Public Education Matters

Various student voices 0:08
Public education matters. Public education matters. Public education matters.

Jeff Wensing 0:15
This is Public Education Matters brought to you by the Ohio Education Association.

Katie Olmsted 0:26
Welcome back to Public Education Matters. I'm your host Katie Olmsted and I'm part of the communications team for the Ohio Education Association and the public school educators OEA represents in communities all across the state, public education here in Ohio and across the country is under attack. Certain anti public education politicians twist the truth to distract and divide us so they don't have to do the work to address the real issues facing our public schools. Instead, they manufacture controversy around public schools and programs that help public school students succeed, programs that ensure schools are safe, welcoming places for everyone, no exceptions, supports that make our schools places where every student, regardless of race, background, gender, ability, sexual orientation or anything else, can be free to be themselves and free to reach their full potential. Programs and supports like a diversity club for students, especially programs like a Diversity Equity and Inclusion club for students in one of the most rural counties in our state. Now, if that doesn't fit the image in your head of what an important dei program looks like, you're probably not alone to get a better understanding. We sat down with a teacher in Morgan County who runs one of these clubs for her rural students, and getting a better understanding is really what her DEI club is all about.

Kelsie Bullock 2:00
My name is Kelsie Bullock. I teach at Morgan Local Schools, at the high school, and I teach marine biology and regular biology, and I also run my school's DEI club.

Katie Olmsted 2:10
So Kelsie, what does a DEI club look like in Morgan Local Schools?

Kelsie Bullock 2:16
So I will say it was quite a challenge to initially start it. I started teaching in 2020 with all the turmoil going on, and so I was really nervous about starting something like that in the first place. I was new to the district, fresh out of college. I'm not from a really small rural town, and so a lot of it was a little intense at first. And a lot of that first year, was talking about all the news stories that were happening during 2020 but nowadays, we've come a long way with it. So it depends on the day, but we talk, we still try to talk a lot about the news and what's happening in the world. I tell the students that it's good to be aware of what's happening around you. Sometimes we do different activities, like the step into the circle. If this statement applies to you, type activities or like a privilege walk. We recently have been trying to do movie activities for the community to match like the month, the monthly, things like APIDA Heritage Month or Native American Heritage Month. We try to do movies that go along with those. And then we also do fun activities like tie dyeing T shirts for the year. It varies a lot, but we try to do activities that ultimately educate the kids on different diverse groups of people, not just in the United States, but in the world itself.

Katie Olmsted 3:40
Why do something like that in your district?

Kelsie Bullock 3:44
So for me, it all kind of started in college. I took a diversity and equity class at Ohio State, and I'd like to describe it as my turning point in life, because I felt like I learned a tremendous amount of information about inequity in the United States, and it just kind of opened my eyes a bit. And so when I came here, I noticed that there was a small group of kids who I could tell kind of felt the same way about things that I did, or they were part of those marginalized groups themselves, and they had nowhere to express themselves. And so I wanted to create a space for them to be able to express themselves freely, free of judgment, and feel comfortable and be in a safe space all at the same time.

Katie Olmsted 4:32
I think there is a lot of a lot of us have ideas in our head about what a small rural community like the Morgan Local Schools community looks like pretty homogeneous. Is that accurate?

Kelsie Bullock 4:48
From what I've seen, I would agree that that's pretty accurate. It is something that I actually personally pay attention to. Like, how many students of color do I have? Like, do. Do we have in the school? Do I have in class? How many students identify as part of the LGBTQ community, community and different things like that? And so from what I observe, specifically because I am not from Morgan County, but from what I observe, it is pretty homogeneous in terms of the people that are from here and that live here.

Katie Olmsted 5:21
But also maybe just as important in a homogeneous ish community to have a DEI club where you're learning about people who aren't like you because you're seeing people like you all the time.

Kelsie Bullock 5:35
I agree, and that's something that I really encourage my students that do join the club like they they choose to join. I encourage them to find kids that maybe they wouldn't initially assume would come to a club like this, but that are semi open minded to where they're willing to potentially listen to other people's viewpoints. And I also encourage some kids like they say they they kind of imply that that's not really for them, but I like to remind them that listening to other people's viewpoints is a really important thing to do in life, and to be able to have a good discussion with people on varying viewpoints is important.

Katie Olmsted 6:16
Now we talked about, there's, there's a idea in our heads about what, you know, community like the morgel Morgan Local Schools community looks like. Do you think there's an idea in a lot of people's heads about what a DEI club is, and do you think a lot of people are wrong?

Kelsie Bullock 6:32
I think that depends on who you're asking.

Katie Olmsted 6:34
That's a good point.

Kelsie Bullock 6:36
Yeah, I think it depends on who you're asking and where they're from, because I would suspect that if you ask someone around this general area about anything DEI, they probably have a misunderstanding about what it truly is about. And for someone like especially if they've never been involved with anything DEI related, they may just make assumptions about it from what they've heard in the news or what they've heard from other people in their personal circles and so and then from the other side of things, I just feel like people may just misunderstand the whole point of it, and that maybe I'm trying to indoctrinate kids or something crazy, but ultimately I'm just trying to provide a space where kids can have good discussions about the world at hand.

Katie Olmsted 7:23
I mean, it's not surprising that people are going based on what they've heard on the news. Even DEI is one of those, is this a dirty word in our society now? Questions? How do you respond to that?

Kelsie Bullock 7:36
So I don't typically get it like I don't usually get questions from the community itself, but I do have students ask all the time what diversity club is about. I actually have a paper made up that I usually hand to them, because we just talk about so much stuff that is hard to describe in a very short amount of time, but I just they every once in a while, I'll have a kid say something that is very obviously wrong or misunderstood about it, and I just try to correct them and explain like we are willing to talk about any viewpoint. We're open for those conflicting views. Because, as I keep saying, it's it is good practice as a human being to be able to talk with people with different different viewpoints, and with how much the United States has differing viewpoints, it is something that is needed in our country.

Katie Olmsted 8:29
All of this at a time in our country where the federal government, the US Department of Education, is sending out directives saying, no DEI programs, no DEI anything in our schools, as you saw that starting to come down. What were you thinking? What How did you react to that? What did you do with that information?

Kelsie Bullock 8:51
Yeah, so initially, I'd gotten that like personal information over the summer, like through my emails from you guys and the news, and I was like, in my mind, I was like, Well, I guess my club is done. Like, if they're going to be enforcing something like that, I'm not going to be able to keep it. I didn't say anything to the students right away, because I wanted to get more information first. And I went and talked to my principal about it, and he said, keep doing it until they tell us he can't. And I appreciated that from him, because I think he knows that I'm not doing the things that everyone says is happening. And so I appreciated the fact that he was like, just keep doing what you're doing until they say otherwise. And so I talked to my students about and I said, Hey guys, there is a small chance that club will not exist sometime soon because of those shutdowns, but for now, we're going to do what we can and keep chatting along.

Katie Olmsted 9:44
And how did your students react with the idea that they may not have this club in the future?

Kelsie Bullock 9:51
They were really upset. A lot of them. This is one of the only times during the week that they can come spend time with their friends and get out their personal beliefs without any fear of repercussion, because even at home, they can't necessarily express how they're feeling sometimes or be them true, be their true selves. And so I think they were just ultimately very upset that that space wasn't going to exist anymore. And in my mind, I guess I mean, I would still provide an like a classroom that they could come feel safe in, but without being able to have that specific group come together, it would they would be pretty devastated.

Katie Olmsted 10:31
And at the end of the day, without that sense of belonging, without that sense of safety and welcome, what do you think that would have meant for them as students, in terms of their ability to make it through school and succeed and thrive and become successful adults.

Kelsie Bullock 10:47
I think for a lot of them, it would just make that process a lot harder. I know for a fact that some of my students their mental health improved by being able to come to a club like diversity club. I do think a lot of them, even if they weren't strictly talking about dei stuff, just being able to vent to kids that get them and are willing to accept them means a lot, and their mental health definitely improved from that. I worry that if it does get shut down, then that those kids that really need that space, that their mental health will plummet, and that obviously would not go well for future aspects of their life.

Katie Olmsted 11:24
And beyond just the club, that mental health, that feeling of belonging, is really important. And on the equity side, it's not just, I think that's another one that people really misunderstand. Equity isn't just about the color of your skin or your sexual orientation or any of that you know in a rural, poor place, equity programs are what help their college scholarships for Appalachian students and all sorts of other things. Do you do you think people really get that when they're when they're trying to tear these things down?

Kelsie Bullock 11:58
No, I definitely don't think they understand how much that they are already benefiting from some of these programs. I do think a lot of people, unfortunately, they forget that socioeconomic status as part of these equity programs. And Morgan County is a very poor county, and a lot of people benefit from food pantries, and as you said, scholarships, grants, stuff like that. And so they might be willing to tear these things down because they don't think they directly affect them, but a lot of people in this county and in Ohio in general are going to be directly affected by these things, and they won't realize it until it's actually happening, and then it's probably too late.

Katie Olmsted 12:41
So what's your message, not just for those community members who need some education about what these programs actually are, but what's your message for other educators who may have a similar club, or may want a similar club in their school, but they're scared?

Kelsie Bullock 12:57
For me, I just I think it's too important to not at least try and trust me, I I was very nervous to start a club as a fresh teacher out of college. I actually a few years ago, I even had a Diversity Equity and Inclusion class. It didn't last more than a year, but they at least let me try. And we had to have a meeting that they were they were very strict about, like, make sure your rubric is dialed in, so that if people have questions, they know what you're doing. Just the fact that they let me try these things in this community meant a lot to me, and so even though I was nervous about teacher not teacher pushback so much, but like, parental pushback and student pushback, maybe some teacher pushback as well from peers, I just it's so important to me and it's such a ingrained part of my life, that I felt like it was worth my effort to try, also from a teacher aspect, specifically, I think the best kind of teachers are there for their students. And so I felt like I had to do something for this group of kids that needed this space. And so even though I was nervous and I hate conflict and all that stuff, I I was going to do something for these kids to have that space.

Katie Olmsted 14:09
So Kelsie, you are in your sixth year of teaching, but this really your, your club started pretty early. You mentioned in 2020, right out of college, you were thinking about getting this going. How has it changed in that time?

Kelsie Bullock 14:25
Um, well, I would say that in 2020 because of everything that was going on in the United States, I was very like, I am still very passionate about it. Now. I don't want to make it sound like I'm not, but I was fired up in 2020 about everything that was happening. And so, like I was again, I don't want to make it sound like I'm not passionate, but I was just overly passionate at that time because of everything that was happening. And so I was actively trying to recruit kids, especially since it was a brand new club, any kid that I had in class that I thought might be willing to join, I reached out to them. I now leave that more to the students to try to do that, because I think it's a good part of interactions for students to do that and potentially make some new friends along the way. We've definitely come a long way with like, just like how it's structured. Because initially, I would say it was mostly just a discussion club of various things that were bothering kids or happening in the world, happening in the news. But now it's a little more structured that we do activities. Every once in a while, we are trying to do those fundraisers. A few years ago, we sold candy bars to raise money for charity, and we're able to donate a good hunk of money to Action Against Hunger and stuff like that. And every year we just try to add a few more little things that we can to make it the best club that we can create. Last year we talked about potentially trying to do like officers and whatnot. I'm not sure we have enough like involvement for something like that yet, but we've started a Instagram page and little things like that where we're just trying to take baby steps to make it an easier club to be involved with, without necessarily having to be here all the time, and a club that can help more people.

Katie Olmsted 16:10
And that's that's the bottom line, right? It's about helping people. It's about meeting people where they are and learning about people and having conversations with people who are like you and not like you that helps.

Kelsie Bullock 16:22
Yes, agreed.

Katie Olmsted 16:24
Have you had conversations like that, either with your students or with fellow educators or even community members, where it was an eye opening thing, it changed you for the better?

Kelsie Bullock 16:38
Yeah. So again, it all kind of goes. It all initially started with that class I took at Ohio State, the equity and diversity class. That was where I started to learn about all the things that kind of made me who I am today. And so people I have most discussion with are either students or my college friends that I obviously went to school with we're very much on the same page. They're also teachers, and so we talk a lot about what we can do to better benefit our students, and stuff along those lines. I don't get to do as much as much discussion with my students because of the class that I teach. I try to intertwine equity and diversity stuff when I can, obviously, I use inclusion, but in mostly an educational format. But when I tried it like actually, a really good example right now is we're doing a project about food scarcity in different countries, and we picked, there's six different countries that are either located in the Middle East or Africa, and so these students are getting a bit of exposure to these different areas, and then they end up getting a card with a it's a made up student, but they're hyper realistic of a kid that's in that country that's dealing with food scarcity, and the kids have to go through a process of designing a meal bar to help these kids. And for I mean, these students don't even know the difference between a continent and a country, and so it's kind of eye opening to see how they react and respond to this activity. But when they say things that are inappropriate or misinformed, I'll have a discussion with them to correct them on it and encourage them not to say things like that in the future. And I think I've done this a few years now, and I think a lot of kids learn quite a bit from it, and they even kind of get attached to these kids that are in their cards, that they again. They're not real kids. They're just hyper realistic. But it still kind of strikes that empathy feeling a little bit which is nice.

Katie Olmsted 18:45
People who couldn't be any more different, but yet they find a connection there.

Kelsie Bullock 18:49
Right.

Katie Olmsted 18:50
Well, Kelsie, thank you so much for connecting with us and helping us understand more about your community, about your schools, and what you're doing with your students to help them.

Kelsie Bullock 19:00
Absolutely thank you for having me.

Katie Olmsted 19:05
Now, one of the things in this conversation with Kelsie Bullock is that all of the things coming out of the US Department of Education are really still a developing situation. What educators have to do in response to these kind of directives and policy priorities that continues to develop too. OEA members with questions are encouraged to connect with their locals, labor relations consultant or LRC, and if you want to share your thoughts about the podcast and ideas for future episodes, I hope you connect with me too. You can email me at EducationMatters@ohea.org. New Episodes continue to drop every Thursday this season, and are available wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a thing in the future. We have a lot of really good conversations ahead, because in Ohio, public education matters.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai