Welcome to the March installment of the BARWE yearlong inquiry series. In the past 2 months, we’ve heard from folks having these conversations in schools and organizations from New Albany, Montpelier, San Francisco, Asheville, and more!

Please join us for our 2nd Twitter chat at #BARWE215 on Thursday, March 21 at 8pm EST. We will focus our discussion on this month’s articles and guiding questions.

If this is your first month, please start with Section 2: Facilitation Information.

If you have already participated in a previous month's discussion, we are glad you are continuing the work! Start with Section 1.

Information regarding norms, discussion protocol, and pass the hat can now be found in Section 3: Inquiry Tips & Information.

Don't forget to give us feedback!

​

Section 1: March Inquiry

Overview:
As concluded in this report from the Education Trust, “the issues that stifle the development and empowerment of Black teachers are so deep-seated that it will take honest and critical examinations of school cultures and systemic processes in order for school and district leaders to develop the trust, support, and collegial working environments needed to recruit and retain teachers of color.” In addition to the hiring processes discussed last month, we need to examine the ways that our schools center whiteness, and thus reinforce biased norms and create oppressive school cultures. As we try to incorporate more just and representative practices in our classrooms, how do we ensure that we are also working to create an anti-racist work environment for all staff? This month’s primary article looks at the ways white educators can inadvertently put extra strain on their colleagues of color, and Black colleagues especially, perpetuating some of the oppressive systems that harm our students and our staff community.

​Primary Article:
Dear White Teacher

Guiding Questions:
  • Can you identify practices in your context that might be centering whiteness and marginalizing educators of color?
  • The article talks a lot about fear. How do you see fear playing a role in your discipline practices and communication with families of color?
  • What are some ways to “confront the discomfort” around forging relationships with students, colleagues, and families of color?
  • What structures (formal or informal) could you put in place to encourage more accountability to colleagues of color in your own setting? (Or if you do not have any colleagues of color, what factors can you identify that might be contributing to their absence?)

Additional Readings:​​

Section 2: Facilitation Information

If this is your first month participating in the inquiry series, welcome! There are a lot of materials in this email, but here are some quick tips that can help guide you through them:
  • If your group is just starting this month - we recommend that you start with the August materials, and then pick up with the current month. Find all past month resources on our website.
  • Set a day and time for your group to meet - during lunch, before school, after school. If you start with a group of 2, that’s great! If 20 folks at your school are interested now, even better! The goal is to grow our work.
  • Send this month’s Primary Article to your group. You could even send this to a broader group of your colleagues - maybe it will pique someone’s interest! Also 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 Overview, Norms, and Discussion Protocol. If you have a large group, maybe ask a colleague to help facilitate.
  • Pass the Hat at the end of your discussion and collect donations for Melanated Educators Collective this month.
  • Complete the Feedback Form.
  • Prepare yourself for April by setting a date and time, inviting colleagues, and looking out for our next Discussion Guide on April 1st. If you'd like to access the materials early, they are normally on our website by the 25th of the previous month.

Section 3: Inquiry Tips & Information


Norms:
As you facilitate this work with your peers, it is important to keep some norms in mind. You can open your sessions by reviewing these (and more, if you’d like to add) with your group.

This BAR-WE Inquiry series was designed with the understanding that it is not the sole responsibility of people of color to educate white people about race. White people must take responsibility for our own growth to be anti-racist educators and community members. It also matters how we approach this work, so please keep the following norms in mind while engaging in these discussions:

  • Please approach this inquiry series as a learner. We all have room to grow with our understanding of race in our schools and communities. No one is an expert who has come to explain race to others; we are striving to be in dialogue with one another to learn and grow collectively.
  • The inquiry series does not take the place of anti-racism or diversity trainings that school districts can and should offer. When done well, such trainings are valuable. Nevertheless, we believe that any one-off training is inadequate, and this inquiry series is designed to encourage the ongoing reflection on race in our teaching and in our schools.
  • As white people engaged in this work, it is important to maintain humility around the topic of race when in dialogue with our colleagues of color. The goal will never be to explain to a colleague how they should feel about race; rather, we want to learn how to be productive allies in the work towards racial justice in education and society.
  • Keep the focus on RACE. It is easier to shift the conversation to colorblind versions of the topics; nevertheless, we must persevere through any discomfort to identify how race is central to our work and advocacy for justice in our schools.
  • Finally, as you keep in mind the ongoing nature of this work, please expect and accept non-closure. It is OK to “hang in uncertainty” and not rush to quick solutions. We believe sustainable, meaningful growth will result from the commitment to reflection.

Suggested Discussion Protocol:
In our experience, we have found conversations about racism and white supremacy to be most fruitful when primarily done in small groups (4 or fewer people). This makes folks more willing to share, and also gives each person more time to talk and process. We have also found it productive to use a protocol for these conversations - and have someone serve as a timekeeper during each segment.

  • 10 mins - If you have the time, give everyone a chance to write and reflect on the article and questions at the start of the session. You can also ask people to do this in advance and bring their reflections with them. We don’t recommend starting without giving everyone time to reflect individually first.
  • For the rest of the protocol, it is recommended that you split into groups of 2-4 people, so that everyone can have a chance to share and discuss. If you have limited time, use smaller groups.
    • 3 mins - Person 1 shares their reactions and reflections on the article and questions
    • 5 mins - others ask questions of Person 1 and Person 1 answers
      • Key point: Other group members should limit their reactions to each Person’s reflection with ONLY questions, not statements. This can be hard at first, but we’ve found it to be a fruitful structure for conversation.
    • Rotate through the group members following the Share-and-Question structure
  • End with open discussion - however much time you have.
    • If you have a larger group, this would be the time to bring the small group discussions back together.

Feedback Form
We want to know who is using these resources, what they find useful, and any recommendations for improvements in the future. 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.
  • “I loved the introduction of Teaching for Black Lives and it is so relevant because we are all teachers.  My favorite aspect of this program is that it relates directly to being an educator.”

  • “What does it look like to be a "site of resistance to white supremacy and anti-Blackness"? And how do we begin that work? What does the work look like?”

  • “How do we have a Black Lives Matter Week of Action in our school if it is hard to get our administration to get training?”

Thank you all for you 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 Melanated Educators Collective “The collective wants to unify and empower Black and Latino educators in the Philadelphia and Greater Philadelphia.” Their work aims to “move the needle forward in terms of demanding recruitment for Educators of Color, Retaining Educators of Color, as well as creating conditions in schools that will facilitate learning for children of color and all children in the Philadelphia area and beyond.”
If you are looking to buy refreshments for your session, we recommend supporting businesses owned by people of color, especially Black-owned businesses, if at all possible. In Philly, we recommend Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse, Franny Lou’s Porch, and Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books.