Being an antiracist educator

What does it mean to you at this point in your teaching career to be an antiracist teacher?

As a history teacher I believe it is my responsibility to challenge “the way things have always been done.” History is a vibrant collection of parallel stories, not one singular story written by the victors. I feel the burden of the history I will have to teach. I feel the weight of the responsibility that I hold to ensure that my students ignite their curiosity and will strive to become explorative and inquisitive learners. I will have the responsibility to tell the whole story of history, not just the one-sided stories left behind by the victors. For me this means being more than an antiracist teacher, as race is not the only mechanism of oppression that humans have used to divide ourselves through out human history. It is essential that students feel represented in the content we cover, and the voices that are included in the historical narrative of the classroom.

My approach will be one that is flexible yet provides students with the stability and support they need to learn, and to tackle the emotionally heavy issues that we discuss while engaging with history. I am by no means an expert or an authority on all things, if any. However, as my students' Expedition Guide, it is my responsibility to help them begin developing their own skill sets. Specifically, their ability to apply the knowledge they possess in creative ways, as well as give them chances to interact with and understand multiple perspectives. If I do not have vast knowledge on one of those perspectives, I will serve as the medium; here to expose students to the intellectuals and scholars who are experts on the topics we will cover. This will include people who have experienced the events first hand, and who have dedicated themselves to gaining a deeper understanding of their specific field. By ensuring that my students have interacted with a plethora of perspectives and a diverse pool of source types and information, I hope to send them off into the world better prepared to explore and learn.