Back in October, about 2,000 teachers across Seattle wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts to school in solidarity with their students and in opposition to institutional racism. The day after Donald Trump’s (s)election Seattle teachers once again put on their BLM T-shirts.
Sarah Arvey, a Hamilton International Middle School teacher, said the Black Lives Matter solidarity day set the tone for her students’ post-election class discussion and spurred a conversation about the advantages that some students bring to the classroom.
“Multiple students shared that the Black Lives Matter day of solidarity was eye opening,” Arvey said.
Moses Rifkin, a physics teacher at a private high school, had planned a test for the Thursday after the election. But instead of administering it to all the students, he told them they could wait if they didn’t feel ready. In his classroom, he wrote on the chalkboard that he respects and values students of all political beliefs and that he does not accept misogyny, racism, transphobia, homophobia, elitism or classism in his classroom.
“Their confusion and fear is so sharp and raw that it’s left me gutted, but also inspired and even thankful that I am in a position where I can do something concrete and immediate,” said Rifkin of his students.
In addition to BLM T-shirts, the teachers are committed to making their students’ educational experience relevant in these times. Their areas of focus include “reducing racially disparate suspensions; culturally relevant curricula; and extending the benefits of gifted programs to all students.”