Racial and Social Justice

Racial and Social Justice

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MSEA President Cheryl Bost: We can provide hope to students for something better

MSEA President Cheryl Bost Every January, we celebrate and reflect on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — work that changed our country and for which he gave the ultimate sacrifice. As we begin a new decade, I wonder how far we have advanced his work. As an educator, and the elected voice of educators across […]
Racial and Social Justice

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Honoring Advocacy, Commitment, Courage

2018 MSEA Minority Recognition Award for Leadership recipient Kierre Vinson, a Carroll County member and reading specialist, with MSEA-Retired member Yvonne Gambrill. MSEA supports members and their communities through annual awards for activism on behalf of public schools and minority populations. “Our advocacy is not only for our students and their success, but also for […]
Racial and Social Justice

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Promoting Respect and Empathy

You can set the stage for a caring classroom in the 2019–2020 school year with help from another great toolkit from MSEA’s partnership with First Book. The new Promoting Respect and Empathy: A Toolkit for Educators of All Grades includes more than 20 activities from educators to help build more of the valuable social skills students need. You […]
Racial and Social Justice

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Black Girls and Discipline

In the mountains of research about school discipline, there’s one group of students that has only recently begun to receive the attention it deserves. That group is Black girls. According to the National Black Women’s Justice Institute analysis of Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data from 2015–2016, Black girls are seven times more […]
Racial and Social Justice

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Explore Personal Bias with a Free Online Assessment

This year MSEA’s partnership with the non-profit First Book offers resources to help educators understand and learn how to address the unconscious bias we all carry, plus classroom resources to explore cultures and heighten awareness and tolerance. These resources follow last year’s focus on social-emotional learning and the important, free Trauma Toolkit, the most downloaded […]
Racial and Social Justice

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Address Inequity, Combat Bias, Foster Cultural Competence

With new offerings connecting directly with MSEA member needs, the partnership of First Book and MSEA is back offering more books, resources, and school supplies. The focus this year is on equity, bias, and cultural competency and — like last year — the partnership includes a curated selection of high-quality new books focusing on the theme with opportunities for […]
Racial and Social Justice

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Teaching while Black

Jason Fahie is a physical education teacher at Harper’s Choice Middle School in Howard County. (Photo © Stephen Cherry) When I moved to Maryland 11 years ago, I was the only Black male teacher in my building. I had to learn to navigate a new environment while, once again, being an ambassador for my commu­nity. I […]
Racial and Social Justice

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The Racial Bias in You

Personal racial bias comes in so many forms that it feels almost too overwhelming — and complicated — to talk about. For educators it means unambiguously confronting personal obstacles to reaching and teaching every student. It means having the often painful and painfully honest conversations with yourself and your colleagues to discover and realize that deeply rooted biases indeed […]
Racial and Social Justice

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“We are desperate to be understood.”

    Katherine Bonilla Gutierrez is a 2018 graduate of Frederick High School in Frederick County. Katherine traveled alone from El Salvador to Frederick to be with her mother, who left her country for the U.S. when Katherine was six.   Katherine Bonilla Gutierrez is a 2018 graduate of Frederick High School, Frederick County. Katherine […]
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