It's June 2020, and I'm a white educator doing self-reflection on where I need to grow, what I need to learn, and what parts of my curriculum and classroom need to change.
I'm not trying to position myself as an expert on anti-racist education in this post. In fact, at first I hesitated to write this post at all, because 1) I was afraid of being or seeming performative and 2) hesitation to take up space in this conversation. However, educators with any extent of an online community, including myself, cannot be silent - so I'm here to uplift some of the articles, videos, people, and blog posts that I have found most helpful this month, in the hopes that they may be helpful to some of you as well.
The links in this post are not sponsored in any way; they range from having an anti-racism focus to ones that more generally help diversify and/or decolonize a curriculum or bookshelf. These are also merely a starting point for me, and this list is not intended to be comprehensive.
To be honest, I don't know what changes are coming to my classroom yet in response to what I'm learning - mainly because, as of the time of this posting, I do not have a clear picture of what funds my school has left for new books next year and what I can purchase or fundraise by myself. But the point is that I'm on the journey, and I hope you'll consider coming with me and/or furthering my education.
Feel free to drop a suggested website or resource in the comments.
Two Great Starting Places
First, a great definition of anti-racism from Jason Reynolds, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature:
And here is my single favorite place to start (thank you for the recommendation, @thedaringenglishteacher):
- 21 Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge (by Eddie Moore Jr.)
Readings for Teachers: More Starting Points
- A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators (Hedreich Nichols)
- What Anti-Racist Teachers Do Differently (Pirette McKamey)
- 5 Affirmations for Anti-Racism in Secondary ELA (Danielle Hall and Dr. Sheila Frye)
- Miss Lang Presents: What White Teachers Need to Know (on Instagram TV)
- Summer reading lists for young people at a time of crisis (feat. Jason Reynolds)
- How to Talk to Kids about Race Relations in America (Today Show feat. Jason Reynolds)
Books to Read
Since I'm still reading several books (and waiting on more to arrive from my bookstore and/or library), I'm sharing some big-publisher suggested lists for now.
- For Teachers: Summer Reading During Turbulent Times (by Marissa King, Robin Harris)
- Antiracist Book List (for multiple age groups)
- An Antiracist Reading List (by Ibram X. Kendi)
Classroom Libraries & Text Changes
- 50 KidLit and YA Books with Black Protagonists (by Rachel Werner)
- 18 Children's Books to Prompt and Further Conversations on Race (Brittany Smith)
- Rethinking the Classics: Supplements & Updates for 10 Core Texts (by Danielle Hall with Dr. Sheila Frye)
- Big List of Diverse Texts for Secondary ELA (by Danielle Hall)
- Teaching the Harlem Renaissance with Intention (by Danielle Hall)
- 3 Tips to Prevent Challenges to Your Curriculum (by Tracee Orman)
- Building & Maintaining a High-Interest Classroom Library (by Tracee Orman)
- 10 Diverse Books to Add to your Classroom Library (Fall 2018) - (by Danielle Hall)
Instagrammers to Follow
Again, while not a comprehensive list, here are a few Instagrammers who I already learn a lot from or who I started following this summer. They are teachers, book reviewers, policy specialists, literacy advocates, and more. Please recommend more in the comments.
In no order:
- Rachel Cargle, @rachel.cargle
- S. Brown, @teachfortheculture
- The Conscious Kid, @theconsciouskid
- Britt Hawthorne, @britthawthorne
- Esther Brunat, @estherbrunat
- Vera Ahiyya, @thetututeacher
- Education with an Apron, @apron_education
- Mrs. Hall's Literacy Scholars, @mrshallscholars
- Tanesha B. Forman, @love.tanesha
- Dr. Courtney Rose, @drcourtneyrose
- C. Forte, @melanatedreader
- Tamara Russell, @mrsrussellsroom
- Derrick Carlson, @blackandbrightin2nd
- Tamara, @ifpencilscouldtalk
- Danielle Alanna, @hotmessteaching
- Alexis Shepard, @theafroteacher
- Vennieta Grant, @loveteachrepeat
- Corinne, @teachingwithaflair
- Eli Oldham, @thebooksupplier
- Nnenna, @scsreads
- Naomi O'Brien, @readlikearockstar
- Juanita E. Johns, @juanitaejohns
- Shyra, @middleschool_magic
- Darrian Tanner, @teachmstanner
- Samantha, @secondaryurbanlegends
- Alyssa Gray-Tyghter, @alyssagtyghter
- Miss A, @lit_and_love
- Rikki Carter, @wildflower_classroom
- Ms. Green, @greenbeanlovesela
- Ryse T, @teachingwithmxt
- Ana, @literaryxqueen
- Kim, @kimbookwyrm
- WhittyReads, @whittyreads
- Sajda, @sajdareads
- Bree, @falling4romance
- Leslie, @coffee.books.convo
Book Lists from this Blog
(Again, while not an expert, I have learned a lot from the book recommendations of my English teacher peers as we collaboratively made these blog posts over the last two years.)
This list might be updated this summer.
This post was last updated on 6/26/2020.
No comments
Post a Comment