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Education is Activism

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I was asked to write an entry on the education and activism, and I had the hardest time, attempting to start this wonderful article. What tone of voice I should use, should I add statistical data, and how special education is connected to the prison system. But, I changed my mind in the middle of my article, and wanted to discuss activism, and how teachers are activists.

Activism seems to be taking a front seat lately, thanks to social media. Everyone seems to have an opinion about something, most of which are not grounded in any facts. We speak on the Freddie Gray death, the lack of convictions given to police for killing unarmed men of color, the murder of trans men and women, and the wonderful presidency of Number 45. We believe that activism is participating loudly, drawing attention to ourselves, and being infamous in certain circles. We find the Deray McKessons, the Shawn Kings, the Umar Johnsons, the Colin Kaepernicks, and the Shannon Sharpes intimidating, questioning whether we are doing “enough” for the children that we interact with daily. We fail to understand the full magnitude of the impact that we have.

So, as an educator, how are we activists? First, teaching is not about testing and data: it is about liberating the mind. It goes beyond the behavioral management strategies; the system-approved curricula, filled with evidenced-based practices; and the framework, outlining the time spent on each standard. Teaching is giving the child the confidence, the skills, and the ability to expand their minds, and wanting to change the world for the better. Somehow, in the midst of testing and certifications, we forgot that. We forgot that a child is more than just a PARCC score, a HSA score, a DC-CAS score, or an MSA score. We try so hard to get great evaluations, we forget that a lot of our kids, the ones where school is a place to eat, feel loved, be safe, and feel secure, are not interested in data. They look to us to fulfill a need.

As educator-activists, we are the frontline of defense. We cannot seek to educate children on empty stomachs. It is our duty to feed them. It is our duty to create the safe space, giving our students the ability to be children, even if it is only for 6 hours. Some teachers may disagree, but that is due to their personal experiences, and where the schools these teachers are employed. It is easy to ignore the role of an activist, when social injustice is not staring you in the face every day. As educators, we have to remember why we are in this field: we are here to liberate, to inspire. Every lesson should be to give our students, the ones without hope, hope. The chance that the world willingly takes away. We cannot be afraid to discuss social injustice in our classrooms. Let’s face it, we can easily make a lesson from anything. We are innovative!

Activism is who is we are. Educators inspire, create leaders, and invoke change in the world. We have to get back to the essence of who we are. This is more than a paycheck. This is more than in IMPACT score. This is more than an evaluation. We literally are looking in the eyes of the next Barak Obama, Marcus Garvey, Steve Jobs, Jane Elliott, Nikola Tesla, and Phyliss Wheatley every single day. But, we only choose to inspire those from certain backgrounds. We have to get back to our roots, back to who we are. Without education, there is no activism.

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