Podcasts Education Courses Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers S5EP07 Ten things every white teacher should know when talking about race

S5EP07 Ten things every white teacher should know when talking about race

Published: March 19, 2017, 4 p.m.

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86% of teachers in the U.S. are white. Most of you listening to this episode\\xa0are therefore white. Conversations about race are super prevalent right now and for many white people, and it feels like stepping onto a minefield.

They have literally no idea what to say, or feel like they don\\u2019t understand the history enough to contribute much to the conversation. Or, they say something they think is totally valid but inadvertently offend people of color in the discussion or get their own feelings hurt because they feel \\u201cattacked\\u201d, vowing to never, ever enter another conversation about race again.

This can\\u2019t happen, teacher friends. It really hurts my heart to see so many misunderstandings in our country around race right now, particular when it\\u2019s among white teachers who are shaping the next generation of minds. Teachers are smart, kind, educated people tasked with raising up young people to be leaders. We cannot be ignorant about race or avoid talking about it.

I\\u2019m going to start here, today, by sharing what I know now as best as I can, because if I wait until understand everything fully, there will never be an episode about race on Truth for Teachers. And this can\\u2019t wait. I want every white teacher, particularly those who teach black and brown students, to understand some fundamental truths. These can completely transform your relationship with your students, their families, and the community you teach in, and I hope you\\u2019ll be open to my words in light of that.

This episode is for those who are frustrated with conversations about race right now, and also for those who want to have hard conversations, want to support their students, want to step up as advocates and allies, but just don\\u2019t know how to talk about racial issues and are afraid of saying the wrong thing. I hope the information I share today will help you feel more confident in having those tough conversations that are so, so important, and empower you to be a more culturally responsive teacher.

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