I was going to choose the Bells Hooks quote, but I instead decided on this one. I am working in a school with a very diverse population of students and educators this semester. On the day of Freshman orientation my CT and I were inside the auditorium listening to the presentation and when they were explaining the staff a member of the audience (presumably a parent) asked about Police Officers in the school. The staff did let them know they do have 2 SRO’s in the school and immediately I saw 3-5 parents jump out of their seats in fear for their babies. The staff assured them that these officers are okay and will not harm anyone unless there is a true imminent threat. I am so used to police officers because I have no real reason to be scared, but the looks on those parents' faces told me all that I needed to know. Our country needs to wake up and realize that in the education system we need to not accept white supremacy and we need to discourage racism. Sometimes we focus on the wrong things and it has only caused more divide and more hatred.
To me, being a STEM teacher means being a teacher that believes and teaches with equity. Students should feel like their learning environment is built for them.
