Interview conducted by Keara Kotten
#UMSocial Intern and University of Michigan Class of 2022

 

Q: Hello, my name is Keara Kotten, and I have Jessica Gardiner here with me today. So Jessica, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

 

Hi, Keara. Thanks for having me. My name is Jessica Gardiner and a lot of my friends call me Jess. I’m really excited to be on this podcast today because I just started my first year as an educator. I went to Michigan State University for my undergrad degree, and then I spent my last year at the University of Michigan in the School of Education.

 

Q: Can you tell us some background about your educational journey, both at Michigan State and at graduate school here at Michigan, and the first time you remember thinking, I’m meant to be a teacher?

 

I started off as a no-preference student at Michigan State. I had no clue what I wanted my major to be. So then I decided to pick supply chain. I thought that was my groove.

 

In between freshman year and sophomore year, I had an interview with a company and I moved down to Georgia for the summer and worked in the factory as an operations intern. Then I came back and I got involved with some protests for the movement for Black lives. That changed my perspective on things. I had never really protested before. Being a Black person myself, I had always valued the movement and the people who are just working to make change. So when I got actually involved in that kind of work, I had a change of heart on what I wanted to do with my life. I was thinking about, “Okay, what career would be good for me?” And someone suggested to me, “Why don’t you look into teaching?”

 

So I looked into it, but I always said, “I would never be a teacher, that’s the last thing I would be.” But I never looked back once I applied to the College of Education and got accepted. It was an exciting journey ever since. I can already see the growth from when I joined halfway through sophomore year to now.

“I’ve been able to grow my passion and my creativity with education, and also my passion for doing social justice work within education.”

My mom is Black and my dad is white. So I consider myself Black and biracial. My mom was my first Black educator, and she was the most impactful, but I didn’t get a formal Black educator until I got to college. Junior year, I was in [one of] my education courses. I believe it was called TE 250, that was one of my most favorite courses. And that was [when I had] my first Black educator. When I realized that, I was just like, dang. I’ve spent my whole life being taught by people, and everybody looked the same. So that was definitely impactful in my journey in education, and it inspired me to go forth and be that kind of teacher who shows up as my whole self and represents the culture, represents all that it means to be Black. So that’s what propelled me further into my journey.

 

Q: Now that you’re working in an elementary school, you can be that person for children so early on, which is incredible.

 

I’ve already seen positive outcomes from that, and it’s only week two. I had to get creative with virtual teaching. So I created a survey for families to fill out, just to get to know them and get some contact information. One of the questions I had on there was “Is there something you want to tell me or something that you want me to know?” and then I provided room for comments and questions. One of the moms reached out and said, “I’m so happy that my daughter has a teacher who looks like her. It took me until I was college age to get that experience. So, I’m so happy for my daughter, and I appreciate you being here.”

 

That was just last week and that really touched my heart. And then I also see some kids getting excited because the books I choose are culturally relevant. I try to mix them up and make them a diverse selection of books. But I have been having a lot of books with Black girls and Black boys. I’ve seen my kids’ faces light up so much, just seeing that representation there.

 

Q: You were recently featured on the @umicheducation Instagram account for wearing a “Black teachers matter” t-shirt. Can you talk more about the importance of this message and how it impacts the classroom experience?

 

When I bought that t-shirt, I was still in graduate school at U-M and I was like, “Well, here I am. I’m finally becoming the teacher of my dreams. I’m becoming an awesome Black teacher.” And I just thought the message was very important because, I don’t know the exact percentage, but there is a low, low, low percentage of Black women in education as elementary teachers, and Black men even lower. So it was very important for me to represent in that way. It’s like an extension of that term and that meaning of, yes, Black people matter, Black people are showing up. We are here, we matter. So I really loved that saying when I found that shirt where it says “Black teachers matter,” and I couldn’t think of a more perfect outfit to wear for my graduation pictures.

 

Q: How have the experiences of being a Black female student at U-M shaped your approach to teaching and your view of the higher education system?

 

I was only there for a year, and it was such a meaningful year for me. But when I first got to class, this is something that a lot of Black people do, you kind of look around and see: how many other people are there that look like me? And I only found a couple.

 

So there were two other girls in my program who were Black. It was nice to have them, but it was also difficult to know that our classes were talking about all this social justice and change; yet if you looked at the demographics of our class, it was still largely white, which is a reflection of the education field in general. I knew that it was important for me to show up and continue through with this journey of becoming an educator, if not just for myself and enjoying teaching, to show up for the kids who just need teachers that look like them.

 

So my view toward the higher education system was that, okay, I consider myself privileged for many reasons. If there’s only three of us here, imagine how many more Black female students could come if the system was set up a little bit differently? The system is set up in a way that not many people get this opportunity. There’s a small percentage of people in America who go to college. I found myself in a privileged position while also addressing racial inequities within the school system. So it was a complex thing.

 

And then another way that I found myself being privileged was I’m biracial and I have lighter skin, so there’s preference. People will sometimes unknowingly give me preference over somebody else who may be darker. And that is completely unfair. So another reason why I was just reflecting on the higher education system was I notice there’s not a lot of Black people, but some of the Black people who are here, they may be given more privilege due to their lighter skin.

 

Q: Hopefully your students and other people you know will see you as an amazing Black teacher and then be like, “Oh my gosh, that could be me.” It’s definitely easier for people to picture themselves doing something when they can see someone similar to them doing a similar thing.

 

Right. For the students who are Black or other students of color, I want them to go away knowing that they can be in that position of power. They can be in that position of that rank, of being a teacher. You can be in charge. You can be a doctor, you can be an artist, you can be really anything.

“So by me showing up as a teacher and also a photographer and many other things, I’m showing my students that it is capable, and I’m on your side.”

Then for my students who are not Black or are not children of color, they will also see. They’ll grow up knowing that this is what Black people look like too. Black people are successful. Black people are not just in certain service positions. I respect my Black teacher and she’s teaching me things that I may have never learned had I just had a white teacher my whole time at school.

 

Q: Thank you so much for sharing that. That’s really awesome.

 

I’m even privileged to have this opportunity to share my perspectives. And to all the people who are not able to be in this position and are held back by the system, I’m rooting for you. I am here showing up as a Black teacher to create more Black teachers and more Black excellence.

 

Q: Thank you so much, Jessica, for sharing that. And thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today. It’s been really great learning from you.

 

Thank you, Keara.