The Trail of Tears is arguably one of the most unspoken issues regarding Native American land in our current society today, as it was a mass migration of peoples towards land they did not want, which led to thousands of deaths. There are multiple events that lead to the Trail of Tears that are not discussed in a classroom. These include various Native American Removal Acts that were passed, despite multiple attempts for the Cherokee tribe to convert to the “standards” of the European settlers, they were forced out of their land and walked over 5,000 miles, some to their own deaths. Personally, I had never previously learned about this topic in school. But, this is a sensitive topic to some and most people tend to typically avoid making the classroom setting uncomfortable. However, I would argue that educators definitely should be speaking about uncomfortable topics. It is essential that students understand the consequences of previous actions that have been taken upon by government officials. In order for students to have an open lens, both sides of any argument, whether it be for any subject area, should be understood fully.

Most educators tend to stray away from the “uncomfortable” topics within the classroom. This often is caused by fear of saying something that is incorrect, or backlashed by other individuals, and this is often the same case with the student. However, student conversation should be encouraged, with critical thinking skills being applied and challenging the “normalcy” within the classroom. In the article provided within this website, I explored the ways in which teachers should begin to talk to their students about these uncomfortable topics. The author, Lisa M. Jakubowski, divides this process into four critical parts, which are the following:

• Articulation of Experience

• Codification

• Decodification

• Empowerment

• Articulation of Experience: Teacher opens up the classroom with typical work, perhaps intertwining the lesson with an ongoing issue that is occurring in the world for the students. They are given the opportunity to describe how this makes them feel, provide examples, and more. This portion is solely based on the experience of others.

• Codification: This is the depiction of a “physical” representation of the issue that is being addressed. For example, this can include pictures, songs, art, and more, to express how racism is dealt with in the media. Since this is included, students can feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions by building stronger connections to each point that could be shared.

• Decodification: This is the complete opposite of the previous phase of the process. Instead of solely looking on and observing issues, one now must take the step to analyze more in depth discoveries of the case. This includes asking a lot of questions – such as why is there an issue, how did this come about, what can we do to fix it, and more. Since these questions are included, it provokes students to be more engaged and involved.

• Empowerment: The final component of this strategy, empowerment seeks to provide students with the capabilities to understand ongoing issues within our society. Examples include students making posters, organizing protests within their community.