In order to create an equitable learning environment, students and I co-construct our classroom norms during our first days together. This creates a strong sense of community in which students feel heard, respected, and in control. Additionally, students are more likely to meet classroom expectations if they help construct them in the first place. By creating a list of rules and guidelines together, with each separate class, it shows that I value our unique learning communities; that students are not a monolith and different classes have different needs; and most importantly, that this is our classroom, and the needs of my students are prioritized equally with my own. I want all of my students to feel safe, to not be afraid to use their voice, and to respect each other during their learning journeys together.

I have made it my mission to build curricula whose foundations are culturally responsive texts that reflect a diverse range of perspectives, while still reflecting my own students' experiences and identities. My students deserve to read challenging and enthralling texts that de-center historically dominant voices, and that push them to critically think about the intersections of our histories, and the power (or lack thereof) attached to them. The texts we explore together simultaneously validate and challenge my diverse students- all with the intent to develop, improve and enhance their critical thinking skills; as well as their perceptions of power, identity, and history.

We do not shy away from topics around violence, brutality or oppression in my class. Students need to feel their voices heard in order to process the pain and trauma they witness and/or experience themselves. One example of how I've routinely and strategically integrated lessons that center historically marginalized voices is the in-class activities around the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd. Each activity began with a brief background of the person, and then we'd read a G-rated graphic strip about the fatal incident that cost each of these people their lives. Students would then process their feelings through writing before discussing as a whole class.