Bringing the events in Ferguson to the classroom is not only best teaching practice but a way to establish powerful expectations for the academic year. I find the following advice stronger than that given by Facing History and Ourselves. In the FHAO advice article, number three is to Avoid further perpetuation of the fear and hatred of law enforcement that these incidents encourage. This advice is problematic because again, it privileges the point of view of those in power. Not until advice number five, does the FHAO article mention addressing systemic oppression. The first population targeted for the perpetuation of fear and hatred in the case of #fergeson are Black americans, not police officers. Period. First Michael Brown who lost his life, and then the thousands of other black youth and families who are denied their humanity and branded as criminals, thugs, looters, deserving of genocide in their moment of grief and pain. The primary role of the critical educator is to make the INVISIBLE VISIBLE, to question relations of POWER, and to bear witness to the true GIFTS, TALENTS and POTENTIALS of our youth, while supporting them to develop the SKILLS and MINDSETS they need to actually make a difference. We cant do that if we are firstly concerned with upholding the appearance of moral integrity of historically oppressive institutions. The Facing History advice was disappointing at best... please check out the article below for more balanced and trustworthy guidance. Good luck teachers out there, gearing up for the first week of school. Love the students more than you love your own pride, opinion or paycheck. If we dont, there isnt a guarantee that too many others will. #fergeson #criticaleducators
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 05:31:29 +0000
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