Trusting Students with the Truth

Hooray for Monday is a weekly blog filled with questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students. Prefer audio? Listen to the Hooray For Monday podcast! Available on your favorite platforms here.

December 4, 2023

By Jenna Fournel, Director of Teaching and Learning

Last Wednesday evening, Dr. Khalil Muhammad, a professor of history, race, and public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, led a talk at Woodrow Wilson House on “the deep history behind the backlash against the rigorous teaching of American history, inclusive of the long traditions of anti-Black racism and resistance to it.” Cosby Hunt, Inspired Teaching’s Director of Youth Progamming, Real World History instructor, and teacher at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Washington, DC, was joined by Real World History student Nakyia Wimbish in moderating the event.

At the end of Dr. Muhammad’s lecture, another high school student from the Real World History class in the audience asked if she and her peers needed to worry about their future if the anti-woke movement (which is behind a massive wave of censorship and backlash against the teaching of history right now) ultimately wins.

Dr. Muhammad’s answer was “yes,” and he apologized for the harshness of that reality but called on her and her classmates to respond with action.

“We have produced a nation where nobody speaks the truth,” he said. “We lean too much on hope. But I trust you enough to know that if you learn good information, you’re going to make wise decisions. I believe you’re better served knowing this… so you can do better.”

This call to action is echoed in an article Dr. Muhammad wrote along with Erica Licht for the Fall issue of the Learning for Justice Magazine on A Call for Anti-Bias Education.

The article notes:

An honest education is the minimum we should strive for as educators, one that is rigorous, too, and demands the historical truth-telling of Black history, Indigenous history, and the history of Asian Americans, Latinx Americans, Middle Eastern Americans and other marginalized groups. An honest education centers these histories and makes them integral to the core concepts of learning. At best, this education becomes a foundational component of critical thinking—not only teaching these histories but also asking students to consider and understand ideas such as:

What does this mean for me and for my friends?
What is my responsibility for ensuring I do no harm, consider the well-being of others and promote equity and democratic values?

Dr. Muhammad was emphatic that education is how we get to a better future. He called out the bravery it takes right now for teachers to stand in defense of the truth, but he also framed this as a choice and an opportunity. Just as we ask our children to consider the role they’ll play as citizens in the world, it’s worth asking ourselves that last question: What is my responsibility for ensuring I do no harm, consider the well-being of others and promote equity and democratic values?

Listen to this week’s podcast for a conversation with Cosby as he reflects on his observations from the event and its potential impact on his students.

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Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication by Center for Inspired Teaching, an independent nonprofit organization that invests in and supports teachers. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Our mission is to create radical change in the school experience – away from compliance and toward authentic engagement.

Listen to This Issue of Hooray For Monday

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Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.