June 11, 2018

Why I Want to be a Better Teacher Activist in the Classroom

Wow... classroom reveal 2016 was my last post. Where have I been?! ðŸ¤ª The past two school years have just flown by it seems. I've been so busy and there have been some big changes for me in and outside of the classroom. Looking back at some of my posts, it seems I was really trying to figure out where my place was with this little blog in the big world of teacher bloggers. Keep reading to find out where my head is at now and where I've been.



Let's back track a little bit. It was some time in 2013 I believe when I decided to delete all my social media. Facebook and Twitter were just getting on my nerves. I used it for family and friends and had started using it a little for classroom and lesson inspiration, but let's face it, social media can be annoying. Anyway, I deleted both accounts and apps on my phone and really haven't looked back, but I started to miss the school/teacher inspiration I found online. TpT and blogging was getting huge and I noticed many of the teacher author's had Instagram profiles. That's when I decided to create an Instagram account, but didn't really post anything for a while. Maybe it would be less cluttered and messy? Boy, did I find some awesome teachers/accounts to follow. I took the plunge and posted for the first time in July of 2014 while I was teaching summer school. I figured I could share my adventures with my bilingual students and start a TpT store and I would just be good at everything! No one tells you that sometimes you don't find success right away and that sometimes it just doesn't happen organically like you thought. There are teacher bloggers, teacher fashionistas, teacher TpT authors, teacher consultants, and so on and so on. I mean, it can make your head spin. That's when I started asking myself, "What is my purpose with all this?" I'll admit I didn't really know. I felt a little lost. I followed some awesome bilingual teachers and I found that the digital "camaraderie" was great. I also found some really good special ed teacher to follow which I had just finished the special ed master's program at that time so that was really nice for me. I was also able to find some exceptional "techie" teachers who were doing some really exciting things with their students. Instagram has really been a great tool to help make me a better teacher, but it can be a little overwhelming. You can definitely bite off more than you can chew trying to keep up with everyone! My first year in kindergarten was also a little stressful although a good change for me so the blogging and TpT'ing kind of just became stagnant.

And then Charlottesville happened. I had always seen myself as someone who speaks out and advocates for her students, immigrants or children of immigrants who deserve an equal education in their native language while learning a second language, but I began noticing that some of the teachers who I followed only spoke out about things that affected certain groups of students and not others. I slowly began following more and more teachers who like myself advocate for all students especially students of color and other marginalized groups. I began realizing that if I give my money, my praise, and attention to teachers who chose to stay silent about certain things and not others, then I am now a part of the problem. As a women of color, I know the work that I and other teachers of color have to do, but white teachers also have a voice that they must use right along with us. It's a shame to say, but some teachers refuse to speak up for the sake of making sales and chose to not get "political." Well, guess what? I don't have that choice. I wear my culture, my language, my nationality on my brown face (I do it proudly and loudly by the way ðŸ˜‰) as do my daughters and my students. We're brave enough to face this daily and you're scared to get uncomfortable and talk about it?! Well, I made a conscious decision to unfollow and stop supporting these teachers. I literally went through my following list and if I hadn't seen any recent posts against gun violence or supporting immigrants, Dreamers, English Language Learners, LGBTQ, or black and brown students or any marginalized group than I was hitting that button. I began following more and more activist teachers who are doing some really good work in and out of the classroom.

So you're probably asking yourself "Where is she going with all this?" Soon after Charlottesville, I decided that I would follow the example of so many of these activist teachers and begin to do the work in my classroom to expose my students to other things aside from the school curriculum. I needed to do this not because my students don't live with racism and biases, but because they must learn that it doesn't just happen to brown people like us, and most importantly to show them how so many activists before us have fought against it so that they may one day pick up the mantle once I'm long gone. Then I started thinking, maybe I should blog about this, fighting against racism, social injustice, and biases in and outside the classroom? Now, how would I do this? I thought about coming up with this polished post, but then I thought maybe there are teachers out there like me who know that the work is important, but aren't sure where to start? Maybe I should blog about my journey in figuring out HOW to fight against all of this thru education?

So my plan is this: I plan to blog about my journey this summer and thru the upcoming school year about how I want to navigate teaching about these difficult subjects in my kindergarten bilingual classroom. Maybe there are teachers out there like me who are confused where to start? Maybe there are teachers out there that have "learned the ropes" and want to help guide me with their suggestions? Maybe you are just now hearing about this and maybe just maybe are a little bit curious, but not quite ready to take the plunge and become a full blown social justice activist teacher? Then again, maybe no one else will even read this and it will just be my own online diary to hold myself accountable for doing this work. I don't know what the outcome of this "series" will be, but I just know that it's important for me to do it.

So here I am! If you are a newbie activist/advocate against racism and social injustice like me, it can be quiet overwhelming. Where to even start? I think the most important piece of advice is: Don't reinvent the wheel! Teachers are great at "stealing" ideas (as long as you give credit where credit is due of course!) and using them in the classroom. Why not do that here? Let these teacher activists inspire you. I don't have Facebook or Twitter, but I will leave you with a bunch of teachers and organizations on Instagram that would be great for you to follow. Some are bloggers, some are TpT authors, some are organizations that push out content for teachers and parents a like to use, and others are very active in supporting these efforts outside of the classroom. I really do love all these accounts so I can't tell you which is the "best," but you can't lose by at least picking a few to follow. In no particular order, here they are (Clicking on the link will take you to their profile):

LaNesha Tabb from Apron Education
Naomi O'Brien from Read Like a Rockstar
Vera from The Tutu Teacher
Sarah Plumitallo
Brittany Wheaton from The Superhero Teacher
Devin Marie Hall from Ohm and Teaching
Tamara Russel from Mrs. Russell's Room
Turquoise Parker from Mrs. Parker's Professors
Kay Valdez from Primary Cornerstone
Britt Hawthorne from Listening and Learning
Christina from Teach like a Girl
Gabby from Instruct and Inspire
Jillian Starr from The Starr Spangled Planner
The Educator's Room
Olivia Bertels
The Conscious Kid

I am very excited to be including you on my journey on becoming a more social, racial, and culturally conscious teacher/activist. I have thought long and hard about doing this in the classroom and I feel like for me, I have no other choice. I am a Catholic and strong believer of God and I feel like He is working thru me as a teacher and mother. I know it won't be easy, but I know it will be worth it. I am planning on posting about once a week to share new ideas and materials that I will be using on this journey. Here I go!


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