At What Lengths Will I Go Through In Order To Do Right By Every Child?

 

This week we were asked to read multiple articles, journal entries, watch TedTalks, a read excerpts from books. As I was reading each piece of work or listening to each story my drive to be a better teacher grew with each piece. The common denominator between each literary sample given was simple: People of color are constantly treated differently in the classroom. It is crazy to think that this treatment is still going on in 2023 and we are still having discrimination occur in classrooms. 

One of the most important things I was able to take from the material given was in chapter 3 of Teacher Wars a quote from W.E.B. Du Bois and he said "In the Black World, the Preacher and Teacher embodied once the ideals of this people- the strife for another and a juster world, the vague dream of righteousness, the mystery of knowing." This quote comes after learning that white women were taking teaching jobs to promulgate Protestantism and give women social alternatives to marriage. Du Bois says that Black culture during this time took those same ideal which allowed for more educated Black men and women to help out their disadvantaged community. This stood out to me and I included it in my word map because I believe all colors need to fight and support the disadvantaged. Especially in classrooms where there is still mistreatment. Other teachers need to learn about their students and their cultures to create an inclusive environment. 

Now the question arises, How can I show unwavering support and go above and beyond to make sure every child is treated equally in the class? After becoming more educated by all the material given I was able to choose a few words or phrases that stood out to me and I will carry into my future classroom. Showing tough love in the classroom is crucial for making connections and also creating better character. I learned kids need some push back every now and then. They cannot be babied forever. Also teaching everyone the same is so important. I read a story in one of the articles about a young black male being put in the corner and teachers constantly stereotyping  students "wild" or "crazy" because of the color of their skin. When honestly, every elementary kid is going to be full of energy no matter what they look like. Connecting with kids is a big one too in the classroom. I have seen multiple teachers throughout my time in school only connect with a select few kids and left a bunch out. Kids need connections especially if you are spending 7 hours a day with them. My last phrase I want to talk about is racial pride. Kids build confidence at the hands of our words. In schools that are predominantly white with a few POC kids it can be hard  for them to know where they fit in. I have friends that still struggle with this here at Texas State. Personally I believe we need to celebrate our kids races always. We need to uplift them not only in Black History Month or National Hispanic Heritage Month we need to do this year round. We need to include more people of color in out historical heroes we teach. We need to include more diverse music from all over the world during transition times. We need to create games and activities around cultures year round. There are a lot of needs that should be common sense to most, but they are not. It is our job as future teachers to make these needs in the classroom every day materials.