In support of #BlackOutTuesday I chose not to Blog for my first day since I started this Blog, yes it is important to stay vocal and to speak out in times like this but it is also time to stand in solidarity so taking one day off of social media was the route that I chose.
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It is important for us to use this time to speak up, speak out and educate yourself in anyway possible.
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There have been millions of photos, protest signs and words put out there and social media and this one for sure caught my eye:
Being an educator within urban schools and being a product of the same I feel like it is my duty to educate my students and stand up for their rights. I was blessed with going to an amazing elementary school in an urban city in Los Angeles where 80% of our teachers and school administration where African American. You could say that my brother and I were the minority at the school but we never felt it because everyone loved us regardless of race.
I knew right away when I wanted to be a teacher that I wanted to teach kids from similar backgrounds as myself. Sure I am not African American but I am from a similar struggle and I feel like I can relate to them and be a positive voice for them. Time and time again people have asked me why I chose to teach in these communities rather than going the private right or somewhere with higher wages but I tell them that I'm not doing it for the money.
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Many teachers like myself go into teaching because we want to enrich the youth that come into our classroom to be educated and to be a positive influence for them. I myself am a mixed younger aged teacher and I know that I have something to provide every kid that I teach that many others don't. Once I realized that many teachers didn't have a real passion or drive to teach and I feel like I wanted to go into teaching because I really want to do it for the kids. I want to be one of those amazing teachers that my students look back at as one of their greatest influences.
Right now with tensions high and so much going on in the world I wish that my kids were in my classroom so I could hug them all and tell them how special they are to me and to the world. It is my yearly thing for my kids to dream about what they want to be and what one thing they want to change about the world and I know that right now many of them would want to change the way that African American's are perceived, I want them to be able to live in a society where they are noticed for who they are rather than the color of their skin.
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We need to collectively educate our kids on what is going on and let them know that though they are small their voices are loud and they too deserve to be heard. These students are the next generation, the future and moments like this will shape the world that they one day rule. I will continue to tell my students how amazing they are and push them t excel in all that they do because I know that they will meet so many people who tell them differently but if I instill it into them now they will have a strong foundation and be less to crumble. Kids seeing us all stand in unison to fight for what is right regardless of color is something that they need more than ever.
It would be easy to say that my first best friend was African American, that my favorite teacher was African American, that my first love was African American, that I was raised around African American's, that my nieces are half African American, I often date African American and the list can go on but what does that prove? Nothing! Instead I can use my voice and stand in unison with a cause that makes sense to me and boils my blood at the injustice.
A few months ago I seen a meme that was asking what grade you were in that you had your first African American teacher so I decided to ask on Instagram and these are some of the responses that I got:
Its crazy to see how many kids weren't as lucky as myself to be educated from the start with teachers that looked like themselves and have a better understanding of the actual way of life rather than something they just read in a book. I myself am mixed and have yet to have a teacher similar to my race yet growing up having African American teachers almost yearly since the 1st grade gave me a leg up on the importance of learning from teachers who actually love what they do, believe in all their students, want to see us excel to our full potential and to be our voice.
Rather than shielding our kids from what is going on we need to educate them now while we use our voices to protect them and show them that this too shall pass.
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Lets pray for the day where we are all treated as one rather than just jumping back into the historical rotation of things being thrown under the carpet.
I am going to leave you with this as culture is something easy to love but why are people and races not so easy to love?!
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