It is always important to inform students about leaders that they can associate with. American culture tends to intentionally leave out other cultures because of the lack of understanding or because of personal reasons. It is important to not withhold the great things that other leaders are doing. This will help some of your students understand American history differently, focusing on seeing people that look like them being successful. As educators, we are put in positions to help students discover their story. Let’s continue to work on not strengthening our own jaded story based on our personal views that we were taught as children. Instead, let’s question our own views to understand our students and their need in that moment. Some students will need to know that the world is not white and that it is colorful. It will take a lot of intentionality to begin to explore these ideas.
Questions for Teachers: How might showing one of these a day impact the well being of my students? Why is teaching about color beneficial to my students? How might these slides impact our entire community of students? What questions might be raised? Am I prepared to honestly respond to questions I may not have the answers to? Do I feel uncomfortable about speaking about this? If I do feel uncomfortable, why? How might this benefit my students that are not African American? What are the greatest takeaways from each video? How can this further teach my students about the will to persevere?
*Guided questions in slide