Not Only in the Deep South
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"I accepted Drew's assigned consequence. That other administrator had beend doing things 'by the book'. The larger problem was 'the book', not the administrator. Although I had been proclaiming the Zero Tolerance approach is not ethical, and it certainly isn't equitable when some kids get a break and some don't, my daughter's situation provided evidence of my own hypocrisy and our lingering systemic issues. I couldn't deny that a standard response to student discipline persisted, yet I never questioned our practices. Now that my child was affected, I chose to take a closer look."
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About the Book
NOT Only in the Deep South is Dr. Hines' attempt to validate the damaging practices she unknowingly engaged in early in her career and adamantly fought against later in her career while working in several different public school settings that are located above the Mason-Dixon line. Her heartfelt account is designed to serve as both a memoir and a primer that will present a clear call to action for those educators and school stakeholders who are committed to equitable student outcomes to satisfy not only their moral obligations but also to help extinguish generational poverty and blight that continues to plague many communities that lack not only privilege but also advocacy.
About the Author
Dr. Hines accumulated extensive experience working in diverse public school settings and first began her career teaching science to non-college bound students who needed credit to meet high school graduation requirements. She quickly learned that many of these students were highly capable but had minimal foundational knowledge. They also lacked confidence as learners, and traditional grading practices suggested these students had limited potential and promise. As her professional responsibilities increased when she entered public school adminstration, Dr. Hines recognized a phenomenon that included a generational disconnect between the school system and her former students who had now become the parents and guardians of the next generation of marginalized students whose interests were not a priority within the larger school system. Dr. Hines’ lens specific to equity was further extended after her youngest child entered the same system in which she had worked for many years. As she examined this child’s experiences from middle school and beyond in the same educational system and compared them to the experiences of her three older daughters, she concluded that this child’s experiences were distinctly different. Although she felt wiser and more capable as an older and better educated parent, this younger child struggled repeatedly. It became quite apparent to Dr. Hines that the determining factor in the differing school experiences was likely due to race. Unlike her older sisters, Dr. Hines’ youngest daughter identifies as a Black female. This realization inspired Dr. Hines to reflect and revisit the many decisions she had made as an educator and to recognize the many flawed decisions she had made in her career, along with the now-glaring examples of systemic racism she had been oblivious to in the past.