2020 Better Together

Many educators find themselves daunted by the challenges of facilitating anti-bias and anti-racist (ABAR) work, even if they recognize its value. Although checklists will never supplement the ongoing learning and self-reflection that are requisite to our understanding of ABAR work, it can offer educators an important framework to examine and improve their teaching methods along these lines. In this session, high school English teacher Takeru Nagayoshi (MA 2020 Teacher of the Year) shares his “Did-I Checklist” for interrogating lessons, activities, and curricula through an ABAR lens. He explores how to leverage this tool to spot-check blindspots in both our mindset and pedagogy, and demonstrates its application through an example from his AP Literature class.

tinyurl.com/bettertogether2020nagayoshi

My approach to anti-racist teaching is couched in consistent self-reflection and student-centered approaches. I aim to create and sustain experiences that have students feel my class is being done for them and not to them. I use strategies that create student choice, intentionally build teamwork, and incorporate art to reach my aims.