. I don’t think it actually matters if something is “authentic” because it was what motivated someone to get it done. If an individual will only do work because they get candy, a clearly extrinsic motivator, who cares? At the end of the day the task, or challenge, is still completed.
“Become ruthless and do what you were brought to this amazing profession to do!” (189) How? I love the ideas this book discusses, and I do find myself shifting my mindset, but I am still struggling with how. How do I get here and do all of it? Together, these concepts can feel overwhelming. When I consider elements of my everyday work, like data tracking, connecting to standards, tracking uniforms, monitoring cell phone use, printing and organizing materials, assisting other teachers and managing my own personal life just to name a few, how does a teacher continuously find time and energy to reach this goal that Williams calls being a “ruthless educator”. And, I acknowledge that Williams would call my list “excuses”, however saying that does not change the amount of bandwidth I have to complete all of these tasks, along with the general unpredictability of working in a school each day.
“Treat others as they wish to be treated” was Yoshino and Glasgow’s 7th principle in “Say the Right Thing”. This idea, different from the golden rule, requires a deep understanding and empathy for other people. You have to understand different perspectives, cultures, identities etc. If you don’t honor and respect the above, how will you be able to help anyone? This ties to William’s overall view in which educators have to know their students. They can’t make excuses or list reasons for why something is not happening or changing. Educators have to meet every learner where they are and continue to raise the bar. Equity can’t happen without respect.