For the first time in six months, the daily and news broadcast headlines center on a 46-year-old Black male, George Floyd. As the cruelty of this injustice unfolds, I remember reader reactions posted in Teaching Tolerance, from veteran and pre-service educators about, "Why We Walked: A Letter to Our Future Educators." I can only imagine the compassion and awe-inspiring debate fueled by outrage over tyranny, racial conflict, diverse beliefs, and a commitment to human equality that would send sparks flying in international classrooms around the world if only classes were currently in session.
International educators would facilitate these critical conversations, not just because our students would demand it, but because of the connection and promise that having these uncomfortable discussions is worth it. Sharing the stories from educators that have walked for a cause would and can prompt a deeper narrative on diversity where students hear accounts from people they have come to know and trust.
David Brion Davis is a scholar who long believed that "tyranny is a central theme of American history" and that this discussion cannot be held solely in social studies classrooms. International schools must reach all students in a manner that values their identity, and American History taught as a human story is a way to work with students that have ingrained political ideologies and misconceptions about historical events.
However, this history / human story is similar for many countries. Therefore we must fight stereotypes and nurture respect for others in the classroom. It is imperative that all educators take part in this conversation.
I have no doubt that the individual social consciousness that international students bring to the classroom along with worldwide anger in response to oppression will cause educators to change their pedagogical approaches, recentering on how we are supposed to treat each other rather than how we're not supposed to treat each other.
Rebecca Coven, an award-winning educator, calls this erasing the line between schoolwork and "real-world work." This is how and why students become community activists. These are the youth you see around the globe protesting problems they often time studied in class.
We missed another school-wide opportunity for increased rigor and dialog due to COVID-19, but we know the student voice will not be silenced. Youth have and will continue to stand up for a cause that calls to them on issues that surface, whether it is prompted by the Vietnam War or events taking place in Soweto, Maple Spring Quebec, Hong Kong, Charlottesville, or Minneapolis.
Each day, I am inspired by the work of the amazing international teachers that recognize and link the emotional and curricular focus in daily instruction. This is the quiet work of educators and a powerful realization of the relevant racial conversations that spark inquiry and activism for the students we serve.
Jennifer J. Beckwith, Ph. D. is Founding Director of the American United School Kuwait.
