*If this is your first time doing a BARWE discussion group, we recommend starting with the August 2018 materials. If this is your first year doing this series, we recommend that you follow the 2018-19 Inquiry Series 1 Discussion Guides. Here is this month’s guide from Inquiry Series 1.

Don't forget to give us feedback!

Overview

In the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and in the midst of the Black Power Movement, college students demanded the creation of ethnic studies programs on their campuses. In recent years, students and families have been demanding ethnic studies in the K-12 curriculum. Following the definitions offered by Seattle Public Schools Ethnic Studies Program, ethnic studies “involves the teaching of content that critically examines systems of power and oppression created by white supremacy” as well as the “resistance of communities of color and tribal sovereignties.” While culturally responsive teaching and critical pedagogy describe educational practice, ethnic studies describes educational content. 

The development of a robust ethnic studies curriculum is necessary for any school community because of the educational benefits it offers all students.  Such a curriculum must center the voices, perspectives, and experiences of BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous & People of Color). There is evidence that students who see their experiences reflected in the curriculum have academic gains and an increased rate of graduating high school. Such curriculum is also relevant and necessary for white students who need this opportunity to develop empathy and an understanding of the totality of our collective history. Such knowledge is indispensable for participating in a multiethnic democracy.

Despite these benefits, ethnic studies has been undermined and under attack in this era of ethnocentrism and white supremacy. As antiracist educators, we need to remain vigilant in our local school districts to ensure that our students are empowered by the curriculum to resist all forms of oppression.

​
​

Primary Articles

​Guiding Questions

​
  • In what ways does Ethnic Studies benefit all students? 
  • How might we integrate Ethnic Studies in our current courses and curriculum? How do we ensure the quality of instruction and student engagement? 
  • Reflect on your school context. What racial/ethnic/immigrant communities are your students coming from? How might you ensure that they see themselves reflected in your curriculum? 
  • In order to ensure that students feel represented by the curriculum, we need to be in communication with students and families. How are you maintaining open communication with students in your building? What do they want? How can we support our students to get the courses that they want? ​

Additional Readings


Facilitation Information

  • Set a day and time for your group to meet - during lunch, before school, after school, whatever works best for participants. Make sure to send reminders. Also, snacks are always a good idea!
  • 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 Norms and Discussion Protocol. Choose the protocol that works best for your group in this month. 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 Education for Liberation Network this month.
  • Complete the Feedback Form.
  • Prepare yourself for December by setting a date and time, inviting colleagues, and looking out for our next Discussion Guide on December 1st.

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.

Here are a few takeaways from previous meetings:
  • “Our black students often feel like they are representing much more than just themselves in the classrooms, since our student population is mostly white, and that representation can be overwhelming and unfair.”
  • “I would like to share with you that we now have a "BAR-POCE" group at our site! Some of our colleagues of color wanted to join in, so we are now meeting at the same time on the same days, in affinity. We are going to try to meet once a semester together.”
​
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 the Education for Liberation Network: “EdLib is a national network founded and primarily facilitated by folks of color, that focuses on liberatory education by connecting a spectrum of members through the honest love and work of communities. We are an empowering and welcoming community that both inspires people and helps them learn and grow in ways that support a more just society.” Read about their work supporting ethnic studies here. 

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.