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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools.
A trial role play asks students to determine who is responsible for the death of millions of Taínos on the island of Hispaniola in the late 15th century.

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Teaching Activities (Free)

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow with contributions from members of the Taíno Community. Rethinking Schools. 13 pages.
A trial role play asks students to determine who is responsible for the death of millions of Taínos on the island of Hispaniola in the late 15th century.

Themes: Imperialism, Native American

By Bill Bigelow with contributions from members of the Taíno Community
This role play begins from the premise that a genocide was committed in the years after 1492, on the islands inhabited by the Taíno. Many Indigenous scholars estimate somewhere around 5 million Taíno inhabited the Greater Antilles pre contact.

Who - and/or what - was responsible for this genocide? This is the question students confront in this activity.

The intent of the lesson is to prompt students to examine the roots of colonial violence. When I first taught a version of this trial role play, it came at the conclusion of a longer unit about the meaning of the European arrival in the western hemisphere, one which included reading Taíno scholar José Barreiro's "The Taíno: 'Men of the Good,'" in Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years , which explicitly critiques the notion of the Taíno as "primitive." As Barreiro writes, "The Taíno strove to feed all the people, and maintained a spirituality that respected most of their main animal and food sources, as well as the natural forces like climate, season, and weather. The Taíno lived respectfully in a bountiful place so their nature was bountiful." Barreiro notes that "There was little or no quarreling observed among the Taíno by the Spaniards."

Students and I also read excerpts from Columbus's journal when he encountered the Taíno Nation, the Lukayan on the island of Guanahaní (probably San Salvador/Watlings Island), included in Rethinking Columbus , which hints at the violence to come: "They do not bear arms or know them, for I showed them swords and they took them by the blade and cut themselves through ignorance" - a quote that students find chilling. On the third day of Columbus's first encounter with the Taíno, October 14, 1492, Columbus bragged that "with 50 men they would be all kept in subjugation and forced to do whatever may be wished . . ."

The more students learn about the Taíno, Spain, Columbus's voyages, and details of Columbus's strategies to steal wealth and land from the people of the Caribbean - and Taíno resistance - the more effective this trial activity will be. But a caveat: The trial is not an introductory activity. A critical look at colonialism begins with the people being encountered prior to colonization, not with the state of siege that they experienced.

This lesson was originally written in 1991. Many things changed over my 30-year teaching career, but one thing stayed sadly consistent: Year after year, my high school U.S. history students had never heard of the Taíno people. Early in my classes, I asked students if they could name the person some people say "discovered America." There was never any shortage of students calling out "Columbus!" Then I asked, "OK. Who did he supposedly 'discover'? Who was here first?" Sometimes a few students would say, "Indians." But I'd say, "No. I mean what was the specific name of the people he found?" In all my years of teaching, I never had a single student say: "The Taíno" - much less be able to name any individual Taíno. I told my students their name, and that there were possibly millions on the islands of the Caribbean. "What does it say," I asked, "that we all know the name of the fellow from Europe, a white man, but none of us can name who the original peoples of the Caribbean are?"

" The Taíno vs. Columbus, et al. " was - and is - part of a broader effort to bring Taíno peoples into the curriculum. Although this lesson is not designed to introduce students to Taíno culture, the enormity of what happened to the Taíno is at the heart of the lesson. Columbus's actions against the Taíno meet the United Nations' definition of genocide ("acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group") - as well as internationally recognized crimes against humanity, war crimes, and environmental crimes. But there has been an almost complete curricular erasure of the Taíno peoples. Thus, it is up to us as educators to address these gaps, and consult and collaborate with those harmed to address misleading colonial narratives in our classes.

The updated version of this activity centers the Taíno people as the people harmed and includes indictments for four colonial offenders: Columbus, Columbus's Men, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and the System of Empire.

A pedagogical note: Recently, there has been much discussion - and controversy - about role plays. It's a term that embraces strategies the Zinn Education Project supports, and others we oppose. Some school activities - "role plays" - demand that students "recreate traumatic experiences," in the words of Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Ohio State University professor. No Zinn Education Project activity engages in this kind of teaching. In this and other ZEP role plays, we do not ask students to perform. Although Columbus enslaved Taíno people, and ordered his men to spread "terror," as documented by the Spanish priest Bartolomé de las Casas, students do not act any of this out in this role play. Instead, the role play asks students to attempt to represent different individuals' and social groups' points of view, to wrestle with who or what was responsible for the crimes against the Taínos. The "drama" in this activity is sparked by the intellectual and ethical questions students discuss, not by reenacting historical events. [Read How to - and How Not to - Teach Role Plays.]
Download the lesson to read in full. Read suggestions for adapting to upper elementary classroom
Taínos

The trial role play is excerpted from Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, which includes more context for the events dealt with in the lesson, including "The Taínos: 'Men of the Good,'" by José Barriero; a critical reading activity of Columbus's diary on his first contact with Indigenous people; a timeline of Spain, Columbus, and Taínos with teaching ideas; and an adaptation from the writings of Bartolomé de las Casas on the first Spanish priest to denounce the Spanish brutality in Hispaniola.

We also recommend Indigenous Cuba: Hidden in Plain Sight by José Barreiro in the National Museum of the American Indian and Whose History Matters? Students Can Name Columbus, But Most Have Never Heard of the Taíno People by Bill Bigelow in the Zinn Education Project "If We Knew Our History" series.

Authors

Bill Bigelow is curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools magazine and co-director of the Zinn Education Project. Read more.

Members of the Taíno Community. This version of the lesson was revised in collaboration with Tanya Rodriguez (National Institute for Racial Equity) and the Grandmothers Council Bohio Atabei - Verona Iriarte and Naniki Reyes Ocasio. Additional feedback was provided by the United Confederation of Taíno People.

Scenes from the Classroom

Students engaged in the People vs. Columbus trial. (Teacher: Julian Hipkins, 11th grade at CCPCS in Washington, D.C. Photographer: Rick Reinhard, 2012)

Stories from the Classroom

"Guilty or Innocent? Hardy Middle School Students Put Columbus on Trial"
By Cierra Kaler-Jones
If you had to put Christopher Columbus on trial for murder, would he be considered guilty? Students in Caneisha Mills' 8th-grade U.S. History class at Hardy Middle School in Washington, D.C. grappled with this question when they were assigned the task of deciding who would be considered guilty for the deaths of millions of Taínos on the island of Hispaniola in the 1490s . . .

Continue reading this play-by-play account of The People vs. Columbus, et al. at DC Area Educators for Social Justice.

The People vs. Columbus trial has been my most successful and popular lesson in the two years I taught it. Not only do students get to learn the extent of the atrocities committed by Spanish colonizers, but they get to engage in higher order thinking (one of my grad school buzzwords I think about a lot!) on the factors that cause historical atrocities to occur.

I LOVE how "the system of empire" is one of the options for students to blame or defend. This has generated some of the most challenging discussions I've seen in my class so far, as students say, "The king and queen would not have sent Columbus if they hadn't been acting within the system!" and retort, "But the system is made up of individuals, and each have their own choices!" This thinking about structure vs. agency is a level of thinking in social studies that was not made explicit to me until college, and I am thrilled that this assignment has given my students an opportunity to delve into core disciplinary questions.

They get excited about it, too ― I've had students leap up in the trial, hollering their positions to each other in attempts to convince a jury of their peers. At the end of the trial this year, as the jury came back with the verdict, one of my students reflected, "I think that Columbus is like Trump, and the Tainos are like the Mexican people..." This prompted a discussion about how colonial-type oppression works in our current society, leading one student to observe, "You know, I think WE live within a system." I asked them if they thought that they had any agency within the system, and they had a really thoughtful conversation about it.

Your resources truly fill a well left dry - not by forgetfulness, but by the same racist systems that perpetuate the injustices my students face on a daily basis in schools.

Social Studies Teacher, Baltimore, Maryland

The Zinn Education Project made untold history come to life for students working on the People vs. Columbus tribunal. Students were immersed in building background knowledge by reading the indictments, working together, and using teacher-created graphic organizers to build a defense and a strong prosecution.

The lesson captivated the attention of my students in the online environment, fostered collaboration and highlighted rigorous writing, reading, and speaking & listening standards as we work our way through a delicate piece of history that not many know and everyone should appreciate.

Students remarked at the end of the first day in trial how fun and engaging the work was and how much they were learning by working together, interacting with the teacher and rereading the indictments to write argument pieces to present to class. Seeing the students produce quality work aligned to standards and related to our curriculum content is a magical feeling for a teacher and I for one am humbled it happened in my classroom.

I am grateful I had robust materials to use, a guide for instruction, and the opportunity to create. I am eager to continue to use more Zinn Education Project resources with my students in the future.

Middle School Language Arts/English Teacher, Baltimore, Maryland

This school year has been riddled with uncertainty and confusion. For my students, it has also been distant. Socially distant, limited engagement, cameras off, muted, seldom chat. The People vs Columbus, et al. lesson stands out as an outlier for participation. Even over Zoom, students became active participants, engaged, and passionate about their opinions. While working in groups there was very real collaboration that led to detailed and nuanced arguments. The activity pushed students into discomfort about facing the actual history of trying and horrendous acts.

The trial really allowed students to dig into the nature of responsibility and actions. It showed students the difference between individual actions and the responsibility attributed to the systemic nature of power and privilege. The structure of the trial, one splitting the class into different perspectives, allows students to push beyond their own assumptions and point of view, to see the issues of the past, and apply them to a contemporary dilemma.

Middle School Social Studies Teacher, Oak Park, Illinois

In U.S. history with my 11th-grade students, we began the year by corroborating Columbus's story and used texts from A Young People's History, traditional textbooks, videos, and other primary sources. They were shocked and surprised at his actions but also surprised that they hadn't learned this information before.

A perfect culmination to this set of lessons was The People vs. Columbus, et al. The students used their various resources to craft an argument and counter-arguments, and we had a debate about who was responsible for the genocide. They passionately took on their roles and characters, using textual evidence and thinking critically. It has been one of their favorite lessons since the school started and I know they want to participate in more debates!

This lesson perfectly combined speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, all so that students could have a better understanding of the past.

High School Social Studies Teacher, Lemoore, California

The science teacher told me that students were arguing during lunch about The People vs. Columbus et al. trial and who was to blame. This was the first time all school year he has heard students really talking about what they were learning outside of class time. To hear ninth graders thinking critically about how much of a person's action reflects individual choice vs. what society compels them to do and then applying that to major events in world history is amazing. Thank you, Zinn Education Project.

High School History Teacher, Washington, District of Columbia

I have used the lesson on colonization and the genocide of the Taínos for many years with my 7th graders. I give them primary and secondary sources to read first so that they can analyze perspective and bias. Then I put them in roles as defense lawyers for each of the teams, witnesses, court reporters, a jury, and a judge. The lawyers read the indictments from the Zinn Education Project and use the sources to help them come up with arguments to defend their sides. The jury summarizes the indictments to be read during the trial. The lawyers come up with opening and closing statements and witness questions. The witnesses prepare responses to the questions they will be asked, the judge prepares a script to be read during the trial.

The mock trial format of the lesson helps students to think critically about the history of the genocide and to craft arguments using evidence to enhance their position. Students become really passionate about the trial and many express their desire to be a lawyer at the end of it. Ultimately, students are divided about who they think is to blame for the genocide, which sets up a really nice conversation with students that there is no "right or wrong" and that many people, as well as the system of the empire, are to blame.

This has fostered really high-level discussions in my class and has allowed students to use their voice effectively while developing persuasive arguments. I love how organized the Zinn Education Project is and how they foster engagement in students. It is something I will continue to use for years.

Middle School Social Studies Teacher, Fredonia, Wisconsin

The People vs. Columbus trial was a perfect start of the year assignment for my 8th graders, and they were absolutely excited to put Columbus on trial and develop questions and statements to roleplay the characters that they were assigned. I will definitely be using this lesson again in the future.

Additionally, it was a great way to get the other teachers on campus involved in my classroom since the students asked and got other teachers and administrators to come in and help judge the trial with me. They were excited to show other staff members the work they were doing to counteract the systems of oppression that were set up at the start of colonization. As Brown and Black students, they were excited to really look into the history of oppression that exists in our nation and argue about what or who made the underlying factors in developing the systems of oppression in the United States. The trial also helped develop conversations about why the systems still exist.

Middle School Social Studies Teacher, Glendale, California

When I first came across this website, one of the first activities I read was People vs. Columbus, et al. and I immediately began preparations to use it in my world history classes. After providing background information from A People's History and various primary sources, we set the trial up.

My students' reactions after the trial concludes can easily be described as unsettled. Never before had they heard of the crimes committed against the indigenous peoples of the "new world." Never before did they realize the impact Europeans had on the indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere.

I have a writing assignment attached to this activity. In two paragraphs, I ask that they tell me who they think is to blame for the crimes. I also ask if they think we should still celebrate Columbus Day.

Afterward, we take a look at our textbook. We look at the one paragraph devoted to Columbus in which it describes his ability to persuade Queen Isabella in 1492. That's it. That's all it says. Thanks to the Zinn Education Project, my students have a better understanding of the impact left by him and other Europeans. Now, they know more than just the year he sailed and the color of the ocean.

High Social Studies Teacher, Reidsville, Georgia

I always begin my U.S. history course with the People vs. Columbus, et al Trial. It is amazing how engaged students become to not only learn the truth but also be able to defend themselves using the evidence provided. Students love creativity and this case allows students to come to their own conclusions.

High School Social Studies Teacher, Hayward, California

I used the The People vs. Columbus, et al. lesson plan when I was a student teacher during the school year of 2020-2021. The lesson was very engaging and it encourages students to think about the causes and effects of European arrival to America.

Students were able to generate their authentic ideas regarding the slaughter of the Taíno Community. The lesson allows students to think about history from different perspectives and the activity encourages students to develop critical thinking skills. Since students have to participate in a trial, they were also able to develop public speaking skills.

Middle School Social Studies Teacher, New York, New York

More Classroom Stories

As a teacher, the Zinn Education Project website is invaluable because it provides activities that directly relate to A People's History. Last week we did The People vs. Columbus, et al. which places all the parties involved in the arrival of Columbus on trial for the murder of the Tainos. The activity was so interactive that teachers from other classrooms had to ask us to quiet down. Students were able to better understand the motives and consequences behind the arrival.

Even though A People's History can be a bit difficult for some students, the activities on the Zinn Education Project website makes the content accessible regardless of their reading level.

HIgh School Administrator, Washington, District of Columbia

Every year when I discuss the European Age of Exploration with my students, I spend time using the materials included in Bill Bigelow's excellent The People vs. Columbus, et al. lesson. However, instead of making it a trial that students participate in directly, I have it set up as a murder mystery: who is responsible for the deaths of all of these people? Though the format that I use is different than what Mr. Bigelow recommends, students still find the lesson engaging - the idea that they not only get to be critical of historical decision-makers, but also get to have agency over which one is the worst gets them involved with the topic.

Within this murder mystery, students act as a detective, gathering evidence from Mr. Bigelow's summaries and from other sources I have gathered. In the end, they need to write up a police report and prepare information to present to a grand jury. Students share their findings and then they debate who they believe is most guilty of the deaths of the Taíno people.

Middle School Social Studies Teacher, Silver Spring, Maryland

My students were completely engaged in The People vs. Columbus trial we held about the massacre of the Taíno people. They loved it! They were so outraged that Columbus Day is a federal holiday that I suggested we send letters to the editors of local newspapers and our city council. They were so excited. Most of the students chose to send letters. When a student's letter was published the next day advocating for our city to celebrate Indigenous People's Day, the students who had not yet sent letters immediately began to write their own.

It was a powerful lesson in civics, especially since my students are disenfranchised and feel like they don't have power to effect change politically.

High School Social Studies Teacher, Eugene, Oregon

When I do the Christopher Columbus lesson, the students are blown away. They are usually so surprised at the truth behind Columbus. They also love the role-playing. This year, when I was doing the lesson, my assistant principal walked in just as one of the students who usually sits quietly during social studies was standing up and asking a fiery round of questions to the defendants on the stand. I was so impressed with it. The lesson also gets students who I usually don't get a lot of participation out of to debate with the students who I do. I love it!

Middle Social Studies Teacher, Chicago, Illinois

The People vs. Columbus trial was so effective. I taught it in a Native American Studies course and the students spent a lot of time exploring primary source documents from Columbus and Las Casas.

It was powerful to watch them transform into excellent and passionate litigators, but basing their arguments upon historical evidence. Also, the power of role plays to induce empathy and compassion for various points of view was evident.

My students are all Native American and they are all too familiar with the concepts of genocide and exploitation. However, many of them did not know about the Taíno and were curious to learn more. At the conclusion we watched the film Even the Rain to enhance their understanding of the texts, and also to learn more about the Cochabamba water war to piece together an interdisciplinary unit about water that they were engaged in.

High School Social Studies Teacher, Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Christopher Columbus trial is a phenomenal lesson to use with students. First, it forces them to think about the construct of our globalized world in a new and critical manner. Americans are bred upon the unchallenged idea of superiority and equality, and it is troubling for them to have to see that the true pillars of trade, colonization, exploration, and expansion are instead rooted in forced inferiority and exploitation. This lesson further challenges students to give up the stereotypes and nostalgia surrounding Native Americans (in this case on Hispaniola) and see them as people who had functioning societies and belief systems. The most powerful aspect of the lesson, however, is the way it forces students to research, utilize primary resources, think in a debate-like manner, and justify their positions with evidence.

One of my students returned to visit me last month to inform me that because of partaking in this lesson last year, he joined an online group advocating the end of Columbus Day. I was impressed to have a 10th grade student not only take a firm stand on something, but actually take action to incite change. Another of my students said that this "was the best lesson I ever learned because it helped me believe that there is 'real' history I can learn from."

High School Language Arts/English Teacher, Hollywood, Florida

The People vs. Columbus lesson was transformative in my classroom. Students were initially motivated by the competitive aspect of the lesson in trying to "win" during the trial. During the preparation of this lesson, students were able to really practice historical contextualization by looking through various points of view.

Additionally, I supplemented this lesson with primary sources from Voices of a People's History. Working with the primary sources provoked deep discussion about why certain points of view are omitted or de-emphasized in American History. We compared Las Casas to Columbus and discussed the development of racism and ethnocentrism.

On the day of the trial, students were completely engaged in the process of argumentation, viewing history (in many cases for the first time) as more than just fact, but a series of arguments presented through various frameworks. By the end of the trial, it was clear that blame was very difficult to lay on just one group. It encouraged them to think more critically about a complex web of contingencies that all led to the genocide of the Taínos. They were engaged through the entire unit, practiced presentation skills, research, historical argumentation, and more.

High Social Studies Teacher, Durham, North Carolina

I teach U.S. history to juniors. Our first unit is on the first peoples of North America. Our second unit begins exploring the impact European colonization had the the indigenous people of the Americas. At the end of this second unit, we use The People vs. Columbus, et al in order to critically examine the forces that created and maintained imperialism. I supplement by focusing more time on the Taínos, their rebellions, and their leaders.

Besides being incredibly informative and an excellent way to teach claim and evidence, this Zinn Education Project lesson is also really fun for students. Every year, my students say it is one of their favorite things from the school year, especially for those who enjoy getting into character and "embellishing." For example, I had lawyers attempt to bribe jury members or the judge, dramatic reenactment of specific conversations or crimes, and more. At the same time, students understand and respect the gravity of the history lesson and the genocide of the Taínos.

-Priscilla Lizasuain-Vazquez

High Social Studies Teacher, Chicago, Illinois

I am the secondary guide (middle school teacher) in Davis, West Virginia, at the Mountain Laurel Learning Cooperative, a Montessori learning center for students age 3-14. I developed this middle school program last year, so this is our inaugural year and a big success so far. Our curriculum is centered around social justice, environmental stewardship, and mindfulness.

I rely heavily on the Zinn Education Project for the social justice component of our program. One of the best experiences I had with my students this year was on Columbus Day when we followed the mock trail lesson, People vs. Columbus, et al. The students really got into this activity. The upper elementary students (grades 4-6) joined us to be the jurors and audience. Fervent speeches were made and thoughtful and powerful discussion ensued. My students noted this activity as one of their highlights this fall. Thank you so much for the resource.

Middle School Social Studies Teacher, Davis, West Virginia

The People vs. Columbus, et al. was a unique way to bring the often hidden story of the Taíno peoples to my class. Many students had never been exposed to the unjustified treatment of the Taíno. The activity immersed students in the past and allowed them to hear a new perspective of the "founding" of the Americas. Thank you Zinn Education Project.

Middle Social Studies Teacher, St. Louis, Missouri

Every year I use the Columbus trial lesson from the Zinn Education Project. It's by far my most popular activity all year. It's amazing to see all the critical thinking that's set on fire. It prompts so many arguments, discussions, and discoveries in their outside research. When seniors who've had my class come in and see the desks rearranged for the trial, they always exclaim, "Oh, they're doing the Columbus trial? I remember that! I miss that!" It helps them see the power of greed and how that mindset has affected subsequent historical events. Thank you so much for helping promote so much important learning in my classroom.

High Social Studies Teacher, Portland, Oregon

Our students were incredibly engaged in the reading and learning and had meaningful group discussions that focused on choices made by Columbus and other explorers and their impact on the world.

Overall, having access to the Zinn reading and activities has encouraged my students to be excited about reading and history, show self-motivated engagement, and look at both the positives and negatives in history without the rose-colored tint that other resources often provide for students.

Middle School Humanities Teacher, Los Angeles, California

Maryland does not celebrate Columbus Day, so students are in school. To show the impact of Columbus's voyage on Indigenous people, this exercise provided an eye-opener for students as well as instructors. It was done with four GED classes that were at various learning levels. Students were randomly selected from each class to participate in the trial and one class served as observers and writers of the exercise. Students were able to show clear critical thinking skills that we rarely use with our other learning materials. The students and instructors truly enjoyed the exercise and it was reported in our newsletter.

Teacher Educator, Maryland

I have used the Columbus trial lesson from the Zinn Education Project website, and it went fantastically well. I teach high school Spanish, and this lesson completely changed their outlook on: (1) Who Columbus actually was; and (2) What we as Americans value as a society. I saw their critical thinking skills broaden before my eyes, and the lesson was so easy to maneuver for me!

Plus, the Spanish version of "Los cargos" made it that much easier to differentiate the lessons. Now that they understand the beginning of Europeans in the New World, we'll continue through the study of Latin American history throughout the next two years. I felt it important that they understand where much of the ill will started in this history, and between Columbus and Pizarro, I now believe that they have a good grasp of that. Thanks for your help in making this AWESOME unit!

High School Language Teacher, Florahome, Florida

In a blog post about this lesson in action, Adrian Hoppel at the Talking Stick Learning Center describes how his students found all parties except the Taíno guilty - and apologized to the Taíno for being charged and being brought to a trial for their own genocide.

Each of the defendant groups did an amazing job defending themselves, pulling all of the obvious rationalizations you'd expect, but also surprising me with some very creative defenses. For example, when attempting to defend The System of Empire, the defendant stated that "while my system, unfortunately, allows for abuse and atrocities, it does not require them; you still have to choose, on your own, to commit them." I thought that was surprisingly astute.

By working hard to defend each of these groups, the hope was that each group would be examined for its complicity in this crime, and I feel this was most definitely accomplished.

Beyond the Classroom

Student Film Critiques Textbook Accounts and Hero Worshipping

D.C. high school teacher Julian Hipkins III used The People vs. Columbus, et al. lesson with his 11th grade U.S. history class at Capital City Public Charter School and introduced them to Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Four of his students (Jared, Ana Marie, Jonah, and Mayra) were inspired to make a film called Columbus-The Real Story. Using feature film clips and interviews with school staff, the film critiques and analyzes textbook accounts of Columbus. Columbus-The Real Story was selected as a D.C. citywide entry for the 2011 National History Day competition.

Columbus - The Hidden History from Nonchalant Filmmakers on Vimeo.

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The People vs. Columbus, et al. - Zinn Education Project

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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow with contributions from members of the Taíno Community. Rethinking Schools. 13 pages. A trial role play asks students to determine who is responsible for the death of millions of Taínos on the island of Hispaniola in the late 15th century.

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Teaching Tolerance Award recipient describes how he engages in social justice teaching with elementary school students.

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They're not too young to talk about race!

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They're not too young to talk about race!

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Infographic that explains why and how to talk to young people about race and racism.

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Jamila Lyiscott: 3 ways to speak English | TED

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Extensive Padlet of resources that explores various resources to understand the complexity of Asian American experiences, particularly in light of current Anti-Asian hate

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Planting the Seeds of Equity: Ethnic Studies & Social Justice in the K-2 classroom

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Planting the Seeds of Equity: Ethnic Studies & Social Justice in the K-2 classroom

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Bringing together an inspirational group of educators, this book provides key insights into what it means to implement social justice ideals with young children. Each chapter highlights a teacher’s experience with a specific aspect of social justice and ethnic studies, including related research, projects and lesson plans, and implications for teacher education. The text engages readers in critical dialogue, drawing from works within ethnic studies to think deeply about ideals such as humanization, representation, and transformation. Finding ways to integrate acceptance of difference and social justice content into the primary grades is a complex and challenging endeavor. These teacher stories are ones of courage and commitment, inspiring the possibility of radical change.

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Planting the Seeds of Equity 9780807763582 | Teachers College Press

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Black Lives Matter at School Starter Kit

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Black Lives Matter at School Starter Kit

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This resources provides a background, resources on how to talk to young people about BLM@ School principles, and teaching materials.

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Drawing from students' home cultures through family interviews alongside relevant in class literature:

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Learning for Justice provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school.

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Drawing from students' home cultures through family interviews alongside relevant in class literature:

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Learning for Justice provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school.

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Focusing on cultivating relationships with the families of English learners leads to trust, parent empowerment, and collaboration to improve the whole school.

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"I don't feel like we're doing nearly enough to engage our Spanish-speaking families," a principal told me not long ago. "I want to get your thoughts about how I can start doing better."

As director of family partnerships for the Boulder Valley School District, I was glad to get involved. A month later, this principal and I co-led the first Latino Parent Night at Crossville Elementary School (a pseudonym). The gathering consisted of 12 Latino/Latina parents, one white principal, and three staff members. The start was a bit rocky. When I invited parents to share their names and the names of their children, I could feel their reticence. In the rush to get started, I'd failed to tell them about my background as a bilingual teacher and principal and other information that might have made them feel more open to me as a complete stranger in their school.

As I gave a brief overview of what we'd do that night, I caught facial expressions I interpreted as, "Who's this white guy coming into our school from 'the district'? What's he about to ask us to do?" Despite this, I stuck with my original plan. Past experiences have shown me the alchemy that occurs when we make room for family members to open their hearts through fostering positive, fun interactions and welcoming their authentic voices.

We did a team-building activity called "Gotcha," which sparked considerable laughter. The principal shared about himself professionally and as a person, conveying why he cared about deepening the school's connections with all Latino families. For the rest of the evening, the parents, in small groups, explored three questions:

What is the actual experience of your child and your family in this school?

What is going well and what could improve, especially in terms of school communication?

What information and conversation topics would draw you to come to other Latino Parent Nights? What day and time is best for you?

The parents generated at least 10 concrete suggestions for what the school could do next, including texting them an abbreviated, Spanish-translation version of the school newsletter and offering workshops on how to help their children with math homework. After they shared out from their conversations, one mother said, "We want to do this again. There's more we'd like to talk about."

"How about we come back together in a couple months?" the principal responded.

"We'd like to have another meeting like this next month. Could we do that?"

When the principal agreed, I could feel parents stepping into their collective power.

The Primacy of Relationships

This experience, which occurred in my second year as director of family partnerships, confirmed for me that a relationship-based approach to working with families changes the felt experience for the families and expands a school's capacity to collaborate with them in creating change. This is true in secondary as well as elementary schools.

Our school district has been recognized as one of the best in the state but maintains one of the largest achievement gaps between emerging bilingual students and native English-speaking students. My core responsibility in our district is to strengthen the connection between our schools and families who are often marginalized. I've tried to develop an approach that prioritizes underrepresented families, includes a social justice lens, and is overtly relationship-centered.

This emphasis on relationships and on creating spaces for meaningful, reciprocal interactions is essential to partnering with the families of English language learners. Centering relationships leads to a greater sense of collaboration and trust between families and educators and helps marginalized families feel safe enough to genuinely engage and make their voices heard. Research has shown that a focus on ongoing dialogue and fostering mutual understanding are central to engaging Latino families (Delgado-Gaitan, 2004).

But historically, schools haven't promoted two-way relationships in which the families of English learners are elevated as equal partners (Ishimaru, 2018). I knew we needed to work with English learners' families in ways that showed we authentically cared about them and that would develop relational power instead of exercising power over them (Warren et al., 2009). As Steven Covey (2008) has expressed, "Change happens at the speed of trust. Trust moves at the speed of relationship."

Four Pillars

"I've [had a child] at this school for 12 years, and I've never felt as connected as I do tonight," a father shared with me at the end of our Parent Night for Spanish-speaking families. "Tomorrow I will say hello to a teacher that I wouldn't have said hi to today."

What happened in 90 minutes to create this shift for this father and dozens of other parents? The root of the answer lies in four pillars (based on Susan Auerbach's 2011 research) that undergird our work with families:

Intercultural understanding is the foundation holding up these four pillars. Authentic care requires an understanding of each other's social, cultural, and political context, including power dynamics. The relationships formed at events like the parent night at Crossville and the ongoing communication about parents' interests and needs incorporated the first two pillars. Shared decision making also began to happen.

To honor these four pillars, and to move from the family "involvement" model that has dominated schools' family outreach toward more authentic partnerships, our district made critical shifts. We began focusing on how participating parents feel more than on what they are doing at gatherings, so process would take priority over content. Asking families what they need (instead of guessing) and incorporating time in gatherings to listen to families and spark their interactions with each other, rather than talking to them, was another significant change. We also tried to value all the ways that families can support their children's learning at home, rather than focusing on attendance at events as the main measure of involvement.

Supporting social and emotional well-being is also a key part of our approach. When I became director of family partnerships, I wasn't well-informed on best practices for family partnerships, but I brought expertise around social and emotional learning. Infusing our work with SEL principles and practices has sparked transformative experiences for our families and educators.

Ongoing Action: "Family and Educators Together"

Events like the parent night helped schools in the Boulder district, both secondary and elementary, build relationships and trust. We then asked ourselves how we could ensure that families' connection to schools moved beyond these meaningful but isolated evenings. What might a relationship-centered approach look like in terms of ongoing action? Answering that question led us to develop our Family and Educators Together (FET) groups.

Currently, we have FET teams at 10 of our 50-plus schools. The teams bring together teachers, underrepresented or traditionally marginalized family members, and school leaders monthly to strengthen the school's efforts to forge school-family partnerships in ways that create meaningful change for stakeholders. Teams engage in candid dialogue that ultimately leads to action. Participating families are overwhelmingly Latino, but on some teams there are parents from other underrepresented cultures. Occasionally white parents are there as allies.

Here are some encouraging developments happening at Boulder schools as a result of nurturing stronger parent voice and trust through FET:

A mother mentioned her passion for making art out of recycled materials at a team meeting, and shortly after, put up an altar in the school for Dia de Los Muertos. A few months later, she began teaching an after-school art class for students and families. A year later, she was asked to co-lead the FET team.

A father presented at a FET team meeting about his journey from obesity to becoming a marathon runner.

A mother conveyed that transportation is a major obstacle stopping families in one neighborhood from attending parent conferences. The principal offered to arrange for a bus to transport families to and from conferences.

Three schools experimented with holding a World Café for families of language learners. In this structured conversational process, individuals switch tables periodically and get introduced to the previous discussion at their new table by a "table host." I've observed family members eat and laugh as they move from one table to the next, focused around questions like, "What can our school do to strengthen relationships with you?"

After three mothers learned about an important upcoming school event, they took it upon themselves to divvy up the school bus routes and go door-to-door, letting families know about the event and why they should attend.

The impact of these various projects on how participating family members feel is tangible. One father told me at the end of the first year of attending FET meetings, "When we come into school, a lot of us Spanish-speakers feel timid when we see the principal. We try to hide. Even though she doesn't speak our language, I now feel comfortable when I see her. I feel like this is my school too."

A mother at another school shared:

It was very difficult for me as a mother to feel trust with the teachers. FET has broken down the barrier between mothers and educators.... [We] Hispanics are often on the margins, not because the teachers are mean to us, but because our fears keep us there. As a result of the FET team, many parents have had the chance to bring forth their voices and look for opportunities that before they feared to ask about or pursue.

Practices to Empower Families

In planning FET meetings and events, we structure the agendas in ways that prioritize building trust, strengthening relationships, and fostering high levels of participation. For instance, we:

Provide time before events start for families and educators to eat and connect with each other informally.

Always begin meetings with time for connective activities that lead to laughter and team building, whether it's a quick activity or a dinamica. In a dinamica, teachers and family members share on a topic related to their own lives (such as "How were your own parents involved in your education?") with a partner or small group and then reflect as a whole group on how this informs their thinking about family partnerships.

Incorporate talk structures connected to equity and social-emotional learning, such as dyads and community circles, in which participants share about topics that bring out their humanity (for instance, ("What is something that is bringing you a lot of joy right now?") Dyads are an SEL practice because they foster authentic speaking and deep listening.

Monitor the ratio of time that leaders and participants speak to ensure that family members have frequent opportunities to bring their voice to the conversation. We use dynamic structures from organizations like and Passageworks Institute , such as pair-share-square or huddles that energize participants through meaningful dialogue.

Give priority to families' native language in our meetings and ensure that interpreters are available.

We also create meaningful closure for each gathering, often through a closing circle. Each participant shares a word that captures how they feel in that moment or shares their greatest intention before we reconvene.

Positive Communication Systems: "A Ton of Joy"

Two other projects have strengthened the district's school-family partnerships: home visits and positive communications. Home visits have been written about extensively by others-and, since I've found positive communication to be a practice that builds learning-strengthening alliances with families (while taking little time or planning), I'll describe this communication-based strategy in detail.

When I was a school leader, I often had limited bandwidth to think creatively about how to move beyond traditional strategies for engaging families. But one partnership practice that I implemented delivered an astronomical return on investment in reaching families: positive phone calls to students' families. So when I moved to my current role, I brought this system of encouraging positive calls home with me.

Positive calls benefit everyone. The student feels uplifted, their classmates are inspired by seeing them recognized, family members are happily surprised by the call, and teachers feel gratification as the student returns to class with deeper motivation. All without anyone involved spending more than five minutes of their day.

Research shows that, in one analysis, "frequent, personalized phone calls home immediately increased parents' engagement in school, as measured by homework completion, in-class behavior, and in-class participation" (Kraft & Dougherty, 2013). Yet a recent poll showed that 59 percent of public school parents reported never having received a phone call home from their children's school during the previous year (Kraft, 2017).

To bring this practice of positive communication to multiple schools in our district, we made it an expectation that elementary principals would commit to one high-leverage family partnerships strategy, with positive calls home an option I heavily promoted. Positive communication systems were a main component of any opportunity I had to present to principals. I shared with them the impact, the research, brief stories from my own experience in their shoes, and emphasized the outcomes-to-effort ratio. One principal told me a month after such a presentation:

We are in our third week of making the positive calls home. We created a simple form for staff to complete, and then the community liaison helps me gather the students. I make the call to the parent with the student or students present. Wow, what a great thing to do for students and parents. It also adds a ton of joy to the job and is a great way to continue to build positive relationships.

Some principals also began writing positive postcards, others integrated a call system, and another contingent started writing real-time positive emails to families while observing in classrooms.

I told one parent-a mother of four sons-about this new initiative. Her response confirmed its power for me:

My boys have literally had more than 100 teachers since they started in this school system. I've received one positive call in eight years. I still remember that teacher's name. Her two calls in the fall and spring were so meaningful to us. My son told me, "I love that teacher. I could imagine going to med school because of her."

Other Ways to Empower Parents

Our district is taking other steps to form trusting, cooperative relationships between our educators and families, bringing the four pillars to life:

Quarterly, we bring together our Family Partnership Network, made up of two representatives from each school, to deepen their capacity for doing this work at their schools and partnering with principals in weaving a relationship-centered approach into their school culture.

We've launched a Latino Parent Advisory Council so this community has a forum for providing input and engaging in meaningful conversation with each other-and with the superintendent and other district leaders.

We host parent nights for underrepresented family groups at individual schools to get their insights on relevant questions, and equity summits to seek input from underrepresented families and community members on how we can improve our practices.

At superintendent forums, the families of English language learners can candidly share their positive and challenging experiences, ask questions, and make recommendations to the district about how schools could improve their or their child's experience.

At family retreats, bilingual parents from different schools come together to learn from teachers and community leaders about topics that they have chosen. And in partnership with community allies, we offer adult learning experiences in which our Latino parents can learn from community leaders how to unlock their power, navigate our school system, and advocate for their children.

We provide educators and families with questions translated into multiple languages, so family members can ask questions at parent conferences.

Trust Is Key

I can't overemphasize how crucial trust building is to this process. As I've learned from leading both thriving and struggling schools, you cannot successfully do the deeper work until you've built a strong community in which each person feels safe, engaged, and valued. The schools that accelerate their trust-building efforts are-not coincidentally-the same schools that make tremendous progress around their goals (Tschannen-Moran, 2014).

I recently crossed paths with the mother of one of my favorite students from my teaching years. Marta had completed dozens of focus groups with under-represented families around their experiences in all sectors of society, and their insights had inspired her to pursue a local political office. Looking back on her conversations with parents, Marta told me that, going into the project, "Our hypothesis was that language would be the greatest barrier. In the end, we learned that trust was actually the largest barrier."

While Boulder Valley School District has a long road ahead before we can call ourselves a truly equitable school district, I know that the path to greater trust and genuine family-school partnerships runs through a relationship-centered approach.

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"I don't feel like we're doing nearly enough to engage our Spanish-speaking families," a principal told me not long ago. "I want to get your thoughts about how I can start doing better." As director of family partnerships for the Boulder Valley School District, I was glad to get involved.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching That Supports a Culture of Achievement for African American Students

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Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez was raised in a small farming community in southern California in the 1950s. Teachers at his local elementary school anglicized the Mexican American students’ names. Chunky remembers a new classmate who proved to be the exception to the rule.

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Ramon "Chunky" Sanchez was raised in a small farming community in southern California in the 1950s. As was common practice at that time, teachers at his local elementary school anglicized the Mexican American students' names. Here, Chunky remembers a new classmate who proved to be the exception to the rule.

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Ramòn "Chunky" Sanchez tells the story of how the new kid at school became a hero when his name stumped their teachers.

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Building Community Through Restorative Circles

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Building Community Through Restorative Circles

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Edutopia article on using restorative circles to foster dialogue and community in classrooms

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A technique for proactively building the skills and relationships students will need when challenges arise.

Our students come to school with many issues on their minds and in their hearts. As educators, we can help them process their thoughts and feelings so they can better handle their situations and be more present in class.

Restorative circles are a useful practice to do just that. While frequently used to replace punitive forms of discipline, restorative circles are equally important in proactively building the relationships and skills students need to support one another and collectively address the challenges they face.

Restorative circles are most effective when they're an integral part of school culture. After all, you can't "restore" a community that you haven't built or sustained.

7 Steps for Facilitating Meaningful Circles

1. Cocreate a safe, supportive space: Circles work best if teachers invest time up front to build relationships, skills, and practices to draw on throughout the school year-especially if the going gets tough.

Early in the process, teachers and students together explore values-like empathy, patience, kindness, courage, and open-mindedness-that need to be respected for people to be willing to share openly and honestly in circle. They also determine best ways of working together (circle practices). These include honoring the talking piece, which goes around the circle as an invitation to share while everyone else listens (participants may pass if they don't wish to talk). People are encouraged to speak and listen from the heart. And what is shared in circle, stays in circle, though educators should let students know at the outset that we are mandated by law to report when a student threatens to harm themselves or others, or when students divulge abuse.

2. Be prepared: Make sure that you, the facilitator, are well rested, calm, and focused.

To hold the circle space effectively, it's important to be fully present and able to sit with other people's stories and feelings as well as your own. Center yourself. If you're exploring sensitive issues that may require follow up, consider alerting support staff.

3. Plan ahead: Decide together on a topic or theme that sustains students' interest.

Find a relevant opening ceremony to open the circle space, such as a poem, quote, or piece of music. A mindfulness activity can also be used to bring students into the space after a particularly stressful class or noisy hallway experience.

Look for information to ground the conversation, and develop questions and prompts to invite student perspectives into the circle.

Keep in mind that the bigger the circle, the more time you'll need for the talking piece to go around. Think about how things might unfold and be ready to adapt to what comes up.

Make sure to leave time for a closing ceremony, giving students a chance to transition into spaces that may be less conducive to being vulnerable. A closing ceremony can be a commitment to safeguarding the stories shared in circle, or a breathing exercise in which we provide students with prompts and time to put themselves back together again.

4. Invite student experiences into the space: Encourage students to connect with the circle content by sharing stories from their own lives.

Include storytelling rounds by asking students to talk about "a person in your life who..." or "a time when...." Share authentically of yourself. This gives others permission to do the same. Model good listening as the talking piece goes around the circle. Be fully present as others speak. Remind everyone that listening is the key ingredient in circles. True listening can create the kind of welcoming space that encourages even the quietest voices to speak.

5. Acknowledge, paraphrase, summarize, and practice empathy: Listen closely to what students share so that you can build on their experiences.

When the talking piece comes back to you, touch on what you felt, noticed, or heard. If you sense that there's more than surfaced in the first round, send the talking piece around a second or third time, asking students for their connections, reflections, or additions.

If challenging or painful issues come up, model agreed-upon circle practices for students to follow. Listening mindfully and being present with other people's ordeals and hardships can create supportive, healing experiences that strengthen community connections and build empathy.

If needed, let students know you're available to check in with them later in the day or week. You might also have them consider speaking with other supportive adults or students to find solace if they're troubled.

6. Explore what it means to be an effective ally: Beyond creating a supportive listening environment, ask what else, if anything, students need from you and from each other.

Explore how to be better allies in circle so that students know they don't need to face their challenges alone. Invite them to talk about a person in their lives who is a good friend or ally, or a person they'd like to be a better friend or ally. Discuss the qualities these people have (or lack) and how they make us feel. Invite students to talk about a time they've been a good friend or ally themselves, and what gets in the way of being our best selves with one another.

7. Zoom out to promote understanding on the systems level: Explore whether there are larger systemic forces that underlie the challenges students have touched on (such as racism, sexism, or lack of access to resources). Introduce information, stories, and voices that might shed light on how these systems operate. Look for examples of people who took action to interrupt these and other oppressive systems.

Invite students to connect to this information by sharing their thoughts, feelings, and related experiences.

Studying larger, systemic forces in society can help students better understand their situation, and can be a useful starting point for students to become more active themselves. Action and activism can inspire hope, connection, and healing.

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Building Community With Restorative Circles

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A technique for proactively building the skills and relationships students will need when challenges arise.

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The article examines social studies research, theory, and practice. The authors provide an example of historical counter-narrative in an urban K-12 classroom.

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The term 'people of color' erases black people.

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The term 'people of color' erases black people.

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The op-ed critiques the use of "people of color" and it's role in the erasure of Black people.

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Op-Ed: The term ‘people of color’ erases black people. Let’s retire it

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As a black woman, I seek out inclusive spaces because I lack them in my everyday life.

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Black Lives Matter at School Starter Kit

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Black Lives Matter at School Starter Kit

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This resources provides a background, resources on how to talk to young people about BLM@ School principles, and teaching materials.

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A new elementary school teacher discusses how they co-constructed class rules and consequences.

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Restorative practices are a non-punitive approach to discipline that is based on relationships.

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Inside California Education Episode 204: Restorative Justice

Oakland schools adopt Restorative Justice to level the playing field.

TV Series: Inside California Education
Published Date: 03/28/2018
Season: 2
Episode: 204

Watch the full episode

Inside California Education Full Episode 204 The Great Debate - Restorative Justice - DAY IN THE LIFE: School Secretary - Bilingual Teacher Shortage 26:46

Resource Links:

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Restorative Justice - OAKLAND, CA 07:14 - InsideCalEd- Video Gallery

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Inside California Education Episode 204: Restorative Justice Oakland schools adopt Restorative Justice to level the playing field.

# data[].attributes.body
The article examines social studies research, theory, and practice. The authors provide an example of historical counter-narrative in an urban K-12 classroom.