Silke Jasso
The Caucus of Working Educators, an activist group within the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, is mounting a charge to introduce content into curricula at all grade levels inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Called the “Black Lives Matter Week of Action,” the week of lesson plans and activities will start Jan. 23 and run through Jan. 28.
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The lessons are not mandatory; they are neither sponsored nor sanctioned by the Philadelphia school system nor the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Union spokesman George Jackson told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the Federation of Teachers is expressly forbidden from promoting the activity of any caucus or activist group within the union
In an open letter, educators and activists who plan to support the Black Lives Matter Week of Action write that some of their principal goals are to “create a space for introspection and dialogue around the 13 guiding principles [of Black Lives Matter],” “Build deeper connections between educators, parents, students, and community organizations,” and “stand in support of national organizing surrounding Black Lives Matter.”
However, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, not everyone’s supporting the Week of Action. Some are actively against it. They spoke to Christopher Paslay, an English teacher, who says he believes in equal rights for every one of his students but also believes Black Lives Matter has “no place” in Philadelphia classrooms, saying the movement “challenges nuclear families” as well as “the justice system.”
“I don’t think kids should be taught that Western society is perpetrating a war on black people,” he says. Paslay also says he does not personally know any teachers planning lessons to coincide with the Black Lives Matter Week of Action.
He called the week a “fringe thing” that was, understandably, “attracting a lot of headlines.”
