(Re)Producing White Privilege through Disability Accommodations

During a conversation about an upcoming student teaching placement with a white, cis student teacher, the student raised concerns about teaching in a nearby urban school district. Despite repeated discussions about urban placements as centers rich with examples of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1361332052000341006" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">cultural and linguistic wealth</a> and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Literacy-Lives-in-Transcultural-Times/Zaidi-Rowsell/p/book/9781138225169" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">transcultural literacies</a>, the rigor of the student’s preparation, affirmations of the typical pre-student teaching nerves, and appeals to our ethical and moral obligation to teach all students, the student teacher steadfastly held to the original position that teaching in that space would simply be overwhelming. Eventually, the student submitted medical documentation in response to the assigned teaching placement, stating, “An urban teaching placement would be too triggering for my anxiety.” <a href="https://medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/re-producing-white-privilege-through-disability-accommodations-4c16a746c0dc">Website</a>