2020 was notable for several reasons, including COVID-19 and everything that came with it. However, a lesser talked about issue (but certainly no less important) is the fight for racial justice that erupted in June, following the death of George Floyd. Besides talking about what we can do as an entire country, many began to talk about how to include more information about racism into education, which has begun to be tackled at IHS—especially in the English and Social Studies departments. In an interview with the head of the English department, Mr. Reiff, he stated that “Teachers across the board have begun tackling new texts, new voices, and new thinking […] We have begun work on collaboratively developing that new curriculum.” So how has the curriculum changed since the beginning of the year? How have students responded to the incorporation of anti-racist work? I asked teachers in both the English and Social Studies departments, and here are their responses.
At the beginning of the year, IHS English and Social Studies teachers prepared to incorporate more about the complex issue of historic and current racism in their classrooms. Several teachers responded to my query about how their teaching has changed throughout the school year, and how it might continue to evolve. English teacher Ms. Deverin mentioned that “Even though I’m teaching a lot of new courses this year, I didn’t leave a single course curriculum alone.” In classes such as Womxn & Lit, for example, she has shifted the focus from “first-wave (white) feminism” to lesser-known Black suffragettes. On the social studies side of things, US History teacher Mr. Heiland stated that his (and the department’s) teaching and curriculum has been constantly shifting and improving over time. His teaching of race is a twofold approach: “Firstly, an examination of systems of oppression that create systems of power and privilege for some, and marginalization for others […] Secondly, teaching that focuses on empowering the groups that have been marginalized (and still are), and seeking to emphasize these groups as complex, diverse, all while highlighting their excellence.” Though the social studies department’s main curriculum hasn’t changed significantly because, according to Mr. Heiland, “both racism and antiracism are central to every topic”, lessons frequently change to accommodate current events, leaving space for the exploration of new texts and media by POC authors and creatives.
Literary texts are integral to any humanities curriculum, and this year many teachers have expanded the scope of their book collections. In between the “core texts” of an English class, teachers have begun to include new books authored by people of color. In answering the question of how these texts have been incorporated into the curriculum, one teacher mentioned how they approached things in a similar twofold approach: “There are two ways I’ve done this- one is to read new/new-to-IHS texts […] The second way to accomplish this is to read older texts and texts by white authors, but to analyze them through a variety of critical lenses- race, feminist and queer theory, postcolonial/antiimperialist writing, etc.” The English department has added books such as The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison), With the Fire on High (Elizabeth Acevedo), Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi), Born a Crime (Trevor Noah), Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler), The Deep (Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes), and many more! The Social Studies department has also included texts such as selections from Stamped from the Beginning, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, as well as documentaries such as 13th.
In order to provide a well-rounded update, I asked teachers about how bringing up race has changed student behavior and engagement, as well as how they get feedback from their students. Mr. Riess, an IHS English teacher, believes that many students are very passionate about the issue of racism, which helps to create an interesting conversation. “Students feel the immediacy of the problem. They watch the news, some of them went out and marched, and they read (and argue) online.” Ms. Kautz, a U.S. History and Honors Economics teacher adds, ”Overall it is clear to me that most of my students want to talk about race, and they want to make the connections to ongoing issues today,”. She relays that her students have often expressed sadness and anger when asked about how they feel about occurrences of racism in both the past and the present, prompting engaging conversations.
However, it is very important to note that different students engage and participate in different ways, and especially with incredibly complex topics such as racism, many are hesitant to speak out. Teachers have been trying to accommodate this when thinking about how to approach engagement. “My job is to give students the tools to produce change (and, therefore, hope)”, said Mr. Riess. Across the responses received from IHS teachers on the issue, teachers seem to have gotten mostly positive feedback after making these complicated changes in curriculums.
However, the positive response was not unanimous, as one teacher pointed out. While discussing Black Lives Matter action steps in one of their classes, a parent decided to pull their child from the class as a result of the discussion. 12th grade English teacher Ms. Ostrom also mentioned students having differing opinions on such topics during facilitated discussions, sometimes prompting arguments among students. With racism and related issues being such a current and ever-changing issue in America, these sometimes volatile conversations have only increased in importance, and, as Ms. Deverin added, “this is precisely the reason this work needs to continue”.
In terms of getting feedback directly from students, many teachers have opted to use tools such as Google Forms and the discussion feature on Canvas. Ms. Ostrom frequently uses Forms and other resources as a way to get information from her students. She tries to create multiple spaces throughout the year for students to give feedback in reflection form, guiding her teaching and focus. U.S. History teacher and Social Studies Department chair, Mr. Jordan also spoke about course evaluations and reflections, especially at the end of the year. An overall pattern in the responses showed that students were not shy in conversations about topics as well as what they thought about the overall class, which helps teachers figure out what they want to do in the future or even in the next lessons. Many also mentioned that brief one-to-one conferences when possible, surveys, and check-ins are useful.
Of course, this is just the start of the long journey that is anti-racism work. COVID-19 has only complicated these efforts, but it has also provided us with more time to think about racism, what it means to us, and what we can do. These departments have continued to include and emphasize important ideas that are crucial for everyone to learn about, especially in today’s political, social, and economic climate. There is a long road ahead and room for even more anti-racism incorporation, but this year IHS has made significant strides.