As an educator, what messages do you send to your students through your actions, words, groupings, curriculum, or teaching practices?

Reflect on your workplace, your child's classroom, the teachers you know and interact with--what part of the population do they represent?

Take time to think about the 3 Types of Diversity Training (Conservative; Liberal; and Critical). Where do you fall? What has your experience been?

Multicultural Critical Reflective Practice: Teachers are asked to confront their preconceived notions that guide their interactions with their students because "When you feel it, you can identify it, you have something to hold on to, something you can change."

So, guess what? I am going to be brave and tell you all that I am still learning more about Juneteenth. What I've learned so far is that more of us have had an education that glossed over this prominent moment in our country's story and, by doing that, we are all finding that there is a lot of work to do. I'm not saying we had horrible educations. I am, however, challenging educators to deeply reflect on the historical events, holidays, and celebrations they have in their classrooms and how they may be continuing to follow the system of systemic racism. We'll save that for another time...
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I have continued to develop my personal learning plan for the summer and I thought I would share some resources with you to help ensure that we do not continue to gloss over this and other important parts of our story.

Here are some things to learn & DO today:
Happy Juneteenth Article from Teaching Tolerance 
Buy the book Juneteenth for Maize from one of these Black Owned bookstores

I may be perseverating but it’s summer, and what do teachers do over the summer? They think about the next school year—obviously. I’m taking the time to reflect on this school year and think about what I would like to do differently, better, and more of next year. I read this from The Atlantic this morning and it got me thinking about how I could look at student data more objectively. Now, this is an article that seems geared towards my middle/high school level teacher friends, but it provides an interesting opportunity for all of my educator friends to reflect on their teaching practices, partnership with families, and ways to not only listen to student's voice but act on their ideas… because that will not only benefit students of color but ALL students.
“To fight against systemic racism means to buck norms. Educators at every level must be willing to be uncomfortable in their struggle for black students, recognizing students’ power and feeding it by honoring their many contributions to our schools. Teachers need to insist on using their own power to consistently reveal and examine their practice, and seek input from black stakeholders; they must invite black parents to the table, listen to their concerns and ideas, and act on them.”

Yesterday, we discussed how to talk about race with children (and adults because let’s be honest, we all have work to do). Today, Teaching Tolerance sent me my regular subscription of amazing resources and they have some similar thoughts percolating.

In various discussions, I hear people say "what if..."

• I say the wrong thing?
• I don’t know all of the facts?
• I use the wrong resource?
• I’m the only one having the discussion on my team?
• My discussion is a complete flop?

Here are two quotes from this article that eased my mind:

"So if you feel that the conversation is too heavy or that the weight of having to end racism is in your lesson plan, humble yourself and relax. It isn’t. Your students need you to allow them space, not to fix the world."

"And when you don’t have the words and can’t plan the lessons, don’t just say nothing; say exactly what you are feeling. That will mean more to your students than you may ever know."

I just finished an engaging conversation with a cohort of educators (I'm lucky enough to work with) after reading this article. We were discussing education of young children and how we can talk to children about racism. I am so hoping the conversation continues.

Here's a quote for you to nibble on: "Ultimately, words and books should not be the end of your child’s education about race and racism. 'The best advice I can give parents is to be models for the attitudes, behavior and values that they wish to see in their children,' said Nia Heard-Garris, M.D., an attending physician at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago."

Here are three questions from our discussion.

1. When are you most conscious of your race? Share an experience of being particularly conscious of your race.
2. When are you most conscious of the race of others?
3. Is there a time where you avoided a question from a child about race or difference? If you could change your response, what would you say?

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I invite you to explore these questions and reflect on them.