Episode 2 | Carceral Curriculum: Owning What Is Ours

During our three-part series on the carceral curriculum in our schools, we’ll be asking, “How do we abolish carcerality in our schools (and beyond)?” In this first episode, we learn about curriculum violence, a manifestation of carcerality, through a conversation with Dr. Stephanie Jones, Assistant Professor of Education at Grinnell College. Dr. Jones defines curriculum violence as “planned activities, planned assessments within the classroom space that are particularly harmful to Black and Brown students and their knowledges,” whether it is intended to be or not. We also discuss how educators enact racial trauma via the carceral curriculum in their classrooms and ways we can be accountable to ending curriculum violence in our schools. In our Resource Room, Kishanna Laurie shares about her Reiki practice of self-care. Erin’s former student, Lissa, shares her poem, “Where I’m From,” celebrating the many parts of her identity. And throughout, Erin and monét invite you to sit with the violence we have enacted as educators and how we can repair and transform our classroom communities through our practices. Thank you for walking with us.

This Episode's Intellectual Inheritance:

"Ending Curriculum Violence," Dr. Stephanie Jones, Spring 2020 Learning for Justice Magazine
"Mapping Racial Trauma in Schools," Dr. Stephanie Jones
We Will Not Cancel Us and Other Dreams of Transformative Justice, adrienne maree brown
"The Known Unknown: The Limits of Empathy," Camille Rankine
"Where I’m From" George Ella Lyon, mentor text for Lissa’s poem
Phyllis Jordan at Victor Novell Massage & Wellness

News Clips

Teacher on leave after classroom slavery discussion goes viral, FOX 4 Now
Twin Rivers Unified apologizes after teacher makes derogatory gesture toward east Asians, KCRA News
NJ Teacher Gives Profane Rant During Zoom Lesson, Calls George Floyd a ‘Criminal', NBC New York
Teacher disciplined for using racist term in lesson plan, ABC 13 Houston
Teacher Sparks Outrage Over Slavery Assignment, CBS New York
Slavery Scenarios Infect U.S. Schools, The Daily Show

Original music by Mara Johnson, Elliott Wilkes, and monét cooper