Teaching While White Podcast

In this episode, Jenna speaks with William Yepes, a Spanish teacher in Cambridge, MA who is originally from Columbia. William talks about the false notion of "remaining neutral," and how his journey to becoming a US citizen defined his identity and his teaching practice.

What can White teachers do in this moment to take action in the midst of the duel pandemics or Covid and Racism? Our guests, Jose Vilson, and Kelly Wickham Hurst give their insights as two educators who are leading efforts to move schools towards antiracism.

Other resources mentioned in this episode: Educolor How to Start a Plan and Take Action Against Racism

Shelly Tochluk and Christine Saxman have been investigating White supremacist organizations and their tactics for recruiting White youth. Join us for a discussion about the importance of having explicit conversations about race and what teachers and parents can do to support White students.

What if schools are doing exactly what they were meant to do? What if they were designed to only educate the elite few? Warning: This episode contains swearing, which, given the topic, feels appropriate.

In this episode, we speak with Claudia Fox Tree, a Native American teacher, about the ways we learn about Indigenous Peoples in school- or don’t.

Resource List

In this episode, we learn about Project Lit, which was started by teacher Jarred Amato and his students at Maplewood High School in Nashville. We hear from Jarred and his former student/Co-founder, Jakaylia about the need to rethink how we create readers and writers. Jarred has since switched schools and Jakaylia is now a Freshman in College, but Project Lit is still going strong.

Who decides what books are worthy of study and which voices are included in the literary canon? Interviews with Tricia Ebarvia and Jack Hill.