Resources for AntiRacist Education
There is so much grief. Heartbreak over the fact that this conversation is still necessary. That black and brown folx are still under occupation. That education is still censored to fit the mold of a racist status quo. That we still have so much work to do.
This is the tragic legacy of education. We wait to pursue authentic change until the ish hits the fan. We’re a reactive institution, not a proactive one. In fact, we’ve taken a reactive approach across other uncomfortable and inconvenient paths, too (think: Emergent Lingual education, immigrant parent engagement, trauma-informed practice). Haven’t we learned anything?
Here. Now. We have an opportunity to alter the course, to right the ship, to challenge the dialogue, to get really uncomfortable… and then push through it.
White folx: This can’t happen unless we’re ready to get real with our role in the problem. To do this, we have to systematically untangle the narratives of privilege and racism that are embedded in every facet of our lives.
We have to create authentic urgency around the need to disrupt inequity and assume ownership of our explicit and implicit participation in racism. Because no matter how we cut it, we are inactive enablers at best, and outright inciters at worst.
As someone who makes a living facilitating tough conversations around race, bias, racism, and culturally responsive practice, I’ve enjoyed a good jump start on evaluating my own deeply embedded biases, privilege, and contributions to a racist society.
All that’s clear is that I- and we- still have so far to grow. Still, here’s what I’ve learned so far:
Understand the language of cultural identity. Race, ethnicity, nationality, heritage, and culture and not interchangeable concepts. Looking for clarity and an implementable classroom exercise? Here’s a start point.
Sit in your bias. Recognize it. Call it out. Be brave enough to confront it. Develop tools to defeat it. Know that change is hard and remember that a solid tribe can help you push through it. Repeat. Ready for a wake-up? Read this guy (more resources available on his website @ https://www.mrtomrad.com/). Ready to call out your own privilege and bias? Here’s an entry-level tool.
Become the student. Especially when we’re talking about our own students. What is another person’s truth? Do we authentically HEAR and validate it as truth? What is their story? The (non-white washed) story of their ancestors? What is the role of voice (not our own) in our teaching practice?
Re-read the story. What parts of the #BLM and antiracist narrative do we (white folx) selectively hear? As educators, what parts of our students’ stories are we ignorant to and/or explicitly or implicitly reject?
Educators: If we are truly trauma-informed, where does race-based trauma fit into our framework for student care, if at all? The two can no longer live in separate boxes. They’ve always been bound, even as we’ve fought to silence the traumas of racism. The game’s over.
Let’s be honest. We’ll do anything to avoid talking about race in schools. The system is created so that we actually fear the professional repercussions of engaging students in race-based dialogue. And many of us simply fear messing it up. But avoiding the discussion is engaging in the problem. We HAVE to talk about it. We HAVE to model transparency in our own socio-emotional growth. Start here.
Create unapologetic space for the language of antiracism. It must live in and be critically evaluated within the context of authentic daily experience. Yes, we WILL make mistakes. But we have to start somewhere, and it has to be now.
Dissect your curriculum, including socio-emotional frameworks. Often, even our best efforts to combat trauma and injustice are blatantly whitewashed. But we’ve got to get out of the trees in order to see the forest. Need clarity? Check out this article (or others) from Dena Simmons.
Join or create a race-based caucus /affinity group (just be sure you have some clear guidance in this practice). Not sure what this is? Read this article and continue the journey with this reading.
On leaders approaching the topic: “Use words that explicitly name racial violence. Do not soften the intensity of systemic racism with broad language about diversity, equity, and inclusion. If the statement does not include words such as “racism,” “racist,” “white supremacy,” or “anti-Blackness,” it is insufficient and therefore should be revised.” https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/06/02/6-considerations-school-leaders-statement-george-floyd-.html
Put your money/power/vote where your mouth is. Seek out causes, people, & businesses that accelerate #BLM progress. Support relentlessly. (Most states have a minority-owned business directory available online).
A few favorite follows for educators: @teachtolerance, @embracerace, @zarettahammond, @MrTomRad, @DenaSimmons.
"Home": Acknowledging the Complex Transitions of Refugee Newcomers
Drawing by former student Pah Leh Paw (age 9), depicting the Thai refugee camp where she grew up, after her family fled from the Karen cultural region of Myanmar Burma.
“I AM FROM . . .”
In my first year of teaching in the Newcomer sector, I remember feeling flabbergasted by one very real truth: our little four-walled classroom housed the world inside its perimeter. Out of the twenty-five students that first year, fourteen countries were represented in our classroom, with nineteen first languages among them. I still cherish this memory, and perhaps more so now that I’ve also acquired some understanding of the unique countries, customs, and languages that we have in our care.
I arrived as head of the classroom that year, the first year that our refugee-magnate school was set in motion, highly unprepared. I was fresh, sure, and knowledgeable in the field of education, too. I was also remarkably naïve. Armed with personal monologues of out-of-country experiences, I thought I was worldly, exposed, and ready. Then, I got schooled by a class of eight-year-olds.
When, for example, students stated, “I am from Burma,” I assumed, well, Burma. As in, one Burma, the one I located on Google Maps (just to refresh my memory . . . of course). As in, one culture, one language, one struggle, one united journey to our classroom.
That episode of simplistic thinking was short-lived. Within days, I figured out that several of my Burmese students couldn’t actually communicate orally with each other. Moreover, this group of students did not always appear outwardly friendly toward one another, despite their apparent cultural similarities. In fact, I was noticing intense tensions and aggressions between like-cultured groups, even while cross-cultural communications remained friendly and outgoing.
At one point early in the year, Snay Doh came to see me in private. He asked to move his seat away from his Thai peer, Thaw Eh Htoo. He wished to sit at a separate desk, between Valentin from Burundi, and Khaled from Yemen. “I don’t mind thinking about this, Snay Doh,” I replied, “but I hope that you can explain to me why this is a good idea. Moving your seat isn’t going to make a bigger problem go away. What is it that seems to be keeping you and Thaw from getting along?”
Snay Doh, with his limited English vocabulary, broke down the entire dilemma, with Crayola illustrations and all. In the end, I learned that Snay Doh’s parents were Burma-Burmese, and that he was born in the refugee camps in Thailand. Thaw Eh Htoo was also born in a Thai refugee camp. However, his parents were Karen Burmese. Not only were these two families from geographically, linguistically, and culturally separate parts of Burma; they were also at war with one another.
With a little more research, I came to realize that four rivers physically separate the small nation of Burma into five distinct geographical regions. Within these regions, a multitude of individual tribes maintain separate and exclusive lifestyles and cultures. Seven of these tribes demand high social and political prominence. These clans have an epic history of interaction, often involving warfare on every level and for every reason: territory, religion, water, trade, and government.
Members from five of these tribes held places on that first year roster. So, no; that original seating arrangement with four of those Burmese students, of four separate religions, customs and dialects at the same table didn’t work out so well. (Enter school-wide positive behavior system roll-out.)
Similar dichotomies are repeated each year in our schools and classrooms, and are reflected in the lives of our students from all over the world: Congo, Iran, Somalia, and Libya, and many others. The truth is that people who originate from one country are not necessarily homogeneous, or for that matter, oozing with camaraderie with one another. Fundamental views and values may vary dramatically, even to the point of enmity. For me, this lesson was critical. Indeed, we are never done learning.
AS THE CROW FLIES
Interestingly, our students’ documented countries of origination are rarely aligned with actual ancestral roots. This occurs primarily because many of our students are transported to (or even born in refugee camps) proximal to the heritage region.
For example, most Nepali refugees are Bhutanese. Many Thai students are Burmese. Our Kenyan students might be exclusively Congolese, Somalian, Rwandan, or Ethiopian. A Lebanese student’s first home may have been Syria, Palestine or Afghanistan.
Sometimes a spade is a spade; Congo really does mean Congo, and there is no need to complicate things further. But often, it doesn’t hurt to engage in a little sleuthing. The results can be astonishing. Frequently, Newcomers will have lived in a multitude of nations, even leading up to the country of origin that appears on resettlement documentation. This information can be helpful, in that it allows for additional insights into students’ probable cultural and learning backgrounds. It might also sway us away from topical assumptions and approaches to our craft. Cultural geography 101, via the wide-eyed testimonies of our learners.
The list below indicates possible refugee origination locales. The perimeter countries represent heavily documented home nations. The adjacent regions are plausible induction zones. Often, grouped nations may be interchanged as first, second, or third origination countries. Of course, this resource equates to a rough-sketch approximation guide. The only true authorities on our students’ pre-resettlement paths are our students and families themselves.
POTENTIAL REFUGEE ORIGINATION LOCALES
Nepal: Bhutan, Tibet
India: Iran, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and China
Kenya: Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia
Ghana: Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Togo, Benin, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal
Egypt: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Djibouti, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Yemen, Congo, and Lebanon
Libya: Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan, Senegal, Egypt, Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Yemen, Djibouti, and Algeria
Thailand, Malaysia: Myanmar Burma, Karen Burma, Chin Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and China
Bangladesh: Rohingya Burma, Urdu Pakistan, Iran, Philippines, and Vietnam Jordan: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Armenia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Afghanistan
Turkey: Russia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan
Brazil: Venezuela, Honduras, Paraguay, Ecuador, Columbia, and Costa Rica
Mexico: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Honduras, and Chili.
8 Ways to Optimize a Learning Culture... and Celebrate Diversity
Culture. It’s the latest education buzzword to catch fire, and it is applied to a seemingly endless range of affairs. We refer to our students’ heritage cultures. We toss around the idea of a school culture, a classroom culture, a staff culture. So, what exactly are we talking about here? In the simplest possible terms, we can look at it in this way:
“Culture is the way you think, act and interact.” –Anonymous
From this lens, it is indeed possible to reference "culture" across such a variety of social platforms. How our students think, act and interact at home and in their communities is a reflection of their heritage culture. How we think, act and interact at work is a reflection of our work culture.
Let’s consider our schools and classrooms from this same vantage. Looking to the best versions of ourselves and our programs, what do we envision as an optimal learning culture for our students and staff? How are we encouraged to think, act and interact with our students and colleagues? How are we teaching learners to engage with each other in affirmative ways?
As a school or classroom leader, these are important thoughts to map out. My ideas may not look the same as your ideas. That’s ok. We can lay some common ground, though. The following cues present an opportunity to check in with your own vision of school culture. How can you help to improve the way that your team thinks, acts and interacts?
1. Invest in Students
We all ache to know that someone we care about is standing firmly behind or beside us. If our aim is to increase a student's success rate, our honest investment in both their present capacity and future potential is non-negotiable.
Express a genuine interest in each individual. Learn how to pronounce student’s names correctly and begin using them on the very first day. Ask questions about students’ heritage culture and allow for safe opportunities to share these insights with other classmates. Offer relevant multicultural reading materials. Post flags or maps, and have students mark their heritage country. Be a listener. Find out what students find interesting. Commit to supporting students with time-in over time-out. Show up. Keep promises. Practice being present and mindful with students. Nurture connectivity.
2. Provide Choice
When presented with choice-making opportunities in a safe, predictable environment, learners develop self-efficacy and strategizing abilities. We can scaffold these processes to enable students to grow as wise decision makers. Begin by limiting the range of available options. Model reasoning through active think-alouds.
Also, it is important to allow time for students to consider and process potential gains and sacrifices involved when choosing between items or activities. Similarly, prompt students to predict the probable consequences of unwise choice making and to reflect on these outcomes when they occur. Incorporate choice making throughout the day. Station (center) activities, choice of paper color, homework, reading book, order of task completion and game selection are manageable places to start.
When students are invited to make healthy choices- and have opportunities to practice doing so- they are much more inclined to become invested, engaged learners.
3. Provide Clarity
Students, not unlike adults, desire to know what is expected of them. Who doesn't enjoy a road map to success? By sharing bite-sized road maps with your students throughout a school day or school year, you are helping them to succeed. “Bite-size” can be defined as 3-5 clear steps, with a target of three.
As we’ve already mentioned, clarified expectations foster routine, predictability and ultimately, a sense of safety. Be sure that instructional objectives are posted and communicated. Is your class schedule visible and correct? Do you refer to it throughout the day? Are station areas and supplies labeled (using rebus indicators, where necessary)? How often do you review key routines? Check your day for clarity. Define and refine.
4. Trust
Trust that students are wholly capable of making great choices and doing the right thing. Does that mean perfection? No. It does mean that in a healthy, facilitative environment most students, most of the time, will strive to meet the expectations set by (and modeled by) the teacher. We are intentional about setting the bar high, because that’s where students will reach. Maintain confidence that they will stretch to achieve it.
As students see that you trust them, they will begin living up to the expectation that they are probably doing the right thing. They will almost always respond by trusting you in return. Aim for autonomy. Give away power (when appropriate). Expect greatness.
5. Practice Problem Solving
Investigation that relies upon solution seeking engages students in developing deeper concept understanding and creative thinking abilities, while also building essential life skills. Problem-solving behaviors are learned. They are either explicitly taught or modeled by others. The school is an ideal incubator for nurturing these attributes.
Offer specific steps toward solving a problem. Model these thoughts and behavior patterns. Provide multiple opportunities for students to practice problem solving in a variety of subjects and contexts. View problems as “puzzles”. Solution seeking is a willed behavior. Our role is to guide the discovery of enjoyment and creative thinking in these processes.
6. Teach Critical Social Skills
Young people often need to be taught how to interact in positive ways. This is especially true in a Recent Arriver context, where layers of cultural expectation overlap often one another. Essential social skills encompass sensitivity, empathy, humor, reliability, honesty, respect, and concern.
Learners often benefit from explicit step-by-step social routines that work through these skill sets. Modeling, play-acting, and “Looks Like/Sounds Like/Feels Like” charts are also useful. Plan lessons to incorporate openings to explore and practice social skills. Offer guidance, and get out of the way. Provide cuing only when relevant. Share constructive feedback and reinforcement of positive behaviors.
Be the way you wish your students to behave.
7. Embrace “Failure” as a Success
Trying requires immense courage.
Perceived failure is a byproduct of trying. If we look at a FAIL- a First Attempt In Learning, then we are able to see that we have many more possible tries ahead of us. When we work to remove the fear of failing, we are also working to embed a confidence in trying.
Try celebrating failures outright. “Did you succeed the way you hoped you were going to?” No. “Did you learn something?” Yes. “Bravo! You are a successful learner.” Next time you fail at something, try acknowledging it in front of your students. Observe aloud what might have occurred and what part of your strategy you might change to bring about a different result. Failure is simply feedback. If we can take some wisdom from it, and adjust our sails, failure is a sure step in the right direction of success. Aim to create safety nets for trying.
8. Acknowledge Progress
A simple acknowledgement of our gains can go a long way. When we feel appreciated in our efforts, we also feel empowered to continue on a positive trajectory. Administrators, teachers, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria personnel and after school care teams perform better in supportive environments where they feel that they are a contributive factor to the overarching success of a network. Our students, not surprisingly, also thrive in these settings.
Progress has an infinite number of faces. Growth and change can occur in every facet of learning- in academic, linguistic, social, emotional and cultural capacities.
Take the time to offer a thank you for a student’s concentrated efforts. Post students’ work, along with encouraging and reflective feedback. Share students’ growth. Acknowledge healthy choice making, positive social behaviors and persistence in the light of adversity. Help all learners to discover, refine and purposely engage their strongest attributes, and seek equity in endorsing successes publicly. Each day, relish in small miracles.