This summer, our team of five program assistants at Be the Change Earth Alliance (BTCEA) were tasked with Student Leadership for Change (SLC) revisions. We wanted these lessons to match our important values of justice, anti-racism, anti-oppression, and diversity.
As we looked through the lesson plans, we noticed some things that didn't feel right. For example, some resources in the lesson plans spoke about BIPOC communities from a white person’s perspective, instead of someone in that community. Some lesson plan’s only included BIPOC perspectives 3-4 pages into the workbook, positioning them as something of an after note. We also identified some outdated language, and had critiques around the general structure of some of the lesson plans, feeling they could be more oriented around anti-oppression and anti-racism than they currently are. We wanted to change this and make sure the lessons respect and centre the perspectives of the people they talk about. Social justice and environmental justice are intrinsically linked. We understood that the content we offer to educators must not only empower students but also emphasize that climate and environmental justice must include all other fights for justice.
We got feedback from the Anti-Racism group inside BTCEA. Then, we created a checklist document. These rules will help everyone who works on the lessons in the future centre anti-racism and JEDI principles (Justice, Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity). We wrote a "disclaimer" for the SLC library webpage. This message explains what we're doing and why we're doing it, and welcomes any feedback. Unfortunately, each lesson is linked in different places on the website, making updating them quite a slow task.
It's important to emphasize that our SLC updates are not a one-time endeavour. Rather, this process embodies the essence of continual evolution. With this understanding, we are dedicated to consistently revisiting and refining the content to ensure it remains aligned with the evolving landscape of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We're committed to keeping up this important work. As the world changes, we want our lessons to change too. In the end, our journey to improve the SLC lesson plans has been a big learning experience. As program assistants, we wanted to fix things that didn't feel right and make lessons that embody anti-racism and JEDI principles.
