The Passionate Public Citizen: dije Team Member Feature of Dr. Carla Shalaby

Dr. Shalaby’s role on the dije team is to support the work of assessing and reporting on the Marsal Family School of Education’s dije-related initiatives and efforts. She says, “We’re working together to figure out how to capture and highlight all the amazing dije work happening around the Marsal Family School of Education, and also how to honestly reflect on where we can and should do better.” When asked how she hopes to contribute to dije work in her role at the School and beyond, she immediately grounds herself in her communal, professional, and familial roles. She calls herself a “public citizen, an SOE community member, a dije team member, a TeachingWorks team member, a researcher and writer, a partner, parent,  sister and daughter” and, “always hopes to contribute her vision of and her demand for a more human world.” Both personally and professionally, at the SOE and beyond, Dr. Shalaby is committed to imagining and fighting for educational experiences that are worthy of our young people. She hopes to always contribute her deep reverence for children, for teaching as a profession, and for the possibilities of education as a site of revolution.

Along Dr. Shalaby’s professional path, which started in elementary classroom teaching, she has learned to see and understand the role of the teacher as a key actor in the ongoing freedom struggle. So understanding the relationships between education and (in)justice has always been the cornerstone of her professional life and pursuits. Dr. Shalaby’s major professional goal is to support teachers to skillfully take up their particular role and responsibilities as part of the larger freedom struggle.

When asked what else she is passionate outside of dije, Dr. Shalaby answered, “What could a human being be passionate about that doesn't somehow intersect with justice, inclusion, equity and diversity? I'm exercising my brain to try to come up with something, but everything I care about is part of the human or natural world, and nothing in the human or natural world is outside of dije for me.” That answer is an embodiment of Dr. Shalaby’s fierce and loving energy. It also relates to her passion and commitment to helping ensure the four letters of dije jump off the page of assessments and reports to deeply connect to the life of the School and the world beyond.