Search

Prepare yourself to discuss race, racism and other difficult topics with students.

Careful planning, thoughtfulness and alliances will help educators avoid the pitfalls of Black History Month.

A young language arts student teacher directed her class to “close your eyes and imagine what your characters might look like.” I was observing her second-ever presentation to one of the classes where she would practice-teach for the next few weeks. “Details are very important in descriptions,” she continued, “but you can’t write about them if you can’t see them. Maybe you want to write about a beautiful young girl. Think about the details. She’d have big blue eyes and long blond hair, and her hands would be slender and delicate.” As she spoke, I watched her seventh-grade students. They represented the lower-middle-class school’s racial and ethnic mix pretty well: About half of them appeared to be Hispanic, almost a third could be considered African-American and the rest looked Caucasian. I didn’t see a blond hair or a blue eye among them. Most also had round, soft bodies.

Artist, author and educator Gene Luen Yang speaks with LFJ (formerly Teaching Tolerance) about teaching, comics and the importance of diverse characters.

Combating “single stories” is no longer as simple as including “multiple perspectives” in the classroom. Whose stories we share and why should be part of classroom discourse.

We often talk about the teachers who change our lives. We hold them dear in our hearts, conjuring their images and words of wisdom in our dark hours. They continue to guide us throughout our lives, whether they know it or not. What few talk about is the students who change teachers' lives. Yup. It happens that way, too.

By engaging in creative processes alongside our students, we create spaces where it is safe to take risks and grow.