Throughout this class, we have examined the social and cultural construction of schooling and the implications of multiculturalism, school structure, and education policy. With each synchronous meeting, I have reflected on my own practices in the classroom and wondered how I can apply my newfound understandings to the community in which I work.
One social issue that is close to home for me is confronting alt-right and white nationalism in schools, particularly rural school communities. According to Teaching for Change, “Because schools are hubs of our communities, they have become battlegrounds for extremist organizing. There is evidence that white nationalist groups are specifically targeting young people with their messaging.” I work in a school district that is primarily white, working-class, and overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 Presidential Elections. Our curriculum reflects the conservative policies of the community and nearly any attempt to revise this to reflect more diverse (and real-word) perspectives is met with pushback and criticism. Furthermore, teachers are often hesitant and even fearful of talking about topics of race, gender, and class in the classroom -especially because there is a precedent that administration will not defend your teaching if it is called into question.
With the Black Lives Matter movement picking up even more momentum in March of this year after several instances of police brutality, I realized that I needed to begin to do my part to begin to confront these issues head-on in the classroom. But in order to do this, I need research, data, and scholarship on my side in order to defend my pedagogical choices in the classroom. I subscribed to Western State Center’s Confronting White Nationalism in Schools toolkit and I am also looking for more local organizations that I can learn from to inform my practice.
Finally, a few days ago #disrupttexts was trending on Twitter - a call to action for teachers across the country and across content areas to question their curriculum and look for ways to rebel against the system. This connects with my proposal because, overall, the curriculum teaches students what to value - and I want to construct a curriculum that values more than just the systems of power that continues to privilege white voices.
This is awesome! I feel like we haven't discussed broaching the topics of racism/inequality in largely white communities, and I keep meaning to mention it but there's just so much to talk about. I also love how you're helping your future self by gathering resources to defend your teaching. I'm curious how your teacher's union has dealt with the issue of supporting teachers who bring up these topics.
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