What Educators Need: Anti-Racism Education and Training
Insights from Educate., 6th Edition
As a former HS English teacher, I taught To Kill a Mockingbird nearly every year to freshmen students. I was born and raised in the deep south. To me, the characters and setting feel familiar, in an overly nostalgic, and sometimes negative, way. Every year that I have taught the novel, my cheeks would flame in indignation at the treatment of Blacks in the novel.
Looking back, I really didn’t know how to teach anti-racism to my students. I never received training in how to approach diverse texts. Reading the article, “How Do We Teach ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Honestly Confront Racism?” by D.J. Cashmere, I realized again that I could have used more direction, specifically standards, in how I approached diverse texts with perspectives that I did not understand.
As Cashmere reflects in the article, Atticus is unfairly put on a pedestal as a White man coming to save the black man, while Whiteness is fairly centered with the exclusion of the Black voice. What is missing in lesson plans for the novel includes an exploration of identity. Where do stereotypes originate? How do students see themselves? How can we, as educators, help students safely explore their identities without trodding on each other’s identities and needs in the process?
Last month, the North Carolina Board of Education took one step towards anti-racism education in public schools by voting in favor of new K-12 standards aimed at addressing diverse perspectives.
The new standards call for educators to specifically teach students about “races, religions, and other groups” moving away from previous standards that merely used the word “variety” to describe perspectives.
Although the board voted in favor of specifically addressing anti-racism education, members removed the word “systemic” to describe racism and discrimination. Lt. Governor Mark Robinson (R) stated, “The system of government that we have in this nation is not systematically racist.”
Regardless of his statement and beliefs, North Carolina is boldly making steps to finally address anti-racist education by including it in the curriculum, and I am hopeful that other states will do the same.
Anti-racist work means acknowledging that racist beliefs and structures are pervasive in all aspects of our lives — from education to housing to climate change — and then actively doing work to tear down those beliefs and structures. Those beliefs and structures don’t just exist in primarily white/and or privileged institutions — they thrive there. — Christina Torres, Learning for Justice
Students deserve an education that addresses the hard realities of our past and present. We can’t move forward until we acknowledge what is and work together to create what can be.
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About the Editor
Jennifer Osborne is an experienced educator with graduate degrees in Educational Leadership and Guidance and Counseling. She has taught in five countries across a wide variety of classrooms and schools. Jennifer is passionate about authentic education for students and personalized professional learning for teachers.
Read her Educator’s Bio at Jennifer Osborne Writes.
What Educators Need: Anti-Racism Education and Training was originally published in Educate. on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.