July 20, 2021

Advocating for BIPOC Mental Health at School

It’s essential that educators, students and the entire school community work to reduce stigma associated with mental health issues, especially during Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Month. Use these resources to help interrupt school practices that disregard mental health—particularly for Black youth—and to understand and practice self-care and to address challenges students face.
We Need LGBTQ-Affirming Learning Environments in Person or Otherwise // Sam Blanchard

New Resources for Protecting Immigrant Students’ Rights // Learning for Justice Staff

Students Say Teach the Truth // Elizabeth Kleinrock
Self-guided PD Resources for Summer Learning
LFJ provides a range of free materials—modules, self-assessments, publications and more—that enables educators to improve their practice at their own pace. In the Self-guided Learning section of our online PD resources, you’ll find resources on instruction, classroom culture, school climate, family and community engagement, and teacher leadership.

School Discipline Policies: It Was Always About Control

In the latest issue of our magazine, Senior Writer Cory Collins explains how compliance-based discipline has evolved through school closures. Collins explores how school policies can reassert and reaffirm white supremacy—even in students’ own homes. Read the article and paired toolkit to learn more about how these practices harm students and how some educators are repairing that harm.

What It Means to Be an Anti-racist Teacher

Anti-racist educators often hear that what they’re doing is “extra,” that it “doesn’t belong at school,” that it “isn’t real work,” even that it’s “indoctrination.” Those sentiments are the work of white supremacy, and Lorena Germán, co-founder of Multicultural Classroom and #DisruptTexts, talked with us to break all of this down.

How We Teach America’s Interwoven Histories

Harvard history professor Tiya Miles spends much of her time thinking, learning and teaching about how humanity’s various histories come together and influence one another, namely those of Black and Indigenous Americans. Read what Miles has to say about why we can’t understand the American story without recognizing and learning these shared histories.

Check Out What We’re Reading

“This month, Illinois became the first state in the country to require the inclusion of Asian American history in public school curriculums. While the actual impact of this law will depend a lot on implementation, its passage alone sends a significant message: that Asian American history is American history and is integral to understanding the country’s past and present.” — Vox

“Pushback over history that paints a fuller picture of the Tejanos (Mexican Texans) in the state is not new, but in 2021, academic debates are increasingly caught up in the curriculum controversies engulfing school boards nationwide—and, in particular, arguments over whether critical race theory is being taught in schools.” — TIME

“All Black students deserve the educational opportunities I had. For that to happen, educators need to consider and meaningfully address their Black students’ needs when it comes to learning civics. This is all the more important as states use legislative bans on critical race theory to limit how schools can teach about racism in America.” — Chalkbeat
Have a comment, question or idea for Learning for Justice? Drop us a line at [email protected].
            
Copyright © 2021 Learning for Justice. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-956-8200 | learningforjustice.org

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.