Search

When the Dallas Texas Public Schools District decided to show its fifth-graders Red Tails, an action-adventure film based on the Tuskegee pilots who formed the country’s first black aerial combat unit, it was a tremendous idea. The district felt students would be inspired by the story of these men who fought segregation, integrated the Army and were trained as combat pilots for the United States during WWII.

These two educators argue that truly serving all students means confronting racism, privilege and injustice.

The Teaching Tolerance team had a confab earlier this week to plan ahead. Looking at a 2011 calendar, Sean Price, Teaching Tolerance’s managing editor, reminded me that the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War was fast approaching. Did we want to do something? My first response? Frankly, no. As a former U.S. history teacher, I suspected that the next four years will present an unending opportunity mainly for military history buffs to strut their stuff. We would, I suggested to Sean, better serve teachers by focusing on the themes that spoke to racial justice.

When the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights mandated diversity trainings for this school district, everyone pulled together to make some serious changes for the better.

What happens when we don’t teach about the history of racism? Turn on the news.

‘Encounter experiences’ help pre-service and practicing teachers confront their attitudes about race and privilege.