In 2019, Taina Coaching & Training assisted our middle school teachers in developing the CORE program over the course of the 2019-2020 school year. The goal was to create a middle school program that very directly and honestly guides our middle schoolers in building their understanding about race, equity, and justice. Beginning in year two of CORE, middle school teachers Egohsa and Chrissy took over the continued development of the program.
Middle school students spend 45 minutes per week in a CORE class, separated by grade level.
Resources That Guide the Work – Grades 5 and 6
Fifth and sixth graders use the book This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewel. The book is developmentally appropriate for 5-6 graders. It focuses on education and awareness around identities, stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. Students learn the correct terms and definitions that relate to racial justice, including the difference between race and ethnicity. Giving students the language to use in racial justice discussions is a stepping stone towards action. It is important that students develop critical awareness before they explore actions they can take to disrupt injustice.
Resources That Guide the Work – Grades 7 and 8
Seventh and eighth graders use the book Into The Streets: A Young Person’s Visual History of Protest in the US by Marke Bieschke. This book examines protest movements throughout US history, from the mid-1700’s through the present. Students compare these protests and discuss similarities and differences with each example. Guiding questions ask if there was violence present during the protest, what side was committing the violence, and whether or not the violence supported a victory. Eighth graders also read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
As 8th graders reach the end of their time at FSMN, they engage in a final CORE project to encompass what they have learned over several years. Last year, our 8th graders built out a protest. The thing(s) people were protesting connected with the methods of protesting.
“This is Our Favorite Year”
Last year (23-24 school year), two 8th graders shared that this was their favorite year of CORE. Having been through the three previous years of CORE, these students recognized that their empathy and emotional intelligence increased because of what they learned from the class. They looked forward to planning their final protest project. They cited a thought experiment centered around the murder of George Floyd as the most intensive and thoughtful activity they have done in CORE. The activity put the students in the shoes of the witnesses of the murder. The students were asked whether they would have done anything different from the actual bystanders.
Reflecting on Our Work and Making Changes
Our middle school CORE teachers gather feedback from students regularly, and bring this feedback to their quarterly meetings. They look for repeated themes in student feedback, and work to incorporate changes into the curriculum in real time, so as to best serve our students in their learning. It was our students who first brought up the idea of an interactive, multi-day field trip that revolved around historical injustices. Based on this suggestion, the middle school teachers are developing a few different field trips that will focus on history, resistance, and resilience.
We Are Lucky
At Friends School of Minnesota we are able to candidly discuss race and racism. Our goal is that discussions about race, racism, and injustice come up in many different contexts across the school, not just in the CORE class. The class provides a nucleus around base knowledge that students use as a lens in all of their work. Our goal is also to focus on the resistance and resilience of movements that have fought and continue to fight for justice. That doesn’t mean it is always easy work, but it is important work. We are lucky to have teachers who thoughtfully lead the work, families that know it is critical to educate our students, and students who are curious to learn more, become empowered, and drive change.
