Caste Systems Affect the Way We Educate​​

About the Course

The purpose of this 12-week professional study is to bring attention to the effects that racism and castes in America have on its school systems. This virtual book study, provided as a collaboration between Learning Little People (LLP) and Samford University's Office of Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives (ODII), is based on Isabel Wilkerson's book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Participants must secure their own copy of the book unless it is provided by the Samford ODII or by LLP.

In this PLU course, participants will learn more about one of the three most notable caste systems in world history, America's "race-based caste pyramid" (Wilkerson, 2021). Participants will explore how castes are perpetuated in their schools, districts, and/or communities and will discover ways to challenge those systems.

Participants will have weekly assigned readings from Caste (up to 40 pages of reading each week) and will be required to complete asynchronous activities using Canvas. Participants must also engage in at least 4 of the 6 biweekly discussions on Zoom with the course facilitators. To receive credit for up to 2 missed Zoom courses, participants must type their responses to the Zoom discussion questions/topics and upload them into Canvas.

Requirements:
-Participants must have instructional leader certification.
-Participants must have access to a computer with internet.