Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1158290
I felt ignorant. I wasn't confident in my ability to have conversations about race. I worried about say- ing the wrong thing, accidentally saying something offensive or racist. Avoiding inadvertently racist comments felt more important to me than working to dismantle white supremacy culture. • Fourth, before adopting my daughter, I felt some- how inauthentic talking about race. I wouldn't have admitted it, but deep down I thought race was a problem for people of color, not for white people, and if I talked about it too much, I would come across as disingenuous or silly. • Finally, it took a lot of courage and many years for me to become an advocate for racial justice. We like to think that, as Maya Angelou puts it, when we know better we'll do better, but for a long time, I knew I needed to be advocating more for students of color, and for all the reasons stated above, I still wasn't doing it. It wasn't until I had my daughter that I realized that none of my worries were legitimate reasons to stay quiet about our deeply racist culture and systems. If I wanted change to happen for my daughter and for all of our kids of color, I needed to be an agent of change. I needed to become an actively anti-racist teacher, regardless of how it impacted my own personal popularity index. Just changing my own practices would never again be enough. And I'm ashamed of that. Why hadn't I advocated for my students of color as if they were my own children? Because they are. They are all our children, and we must be brave for them, as brave as we would be for our own families. Each of our kids deserves to know that we see them, hear them, and believe that they matter. This will not happen until we engage in genuine self-reflection, and this we must do together. "If I wanted change to happen for my daughter and for all of our kids of color, I needed to be an agent of change." Rosie Reid in her classroom, from an Inside California Education segment. Watch the video at tinyurl.com/CATOY-RReid. By Rosie Reid C U R R I C U L A R C H O I C E S: I've worked with departments at my school site to incorporate more voices from women, people of color and people in the LGBTQ community, and planned culturally responsive lesson plans for teaching that curriculum. A N T I- R AC I ST BO O K C LU B: I've created a community book discussion group for anti-racist educators and lovers of education that meets monthly at the public library. E Q U I T Y TAS K F O R C E: I founded and facilitate a team at my site that examines issues of equity in our school context around academics, culture and discipline, and works with administration and staff to rectify inequities. STA F F T R A I N I N G S: I've worked with district and site administrators to plan professional development opportunities for staff at my site to expand our cultural competencies. E N G L I S H L E A R N E R R E V I E W T E A M A N D S C H O O L S I T E CO U N C I L: I advocate for English learners on my site's English Learner Review Team and as the ELAC representative on the School Site Council. P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T: I've attended trainings, workshops and institutes at CTA, the Bay Area Writing Project, Facing History and Ourselves, Constructing Meaning, and other local organizations to develop my ability to scaffold instruction for marginalized students. L E A D I N G P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T: I've planned and presented workshops and trainings for fellow teachers across the district and region to share my best practices for facilitating the learning of all students, particularly those who struggle the most. P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T I N G: I've dabbled in writing for larger audiences to share my perspectives, approaches and techniques for promoting equity in the classroom. H o w I ' v e w o r k e d at b e i n g a n a n t i - r a c i s t e d u c at o r 28 cta.org