By Amanda Chiatovich-Cloutier, CASE Region 4 Director and Mentoring/Leadership Committee Member

Standing there on top of a chair beside me, energizing a room full of passionate science educators, was Dr. Christopher Emdin—tall, radiating confidence and authenticity, and speaking truths that challenged and inspired. His presence as a leading Black scholar in science education made the moment even more powerful. 

His focus, you may ask? Being ratchet in the classroom. Dr. Emdin was one of the keynote speakers at the 2024 CASE conference last November. His concept of “ratchetdemics” - the idea of being both ratchet and academic - left such a lasting impression on conference attendees that a book study was formed to further our own ratchetness through the CASE Mentoring and Leadership Committee.

Educators from across the state met virtually to embrace the concept of empowering their students to not only hold onto their own identity and backgrounds, but further collaborated on ideas of incorporating that ratchet into their academic world, creating a parallel of concepts and not contrastive identities.

The core group of the book study attendees declared that the study was worthwhile at any stage of their teaching career and helped with reflecting on their current teaching practices.

“I came away with a deeper resolve to make my instruction more real and to honor the intelligence and thought of each student,” expressed Oretta B. , CASE member and book study participant. Placing marginalized groups at the forefront of lesson planning allows educators to provide instruction that is responsive to students' diverse needs and better engages all future scientists and engineers who pass through our rooms.

Be on the lookout for our next CASE-sponsored book study and professional learning opportunities.

About the Author

Amanda Chiatovich Cloutier is a middle school teacher, Region 4 Director for the California Association of Science Educators (CASE), and a member of CASE’s Mentoring and Leadership Committee.

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