I really enjoy the online webinars from Teaching Tolerance. The webinars focus on topics that make many of us uncomfortable.The webinar discussed how to have discussions with students about race and racism. Race is a factor and it always have been, whether we want it to be or not. In order to facilitate the discussion on race and racism, teachers must self-assess themselves and how their comfort level is around facilitating difficult conversations. It is important to have these discussions in classrooms because it allows students to engage in their identity and feel welcomed into the classroom environment. I have learned in many classes the importance of displaying different posters and pictures that incorporate all cultures. Students need to know they are welcomed. Creating relationships with students is very important before having these intense conversations. In my future classroom I want my students to understand that I am coming from a place of understanding and I am an individual they can trust. Race and racism conversation should be had in classrooms because as the webinar stated race is understood as a role. The assumptions made my many individuals come from race. All humans have a racial identity and we can not ignore it. Our race makes us who we are. By engaging in the conversations teachers can reshape assumptions and create a learning environment. Also addressing the emotions in this conversation is a must. Emotions will run high and as a teacher I know emotions can affect how a student performs. Overall I was taught to find the comfort in discomfort. Teachers do not have easy jobs ad it is part of their role to have some of the hard conversations.
