This article discusses anti-racism in the context of education, the ways that we define our identities, and how educators can work to further the mission of anti-racism. The author also examines student teachers' reactions to anti-racist classroom readings in order to investigate these ideas in practice. They focus on many different ways that people's identities are constituted, whether it be race, gender, class, or sexual identity, and how teachers can work to ensure that their students are informed and aware of how our realities are shaped by these identities. 

Application:

The article outlines many different ways to approach anti-racist teaching, and the idea that stuck out the most to me was that of investigating personal identity. In order to understand the various identities of those who we may not share common ground with, we must first understand what makes up our own identity. Therefore, I believe some sort of activity with students that allows them to explore and understand the various aspects of their own identity whether it be in terms of race, gender, class, sexual identity, etc., would be highly beneficial to implement in my classroom. From there, I can seek to pose some critical questions and challenge certain oppressive classroom texts and materials (ie, flawed Eurocentric history textbooks), and hopefully push the students to engage with these discussions in a more personal and informed way after our discussion of identity.  

This article approaches issues of racial equity and environmental sustainability not as two separate issues, but as struggles that are linked in many ways. The author advocates for an ecocritical pedagogy, in order to address and rethink "dominant cultural frameworks" (5). This outlook, then, views social and environmental justice as two parts of the same whole. As teachers, we can help to educate our students in the many ways that these two things are linked, and help them to become more aware of our culture's current reality in relation to these issues. By looking critically at such phenomena as the commodification of natural resources and the natural world, we can help our students to form a greater connection with the world around them, and in turn hopefully foster a greater sense of unity with their fellow humans, despite differences of race, gender, class, etc. 

Application:

The author presents several possible classroom methods in order to put this pedagogy into action, but their mention of a possible student-teacher discussion of decision making that takes a more diverse set of perspectives into consideration as opposed to the white male perspectives that have largely dominated our history. This is especially salient in a history class, as this theoretical discussion could be employed during any given history lesson. Inviting students to analyze a historical decision and re-evaluate it with more consideration for those who may have been underrepresented at the time (minority racial groups, LGBTQ voices, and environmental concerns, to name a few) would be a great way to introduce this way of thinking to students and to bring awareness to some underrepresented parts of history. 

This article takes a look at the dominant media landscape in the U.S. at the time (2010), and emphasizes the need for critical media literacy for upcoming teachers as well as the students they will eventually teach. The authors discuss the largely private corporate interests that have taken over many of our largest sources of media in the U.S. whether that be television, print, or the internet. While the article is certainly dated in the sense that it was written before the explosion of social media into the landscape, many of the points made are still quite relevant today. The authors stress the need to critically evaluate the media which we consume, and consider the motivations of those producing it in order to color the narratives that they put out. In today's social-media dominated world, this is an absolutely crucial part of staying properly informed and avoiding potential misinformation. This is something that I think should certainly be a part of our modern curricula, as the sheer amount of information (much of it blatantly false) that the internet and social media give us access to today must be approached cautiously. This cautious approach is essential, as so many people today are misled into certain narratives which can result too often in hate and discrimination toward others, because those who are misleading them are pushing their own malicious agenda. 

Application:

In order to develop students' critical media literacy, there are a number of avenues that can be taken; however, in the context of a history classroom, there is a specific application which I think would work well. This would entail utilizing a current events story which connects somehow to the historical events being discussed in order to demonstrate some of the pitfalls of modern media. By showing students coverage of the event from different media outlets (say, FOX News and CNN), and bringing in some social media commentary on the issue, I could demonstrate the variance from source to source and the ways in which bias or even misinformation are used in said sources. This could then springboard into a discussion on how we get our news, what sources to trust, and what pitfalls to watch out for when engaging with media on a daily basis. 

This book is all about using popular culture in order to develop students' literacy. While there are many different avenues of utilizing popular culture which the author explores, Chapter 4: Teaching Popular Music details an in-class project centering around hip-hop which I found quite interesting. The original intent of the project was for the students to link familiar hip-hop songs with poetry in the curriculum of the English class, and to hopefully develop a more critical eye for the messages being conveyed to them by popular culture on a daily basis. As a massive hip-hop fan myself, this was a really interesting idea. I realized that there are so many ways to utilize popular culture (in this case popular music) to make connections to the curriculum and help students to develop critical skills.

Application:

My potential plan is derived from the hip-hop/poetry project, but with a few tweaks. In my class, I would present hip-hop artists and their work as a form of historical documentation of their time, as many of the great artists' work can serve this purpose. Utilizing artists such as Mos Def, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, or Cordae, I would present certain chosen songs and invite students to dig deeper into their lyrics for the meaning behind them. In many cases, especially with the artists mentioned above, these lyrics reveal insightful commentary into many issues of their time. This is a highly useful perspective from a historical point of view, as it will allow students to investigate these artists' personal expressions of their own experience, and hopefully help said students to develop a more critical eye (or ear) when engaging with popular media and culture in order to gain a deeper understanding of what they are consuming.