ANTI-BLACK RACISM
The killing of George Floyd on May 25th re-affirmed the existence of systemic racism in our society. Our schools and classrooms contribute to this racism.
The ensuing discussions about anti-Black racism have caused me to think about the power and privilege I have as a white, male teacher, and how I can work towards eliminating anti-Black racism from my classroom. Finding solutions requires understanding the problem. The problem can only be truly understood by actively listening and responding to the experiences of Black students and staff.
During my Bachelor of Education program, I used my school projects to further my understanding of social justice issues in education. The following projects focused on equity issues related to assessment, female achievement in math classrooms, and transgender individuals' participation in sport.
INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE ASSESSMENT
FEMALE ACHIEVEMENT IN MATH CLASSROOMS
TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS'
PARTICIPATION IN SPORT
You are welcome to click on any image below to download a copy of one of my projects
PERSONAL EXPLORATIONS IN SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MULTICULTURAL AND ANTI-RACIAL EDUCATION
Providing students with an equitable classroom learning environment requires an understanding of the differences between multicultural and anti-racial education. I created the following monograph to summarize these differences, as described by Kumashiro (2000) and Rezai-Rashti (1995).
Teachers who are committed to providing their students with a socially-just classroom environment periodically take time to consider their own personal biases and prejudices. With these in mind, teachers understand part of how their expectations of (and behaviours towards) their students are constructed.
The following is a personal self-reflection of my progress towards providing an anti-racial education for various marginalized populations. My progress is mapped against the multicultural / anti-racial education monograph introduced above.
CRITICAL SELF-REFLECTION OF BIAS AND PREJUDICE
Women
Indigenous Peoples of Canada
Muslims
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
Transgender
People with Exceptionalities
Blacks
Homeless
Oppressed Social Group
References
Kumashiro, K. K. (Spring, 2000). Toward a Theory of Anti-Oppressive Education. Review of Educational Research, 70(1),
pp 25-53. doi:10.2307/1170593
Rezai-Rashti, G., (1995). Anti-Racism, Feminism, and Critical Approaches to Education (R. Ng, P. Staton, & J. Scane, Eds.). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey