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- 1. Decolonizing schools- Lesson Plan Study Lesson plan What is the objective of the class? What are the students doing? What strategies is the teacher using? What elements that speak of decolonization we see? How could we improve/adapt this lesson to our particular subject/setting? Trial of the Genocide of Native Californians- A Role Play The Advent of White Supremacy and Colonization/Dehumanization of African Americans Challenging Colonialism
- 2. Sin Fronteras Boy The Color Line 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 1/10 ◅ Back to Blog From the NCTE Standing Committee on Global Citizenship This post was written by NCTE member Michael Seward, a member of the NCTE Standing Committee on Global Citizenship.
- 3. Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 NCTE 04.11.19 DIVERSITY https://ncte.org/ https://ncte.org/blog/ https://ncte.org/blog/author/ncte/ https://ncte.org/blog/category/diversity/ http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://ncte.org/b log/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ http://twitter.com/share?text=Decolonizing%20the%20Classroo m:%20Step%201&url=https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizin g-the-classroom/ http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://nc te.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the- classroom/&title=Decolonizing%20the%20Classroom:%20Step %201&summary=From%20the%20NCTE%20Standing%20Com mittee%20on%20Global%20Citizenship%20%C2%A0%20This% 20post%20was%20written%20by%20NCTE%20member%20Mic hael%20Seward,%20a%20member%20%E2%80%A6 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 2/10 As a member of NCTE’s Standing Committee on Global Citizenship, I am concerned with the legacy of pervasive and lasting pain and inequity left by colonization: across the globe, within the US, within schools, and in my own classroom. Colonization’s legacy is about power: who has it, and who is denied it? Power has to do
- 4. with material existence and lived experience: access to and use of resources (money, housing, transportation, energy, healthy food, clean water), knowledge, influence, self- determination and economic potential and clout. The classroom is a political space: power is exerted, resisted and yielded to in every classroom; every classroom is situated within an institution, state, and nation—all locations in which resources, knowledge, and access must be negotiated. Justin Simien, director of Dear White People, reminds us that “[r]acism is systemic: It’s oppression that’s built into the laws, legislation, into the way neighborhoods are policed, and into job opportunities and health care and education” (emphasis added). Thus, those interested in decolonizing the classroom must take a first, crucial step: a personal commitment to political change. To deny the racial nature of politics (and power)—both inside of and surrounding the classroom—is to perpetuate the inequities created by colonization. In an attempt to decolonize the classroom, one can make many changes: diversify materials and content teach to learning outcomes that address power and social justice; design assessments that allow diverse students to demonstrate
- 5. mastery in diverse ways; involve students in the creation of knowledge, content, and curriculum; embrace diverse language usage in interactions, writing and tests; “You want to free the world, free humanity, from oppression? Look inside . . .” Ariel Dorfman” Power is political. In a world profoundly shaped by colonization, because, globally, power has been divided along racial lines, politics become inherently racial—even in the classroom.” https://www.spin.com/2017/04/justin-simien-dear-white-people- series-interview/ https://www.newstatesman.com/theatre/2009/01/harold-pinter- world-life-free 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 3/10 involve oneself at the institutional, local, state and national levels to advocate for equity. Yet the first change must be to become politically conscious. In order to speak truth to power, one must first enable oneself to see the truth, the truth of
- 6. the profoundly damaging legacy of colonization. Anyone who teaches English outside of England is part of the colonial project, particularly if the teaching takes place within a sanctioned institution and if the English being taught is a standardized, “official” English. One need only contemplate the role of language and schooling in European colonization of the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Asia to grasp the central function of teaching (particularly teaching English) in colonization. A politically conscious teacher acknowledges that one cannot claim to be purely (and innocently) against racism while acting as a functionary for a colonial and racist system (especially when benefitting materially while doing so (i.e., receiving a paycheck)). To build on Napoleon’s observation, “among those who dislike oppression are many who” enjoy the privileges the oppressive system offers. I have been teaching for over 30 years; I have yet to encounter a teacher who openly espouses racism. Everyone claims to be against racism. Everyone wants to empower students. Yet to begin to ameliorate the deep damage caused by colonization and racism (systems of power) means to be actively and overtly political. To decolonize the classroom, one must examine oneself and one’s beliefs: Let go of the disingenuous notion of objectivity in the
- 7. classroom, of maintaining political neutrality, of seeing all sides and positions as having equal impact on marginalized groups. Learn to live in the discomfort of having to take a stand. Acknowledge that your role as teacher has been historically problematic: that by teaching English you are inherently complicit with forces that damage marginalized students. See and address the trauma that colonization, poverty, sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of oppression can and do cause for marginalized students. Resist seeing yourself as the “good guy,” fighting the good fight. Avoid perpetuating the myth of boot-strapping and the belief that by helping individual students you are effecting social change. Understand that by promoting notions of a standard, correct and preferred
- 8. language, you are perpetuating colonization, ensuring that future students will suffer the same marginalization. 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 4/10 Act to effect systemic changes that address the forces that damage groups of students, those groups that have been historically traumatized by colonization and racism. Along with delivering required content, understand your job as providing students with the means of grasping that their difficulties and struggles stem from an inherently inequitable system and culture, as well as ways of resisting and subverting such systems. See yourself, your curriculum, your content and your classroom as existing within a historical context of racism, subjugation, and control. Challenge systemic oppression and acknowledge the collective
- 9. experiences of marginalized groups. Even those who are made uncomfortable by the status quo may be unwilling to take on the system, for global colonialization has traditionally wrapped itself in the mantles of religion and patriotism, and, as Luis Bunuel reminds us, “God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression” (170). What English teacher wants to take on God and country? And, really, what need is there to challenge the system, when one can still envision oneself as doing good without having to take the risk of being targeted for calling attention to the fact that the pain and suffering of marginalized groups are inherent to and necessary for the functioning of the system. Florynce Kennedy notes, “When a system of oppression has become institutionalized it is unnecessary for individuals to be oppressive” (439). Thus, teachers are taught in their training to envision themselves as doing good, even as they reinforce and perpetuate the colonization and racism that damage students. Like missionaries, foreign aid, and global capitalism, we English teachers are part of the “[c]olonialism [that] subdues in many dulcet guises. It conquered under the pretext of spreading Christianity, civilization, law and order, to make the world safe for democracy” (F. Sionil Jose). Instead of seeing themselves as generous and helpful, politically
- 10. conscious teachers must perpetually struggle with the problematic nature of their role. Leila Janah warns us of the dangers of helpfulness: “[P]art of the problem with charity is that it tends to make us view people as helpless victims. I think in the future, we’ll look back on charity in the same way that we look back on colonialism today: as a very paternalistic system that doesn’t fully recognise the full spectrum of humanity.” ” https://monoskop.org/images/d/d1/Bunuel_Luis_My_Last_Breat h.pdf http://gallery.mailchimp.com/a84b2619f737ac1cec0f75881/files /kennedy_institutionalized_oppression.pdf https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and- culture/2014/03/17/1301139/rosales-and-pangasinan-roots-why- they-matter https://medium.com/@oxfordsbs/svco-leila-janah-reimagining- relief-social-justice-in-the-tech-age-6b0ca7abdda0 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 5/10 Instead of envisioning students as individuals in need of the tools required for self- improvement (as the teacher, I am the one who, by providing you the benefits of the curriculum, helps you succeed), politically conscious teachers understand that the suffering of marginalized students is a result of an inequitable
- 11. system. Politically conscious teachers shift the focus away from the individual as needing change to the system as needing change, a shift that is made very difficult within the American context with its cult of individualism. Ayaan Hirsi Ali says, “The liberal psyche wants to protect minorities, to apologize for imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and the appalling treatment of black people during the civil rights movement. At the same time, they want to continue to defend the rights of individuals.” By focusing our energies on individuals, we avoid dismantling systems of power that privilege some while damaging many others. To empower students (or anyone) on the margins means much more than guiding individuals to a sanctioned academic success; individuals are empowered when systems are altered to shift power toward the groups to which they belong. To empower people from marginalized groups means to disrupt the current balance of power, something the powerful invariably resist. Politically conscious teachers prepare themselves and their students to confront, resist, and withstand such a backlash. In addition to works by those quoted in this blog, interested educators might find works by the following authors helpful: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (whose TED talk students have
- 12. found helpful); Gloria Anzaldúa (in particular Borderlands/Le Frontera: the New Mestiza); James Baldwin (in particular “A Talk to Teachers”); Joshua Block (in particular “Educate to Liberate: Build an Anti-Racist Classroom”) Noam Chomsky; Lisa Delpit (both “No Kinda Sense” (from The Skin that We Speak) and Other People’s Children); Robin DiAngelo (esp. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism); Paolo Freire; bell hooks (in particular Teaching to Transgress); Kyoko Kishimoto (in particular “Decolonizing Teaching” written with Darlene St. Clair); Audre Lorde; Wayne Ross; Amy Tan (in particular “Mother Tongue”)
- 13. https://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/why-christians-should- try-to-convert-muslims/#more-127601 https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_ a_single_story?language=en https://s3.amazonaws.com/arena- attachments/1516594/5a117bcaabdc7fd8e613f2e767d30674.pdf https://www.spps.org/cms/lib010/MN01910242/Centricity/Doma in/125/baldwin_atalktoteachers_1_2.pdf https://www.edutopia.org/blog/build-an-anti-racist-classroom- joshua-block http://college.cengage.com/english/perl/writing_true/1e/resourc es/crossover_essays/lisa_delpit.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED387274.pdf https://academictrap.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/bell-hooks- teaching-to-transgress.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ916842.pdf http://theessayexperiencefall2013.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/20 13/09/Mother-Tongue-by-Amy-Tan.pdf 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 6/10 In addition to the above resources, interested educators may want to consider participating in the workshop that my colleague Kylowna Moton and I will lead at the 2019 NCTE Convention in Baltimore. “Decolonizing the English Classroom: Why and How?” will be held Thursday, 11/21, 11:30–3:30. We invite concerned educators to join us for a generative session and challenging conversation on decolonizing the classroom.
- 14. I’d like to close with the full quotation from Ariel Dorfman, which speaks to us directly as teachers of language: “You want to free the world, free humanity, from oppression? Look inside, look sideways, look at the hidden violence of language. Never forget that language is where the other, parallel violence, the cruelty exercised on the body, originates.” For over 30 years Michael Seward has been teaching a variety of subjects at various levels, from eighth grade to post-graduate. He has been involved in global education in a number of capacities (including two Fulbright teaching exchanges) and countries (including England, Germany, Slovakia, Costa Rica and Poland). Currently he teaches English and serves as an Assessment Coordinator at Minneapolis College. “The Standing Committee on Global Citizenship works to identify and address issues of broad concern to NCTE members interested in promoting global citizenship and connections across global contexts within the Council and within members’ teaching contexts.” Diversity NCTE Standing Committee on Global Citizenship Political and social change Social Justice
- 15. NCTE https://www.newstatesman.com/theatre/2009/01/harold-pinter- world-life-free https://ncte.org/blog/tag/diversity/ https://ncte.org/blog/tag/ncte-standing-committee-on-global- citizenship/ https://ncte.org/blog/tag/political-and-social-change/ https://ncte.org/blog/tag/social-justice/ http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://ncte.org/b log/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ http://twitter.com/share?text=Decolonizing%20the%20Classroo m:%20Step%201&url=https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizin g-the-classroom/ http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://nc te.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the- classroom/&title=Decolonizing%20the%20Classroom:%20Step %201&summary=From%20the%20NCTE%20Standing%20Com mittee%20on%20Global%20Citizenship%20%C2%A0%20This% 20post%20was%20written%20by%20NCTE%20member%20Mic hael%20Seward,%20a%20member%20%E2%80%A6 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 7/10 Recent Posts Rethinking What’s Happening with Censorship Antiracist Teaching That Moves beyond the Surface Reflections on the NCTE LeaderShift Initiative Writing Rationales with Preservice Teachers
- 16. In Praise of NCTE’s Member Gatherings https://ncte.org/blog/category/field-notes/ https://ncte.org/blog/2022/11/rethinking-whats-happening-with- censorship/ https://ncte.org/blog/2022/11/antiracist-teaching-moves-beyond- surface/ https://ncte.org/blog/2022/10/reflections-ncte-leadershift- initiative/ https://ncte.org/blog/2022/10/writing-rationales-with- preservice-teachers/ https://ncte.org/blog/2022/10/praise-ncte-member-gatherings/ 11/4/22, 8:08 AM Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 - NCTE https://ncte.org/blog/2019/04/decolonizing-the-classroom/ 8/10 Categories #NCTE21 #NCTE22 Advocacy Assessment Booklists Diversity Drama Engaged Citizenship Events
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- 22. git © 1998-2022 NCTE. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Links Policy Terms of Use http://www.facebook.com/ncte.org http://www.twitter.com/ncte https://www.instagram.com/nctegram/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-council-of- teachers-of-english-ncte-/ http://www.pinterest.com/nctedotorg https://www.youtube.com/user/NCTEEnglish https://ncte.org/privacy-policy/ https://ncte.org/links-policy/ https://ncte.org/terms-of-use/ Step #4. Exploring: Study of a lesson plan through the lens of decolonization 1. "Rethinking Ethnic Studies, Chapter 3". a. What do you think is necessary to do in order to decolonize a classroom? 300 words Now, read this excerpt from: Decolonizing the Classroom: Step 1 (attached) 2. Complete the chart attached (Decolonizing the Classroom Lesson Plan Analysis) based on the reading Trial of the Genocide. Step #3. Exploring. Indigeneity and Roots
- 23. Attached Files: · Screen Shot 2020-08-23 at 8.02.11 PM.png (226.766 KB) Indigeneity: Respect due, gratitude to the holistic indigenous peoples and communities of the land where any course is taking place, as the original, autochthonous, sovereign and autonomous first nations present since time immemorial, and still upon that land today, more than 500 years after colonization, and into the future. Diasporic Indigeneity: Respect due to holistic colonized peoples who are in diaspora upon the land where a course is taking place. In the case of multitudes of People of Color, macroscales two and three displaced their families from their precolonial ancestral homeland as "normal". When they connect to their indigenous roots, their indigenous peoplehood and legacies of that homeland, that is called Diasporic Indigeneity. Indigeneity and Diasporic Indigeneity signify dynamic, complex, holistic: 1) Peoples who believe they are ancestrally related and identify themselves based on oral and/or written stories, as descendants of the original inhabitants of their ancestral homelands. 2) Peoples who may but not necessarily, have their own informal/ or formal political, economic, social institutions, with tend to be community-based and reflect their distinct ceremonial cycles, kinship networks and continuously evolving cultural traditions. 3) Peoples who speak ( or once spoke) an indigenous language, often different from the dominant society 4) Peoples who distinguish themselves from their ancestral homelands/sacred sites, which may be threatened by ongoing military, economic, or political encroachment or may be places
- 24. where indigenous peoples have been previously displaced and expelled creating a diaspora while seeking to enhance their cultural, political, economic sovereignty and autonomy. Remember that last week we read a poem and analyzed what were the main emotions, images, clear ideas and themes the poem eovked. This week, we will be using similar questions to discuss different lesson plans from the Ethnic Studies Curriculum in California. This is your task: 1) My Family's Not from Africa reading. 2) After you read and annotate the lesson plan carefully, please complete the following: a. Words that evoke strong emotions b. Words that evoke strong images c. Words that convey a clear idea d. Emerging Themes e. Connections with our own culture/family/ ancestry image1.gif