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So, it’s about 12:30 in the morning, and I’m sitting at my computer desk getting a head start on homework. Honestly, I could have started this at maybe 7:30 in the evening but you know what they say; no rest for the wicked.
Anyways, I was going through all of the badges and wondering what would be the next best step for me. I decided that the Teacher as an Ally badge would be the best fit for me. Beyond the fact that the Teach-In does actually sound interesting, I do feel like a lot of my beliefs correspond with the ally badge. I also think it’s important to understand that as a teacher, we are allies for our students in ways that we haven’t even began to think of, so I would like to explore a few more of those topics.
I think that while I know that I want to be an ally in and out of the classroom, I’m not 100% sure how to do that yet. I know as someone who is predominantly white, I have received a lot of privilege compared to many others. However, as a woman I also know that white women and women of color can all have hardships in a variety of different ways. I think it’s important to understand these types of issues, especially in our day and age, where change is happening rapidly and we want to continue this type of progression where all people regardless of race or gender have equal footing. It also helps ingrain my beliefs that being an ally goes beyond the support of communities such as LGBTQ, but it also goes towards putting action towards your beliefs; actions speak louder than words.
As someone who is Native Alaskan (who was raised white her whole life), I think this badge is going to help me because I would love to give back to my tribal community. I know from research as well as tribal members up in Alaska that our communities do not have a surplus of wealth, so being able to fight for Native Alaskan as well as Native American rights is a huge importance to me. Beyond that, sometimes being an ally while being in the field is a lot more useful than being a student. Sometimes our voices are heard more, and to be able to be the voice that is listened to compared to some of the students’ voices that go unheard, I would love to be able to give them the chance to actually be heard.
I also think that as an ally, giving students almost this “safe place” to come to is highly important, especially at their stage in life. Especially depending on their background, an educator may be the only person they can come to for help or advice, for whatever the reason may be. So I think being an ally in the classroom can also help build relationships, as well as understand the mental health epidemic spreading across schools nationwide. Being an ally doesn’t mean that it stops at K-12 education, but college and on as well. Everyone needs a helping hand every now and then.