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"Read critically,
write consciously,
speak clearly,
tell your truth."
- Clint Smith III, 4 core principles displayed in his classroom, described in "The Danger of Silence"
And we're back!
Thank you for subscribing to Bending The Arc which promises to deliver three (plus) social justice resources for educators every month. Ideally you'll find relevant, stimulating material offered with a succinct introduction. Take the quote above. It's from Clint Smith III who is a poet, scholar and activist whom I hope you'll investigate further. Part of me would love to go on and on about Clint and his wide ranging work, but I promised I would be brief.
In his talk, Clint Smith illustrates the ways in which we use silence to avoid confronting hard truths. In this October edition, I want to offer you some resources designed to help you find your own voice to invite, facilitate and participate in brave conversations around race, gender, physical ability, or other forms of identity.
I'll start with an article about an elementary teacher in California who lets parents know that in his first grade classroom they'll be talking about all kinds of "isms." Specifically, Bret Turner, who identifies as white, male and straight, describes the approaches he takes to involving young children in conversations about power and privilege. Besides the direct content of the article and the fact that there is an audio version available, I want to also encourage you to investigate the suggested links that appear at the end. Websites, podcasts and other resources are offered to further probe ways of engaging oneself and students in conversations related to social identity.
Preparing for the long haul of several school years, I'd like to propose two books which may be helpful in thinking about classroom opportunities for talking about social justice themes. Sara K. Ahmed's Being The Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension contains frameworks and ideas for working with all ages (including adults). I appreciate Sara's use of the term "social comprehension" because it underscores the teachable aspects of understanding identity in a variety of contexts and forms. Matthew Kay provides clear and thoughtful guidance for high school teachers in his book, Not Light, But Fire: How To Lead Meaningful Race Conversations In The Classroom. Bolstering these recommendations is the fact that both authors are still active in the classroom. Their suggestions resonate because they are born of authentic experience and deep reflection.
*Spoiler alert: both authors insist that educators attend to their own levels of identity comprehension and clarify their instructional purpose first before delving into detailed interventions with students.
Finally, in the month of October when a variety of national and international celebrations arrive including Halloween, it seems like a good time to think about cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation. So I want to share a few resources to sharpen our awareness of these topics. When I asked my Professional/Personal Learning Network (PLN) via Twitter for their suggestions, some of the resources that came up were:
My Culture Is NOT A Costume - a video suitable for middle and high school students.
What Do Halloween Costumes Say? is a lesson framework from Teaching Tolerance for K-5 to help students think about which costumes are marketed to them.
Native Appropriations on the All My Relations podcast - excellent discussion of cultural appropriation of indigenous culture and other marginalized groups in society.
Cultural Appropriation Discussion Guide by Anti-Oppression Resources and Training Alliance (AORTA), suitable for secondary and above. Great, thought-provoking questions.
Alright, that's it for this month. Is it way more than 3 things? Of course it is! Consider it a buffet of options to explore in your abundant planning and spare time. ;-) Hope you find one or two things you can use or pass along to someone else. Keep sharing the wealth!
Be well,
Sherri
image: © Spelic
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