The Blog

Did you know picture books used to be really racist? #antiracistedu #carbte #disrupttexts books ela picture books racism reading Oct 17, 2022

CONTENT WARNING: Some graphic, dehumanizing, and racist imagery is included in this blog for the purpose of education, analysis, and evidence. 

Picture book illustrations of children of color have really positively evolved over time in the United States. Early depictions were painfully...

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We Have a Racist Imagination #antiracistedu anti-racist schools antiracist antiracistedu books diversity educational equity ela inclusive racism Sep 06, 2022

That might sound harsh. It might make you feel defensive. No, I'm not just talking to white people. Yes, this is to everyone. 

Think about it: the way our media (books included) have centered Whiteness and kept us in the shadows has certainly shaped the way people see others and themselves....

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4 Questions to Guide Your Back-to-School Planning #antiracistedu abar anti-racist schools classroom curriculum reflection Aug 12, 2022

When we're planning for the new school year, we're often thinking about classroom set up, decorations, start-of-the-year activities/events, and even what our first book or reading might be to welcome students. While those aspects are important, they're not the crux of teaching. You can have all...

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Studying Lula in To Kill a Mockingbird #antiracistedu #carbte #disrupttexts abar books classroom curriculum education ela literacy Jul 15, 2022

I know people really love this book and they struggle to let it go. One of the biggest hesitations expressed is that it's a great fodder for conversations about race(ism). However, my response to that is: it's written by a White woman and it is therefore limited in its scope. There will be...

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4 Tips for School Leaders Starting DEI Work #antiracistedu abar anti-racist schools diversity education educational equity equity May 31, 2022

Are you a school leader who wants to start or continue (in the early stages of) inclusivity work at your school? Are you unsure of how to start by building a strong foundation? 

Not doing this work at your school sets you up for failure. What will you say if/when one of your teachers lands...

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Talking, Laughing, Playing, & Naming in the Classroom #antiracistedu abar anti-racist schools curriculum resources social justice teachers Jan 05, 2022

Taking anti bias and antiracist (ABAR) ideas into practice is something like reinventing the wheel. Most of us didn't experience that in our own k-12 educational journeys, so we need to reimagine and reinvent teaching and learning in order to dream what ABAR teaching and learning might look...

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Diversifying Your ELA Themes #antiracistedu #carbte #disrupttexts curriculum diversity ela Dec 08, 2021

 

Unit themes are at the core of most English Language Arts (or ELA) classrooms, which begs the questions: what are you teaching beyond books? How are your course themes also a proponent of social justice and critical literacy? This is what #DisruptTexts means when they explain that work...

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Teaching Socio-Political Context #antiracistedu antiracistedu classroom Nov 11, 2021

 

There is often confusion about what it means to teach socio-political context.

It’s actually a skill builder for students and leads to deeper learning, both content-based and social emotional learning. It helps with developing the core SEL competencies and it builds critical...

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Five Tips for Creating Anti Racist Brave Spaces Via Distance Learning #antiracistedu antiracist antiracistedu csp distance learning education resources Sep 07, 2020

The main secret is that it doesn’t differ much from in-person teaching. You still need to do the personal anti bias and anti racist work required and these brave spaces will still require relationship-building. This entails going through your own peeling back of layers in terms of bias and...

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