How many of us who now are in a position to assume we have the privilege of being seen as white are one or two or three generations removed from ancestors who were not considered white?
Separation from racism is an illusion that helps us let it go on.
In our schools, we have an opportunity to make a difference in our students’ possibilities. If we acknowledge their real experience, we might feel the pain, we might be bewildered about what to do in a school building, or we might connect learning to what is relevant — first to survive and then to thrive.
For me this has meant I have to open my heart. I hear and see them before I make them hear and see me, just as I do when I am listening to adults for whom I want to be an ally. No matter how different they may be from me, I try to take it in. Then, I don’t collapse in sympathy as I might feel inclined to do but stand strong alongside them with education as a step toward possibilities for their lives.
Learning to use words, numbers, history, scientific inquiry….to make choices, to use your voice, to take actions that make a difference, to interpret what they see in historical, political, socio-cultural contexts that inform their actions…..who our children become as a result of their time in our schools is a question to hold in our minds as we make every move and decision in the course of our days.