For EDUC 402 Diverse Classrooms
An important thing to practice as an educator is being anti-racist. It goes a lot further than simply not being racist. If you say you’re not racist, it may mean you aren’t participating in racist actions or microaggressions, but being anti-racist means being an active-witness. It means you actively address racist actions that you witness. This is important as an educator because kids sometimes don’t understand why what they are saying or doing is wrong if they’re copying the actions of an adult or another student. It’s also important to address racist actions of students while they’re still young and impressionable so they can be anti-racist adults. Furthermore, being anti-racist means you’re standing up for and protecting a student or adult that someone is being racist towards. Not only is it ethically right to protect the students, it also aligns with the first Standard for BC Educators which states that “educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.” Being anti-racist means valuing the success of everyone in the class.