Advocating for Social Justice through Script-Writing

Here's the link to my piece in English Journal, a publication of the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE).

5 Black English teachers walk into a Zoom

I know the title suggests the beginning of some joke. Nope. Sorry to disappoint. 😊But five Black English teachers did engage in a discussion this past week that ultimately yielded the infographic below. High noon on Wednesdays at Martin Luther King High School, the English department meets for CPT*. The CPT was scheduled for some MTSS** which does not include students who already have an IEP***. 😏

The MTSS portion was canceled just as the meeting began. The professionals we are, we decided to talk pedagogy amongst ourselves, especially given the compounded challenges of teaching 100% online, in a global pandemic, and in the midst of increased visualization of racial injustice and political upheaval. What is shown on the infographic are the quick notes and thoughts of five Black English teachers' impromptu conversation, which I should note, lasted longer than our CPT's allotted time. As we talked, we wanted to frame the solutions around being conscientious and culturally responsive. We also wanted to share some of what we discuss all the time with our other colleagues around the school.

Linked Article: Strategies for implementing online culturally responsive teaching online

Shout out to the team at King! This post may be updated with names, if my colleagues wish to be identified. Check back.

Angela Crawford

Tareen Coston

For the benefit of anyone outside of "edunyms"

*Common Planning Time

**Multi-Tiered System of Supports

***Individualized Education Program

What a Week! #EaglesWeek

What a week this has been!

Sunday, 2/4
This past Sunday evening, February 4, 2018 at 10:17pm, the Eagles, my Philadelphia Eagles, our Philadelphia Eagles became WORLD CHAMPIONS by toppling Tom and the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The streets went crazy! At least one car was tossed on its side in downtown Philly by rioters...oops...celebrants. The awning at the Ritz Carlton relented under the pressure of several rioters...oops...celebrants who foolishly thought it could stand the pressure of a dozen or more (Inebriated? It doesn't matter) human beings. The windows at the Macy's downtown were shattered by rioters...oops...celebrants. Despite these and other likely and unreported incidents, the majority of us Eagles fans were on an unbelievable victory high minus the destruction...oops...rowdy celebrations!

Honking horns!
Waving rally towels!
Screaming and yelling!
High-fiving and hugging strangers!

What a week this has been!

Thursday, 2/8
We celebrated like crazy this past Thursday, February 8th! Driving slowly and celebratory, the Eagles on the upper decks of buses, moved past what seemed to be an endless sea of humanity and green from Broad and Pattison straight through to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in our first of many Super Bowl VICTORY parades! At the Art Museum, a victory celebration for the ages ending a 58-year football championship famine in this city!! And what a celebration it was, too!!

On the "off days" (whatever that means after an EAGLES SUPER BOWL WIN)  Eagles players were dispatched to local and national events with appearances on talk shows, radio shows, sports stores' events, Disney World, and more!

What a week this has been!

The formal end to this year's football season reignited the much needed discussion and push for racial equity on so many different levels and in so many different spaces; a conversation that seemed to rollercoaster at times throughout the season. Colin Kaepernick and other players have been at the forefront of such efforts including our own Malcolm Jenkins! Though I chose to support Jenkins and the Eagles by watching football this season, my commitment and dedication to myriad social justice causes is unabated! Teaching in and of itself for me is, a demonstration of social consciousness! The work that began long before this football season, continues...

What are you passionate about?

It's Friday.
It's a half day.
I wanted to wrap up the week on a slightly different note, taking a detour from our regular grind. Since we have an adjusted schedule anyway, I figure it'd be perfect.

Mini-passages and short open-ended questions on Barbara Jordan and Crispus Attucks awaited the students as "Do Now"s on their desks as they entered. The goal: complete this short assignment, move on to discuss the causes for which they have a passion, followed by a discussion on the 1967 Philly student demonstrations, and end with the Fresh Prince of Bel Air episode "Those Were the Days". Here's YouTube's description of it:

When radical activist Marge Smallwood visits old friends Philip and Vivian Banks, her stories about the civil rights movement inspire Will to lead a student protest of his own at school.

We only watched 1 minute of the episode. The discussion about their passions was extended and well-informed. Here's a list of some of their passions:

1. De-emphasis on grades by parents and schools

2. Colorism (a student actually used the term...#winning)

3. A true desire to learn (they named the classes where some form of it actually exists)

4. Teachers and their management

5. There was also a discussion on feeling entitled

The conversations were real and were mostly concentrated on teaching and learning. Let me say that I did NOT provoke, evoke, or whatever other 'voke' we can use here, I had nothing to do with it. {snickers} To know me is to know that it sounds like something I would do. THEY pushed the conversation in this direction. The students were very critical of teachers, teaching/learning, the school system, and our school itself. They expressed a burning desire to learn and to grow beyond whatever growth they may be experiencing (or not) at the moment.

Every point was valid and well-taken. Their words were a reflection of their experiences as freshmen to this point. From the proverbial balcony, from a slightly different perspective, I did seize the opportunity to be critical. I do teach that it's OK to be critical, to question, to prod a little and even to disagree. Me to them, "Is this a two-way street? Do we ALL not have a part in this teaching and learning thing? Do students bear any responsibility at all for their learning? What can YOU do?"

Everyone's voice was heard. Everyone's voice was respected. Everyone's voice could have gone on for another hour or two. Easily.