Rodney Glasgow Spends the Day with Parker

Educator, speaker, diversity practitioner and Head of School at Sandy Springs Friends School Rodney Glasgow spent the day with Parker students telling stories with lessons about race, considering others’ experiences and the ways seemingly minor details about ourselves can speak volumes.

At Morning Ex, Glasgow shared his experience growing up in Baltimore and connecting that to reasons educators don’t have to teach Critical Race Theory because people live it everywhere. He then told the story of being a young 5th grader with a white teacher in a school primarily consisting of Black students. When a new white student joined his class, Glasgow worried she would gain favor with the teacher simply because they shared a race, so he and his classmates alienated her. When she learned what was happening, the teacher reminded her students that she had taught them what happened to Black people, and now they were acting similarly toward this new girl solely because of her race.

Glasgow then went on to discuss how he was alienated when he switched to a private school because of the students’ perception that “he thinks he’s better.” On the contrary, Glasgow wanted to continue his connection with his friends from his old school because no one understood him at his new school, where there were mostly white students.

His overarching message was for people to understand that “we don’t know what people carry in their backpack,” so it’s important to consider all possibilities in all situations. 

“Race isn’t an imaginary friend,” Glasgow said. “It’s as real as this notebook I carry. It’s in every room, every conversation. It lives here at Francis Parker as much as anywhere.”

After Morning Ex, Glasgow met with Students of Color Alliance (SOCA), an affinity group and safe space for students to share and discuss their experiences of race in order to feel supported, included and successful.

He then conducted an exercise with 4th and 5th grade students, who asked him questions about his attire, and he told a story about each item, showing the importance of expressing yourself through clothing and the ways outwardly small things can have a large impact.

Glasgow’s messaging coincides with Parker’s belief that growth in understanding, ability and confidence occurs when we are open to new questions, perspectives and information and listen attentively to the voices of others.

Click here for photos of this visit!