For those who may have missed this release just over a week ago, here it is. We will also be adding a list of resources on our landing page for teachers wanting to increase/strengthen their awareness of issues we’re facing.
Black lives matter.
AMTA feels the need to speak out on the societal inequities exemplified by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Our organization will not be complicit through silence. We know that members of AMTA and our nation’s students who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are hurting especially now.
We do our best science and science learning when all voices are heard and valued, but this is not the lived experience in many classrooms. As educators, it is our responsibility to push to make this become a reality by actively elevating voices that often go unheard. We must seek equity in the classroom, but our work cannot stop there. Until our BIPOC students, teachers, administrators, their families, and communities are seen, heard, and valued both inside and outside of the classroom, our work is not done.
It is not sufficient to simply restate our position on diversity and equity. To enact our ideals, we must hold ourselves and each other accountable. We encourage and implore our members to commit themselves to speaking/acting out against racism with us. We welcome ideas and suggestions of ways that we, as an organization, can improve and do better for our teachers and our students.
We commit to:
- Educating ourselves about anti-racism. Suggested reading / listening:
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- Grading for Equity by Joel Feldman
- Everyday Antiracism by Mica Pollock
- Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- Whistling Vivaldi by Claude Steele
- Leading Equity Podcast
- The Underrepresentation Curriculum Project
- Engaging in anti-racist practices in all aspects of our teaching.
- Pursuing anti-racist policies in our schools.
- Calling out racist acts and racist policies in our schools and in our communities.
- Calling on white friends, colleagues, and students to listen to BIPOC friends, colleagues, and students.
- Not allowing complacency in our anti-racist work or the work of our peers.
