Stop! drop. and roll… tackling racism

Abstract

Good elementary school teachers are a dying breed. We ask so much of them while simultaneously deciding to give them so little. With so many wide-ranging and varying job responsibilities, one can argue that these already full plates likely have little room for another job description: racism workshop facilitator. So how can overburdened and underpaid elementary school instructors take on this last role competently and capably? By remembering the elementary school adage frequently employed during fire drills: “Stop! Drop. And Roll….” This chapter provides instructional strategies on how elementary school teachers can more adroitly handle racial conflicts as they arise. With the fire drill mantra as the rubric, we explore the application of the three prescribed steps as applied to the classroom through three true case studies. First, stop time. Second, drop what you are doing to recognize the impact upon the child victim and the class. Third, roll with the teachable moment and do not shy away from the political difficulty in addressing the complicated realities of our complex world. While “firefighter” is not typically included in the common elementary teacher job description, this chapter fleshes out practical instructional practices that will allow our beleaguered elementary school teachers to put out and combat race-related “fires” in the classroom more efficiently and effectively.