“But What Can I Do?”: Three Necessary Tensions in Teaching Teachers About Race

Abstract

A core question of teacher education—“What can I do?”—plagues courses on race in particular ways. Teachers struggle for “concrete” applications of “theoretical” ideas about race, question the potential for “everyday” activity to dismantle inequality “structures,” and wrestle with the need for both professional and personal development on racial issues. In this article, we discuss how these three core tensions surfaced in one race-oriented teacher education course. We demonstrate that the teachers who seemed most invigorated and who expressed feelings of efficacy in serving students of color were those who pledged to continue ongoing inquiry into both sides of each tension. We propose that these three tensions require explicit attention in teacher professional development. Indeed, we suggest that to create inquisitive and efficacious teachers, teacher educators can encourage teachers to keep all three tensions in play for the duration of their careers.