Decolonize The Classroom Pt 3: Pandemic Teaching/Learning
Three months or so months into the school year and this week-long school break couldn’t come at a better time. Teachers are burnt, students are at their wit’s end, and as all of us try to adjust to learning in a pandemic, I will plead with every educator to take some time to decolonize your classroom, whether it is over Zoom or in person. This has been a constant theme I have been speaking with educators about for months; in the wake of COVID-19 and the uprisings of 2020 teaching should look drastically different from what it has been historically if we are to best serve students. To decolonize the classroom we have to put our students’ humanity first, and that means completely re-evaluating what you are doing when we come back from this fall break.
When we come back from break many schools will be in the first phase of school site/district/state-mandated testing. While it might seem necessary to “get the kids prepared” please don’t neglect that these babies are literally SURVIVING A PANDEMIC. I am sorry, but why are we continuing to act as if our students are not impacted by COVID-19 and all the problems that stem from the pandemic? Students have lost family members and friends, parents lost jobs, lost homes, are full of anxiety and fear of catching the virus and we haven’t even spoken about the mental health, potential abuse, and all the…
