Diversity & Equity

At a 2019 professional development workshop for Moreno Valley College, my supervisor, Melanie, said something that shifted my teaching perspective. At the opening of our multi-week anti-racist pedagogy workshop, she said: “the voice of your syllabus should match your voice as a person.”

This gave me pause. When I first began teaching college composition as a UCR graduate student Teaching Assistant in 2014, I was told precisely the opposite. “A syllabus is a list of rules,” “you need to cover your bases in case your students try to take advantage of you,” and “be rigorous! never grant extensions” were some of the many pieces of bad advice given to me. In reality, a syllabus is a mutual agreement between teachers and their students; my students are overwhelmingly truthful when treated with respect; and of course I grant extensions in extenuating circumstances, even though my syllabus used to say I didn’t.

Over the past three years—through active research, continual professional development, and experience teaching at some of the most culturally-diverse institutions in the nation—I have come to realize that obviously, Melanie is right. As an educator who has volunteered in support of California’s Latinx communities throughout my career, and a proudly bisexual woman who hosts an LGBTQ+ podcast, I always thought that the classes I taught at UCR and MVC supported diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ever since I began to actively learn about inclusive pedagogy, however, I have been revising my courses regularly to ensure that the voice I use to instruct my students is consistent with my commitment to diversity and equity.

For example, when Moreno Valley College’s English Department recently stood in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, I learned the importance of removing language of policing and surveillance from my assignments. For example, rather than printing a harsh plagiarism policy which warns students that their work will be monitored, and “plagiarism will NOT be tolerated,” my syllabus now has a Resources section, which invites students to ask for help if they do not know how to complete their work on their own, if they are too overwhelmed to finish on time, or are struggling for any reason. This addresses the root causes of plagiarism and invites students to learn to do things correctly, rather than intimidating them and then punishing them for being intimidated.

Additionally, because of my background in strategic alternative learning techniques and and critical disability studies, I seek to create classrooms built upon a foundation of universal accessibility — an approach I define in my teaching philosophy. In order to include as many students as possible, I address multiple learning modalities and levels of ability throughout any given day.

Lastly, since I know the challenges of being a young queer person, I strive to be a positive example of a successful queer adult. I state my pronouns on my class materials and also in person, and include a statement in the DEI section of my syllabus which invites students to verify their pronouns or let me know if they go by a different name than the one listed on my roster. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I realize that many queer people feel isolated from each other, or uncomfortable living at home with family who may not be supportive. For this reason, I keep a small pride flag on my desk, which students can see during our Zoom classes. Across the many classes I taught as a TA and Adjunct Professor during California’s stay-at-home order, I had almost a dozen students stick around after class because of this flag. Sometimes they were simply thrilled to talk to another queer person (or excited to learn they have a queer professor), and other times, because they needed guidance finding the college’s communities of support, which I am happy to point them towards.

The voice of my syllabus, my assignments, and my classroom now match the commitment to diversity and equity that has always been important in my personal life—and I plan to never stop learning and listening to do even better.