There Is No Apolitical Classroom: Resources for Teaching in These Times
The following post was created by members of NCTE’s Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English.
The members of NCTE’s Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias have felt an urgency since we each joined the committee to stand against racism and bias. We have been working on ways to encourage each member of NCTE to speak out against the systemic and individual acts of racism that disenfranchise our students in and out of the classroom.
We know that racism exists in our classrooms and in our communities. We feel that silence on these issues is complicity in the systemic racism that has marred our educational system. We see no place for neutrality and urge each member of NCTE to educate as many people as possible about the ways that systemic racism affects all of us in negative ways.
There is no apolitical classroom. English language arts teachers must examine the ways that racism has personally shaped their beliefs and must examine existing biases that feed systems of oppression. In light of the horrific events in this country that continue to unfold, and the latest terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, we would like to share resources that we hope will encourage all NCTE members to speak out against the racism and bias that have been a part of our nation’s fabric since the first immigrants disembarked from European ships.
Our Action Subcommittee has been working this year on creating classroom resources for teachers to use as statements of love and support. Printable classroom posters and bookmarks for NCTE members will be available at the 2017 Annual Convention, as well as available for download after Convention. Until then, we offer this incomplete resource to help continue the daily work that is antiracism. Please share other resources in the comment box below.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
—Elie Wiesel, Acceptance Speech on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1986
Resources for Working with White Students
Raising Race Conscious Children
“A resource to support adults who are trying to talk about race with young children. The goals of these conversations are to dismantle the color-blind framework and prepare young people to work toward racial justice.”
“A resource to support adults who are trying to talk about race with young children. The goals of these conversations are to dismantle the color-blind framework and prepare young people to work toward racial justice.”
“The First Thing Teachers Should Do When School Starts Is Talk about Hatred in America”
August 13, 2017, Washington Post article by Valerie Strauss
“The 2017-2018 school year is getting started, and teachers nationwide should expect students to want to discuss what happened in Charlottesville as well as other expressions of racial and religious hatred in the country.”
August 13, 2017, Washington Post article by Valerie Strauss
“The 2017-2018 school year is getting started, and teachers nationwide should expect students to want to discuss what happened in Charlottesville as well as other expressions of racial and religious hatred in the country.”
Dismantling Racism in EducationHeinemann Dedicated to Teachers Blog
Sara Ahmed, Sonja Cherry-Paul, and Cornelius Minor talk about what racism looks like and how we can begin to break up the assumptions we make about racism.
Sara Ahmed, Sonja Cherry-Paul, and Cornelius Minor talk about what racism looks like and how we can begin to break up the assumptions we make about racism.
Resources for Teaching in These TimesOn June 14, 2016, in response to the Orlando shootings, NCTE began collecting teaching resources from its members that continue to build in relevance given the ongoing struggles and critical conversations taking place across the country.
Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation“Race Forward’s mission is to build awareness, solutions, and leadership for racial justice by generating transformative ideas, information, and experiences.” Check out their video that explains systemic racism.
Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism—from Ferguson to CharlestonFrom Citizenship & Social Justice by Jon Greenberg
“One positive to emerge from these difficult times is the wealth of resources now available for White Americans. Never have I seen so many ideas, options, and concrete steps to take action against racism.”
“One positive to emerge from these difficult times is the wealth of resources now available for White Americans. Never have I seen so many ideas, options, and concrete steps to take action against racism.”
White Fragility, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, and the Weight of HistoryFrom Black Perspectives by Justin Gomer and Christopher Petrella, July 27, 2017
“One cannot begin to comprehend the relationship between race and racism without historical investigation. A historically-grounded anti-racist pedagogy, rather than a psychologically-oriented one, allows us to see US society ‘in the act of inventing race.’”
“One cannot begin to comprehend the relationship between race and racism without historical investigation. A historically-grounded anti-racist pedagogy, rather than a psychologically-oriented one, allows us to see US society ‘in the act of inventing race.’”
This resource was contributed by Kristin BeersOnline PLC: Read Aloud as an Anti-Bigotry ToolSuggestions for using read aloud as an anti- bigotry tool with our youngest learners. This resource provides questions to prompt conversation, as well as a list of categorized titles that support this work.
Resources for Understanding White Supremacy
Southern Poverty Law Center“The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.”
Ten Ways to Fight Hate“Ten Ways to Fight Hate, which has been updated for 2017, sets out 10 principles for taking action, including how to respond to a hate rally that has targeted your town. It urges people not to engage white supremacists at their rallies. Instead, it offers tips for creating alternative rallies to promote peace, inclusion and justice.”
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Confront AntisemitismResources on anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and distortion
Oath and Opposition: Education under the Third Reich
“The Museum has developed . . . materials . . . to help today’s educators explore the pressures teachers felt under the Nazi regime, the range of decisions individuals made in the face of those pressures, and the relevance of this history now.” (This rich resource includes a number of case studies you could use with your classes.)
“The Museum has developed . . . materials . . . to help today’s educators explore the pressures teachers felt under the Nazi regime, the range of decisions individuals made in the face of those pressures, and the relevance of this history now.” (This rich resource includes a number of case studies you could use with your classes.)
Yad Vashem—The World Holocaust Remembrance CenterRead their working definition on anti-Semitism, which “encompasses both traditional and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism.”
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)“Founded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is our nation’s premier civil rights/human relations organization. We have a distinguished history of reminding the world just how tenuous civil rights are and we mobilize people to engage in reasonable discourse as together we find solutions to serve our diverse society.” See their website’s extensive Education & Resources section as well as their definition and historical explanation of anti-Semitism.
University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Lesson Plans“Dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action.”
Antisemitism and the Bystander Effect
“Students will watch testimonies from survivors of and witnesses to historical and contemporary antisemitism who describe the consequences of the bystander effect in their own lives. Students will construct a social media message for the #BeginsWithMe campaign that describes their own plan to counter bystander behavior.”
“Students will watch testimonies from survivors of and witnesses to historical and contemporary antisemitism who describe the consequences of the bystander effect in their own lives. Students will construct a social media message for the #BeginsWithMe campaign that describes their own plan to counter bystander behavior.”
100 Days to Inspire Respect“At a time of heightened political uncertainty and polarization, middle and high school teachers are in need of easy-to-use resources that encourage their students to grapple with some of the most difficult but important topics: hate, racism, intolerance and xenophobia. ‘100 Days to Inspire Respect’ provides educators with 100 thought-provoking resources that tackle these challenging topics and more.”
The following book was recommended by Jenny Cameron PaulsenHitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
“By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany’s young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.”
“By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany’s young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.”
Charlottesville—Specific Resources
The Charlottesville Syllabus“The Charlottesville Syllabus is a resource created by the Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation to be used to educate readers about the long history of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia. With resources selected and summaries written by UVa graduate students, this abridged version of the Syllabus is organized into six sections that offer contemporary and archival primary and secondary sources (articles, books, responses, a documentary, databases) and a list of important terms for discussing white supremacy.”
7 Ways Teachers Can Respond to the Evil of Charlottesville, Starting NowBy Xian Franzinger Barrett, AlterNet“As teachers, our job is not solely to pour mathematics, science, language arts or any other knowledge into the heads of our students. It is our duty to our profession, to our society and to the students to lovingly teach them to learn and grow as complete humans.”
“How to Talk to Your Kids about the Violence in Charlottesville”August 12, 2017, Los Angeles Times article by Sonali Kohli
Mental health experts and parents discuss developmentally appropriate ways to address the issues raised over the weekend.
Mental health experts and parents discuss developmentally appropriate ways to address the issues raised over the weekend.
#CharlottesvilleCurriculumA growing list of resources posted by educators from around the country.
“‘’Blood and Soil’: Protesters Chant Nazi Slogan in Charlottesville”August 12, 2017, CNN article by Meg Wagner
“Charlottesville Murder Suspect’s Teacher: ‘He thought Nazis were pretty cool guys’”
August 13, 2017, ABC News article by Michael Edison Hayden
August 13, 2017, ABC News article by Michael Edison Hayden
Resources for Understanding Bias
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB)“The People’s Institute believes that racism is the primary barrier preventing communities from building effective coalitions and overcoming institutionalized oppression and inequities. Through Undoing Racism®/Community Organizing Workshops, technical assistance and consultations, The People’s Institute helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society.”
Don’t Be a Sucker – 1947
“In this anti-fascist film produced by [the] US Military in the wake of WWII, the producers deconstruct the politically motivated social engineering of Germany by the Nazi regime.”
“In this anti-fascist film produced by [the] US Military in the wake of WWII, the producers deconstruct the politically motivated social engineering of Germany by the Nazi regime.”
Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards“The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K–12 instruction. Comprised of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes, the Standards provide a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable.”
The following resources were contributed by Susi Long on behalf of the Early Childhood Education Assembly
Anti-Racism Educational Consultants Network
“The ECEA is honored to present a network of some of the country’s most respected professionals. They are experts in helping educators examine issues of race and racism in schools, childcare settings, and teacher education programs as they consider new possibilities for practice and policy. They consult widely, each with extensive experience in classrooms and with teachers, administrators, and preservice teachers.”
“The ECEA is honored to present a network of some of the country’s most respected professionals. They are experts in helping educators examine issues of race and racism in schools, childcare settings, and teacher education programs as they consider new possibilities for practice and policy. They consult widely, each with extensive experience in classrooms and with teachers, administrators, and preservice teachers.”
Resources for Educators Focusing on Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching“Our intent is to continue building and expanding this collection but we offer it now as a beginning, in support of educators working to (a) deepen understandings about institutional and interpersonal racism and its manifestations in early childhood settings, (b) understand the depth and breadth of histories often left out of or misrepresented in our teaching, and (c) apply new awareness to transforming practice and policy.”
Articles and Other Readings
“These [three] special themed issues [of NCTE journals] explore and demonstrate not only the physical violence that Black and Brown children and youth and young Black girls encounter on a daily basis but also the symbolic and linguistic violence and the spirit-murder that are inflicted upon the lives and humanity of our children and youth of Color. In addition, all of these special issues provide the field with practical lessons and pedagogies for teaching in our current racialized and gendered context.” – Lamar Johnson and April Bell
- From Racial Violence to Racial Justice: Praxis and Implications for English (Teacher) Education (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by April Baker-Bell, Tamara Butler,
and Lamar Johnson
“We come to this project bearing soul wounds and heavy hearts, anxiety and anger, tears and fire. We sifted through a series of events and melded our wounds into a project that could heal us, our families, our communities, and Black, Brown, and other marginalized youth affected by racial violence.” - “Beyond the Dream”: Black Textual Expressivities Between the World and Me (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by David Kirkland
“In the most basic sense, this issue is about acknowledging how Black textualities, like vulnerable Black bodies, are contested in American classrooms, complicated by competing interests that wrestle daily for an ethical place in the consciousness of English language arts. It is in English language arts classrooms, as this issue suggests, that Black textualities have the power to move our assumptions past beliefs that strip away the humanity of others. - Black Girls’ Literacies (a special issue of English Education) Edited by Marcelle Haddix, Sherell McArthur, Gholnecsar Muhammad, Detra Price-Dennis, and Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
“We now must be urgent in interrogating hegemonic systems, English education practices, and educational policy to ask how we can experience a shift in the way we teach, talk about, and represent Black girls in school and society. In this way, English education becomes a site of possibility and disruption—a space to begin to ask these questions and respond.” – Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
How Two Teenagers Created a Textbook for Racial LiteracyFrom Facing History and Ourselves by Stacey Perlman
“Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi started the student-run organization, CHOOSE, to overcome racism and inspire harmony through exposure, education, and empowerment. This led them to collaborate with Princeton University on The Classroom Index, a textbook devoted to racial literacy.”
“Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi started the student-run organization, CHOOSE, to overcome racism and inspire harmony through exposure, education, and empowerment. This led them to collaborate with Princeton University on The Classroom Index, a textbook devoted to racial literacy.”
21 International Books That Belong on Your High School SyllabusFrom a post on We Are Teachers by Michael Kokias
“Many high school courses tend to be dominated by American lit, but these international books deserve your consideration too.”
“Many high school courses tend to be dominated by American lit, but these international books deserve your consideration too.”
How America Is Failing Native American StudentsFrom The Nation by Rebecca Clarren
“When the United States signed its treaties with the Indian tribes, stripping them of their land, it promised to provide public services—including education—to tribal members in perpetuity. ‘For too long, the federal leadership has failed to honor that sacred pledge, leaving generations of Native children behind,’ said Washington State Senator John McCoy, a citizen of the Tulalip tribe and a national leader in Native education reform. ‘Institutionalized assimilation and racism remain embedded within our public schools.’”
“When the United States signed its treaties with the Indian tribes, stripping them of their land, it promised to provide public services—including education—to tribal members in perpetuity. ‘For too long, the federal leadership has failed to honor that sacred pledge, leaving generations of Native children behind,’ said Washington State Senator John McCoy, a citizen of the Tulalip tribe and a national leader in Native education reform. ‘Institutionalized assimilation and racism remain embedded within our public schools.’”
This resource was contributed by Corinne Viglietta “Essential Everyday Bravery: Thinking and Talking About Identity and Difference in Your Classroom”–a downloadable packet with 6 stand-alone lessons, 4 short scripts, 4 video clips, and 1 long list of more resources from Folger Shakespeare Library
The lessons were created by 10 excellent teachers, and designed to work in all kinds of classes with all kinds of students. These teachers are themselves people of different races, ethnicities, and religions, and they teach IB and AP, special needs, honors, and “regular” students in urban and suburban (mostly public) high schools in or near Washington, DC. These resources are also the product of CrossTalk, a yearlong community engagement project led by the Folger Shakespeare Library and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of their Humanities in the Public Square initiative. More info here
This resource was contributed by Emily SalinasDrop the I-Word Campaign
“Race Forward’s Drop the I-Word campaign to eliminate use of the word “illegal” was launched in September 2010 as anti-immigrant sentiment and hate crimes against communities of color had increased. Although the Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, and many other news outlets and journalist associations have dropped the i-word, this racial slur in still being used in the media and everyday language.”
“Race Forward’s Drop the I-Word campaign to eliminate use of the word “illegal” was launched in September 2010 as anti-immigrant sentiment and hate crimes against communities of color had increased. Although the Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, and many other news outlets and journalist associations have dropped the i-word, this racial slur in still being used in the media and everyday language.”
This resource was contributed by Melanie GustafsonClick! The Ongoing Feminist Revolution
“We aim to bridge the gap between those two clicks by offering an exhibit that highlights the achievements of women from the 1940s to the present. This exhibit explores the power and complexity of gender consciousness in modern American life.”
“We aim to bridge the gap between those two clicks by offering an exhibit that highlights the achievements of women from the 1940s to the present. This exhibit explores the power and complexity of gender consciousness in modern American life.”
These resources were contributed by Jodi Derkson
Choose Your Voice (middle school)
Free online teaching resources and tools, curriculum-based for grades 6, 7 and 8, to help students speak out against racism, antisemitism and intolerance.
Free online teaching resources and tools, curriculum-based for grades 6, 7 and 8, to help students speak out against racism, antisemitism and intolerance.
Voices into Action (secondary school and college)
“Designed by curriculum experts, this program utilizes a wide variety of media to present compelling information on a history of human suffering, stemming from social injustice that is still a growing problem today. Explore thought-provoking issues with your students by accessing our lessons and resources on antisemitism, racism, discrimination and stereotyping.”
“Designed by curriculum experts, this program utilizes a wide variety of media to present compelling information on a history of human suffering, stemming from social injustice that is still a growing problem today. Explore thought-provoking issues with your students by accessing our lessons and resources on antisemitism, racism, discrimination and stereotyping.”
These resources were contributed by Nadia Kalman“For contemporary global literature from Mexico, Russia, and other countries currently in the political discourse, along with multimedia contextual materials and teaching tools, teachers might try Words Without Borders Campus. Here’s a link to a blog post on building inter-cultural empathy and understanding.”
Books for Teachers
A Search Past Silence: The Literacy of Young Black Men by David E. Kirkland
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald
Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S. by H. Samy Alim, Geneva Smitherman, foreword by Michael Eric Dyson
Black Intellectual Thought in Education: The Missing Traditions of Anna Julia Cooper, Carter G. Woodson, and Alain LeRoy Locke by Carl A. Grant, Keffrelyn D. Brown, and Anthony L. Brown
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World edited by: Django Paris and H. Samy Alim
Digital Griots: African American Rhetoric in a Multimedia Age by Adam J. Banks
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
“Multiplication Is for White People”: Raising Expectations for Other People’s Childrenby Lisa Delpit
Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America by Geneva Smitherman
The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children, 2nd Edition by Gloria Ladson-Billings
The Latinization of U.S. Schools : Successful Teaching and Learning in Shifting Cultural Contexts by Jason G. Irizarry
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central Highby Melba Pattillo Beals
These additional book resources were contributed by Elaine Richardson
- Born Out of Struggle: Critical Race Theory, School Creation and the Politics of Interruption by David Stovall
- Shapeshifters: Black Girls and the Choreography of Citizenship by Aimee M. Cox
- Vernacular Insurrections: Race, Black Protest and the New Century in Composition Studies by Carmen Kynard
These additional book resources were contributed by Deborah Kelly
- Another Kind of Education by Patricia Collins.
- Race: The Power of an Illusion DVD documentary
- Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil
- Race and Gender in the Classroom by Laurie Cooper-Stoll
- Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique Morris
- Race, Gender, and the School to Prison Pipeline by Monique Morris
Books for Students
A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing edited by Ilan Stavans
Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings — An Anthology edited by Roberto Santiago
Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus by Carolina Maria de Jesus
Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas
Drown by Junot DÃaz
Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat
MARCH: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake
When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri
Websites to Follow (for books for our students)
If you have resources you would like to add, please share them in the comment box below. CHARLOTTESVILLE NCTE STANDING COMMITTEE AGAINST RACISM AND BIAS IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH
