First Impressions
Earlier this month, I presented to a group of interns who were part of a district program to promote diversity in hiring. I was asked to discuss best practices for creating a syllabus and for developing curriculum, the latter probably being way too big for an hour presentation (and for this essay). Because I have been thinking a lot about educational equity and social justice, I wanted to prepare a conversation of syllabi and curriculum using these lenses. Though I have reflected on (and written about) equity-centered curricula, I’ll admit that I had never looked at my syllabi through an equity-lens.
As I was outlining my presentation, it dawned on me that the syllabus is one of the first impressions students have of our class and of us as educators. In other words, we can’t even begin to talk about culturally relevant curriculum and equitable classroom practices until we critique our first day of class. In fact, as I will discuss below, this first impression often happens even before the first day of class.
So why is it important that we position educational equity and social justice at the center of our syllabus and other “first impressions”?
How do we create a first impression that will help minoritized students feel welcome and comfortable in class?
How do we sustain this momentum past the first day of class?
As always, let’s first start with the why. As I have written in the past, our colleges’ demographics are changing drastically, and many minoritized (e.g. hyper-marginalized, underserved) students come to our campuses and classrooms with a great deal of educational trauma and unique needs. As community college educators, we have an obligation to be student-ready and to meet these needs; this is the very definition of educational equity. Indeed, many of us chose to teach at community colleges because we wanted to work with and educate our society’s most vulnerable students.
Furthermore, the community colleges, in particular, enshrine social justice in their missions, which early on emphasized open access for all students regardless of identity or ability. For many colleges, their missions have evolved into promoting educational equity because they realized that a great deal of their students must contend with socio-political and educational barriers that must be addressed by the institution. Fortunately, there are very small steps that we can all take to promote an equitable learning environment on day one.
The Syllabus
There is an adage that if you were to hand me your calendar, I could tell you your priorities – work, family, vacations, the beach, etc. Similarly, if you handed your syllabus to a student right now, what would they say your priorities as an educator are? For many of us (myself included), students would likely argue that we prioritize rules and assessment over everything else. We often start our syllabi with a brief description of the class followed by grading policies, attendance requirements, and cellphone rules. To illustrate, this is a rough outline of my syllabi:
1. Course information (e.g. days, times, section, room, etc.)
2. My contact information
3. Brief narrative description of the class
4. Learning outcomes
5. Prerequisites
6. Books and materials
7. Grading
8. Participation and homework
9. Essay requirements
10. Rewrite policy
11. Conferencing
12. Email policy
13. Attendance
14. Cellphones
15. Resources for students with disabilities
16. Plagiarism policy
17. Policies regarding sexual harassment and assault
18. Educational equity statement
19. Important dates and deadlines
What do my students believe my priorities are? They’d likely say that I prioritize course outcomes and assessments, that I value rules and policies, and that student support is secondary to the “academics” of the class.
For most of our students, our syllabus is their first impression of our class and of us as an educator. This is further compounded by the fact that educators tend to review the syllabus on the first day of school. So we need to ask ourselves how our most vulnerable students are going to react to the syllabus outlined above? Consider the students who come to our colleges feeling like they don’t belong or the students returning to school after years or decades away. They will likely see a culture in that syllabus that is foreign, discomforting, and, frankly, scary.
So what should a syllabus look like instead? Here is an outline of one possibility:
1. What is this class all about and where are you and your students heading this term?
2. Course information (e.g. days, times, section, room, etc.)
3. Contact information
4. Brief narrative that includes your excitement to work with the students and what you will be working on with them (i.e. student-centered course description)
5. Learning outcomes (this is often mandated by accreditors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!)
6. How will you get students there?
7. Office hours and conferencing
8. Communication outside class (e.g. email policy, communication via Canvas, Blackboard, etc.)
9. Student support services
· Resources for students with disabilities
· Resources for low-income students
· Communities and programs for ethno-racial minorities, first-generation students, immigrants, and other minoritized students
· Discipline-specific resources (e.g. writing centers, math centers, computer labs, etc.)
· On-campus contacts for housing, bus passes, health services, food pantries, etc.
10. Safe learning environment
· Statement that affirms your commitment to educational equity and social justice
· Regulations governing sexual harassment and assault (Title IX regulations)
11. What do the students need to do to get there?
· Grading policies
· Homework
· Participation and attendance
· Essay requirements (or quiz/test information)
· Rewrite or test retake policies
· Cellphones
· Plagiarism
If you showed a student a syllabus organized in this way, where would they think your priorities were? If done correctly, it would demonstrate your excitement for sharing the subject matter with the them, your understanding of their commitments and struggles outside of class, and your willingness to help them succeed in your class no matter what. A first generation or returning student, for instance, might feel relieved knowing that you have the institutional knowledge and relationships to connect them to the resources they may need. Most importantly, it highlights student success and support services as an integral part of your pedagogy and instruction.
Book selection
Undoubtedly, there are a number of students who have a first impression of you and your course before they even step foot in the classroom or see your syllabus. These are the students who look up your books on the bookstore website or physically go to the bookshelf to find your course materials. For some students, these purchases are routine, but for others, a plethora of insecurities, baggage, and other obstacles overshadow these purchases (if they even get to the counter or online cart).
First and foremost, the costs of our textbooks are unquestionably a barrier for many of our students. Community colleges tend to serve a higher number of low-income students and self-supporting students. And for some courses, the prices of books are a non-starter.
Imagine a student who is new to the school and who is excited to be attending college. She is passionate about working with animals, so she decides to major in biology. After seeing a counselor, she registers for her classes, and then she heads to the bookstore to purchase her textbooks because she wants to be prepared for the first day of class. When she gets to the section where your books are located, her enthusiasm and excitement instantly disappear because the textbook she needs for general biology is over $200. As a result, this student might be forced to delay this class until she can afford it, or she may even decide to change her major to one that isn’t as costly. No matter what she does, the excitement for college has subsided and the overwhelming feelings of fear and uncertainty have crept in.
Admittedly, some students might get book waivers or financial aid to cover the costs of these pricey books. However, many students are self-supporting and are unable to get their parents information for the FAFSA, or they attend part-time because they have families or full-time jobs. In this latter case, these students are usually ineligible for campus resources and programs.
I’ve always wondered how many of the students who have disappeared from my roster prior to the first day of class dropped because of my book selections (particularly in my literature classes where I used to use expensive anthologies). I often wonder how many students never even registered because of these book selections. At an even broader level, how many students applied for admission, went to orientation, and created an education plan with a counselor, just to leave because they couldn’t afford college?
The other part of your book selection to take into consideration is how inclusive these texts are. Are they written only by white, male (or female) authors? Do they exclusively represent European ideologies and knowledge? Much like the student above, underrepresented, minoritized students might be turned off by these books (and thus, a curriculum) because they don’t represent them, their identities, or their histories. For pointers on revising your curriculum to be more inclusive, click here. Furthermore, sustaining an equitable learning environment is as important as a culturally relevant curriculum. For suggestions on creating classrooms that are safe and nutritive, click here.
We all know that we get only one opportunity to make a first impression and that these impressions tend be long-term. For educators and students, this could mean an entire semester, quarter, academic year, or even longer. The first impression we make could impact a student’s entire perspective of higher education. As a result, we need be mindful of how we present ourselves on the first day of class (or even before). This first day of class – from how we introduce ourselves, how we present our courses, and how we position students in the curriculum – can make the term productive and exciting or it can make it dull and even tense.