Reflections

Co-teaching

While there are a lot of different models of co-teaching, we were clear with each other that we wanted to share the classroom space as equal partners, while recognizing that we were bringing in different kinds of expertise and experiences to the endeavor. We talked explicitly about the power dynamics--for example, Anita had multiple years of teaching experiences at an elite liberal arts college and Marika was concerned that she would feel like she needed to defer to Anita in that space. Speaking these concerns out loud helped us stay aware of potential pitfalls. Generating community norms with our students also helped the two of us stay focused on our own and our students’ learning. Weekly planning meetings during the term gave us time to debrief class sessions that allowed for adjustments as needed and to reflect on different interpretations we sometimes had about what students said in class. For example, we would re-emphasize certain aspects of the materials if we heard confusions or repeated questions. 

We had to remind ourselves and our students that “it’s not big A but little a” when it comes to the work of abolition and de-carcerating our imaginations, our communities, and our educational spaces. We were clear with each other and in the development of the course that abolishing, rather than reforming, our current systems of education, policing, and imprisonment is the goal. While we saw this framework as foundational to our work, teaching this course helped us have ongoing realizations about the difference between reform and abolition [for example, see this chart by Critical Resistance]. Understanding that our own work often ends up more “reform” than “abolition” helped us approach our students’ doubts and questions with empathy and patience. It is HARD work to de-carecrate especially our imaginations! We also found useful--as did our students--the reminder that abolition is about building, not just critiquing and destroying. One of our favorite quotes comes from Ruth Wilson Gilmore who says, “Abolition is about abolishing the conditions under which prison became the solution to problems, rather than abolishing the buildings we call prisons” (source). We used this quote on the day that we started our unit on de-carcerating education. Another quote we appreciated was from Ruha Benjamin, who was included in a presentation from a guest speaker, Clarence Okoh, “Remember to imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the ones you cannot live within” (source).

As we reflect on our teaching endeavors a few months after we wrapped up the final class and gave feedback on students’ final projects, we understand even more deeply that we are all always working towards not only dismantling carceral institutions, but also the “cops in our heads.”

Check out selected student reflections as well as our final reflections about how the course went (tabs under reflections)