# @edutopia on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CNQIBVSFkw_
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20303872-edutopia-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/16ba9eb262.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-04-04T17:11:34.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Edutopia (@edutopia) — https://gondola.cc/edutopia

## Caption

Toya Frank was used to the look of disbelief when she let parents know she was the math department chair—as if they had expected the chair to be someone else. ⁣
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Frank, who is Black and is now a professor of math education at George Mason University, has found that similar racial microaggressions are a key reason why Black math teachers leave the profession, according to a recent study that she co-authored in “Educational Researcher.” ⁣
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After surveying 325 Black math teachers, Frank and her colleagues discovered that roughly 97 percent said they faced microaggressions on a regular basis. “It was one of those things that really weighed on teachers and their thoughts of leaving,” she said.⁣
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• What are Microaggressions? Microaggressions, or “small interpersonal slights between and among people,” may seem inconsequential when experienced once or twice, but over the course of many years, they negatively affect a teacher’s mental health, explained Frank. Black teachers, for example, often feel like second-class citizens in a school community when their contributions aren’t acknowledged or their credentials are questioned because of their race. ⁣
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• Who Gets to Teach Math? Despite the appearance of neutrality and universality, "mathematics is a living, breathing, human endeavor. So there is culture that’s infused there," said Jenice View, the study’s co-author and professor emerita of education at George Mason University. According to View and Frank, the existing system sends signals that White men dominate the profession and develop its key ideas and principles—isolating their non-White counterparts. ⁣
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• The “Invisible Tax:” Black teachers also report taking on additional responsibilities like disciplining students and taking the lead on equity issues, due to their perceived connectedness to students of color. This challenging, time-consuming work, which is often uncompensated, can quickly lead to burnout, says José Vilson, a veteran middle school math teacher.⁣
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"We’re not conscientious about how so many of our policies...come into play. And we often have to bear the brunt of all those elements,” said Vilson. ⁣

#EducationEquity #Diversity #EducationResearch

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## Tags

educationequity, educationresearch, diversity

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