Anti-Racism Journey for Educators with Students

​Ibram X. Kendi wrote the book, How to Be an Antiracist, in 2019 that has played an important role in shaping what it means to fight inequity and racism in this country.  According to Kendi, it’s about taking individual and collective action to fight racism and inequity that will end racism, not getting rid of the racists in the world.  He followed this book with one for parents called How to Raise and Antiracist that was published this year.  I was fortunate to consider this work as part of the Microsoft Innovative Educators program this month with the 8-hour learning pathway entitled, Anti-Racism Journey for Educators with Students.  The work that educators do with students is probably one of the most important arenas where antiracist work must take place.  What educators do and don’t do to deal with racism in the classroom and through their curriculum is a critical battleground that has an immense impact on work to be the fight against racism.  The course allowed me to view the problems in education through the lens of norm-setting, restorative problem-solving through a social and emotional framework, and storytelling.  It was focused around 4 major topics:  Identity, Bias and Privilege, Antiracism Work and Work with Students.  Through each section of the course there were videos and articles to support a thorough reflection on these topics.  This is important work for educators to do continuously.  I unfortunately don’t think this work will be done in my lifetime if ever, so I was happy to see that Microsoft provided this opportunity to DO this work as part of a larger collection of training for educators.