The Revolution Shall Be Taught; It’s Time We Keep It REAL

ISN’T IT CRAZY THAT I TRULY LEARNED HOW THE WORLD OPERATED MY JUNIOR YEAR IN MY UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES??!!!!!! It is so shocking to me every time I ponder upon that. I started learning real content about the world,(by the world I mean the United States of Amerikkka and how we interconnect with the world) because one of my minors is specialized in International Global Studies. The truth was revealed to me and I have been on the quest to seek it ever since.I still find myself educating myself on more of the truth. I MYSELF HAVE TO TEACH MYSELF THE TRUE HISTORY THAT IS AMERICA. My teachers failed me except for one. I have been in school for 18 academic years and I had to make it a goal to teach myself how the Americas truly formed, how the colonizers came and just massacred all the indigenous people and how they truly betrayed the indigenous peoples tricking them under false treaties;  and how they enslaved millions of Africans placing them through the entire Caribbean and the Americas. The true impact of colonialism is so deep that many people like myself will never truly know where I come from, or where my ancestors were from, and so on and so forth. The least we are owed is a correction of our history and to own up to the painful truth so we can start to work towards am honest society where the honesty will allow vulnerability in conversations. This conversations can start in the classroom. 

 My hopes for an educational revolution that truly teaches the truth no matter if they teach kindergarten, the third grade, sophomores in high school or even doctoral students. WE the people deserve to know our true history. We deserve to heal and truly change the narrative and create a fair true opportunity through all. We deserve true representation and a true narrative fitting for ALL students and not just for the superior group. America is filled with people from all over the world. We have since the start of this country, have been filled with immigrants. It has been time to embrace everyone’s history. It’s time to teach OUR history! 

According to Pedagogy legend, Bell hooks, teaching REAL history can be achieved. But, as an instructor, one has to be aware that learning new content (or as I like to call it..THE TRUTH ) and embracing it can be painful for students. She says, it is important to create a community that fosters engaged pedagogy in order to have a true empowering learning setting where ALL voices can be heard as well as REAL history being discussed successfully.  Fostering a true REAL community within the classroom can be done with chose topics such as inclusion of how the system is and how it affects the lives of minorities inside and outside of the classroom. It can be painful to both discuss and hear the stories of those students affected by the system. The dormant group will have to make a decision knowing new information upon the truth of those affected as well as those around them who disagree or simply don’t share the same sentiment to change the system so it can be equal for all. Which is why the discussions need to be respectful and vulnerable. 

Within my classroom, I trying to create true conversations about the truth. I have discussed the BLM movement and included a photo of two women of the dominant group that held signs saying , “White People Need To Do More” and “This White Women supports BLM”. I discussed the deep meaning behind that and had them tell their meanings before I spoke over my interpretation. I tied this in with the important of citizens advocating for others. Our conversation was very open and I felt good to have done that as I craved for my professors to #diversifyit in my previous courses. I would be lying to you if I told you that my Real lessons have always been smooth sailing… They haven’t. There are times were I have struggled to engage the class due to me sharing my power too much. I truly think it is important to keep in mind what grade level everyone is whether they are lower classman or upperclassmen as I realized after class that I didn’t know any of this information that was apart of the discussion ( the discussion was addressing the Media. I asked them why is the Media such a big deal? And how does it impact us) until I was an upperclassmen. I am still proud of myself for trying and I definitely plan on closing the semester off strong by continuing to keep it REAL and #diversifying the education! Truly, being apart of the educational reform is the way I am apart of the revolution. I really hope my beautiful students feel a little more included and relevant because I included them in my lesson plans in ways that may change their perspectives forever. 

Education is so important. It’s the way that we as humans, learn and grow throughout our lives. We develop critical skills and motor skills. This involves engagement and discussion with peers, family, friends (pretty much any human interaction you can think of counts!). We as a country, are so mislead and it’s all because of our education. WE were taught a misleading agenda from K-12. We were taught to think that colonialism basically was something that was savior like when that was not the eternity of colonists. We can NOT continue to mislead our students, ourselves, each other!!! A true revolution involves doing the right thing and teaching what is RIGHT to you, deep in your heart you know the truth. You owe it to your students the truth, the REAL raw truth!!!!!! It’s been time to keep it real!! THE REVOLUTION SHALL BE EDUCATIZED!!!!!!! (You know not televised by educatized :)

Reference: 

hooks,b (1994). Teaching to tranagress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge