#BARWE215
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  • Inquiry Resources
    • How to Start a BARWE Group
    • Norms
    • Problem of Practice Protocol
    • Discussion Protocols
    • Bringing in Coconspirators
    • Facilitators Troubleshooting Guide
  • Current Series 22-23 School Year
    • September: How do we (re)connect and (re)commit to a/nother year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
    • October: How does a practice of accountability connect to our anti-racist work?
    • November: Where has accountability shown up for us in the past and where can we grow?
    • December: How can we be in accountable and transformative relationships with our students in order to create spaces for Black, Brown, and Indigenous students and all students of color to thrive?
    • January: How can we be accountable to our Black students in our planning and teaching practice?
    • February: What does accountability look like in your school or organization?
    • March: How can we give a genuine apology when we commit racist harm?
    • April: How can we foster accountable communities to prevent harm and address conflict in healthy ways?
    • May: What actions can we take to make our communities more accountable?
    • June: End of Year Reflection
  • New Groups Start Here (Series 3)
    • September: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in ourselves and our institutions?
    • October: How can we as white educators center Black joy in our classrooms and schools?
    • November: How can we more deeply reflect and/or apply what we learned about white supremacy culture and Black Joy?
    • December: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • January: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • February: How can we create classroom culture that resists white supremacy and that nourishes Black joy?
    • March: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our classroom culture? How can we co-create joy with students?
    • April: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
    • May: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
  • Previous Inquiry Series
    • Inquiry Series 1 (2018-19 SY) >
      • August 2018: Why do white teachers need to talk about race?
      • September 2018: How can our curriculum challenge dominant and oppressive ideologies?
      • October 2018: How can we identify and challenge implicit bias in our own practice?
      • November 2018: How does whiteness affect our practices, relationships, and expectations in the classroom and the school community?
      • December 2018: How do we disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline?
      • January 2019: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February 2019: Why are teachers of color so important for our schools and how can we increase their numbers?
      • March 2019: How can we support colleagues of color and build anti-racist work environments?
      • April 2019: How can we implement culturally relevant teaching to challenge the culture of power that exists in schools?
      • May 2019: How do we push our schools, classrooms, and communities to incorporate more equitable disciplinary practices?
      • June 2019: How do we move this conversation forward and include more educators?
    • Inquiry Series 2 (2019-20 SY) >
      • September: What does it mean to develop an anti-racist identity as a white educator?
      • October: How do our implicit biases affect our students?
      • November: How could incorporating ethnic studies in our classrooms and schools help make our curriculum more antiracist?
      • December: How can we ensure that our school discipline policies are equitable and do not push girls of color out of school spaces?
      • January: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February: How can we recruit and retain more Black teachers in our schools?
      • March: How can White educators be accountable to their colleagues of color?
      • April: How can we interrupt anti-AAPI and xenophobic narratives in our classrooms and school communities?
      • May: How do we support our students during this crisis and connect to the larger fight to dismantle race and class oppression in our communities?
    • Inquiry Series 4 (2021-22 SY) >
      • September: How do we prepare ourselves for a year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
      • October: How can we take action when doing anti-racist work in spite of real or perceived risks?
      • November: How can we build lasting partnerships with co-conspirators?
      • December: What is a risky topic in my curriculum and how do I lean into that topic instead of shying away?
      • February: What barriers exist to forming partnerships with our students?
      • March: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • April: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • May: How do we develop a better understanding of Black educators’ realities in order to better support them?
      • June: How do we reflect on our year of BARWE work and move our antiracism work forward?
  • Summer Events
    • Summer 2019 "Seeing White" Discussion
    • Summer 2020 Reading Series >
      • Summer Reading 2020: Purpose
      • Zoom Meeting 1: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 2: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 3: We Want to Do More Than Survive
      • Zoom Meeting 4: We Want to Do More Than Survive
    • Summer Series 2021 >
      • Why are we accepting payment this year?
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Inquiry Resources
    • How to Start a BARWE Group
    • Norms
    • Problem of Practice Protocol
    • Discussion Protocols
    • Bringing in Coconspirators
    • Facilitators Troubleshooting Guide
  • Current Series 22-23 School Year
    • September: How do we (re)connect and (re)commit to a/nother year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
    • October: How does a practice of accountability connect to our anti-racist work?
    • November: Where has accountability shown up for us in the past and where can we grow?
    • December: How can we be in accountable and transformative relationships with our students in order to create spaces for Black, Brown, and Indigenous students and all students of color to thrive?
    • January: How can we be accountable to our Black students in our planning and teaching practice?
    • February: What does accountability look like in your school or organization?
    • March: How can we give a genuine apology when we commit racist harm?
    • April: How can we foster accountable communities to prevent harm and address conflict in healthy ways?
    • May: What actions can we take to make our communities more accountable?
    • June: End of Year Reflection
  • New Groups Start Here (Series 3)
    • September: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in ourselves and our institutions?
    • October: How can we as white educators center Black joy in our classrooms and schools?
    • November: How can we more deeply reflect and/or apply what we learned about white supremacy culture and Black Joy?
    • December: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • January: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • February: How can we create classroom culture that resists white supremacy and that nourishes Black joy?
    • March: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our classroom culture? How can we co-create joy with students?
    • April: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
    • May: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
  • Previous Inquiry Series
    • Inquiry Series 1 (2018-19 SY) >
      • August 2018: Why do white teachers need to talk about race?
      • September 2018: How can our curriculum challenge dominant and oppressive ideologies?
      • October 2018: How can we identify and challenge implicit bias in our own practice?
      • November 2018: How does whiteness affect our practices, relationships, and expectations in the classroom and the school community?
      • December 2018: How do we disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline?
      • January 2019: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February 2019: Why are teachers of color so important for our schools and how can we increase their numbers?
      • March 2019: How can we support colleagues of color and build anti-racist work environments?
      • April 2019: How can we implement culturally relevant teaching to challenge the culture of power that exists in schools?
      • May 2019: How do we push our schools, classrooms, and communities to incorporate more equitable disciplinary practices?
      • June 2019: How do we move this conversation forward and include more educators?
    • Inquiry Series 2 (2019-20 SY) >
      • September: What does it mean to develop an anti-racist identity as a white educator?
      • October: How do our implicit biases affect our students?
      • November: How could incorporating ethnic studies in our classrooms and schools help make our curriculum more antiracist?
      • December: How can we ensure that our school discipline policies are equitable and do not push girls of color out of school spaces?
      • January: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February: How can we recruit and retain more Black teachers in our schools?
      • March: How can White educators be accountable to their colleagues of color?
      • April: How can we interrupt anti-AAPI and xenophobic narratives in our classrooms and school communities?
      • May: How do we support our students during this crisis and connect to the larger fight to dismantle race and class oppression in our communities?
    • Inquiry Series 4 (2021-22 SY) >
      • September: How do we prepare ourselves for a year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
      • October: How can we take action when doing anti-racist work in spite of real or perceived risks?
      • November: How can we build lasting partnerships with co-conspirators?
      • December: What is a risky topic in my curriculum and how do I lean into that topic instead of shying away?
      • February: What barriers exist to forming partnerships with our students?
      • March: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • April: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • May: How do we develop a better understanding of Black educators’ realities in order to better support them?
      • June: How do we reflect on our year of BARWE work and move our antiracism work forward?
  • Summer Events
    • Summer 2019 "Seeing White" Discussion
    • Summer 2020 Reading Series >
      • Summer Reading 2020: Purpose
      • Zoom Meeting 1: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 2: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 3: We Want to Do More Than Survive
      • Zoom Meeting 4: We Want to Do More Than Survive
    • Summer Series 2021 >
      • Why are we accepting payment this year?
#BARWE215

December: ​
What is a risky topic in my curriculum and how do I lean into that topic instead of shying away?

If this is your first year doing this series, we recommend starting with an orientation meeting using the September 2021 material before moving on to the current month. 

Don't forget to give us feedback!

Overview: 
This year, our Inquiry Series focuses on the themes of Risk and Partnership. In October, we focused on what the fear of risk looks like for you in your particular context. In November we focused on nourishing partnerships in your context despite being surrounded by white supremacy culture that discourages partnership. This month we will be focusing on risk and partnership within your curriculum. 

Risky curriculum means different things for different contexts (e.g. teaching about Palestine with Jewish students, teaching about race in a state with anti-CRT laws, teaching about trans rights among certain religions and cultures). What is risky to teach is different for each of us, and that can feel isolating. Risk is also relative, depending on our own identities and systems of support. In addition, many white educators hold back not due to actual risk, but due to the fear of discomfort (a trait of white supremacy culture you can read more about here).This month, instead of reflecting on an article, we invite you to do a deep reflection of what feels most risky in your teaching. We recommend sharing the guiding questions below ahead of time, so all participants can think about them in relation to their context. At the meeting, we recommend starting with a physical assessment of how the anxiety of this risky topic affects your body, before moving into discussion and reflecting in this year's participant notebook.

The deep thinking and discussion of this month will lead into next month, where we plan to share a number of different articles and other resources to prepare you to feel effective in teaching your risky topic. As you are discussing this month, if participants in your group share a resource that you think would help the rest of the BARWE community in teaching a risky curriculum, please share it with us in this month’s feedback form or add it to this padlet. We are also looking to collect testimonials of your experiences with risky curriculum. If you would like to share your story, please include it in the feedback form.

In addition to the guiding questions, we are offering BARWE users this notebook as a place to gather their thoughts and commitments throughout the year. In the past, we have sent various tools and handouts in separate months. This year, we encourage all work to be done in this one document to encourage ongoing attention to commitments and frequent review of previous months’ reflections.

Guiding Questions: 
  • How do you physically feel in your body when you are about to teach something risky? Where is the tension in your body? What do you do to acknowledge and/or relieve that tension?
  • What is a risky topic in your school and how can you lean into that instead of shying away? Why is this topic one you're considering in the first place? What about teaching this will benefit your students?
  • Who benefits by you not leaning into the risky topic? Who will be disadvantaged? Whose feelings/needs are being prioritized by you avoiding this topic?
  • Who in your school has taught this topic? How can you learn from them?
  • Are there potential partnerships that would benefit your curriculum?
  • Are there places where partnership feels risky: for example, do our students’ families get a say so? If so, when and how?

Facilitation Reference Guide: 
  • Set a day and time for your group to meet - Make sure to send reminders.
  • Send this month’s guiding questions to your group. 
  • Prepare yourself to facilitate by reading through our Norms and  Discussion Protocol.
  • Pass the Hat and collect donations for the Zinn Education Project this month.
  • Complete the Feedback Form.
  • Prepare yourself for January by setting a date and time, inviting colleagues, and looking out for our next Discussion Guide on January 1st.

Feedback Form:
As we grow in year four, we hope that one person in your group can take a few minutes to fill out our feedback form to let us know how it went.

Here is a takeaway from a previous meeting:

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Picture
Thank you all for your feedback so far, please keep it coming!

Pass The Hat:
In addition to being accountable to our colleagues and students of color, we believe it is important to be financially accountable to people of color who are doing this work on a daily basis. Each month, we will recommend an organization led by people of color, in education and beyond, doing the work of pushing for justice.

At the end of each monthly discussion, pass a hat (or a box) and collect donations for the designated organization. You can then have one group member go online and donate in the name of your school. If you want, you can add “Building Anti-Racist White Educators” after your school name.

This month, we encourage you to donate to the Zinn Education Project. According to zinnproject.org, the Zinn Education Project. promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in classrooms across the country. For more than ten years, the Zinn Education Project has introduced students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. The Zinn Education Project has multiple current campaigns, including the #Teachthetruth campaign, which is a nationwide grassroots effort to fight back against so-called anti-CRT laws,  legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history.

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