Examples Of Anti-Racism In The Classroom

The anti-racist approach focuses on several aspects that I will incorporate in my own classroom. First, I plan to include various knowledges, not just Eurocentric. In my major, history, this could mean including the history and influences of countries other than just the Western World. In my minor, English, this could mean including books from a diverse collection of authors about various places. In a Ted Talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about the danger of a single story. She grew up in Nigeria and always read books written by Westerners; therefore, she wrote stories about Western children (Adichie, 2009). If all students ever hear is Eurocentric stories, they will never find themselves in what they read or be able to relate. Furthermore,

An example of this can be found in Christensen's classroom. She has her students deal with the injustices they are facing and that their ancestors have faced through writing. She creates assignments to be meaningful and authentic, so that even if students are learning poetry, they can write about their own lives and what matters to them (Christensen, 2009, 33, 38). When students are reading, I could bring in examples of books and biographies of people that have inspired change in their communities. To apply this to a specific issue in Canada, one of the greatest injustices is the historic and continued treatment of the Aboriginal community. One way of teaching multiculturally would be to have students learn Canadian history in a meaningful way, perhaps through inquiry. Then students could apply their knowledge to the community and create small projects to build awareness or get involved with an organization. If students feel like they are making a difference, they will care about their work and put in more effort. If they can care for their community while doing their work, not only will they succeed as students, they will gain personal success as individuals who are working to better the world they live

This approach reframes the ideas of multicultural education to be “inclusive for all students” through changing the conversation and understanding of “culture, power, and cultural, national, and civic identity” (Kirova, 108, 112). It tries to understand culture as dynamic - considering what it was, is, and how it is changing (Kirova, 2008, 117). Through understanding culture, students are able to challenge the current conversations around race and work to understand culture and racism (Kirova, 2008, 117). Post-multiculturalism strives to understand the way culture is produced and reproduced in society, similar to social capital theory, so that students can better understand the world they live in (Kirova, 2008, 118). This approach is also similar to anti-racism, however it lacks the social justice component, which I personally