Thread by @identityshaper

Although being a critical race scholar is not a requirement, you should still strive to read as many CRT books as you can grab. If you are still unsure about whether you’re applying a critical race lens to your teaching practice, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you actively challenging racist policies and protocols that dehumanize marginalize students of color in your school?

2. When determining what curricular resources (ex. books, articles) to use in the classroom, particularly those centered around BIPOC, are you taking the time to assess for bias, as well as the historical accuracy and cultural validity of the content?

3. Are you making the conscious effort to continually check your implicit bias at the door when teaching, engaging with, and disciplining your students of color?

4. When teaching from a required curriculum that is racist and problematic, are you actively finding creative and innovative ways to teach the curriculum in a way that is culturally sustaining and authentically speaks to the lived experiences of your students of color?

5. If you have emergent bilingual learners in your class, are you actively engaging in translanguaging practices that not only views their native tongue as a necessary asset that is instrumental to their development as English language learners?

6. Are you assessing the intellectual capabilities of your students of color through a deficit-based lens or focus more on their potential to thrive academically?

7. Do you provide a safe space in your classroom for students to engage in open and honest conversations about race and racism?

8. When you see a co-worker or colleague engage in a racist action on school grounds, are you calling in that colleague to educate them on why the action is racist and how they can change the behavior to not impose racial harm on others?

Your responses to these questions will help you in building a personalized game plan for how you intend to strengthen your critical race lens to challenge racist practices within your school.