Where Whiteness Intersects

with

Antiracist Teaching and Learning

• Anti-Semitism and Addressing Hate (K-12 resources)

• Whiter Shade of Pale: Making the Case for Jewish Presence in the Multicultural Classroom

• Jewish American Heritage Month Teaching Resources from the ADL

Countering Islamophobia

• Countering Islamophobia

  This lesson explores, confronts, and seeks to deconstruct stereotypes and fears targeted at Muslims. In small groups, students will analyze myths and misconceptions about Muslims. They will also understand the meaning of Islamophobia and its effects on Muslims, watch a video to understand the impact of Islamophobia, and create an anti-Islamophobia campaign to display in school.

• Toolkit for "Expelling Islamophobia"

  This toolkit aims to foster all students' religious literacy and improve the school climate for Muslim students and other vulnerable student groups.

• School Is No Place for Class(ism)  The language educators use to address students can maintain and reinforce class structures and classist attitudes. The antidote? Anti-classist language.

• Understanding and Challenging Ableism

  Nearly one in five (19%) people in the United States have a disability. Disabilities can be physical or cognitive, visible or invisible, severe or minor. Ableism, which is bias or discrimination against people with disabilities, can take many forms, including employment, housing, and other institutional discrimination; lack of accessibility on streets, buildings, and public transportation; stereotyping and ableist language, lack of media portrayals or stereotyped depictions of people with disabilities; bullying; low expectations, isolation, and pity. While ableism is not often discussed when discussing our identities and bias, students must understand and reflect on examples of ableism in their own lives and society because it contributes to a culture of intolerance and injustice.

• Teaching Tolerance -- Ability

  Bring the voices of people with diverse abilities into your classroom, and create a learning environment that rejects ableism. From lessons on art, activism, and physical disabilities to a feature story about new developments in deaf education, our resources will help your students embrace diverse abilities and understand the injustices people with disabilities often encounter.

To facilitate difficult conversations about race and racism, here are some essential prerequisites to consider:

1. First, recognize that you play a critical role in helping students talk openly about the historical roots and manifestations of social inequality and discrimination.
2. Second, reflect on your racial, ethnic, cultural, and unconscious biases. Your experience with diversity, racism, privilege, and people of color influences your ability to have these conversations.
3. Third, acknowledge the challenges of changing your frame of reference about race and racism. Learning to talk about topics such as white privilege, systems of oppression, racism, police violence, and mass incarceration takes practice and courage, regardless of how long you have been teaching.
4. Finally, be willing to adapt instructional practices, classroom management, and motivational techniques.
5. Clarify the meaning of race and racism.
6. Acknowledge the fear of offending, discomfort, and risk of discussing race. Create a safe space that sets the stage for a respectful and honest conversation that is civil and where everyone can voice their views. Focus on the desired outcome of the conversation and the process of engaging students in the dialogue.
7. Use stories and metaphors as examples that people can connect with. People ignore data that does not fit their perceptions, but stories are compelling. Telling stories is also an effective way to teach, persuade, and understand ourselves.
8. Please focus on the context in which racial conflict and racism occur and address its impact. Talk about structures, policies, practices, and norms. People are more likely to engage in a dialogue about institutional racism when no accusations or blame are directed at them.
9. Focus on shared values such as equality, security, liberty, dignity, and respect for others as articulated in the NASW Code of Ethics.
10. Talk about solutions and problems so that people feel there is a way to make a difference and not feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem.
11. Frame (or reframe) issues to identify the problem and how it can be addressed. Successful framing puts you in a favorable position to direct the discussion and improves the chances of a successful solution.
12. Explore explanations for the disparities. Differences are not always "bad" or "negative." Help students examine the basis of observed differences.
13. Address blatant racist assertions and allow your students and yourself to process what was said.
14. Use reflective writing assignments to launch discussion and make sure everyone in the classroom shares their perspective and rationale.
15. Draw from a wide array of materials (i.e., readings, videos, audio clips, images/symbols) to help you deal with what is uncomfortable and unfamiliar in the conversation.

Adapted from: Smith-Maddox, Renee. The Office of Diversity, equity, and Inclusion. The University of Southern California, 2019. https://dworakpeck.usc.edu/diversity

• Gender Savvy Webinar: Creating an Inclusive School Climate

  Join Teaching Tolerance as we address these concerns with the support of Johanna Eager, director of Welcoming Schools. During this informative, interactive, and insightful conversation, she'll share her expertise in bias-based bullying in schools, emphasizing intersectionality, gender, and LGBT inclusivity.

• Creating a Gender-Inclusive Classroom

  How can teachers be more sensitive to how gender is presented in their classrooms? By reflecting on how their own experiences with gender shape their practices and questioning the biases they see and hear, they can begin to shift the culture to be safer and more inclusive. These strategies can help teachers move from awareness to action.