ClassDojo and the Digitization of Old-School Discrimination

Since 2011, ClassDojo, a platform used to facilitate classroom and school management,parent-teacher communication, and student surveillance, has swept through classrooms across theworld. The platform’s rapid growth has allowed its parent company to influence both managementpractices and ideologies that govern millions of classrooms. Despite rhetoric designed to appeal tomodern sensibilities such as diversity, inclusivity, and innovation, ClassDojo represents nothing morethan a digital version of past management practices that have upheld white supremacy and classismin education. Though its digital nature, reliance on data, and rhetorical positivity make ClassDojoan appealing tool for teachers, administrators, parents, and students, these aspects only serve to obscurethe propagation of neoliberal ideology and the construction of oppressive race-based identities. Thesefunctions become clear when examining the parallels between the application’s educational philosophyand management techniques with Lancasterism, New England pedagogy, and progressive education,the three most prominent educational movements in United States’ history. Understanding howhistoric systems of oppression continue to operate in the digital age is key in dismantling these systemsand creating new structures that might push education in a more equitable direction