Making a Difference by Showing Up During Black History Month

Our district’s Black educators deserve to be recognized. We never turn ourselves off; we’re always thinking about what we can do to make our classrooms better or reach a certain student in a new way.

I’ve been with Chicago Public Schools for nearly 15 years, and I’ve seen the impact that a dedicated educator can have on a student. There are so many kids who could have strayed, but they stayed on track and are now doing great things as adults. That deserves to be celebrated.

Teaching middle school is what I’ve felt called to do. I love teaching students at that age because they already have a solid academic foundation but are still impressionable. You’re able to provide them with mentorship and expose them to different opportunities that will help them know what direction to move in when they get to high school.

For Black History Month, I’m focusing on moving beyond the historical figures that everyone knows about. This year, my students will learn that everything from GPS to water guns to ice cream scoops were invented by Black people. Because we often take inventions for granted, showing my students that these tools that they use and enjoy connect back to their cultural identity will be extremely meaningful.

I want to show them that they too can have a thought or idea that turns into something amazing. No idea is a bad idea. Sure, your first draft might not go anywhere. But you learn from your mistakes and you try again.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to lead a robotics after-school club in partnership with the Shedd Aquarium. They provided all the materials for my students to build an underwater robot. Ours didn’t exactly work, but the kids still had a blast working together and learning about buoyancy and marine life.

That experience wasn’t about the finished product—it was about showing up to learn.

As an educator, I’m usually the one focused on making sure others are learning. But I need to be learning too, and I’ve had some fantastic Black women who have shown up to support me over the years.

My first principal, Ms. Yvonne Calhoun, always kept a calm demeanor while nurturing me during my first few years of teaching. She provided hands-on leadership using best teaching practices, led various schoolwide professional development sessions, and assigned mentors to keep me on the right track.

And my current principal, Ms. Takeshi White-James, inspired me to pursue leadership roles so I could make an impact within my school and the district. She trusted my judgment with curriculum choices and listened to ideas that I had to close gaps within our school community and culture.

Becoming more of a leader doesn’t just impact how I interact with my colleagues, it also empowers me to be more of an advocate for my students’ needs. One of the most memorable experiences in my career was attending the March for Our Lives protest with some of my students. Gun violence in Chicago was an issue that resonated with them, and I wanted them to see that people from all walks of life cared just as much as they did.

In my classroom, we’ve had powerful conversations about race and identity. When we talked about kneeling during the national anthem, some students were for it and some were against it. Some students asserted that Black Lives Matter, and some asserted that All Lives Matter. Some were in-between or confused.

With such varying opinions, it forced us all to think deeply about why a group would have to say explicitly that their lives mattered, and also why that might make another group of people angry enough to respond with their own message.

Having these discussions isn’t always easy, and they might not always be tied up with a bow. But they’re important, and showing up and leading them with empathy and inclusivity is how it should be done—during Black History Month and throughout the school year.

There are Black educators across Chicago who could have been whatever they wanted. But they chose to be educators. They chose to remain in this field and be a pivotal part of our children’s lives. They continue to show up, bringing their experiences and wisdom and love with them into their classrooms every morning.

As a Language Arts teacher, Ms. Cowley-Pettis knows that a good book is one of the best ways to learn something new during Black History Month. She recommends Proud by Ibtihaj Muhammad, a Black woman who medaled in fencing at the 2016 Olympics.