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In this episode of The Equity Hour, Dr. Tami Dean sits down with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah—founder of Identity Talk Consulting and author of Learning to Relearn—to unpack what it really takes to create identity-affirming, culturally responsive classrooms. They explore how “compliance culture” undermines agency, the history behind school policies (from uniforms to hair), and practical ways educators can “clean the lenses,” confront bias, and center joy, belonging, and critical thinking.

What you’ll learn

• Why “compliance” often replaces true learning—and how to reverse it
• How history informs present-day school policies (uniforms, hair, discipline)
• Practical steps to build identity-affirming, anti-bias, anti-racist practice
• Strategies for nurturing student agency, joy, and criticality
• Ways teachers can honor their professional identity—even within constraints

https://www.identitytalk4educators.com/

Get the book: Learning to Relearn

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What if “joy in schools” isn’t possible without belonging? Dr. Tami Dean and Dr. Max Weinberg unpack how humane, trauma-informed practice—and real partnership with families, paraprofessionals, and communities—creates conditions where every student is seen, safe, and able to learn.

What You’ll Learn

• Why belonging is the prerequisite for joy—not the other way around.
• How testing culture and scripted curricula erode critical thinking and equity.
• Practical ways to center in loco parentis and dignity in daily instruction.
• The overlooked power of paraprofessionals and how to align the whole team.
• Navigating 504/IEP rights with curiosity instead of compliance theater.
• Equity lenses on charters, vouchers, school funding, and neighborhood schools.
• How educator preparation and No Child Left Behind-era schooling still shape today’s classrooms.

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Author and PhD student Shannon Quist joins Dr. Tami to unpack the false binary of adoption vs. abortion—and the equity issues hiding in plain sight. We trace the Baby Scoop era, Roe v. Wade, evangelical politics, and present-day practices like safe haven boxes and sealed birth certificates. Shannon shares her adoptee journey, the identity costs of transracial adoption, and why open records and community care matter. If you’ve wondered who profits, who’s protected, and who’s erased, this conversation offers language, history, and actions to move beyond either/or thinking toward real reproductive and adoptee justice.

Shannon’s TEDx Talk: Would You Rather? Adoption vs. Abortion

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