#BARWE215
  • 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?
  • 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?
  • 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

February: How can we create classroom culture that resists white supremacy and that nourishes Black joy?

Remember also that February 1-5 is the National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Please visit their website to see resources and events.
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Overview: 
This month, we move our focus from curriculum to classroom culture, and specifically social-emotional learning, discipline, and policing of students. In recent years, social-emotional learning, or SEL, has become widespread in educational settings as part of a move away from traditional punitive discipline practices. It is often thought of as healing, just, and responsive to student needs. However, SEL is not in itself an anti-racist practice, and implementation of SEL can reiterate white supremacy culture in many ways. We encourage you this month to take a closer look at social-emotional learning in order to investigate its connection with white supremacy and the biases it can perpetuate and reinforce. Our primary article, “When SEL is Used as Another Form of Policing,” is written by Cierra Kaler-Jones, an academic and fellow with the Communities for Just Schools Fund. She offers us the opportunity to interrogate the values and norms embedded in our application of SEL, and to begin to integrate SEL within an antiracist and culturally affirming framework so students can fully reap its healing rewards.

In our additional readings this month, we’ve grouped articles by topic in case you choose to focus on a different facet of Classroom or School Culture and Discipline. 

Primary Article: When SEL is Used as Another Form of Policing by Cierra Kaler-Jones*

Guiding Questions:
  • What is your reaction to the idea that SEL can be a form of policing? Discuss and unpack these reactions: where do you think they stem from?
  • The author uses the example of hair braiding as a way of students comforting each other (with consent). What student-led healing practices have you seen in your own school or context?
  • Where do you see the tenets of white supremacy culture showing up specifically in SEL practice at your school?
  • Often SEL focuses on ways to not express anger, but Audre Lorde’s quote in the article reminds us that righteous anger is valid and useful. How can teachers hold space for rage in a way that affirms and encourages their students (and does not add to the trauma of other students)? 
  • Kaler-Jones says, “We must not lose the importance of co-constructing spaces with young people to lean into creative expression and joy.” What does joy and creative expression look like in your setting? What are the current barriers to you co-constructing these spaces with students and what are some steps you can take to overcome them? We encourage your group to share what joy and creative expression look like in your context on our Slack and social media pages!

Additional Readings: 
If you feel one of these is better suited to your group, feel free to use as a primary. We have placed an asterisk next to readings with BIPOC authors.
More on SEL 
  • “Why We Can't Afford Whitewashed Social-Emotional Learning”*

General Classroom Culture and Community Building 
  • “The Future of Healing: Shifting from Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement”*
  • “What Happened When My School Started to Dismantle White Supremacy Culture”*
  • “Forging Partnerships With Our School Communities”*

School Police
  • “What Would a World Without Cops Look Like?”
  • “Why There’s a Push to Get Police Out of Schools”
  • “We Need to Talk About an Injustice”*

Dress Code/School-wide Policies
  • “Controlling the Student Body”
  • "Time to Take A Look At Your Dress Code"
  • "Redesigning for an Anti-Racist Classroom Series: #2 Discipline Policy"
  • “Capture the Opportunity: Steps to Redesign School-Level Structures for Equity”*


Facilitation Reference Guide: 
  • Set a day and time for your group to meet - Make sure to send reminders. 
  • Send this month’s Primary Article to your group. Look through the additional readings to see if there is another reading that might be better suited to your group and its interests.
  • Prepare yourself to facilitate by reading through our Norms and Discussion Protocol.
  • Pass the Hat and collect donations for Communities for Just Schools Fund this month.
  • Complete the Feedback Form.
  • Prepare yourself for March by setting a date and time, inviting colleagues, and looking out for our next Discussion Guide on March 1st.

Feedback Form:
As we grow in year three, 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.

Below is a takeaway from a previous meeting:
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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 Communities for Just Schools Fund. Cierra Kaler-Jones, the author of our primary article this month, is a fellow at CJSF, “a national donor collaborative [that] brings together the resources of philanthropy with the power of grassroots organizing to ensure that all schools welcome students and nurture their full potential. In keeping with our strategic plan, we begin by listening in order to understand what students and families need to succeed.”

Winter Office Hours:
Are you starting to feel the midyear doldrums? Winter blues leading to lower turn out at BARWE meetings in your context? Generally looking to sustain and build momentum at this mid-year point? Then join us at the BARWE Winter Office Hours on zoom. This is a place to connect, problem solve, and share with BARWE users from across the country. There will be differentiated break out rooms based on what you’re looking for. Register for this event here.
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