The Intersection: Culture and Race in Schools
Christina Torres is an 8th Grade English Teacher at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. She has worked with Teach For America, Hope Street Group, the Center for Teacher Quality, and Teaching Tolerance. Find her online: Teach. Run. Write. This blog is no longer being updated.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
True Love Always Wins: Why "Gay" Shouldn't Be an Insult
We can't treat someone differently for being in love. We shouldn't make fun of anyone for being attracted to anyone.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Pass the Mic: Letting Students Write (on This Blog)
Why do I need students to reach for someone else's bar? Why can't I help them see and unlock all the magic they already contain?
Teaching
Opinion
Whistling in the Dark
Teach so all students know they have a right to belong in this world and be accepted as individuals with equally powerful stories and futures.
Teaching
Opinion
Teach Your Students About Mizzou. Teach Them to Speak Up.
What obstacles do you think students of color or in low-income communities face when getting their voices heard?
Teaching
Opinion
The Mirror, Not the Measuring Stick: Treat Students With Respect
We are so quick to look at these students and see them as "not enough" or "defiant," that we run the risk of also failing to see them as human.
Teaching
Opinion
"Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely": Thoughts After Spring Valley High
Do we not want students to question? Don't we want them to stand up for themselves or seek the "why" to larger issues? Why, then, are we so afraid when they turn that critical eye onto us as their teachers?
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Stories They Tell Us: Keeping History Honest
Teachers and parents who call out the not-quite-truths we tell children understand that this matters not only because we should be honest with students, but because the stories we tell about each other matter. They affect the way students understand themselves, their families, their communities, and their potential.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
What Am I Doing Here?: Culturally Responsive Education as a Sign of Love
When we call for culturally-responsive education as part of teacher preparation, it's not because it will increase test scores or because it's what's trendy in education. It's because we know that being responsive to and inclusive of a students' culture is a sign of love for the students themselves.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
You Have Everything You Need Already: What #GraceLeeTaughtMe
Ultimately, #GraceLeeTaughtMe that we have everything we need already, within us. The communities we serve have all the brilliance they need. We merely need to rake away decades of oppression and release the tethers of systemic injustice to allow it "create the world anew."
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Language of Power
When we use the term "minority," we continue to use the language of disempowerment to refer to students, teachers, and communities of color.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Important Nuance Between 'Coddling' and 'Caring'
"Coddling" my students would be running away from the conversation altogether. Caring about them means creating a space where we can have these difficult, frank discussions in a way that still allows them to feel safe, validated and empowered, even when we disagree.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Place Matters: Schools and Community History
In an attempt to "fix" issues, we risk erasing family stories and community knowledge often ignored in the mainstream education debate.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Vulnerability as Empowerment in the Classroom
Students not only look to us for content, they also can experience either empowerment or oppression based on the culture of our classrooms.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Data - Context = Misleading Lessons, or: How to Avoid Trivializing Tragedy
There is a difference between teaching students to know facts and teaching them to truly understand and empathize with history.