Hi there,
Thank to you to everybody for their support! While obviously to actively change the curriculum itself is the main goal, there is something you can do in the meantime. Ultimately, it is up to individual teachers to make the decision to enact these changes in their classrooms. To encourage this change I've sent all of my former teachers and professors mass emails encouraging them to implement these changes and to spread it to their colleagues. One of the biggest pieces of feedback I've heard from other past students is that their teachers actively decided not to address topics such as race and avoided books that dealt with the topic because it made them uncomfortable. As a result many went into university not knowing about the realities of racism at all. A popular comment I've heard is that they didn't know about the existence of residential schools until university courses. This is unacceptable.
By pushing your own teachers to push past their discomfort and educate themselves you are singlehandedly improving this issue firsthand, changing the way race is addressed for an entire group of students. Being educated as a teacher or professor is helpful not only in updating the curriculum but also in how they interact with and teach their BIPOC students. I've heard from plenty of students who have experienced microaggressions and other racism from their own teachers or from fellow students with little to no consequence. This is unacceptable.
This is what you can do to help. Using the template below copy and paste and send en masse to your former and current teachers, professors and other educators. Even if you are not a Newfoundlander this will have a positive impact on your own community. If it's been awhile since you were in school, you can send it directly to your former high school, to your children's school, to friends who are teachers, whoever.
Here is a template you can copy and paste to use:
Hi there,
Given the current uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement and the tragedy of George Floyd, I've become increasingly frustrated with the lack of anti-racist education offered in our schools. It would appear I'm not alone. Nearly 18,000 people have signed the following petition asking the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to update their curriculum to include anti-racist works:
https://www.change.org/antiracistnl
I am encouraging you to read it, sign it, and seriously consider how you could better implement these changes in your own classroom.
Thank you,
[Your Name]
If you no longer have the contact info for your former teachers, it's generally very easy to find on the school website! I suggest you pick 5 and BCC them all sending it to yourself.
If you would like to send it directly to NLESD or the Dept of Early Childhood Education you can using this message:
Hi there,
Given the current uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement and the tragedy of George Floyd, I've become increasingly frustrated with the lack of anti-racist education offered in our schools. It would appear I'm not alone. Nearly 18,000 people have signed the following petition asking the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to update their curriculum to include anti-racist works:
https://www.change.org/antiracistnl
I hope you seriously consider making these changes as the current level of education offered is unacceptable.
[Your Name]
Send to:
education@gov.nl.ca
Avalon: scottlinehan@nlesd.ca
Central: pamelacole@nlesd.ca
Western: sherrisheppard@nlesd.ca
Labrador: sherryjennings@nlesd.ca
Feel free to personalize it as you see fit but this five minute process is a legitimate tangible way of seeing real change in your own community.
Thank you all again!!
Isabel