Anti-Racism in my classroom

Kendi’s book opens discussion about race, gender, and inequalities that can occur in the classroom. These inequalities have been built into the system and thus without the proper interventions or acknowledgement, the cycle will continue, and the inequalities will never be fixed.

I’m in a grade 6 classroom this year in a diverse school community with students coming from all types of backgrounds. I have kept this in mind whenever I’m at the front of the room, as a white educator, I need to be aware my students’ lived experiences do not reflect my own. More than that, how the world has perceived them, has most likely been vastly different from how the world perceives me, and that’s something that I constantly need to be thinking about. As a white educator, I acknowledge that I come into this profession with internalized biases that I may not even realize I have. The key in being an anti-racist educator, is in me challenging my own assumptions to ensure that I’m not perpetuating the racist cycle. This could be uncomfortable; however, the self-awareness is essential in creating an anti-racist classroom.

I’ve had conversations with my associate teacher throughout the year about the community that the school serves and, from my perspective, it’s heartening to hear that the teachers and administration are aware of the diverse backgrounds. This means that students’ many identities can be celebrated by the whole school.

Being an anti-racist comes down to challenging the racist systems and working towards the changes that will ensure equality for all. When I consider being a future classroom of my own, creating a safe space for all students has always been a goal of mine, and using an anti-racist framework is an essential one to creating that space.