About This Event
Join Washington Teachers’ Union and Teaching for Change as we host a Decolonizing the Curriculum summer series beginning July 27. This six-session series will feature presentations disrupting the master narrative in classroom curriculum by providing hands-on strategies with lessons to be used in-person and virtually.
Each session is standalone, so attend one or all six Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:00PM-6:30PM ET via Zoom. The series is free for DCPS teachers, all others are welcome and encouraged to participate and donate.
Series Schedule
Tuesday July 27 at 5:00PM ET
Decolonizing the Curriculum with Teaching for ChangeThursday July 29 at 5:00PM ET
Building Compassionate Communities: Black Lives Matter in Early Childhood Classrooms with Laleña GarciaTuesday, August 3 at 5:00PM ET
Teaching for Liberation: A People's Tribunal on the Coronavirus Pandemic with Caneisha MillsThursday, August 5 at 5:00PM ET
Politics of Hair with Dr. Cierra Kaler-JonesTuesday, August 10 at 5:00PM ET
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Role Play with Jessica Rucker and Judy RichardsonThursday, August 12 at 5:00PM ET
Teaching about Voting Rights with Ursula Wolfe-Rocca
Bios & Session Description
Tuesday, July 27 at 5:00PM ET
Decolonizing the Curriculum with Teaching for Change
Teaching for Change encourages teachers and students to question and re-think the world inside and outside their classrooms, build a more equitable, multicultural society, and become active global citizens.
On Tuesday, July 27th, Teaching for Change will host a session, Decolonizing the Curriculum.
Thursday, July 29 at 5:00PM ET
Building Compassionate Communities: Black Lives Matter in Early Childhood Classrooms with Laleña Garcia
As early childhood educators, we are responsible for building compassionate communities in our classrooms. A critical part of that work is ensuring that all of our students feel seen, heard, and loved, which means that we need to welcome all aspects of their identity. The guiding principles of Black Lives Matter offer a framework for a compassionate society, and offer us not only a way to envision the world we want our students to be able to build, but also a way to discuss the world we live in. By connecting the principles to children’s lived experiences, we can give them the tools to become responsible and caring members of their communities, not only in their classrooms, but in the wider world. This workshop will lay out the groundwork for creating compassionate communities, as well as practical, hands-on strategies for educators to use with their students.
Laleña Garcia, a kindergarten teacher since 2000, helps young children think about big questions like “What is equity?” “How do we take care of each other?” and “What do people need?” Ms. Garcia is the author of What We Believe, a powerful activity book that engages children with the guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Tuesday, August 3 at 5:00PM ET
Teaching for Liberation: A People's Tribunal on the Coronavirus Pandemic with Caneisha Mills
This session will highlight the theory, implementation, and student responses to the lesson she authored, Who’s to Blame? A People’s Tribunal on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Caneisha Mills is an 8th grade U.S. History teacher and Social Studies Department Chair at Hardy Middle School in Washington, D.C. Her goal is not to “just facilitate schooling,” but she hopes to instill students with the skill of interpreting “facts” from the past to critically assess current events to change the future. This, she believes, is a true education. Founding co-coordinator for 2019-2020 of DCAESJ middle and high school people’s history curriculum working group and author of lesson, Who’s to Blame? A People’s Tribunal on the Coronavirus Pandemic, published at the Zinn Education Project website and in Rethinking Schools.
Thursday, August 5 at 5:00PM ET
Politics of Hair with Dr. Cierra Kaler-Jones
On Thursday, August 5th, Dr. Kaler-Jones will host a session on the Politics of Hair.
Hair is a form of expression which can make a political statement and connect us to our ancestors and our history. This workshop will create space for deep learning about the sociopolitical and historical context of natural hair, encourage discussion about curriculum and dress code policies that restrict hair expression, and share resources for how to incorporate hair into the curriculum in an affirming way. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive lesson where they will predict, explore, and examine historical policies that police hair, as well as discuss how hair has been used as a form of community building, creativity, and resistance.
Dr. Cierra Kaler-Jones (she/her), Ph.D., is a social justice educator, writer, and researcher based in Washington, D.C. Her research explores how Black girls use arts-based practices (e.g. movement, music, hair) as mechanisms for identity construction and resistance. Dr. Kaler-Jones has learned alongside preschoolers, K-12 students, college students, and adults over the past ten years. She previously served as the Education Anew Fellow with Communities for Just Schools Fund at Teaching for Change. She is now the Director of Storytelling at Communities for Just Schools Fund, in which she works to help shift national narratives in education by centering youth, family, and educator organizers’ experiences and stories in education work.
Tuesday, August 10 at 5:00PM ET
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Role Play with Jessica Rucker and Judy Richardson
On Tuesday, August 10th, Ms. Rucker will engage participants in a lesson on the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) (adapted from a role play by Adam Sanchez at the Zinn Education Project). The lesson will be followed by a conversation with special guest SNCC veteran and Eyes on the Prize series associate producer Judy Richardson.
Jessica A. Rucker is an electives teacher and the Electives Department Chair at Euphemia Lofton Haynes High School in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice network as a member of the People’s History Curriculum Working Group. Rucker was a participant in the 2018 NEH Summer Teacher Institute at Duke University where she learned the “bottom-up history” of the Civil Rights Movement by a team of scholars, veterans, and educators from Duke University, the SNCC Legacy Project, and Teaching for Change. Previously, Rucker was an adjunct professor with the Georgetown University Institute of College Preparation and a docent at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Rucker holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, with a concentration in Social Justice Analysis from Georgetown University. She resides in Washington, D.C. with her partner.
Judy Richardson was on the staff of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Georgia, Miss. and Lowndes Co., Alabama (1963-66) and ran the office for Julian Bond’s successful first campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives. Her SNCC involvement has always been a strong influence: in her documentary film work for broadcast and museums (including the award-winning 14-hour PBS series Eyes On The Prize, PBS’ Malcolm X: Make It Plain, and all the videos for the Little Rock 9 National Park Service Visitor Center); and in the writing, lecturing and workshops she conducts on the history and relevance of the Civil Rights Movement.
Richardson was a co-founder of Drum & Spear Bookstore (Washington, DC), once the largest African American bookstore in the country, and worked for a variety of social justice organizations. She also co-edited Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC, which includes the narratives of 52 SNCC women. She is on the board of the SNCC Legacy Project, which is engaged in long-term collaborations to further SNCC’s legacy and continuing work on contemporary issues.
Thursday, August 12 at 5:00PM ET
Teaching about Voting Rights with Ursula Wolfe-Rocca
On Thursday, August 12th, Ursula Wolfe-Rocca will host a session featuring her lesson on voting rights and who gets to vote.
Just as the United States has never been a true “government by the people, for the people,” the right to vote has always been incomplete, contested, and compromised by the racism, sexism, classism, and xenophobia of policymakers and the interests they act to protect. Through a mixer role play, this workshop will help participants — and their students — see that yes, voting rights have expanded in the last 400 years, but they have also been taken away, requiring activists to rise up, again and again, to restore the achievements of prior generations.
Ursula Wolfe-Rocca taught high school social studies for 20 years. She is a Rethinking Schools editor and curriculum writer/organizer with the Zinn Education Project. She has written articles and lessons on voting rights, redlining, deportations, COINTELPRO, climate justice, Red Summer, the Cold War, and more.
This work is made possible by the sponsorship of the Washington Teachers’ Union.