Episode Description: In episode 3 of Interrupt the Narrative, Pam interviews Heather Mohamed—an elementary educator—about her journey as an aspiring anti-racist educator. Heather paints a picture of what it looks like to interrupt oppression daily in the classroom. With vulnerability, honesty, and wisdom beyond her years, Heather demonstrates the challenges and triumphs anti-racist teachers face when committed to educational equtiy.

Bio: A recent graduate of the Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification program at Bank Street College. Heather is originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut, and she now lives and works in Brooklyn, as a second-grade head teacher at an independent school.

Breakdown of This Episode:

• The importance of staying true to yourself in the work of interrupting oppression in education.
• The reality that this work is a marathon and not a sprint.
• Navigating power structures when educators are lower in the school’s hierarchy.
• The importance of seeing students in the fullness of their humanity when doing this work.

LINKS:

Podcast Script (Linked Here)

Hudes, Q.A. (2022). Mi lenguaje roto (memorias). Vintage Español.

Jackson, G. (1971). Blood in my eye. Black Classic Press.

Kelley, R.D.G. (2022). Socialism Conference 2022.

Patel, L. (2021). No study without struggle: Confronting Settler Colonialism in Higher Education. Beacon Press.

Raider-Roth and Rodgers (2006): Presence in teaching. Teachers and Teaching Theory and Practice, 12(3). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228338408_Presence_in_teaching

Simmons, D. (2021). 6 ways to be an anti-racist educator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM3Lfk751cg

Smith, K., Zemelman, S., & Perry Smith, T. (2022). Teaching for Racial Equity: Becoming Interrupters. Stenhouse Publishers.

Paris, D. & Alim, H.S. (2017). Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world. Teachers College Press. https://www.tcpress.com/culturally-sustaining-pedagogies-9780807758335

Tightrope podcast, co-hosted by Drs. Cornel West and Tricia Rose, one of their guests (Dr. Beverly Daniel-Tatum, author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXvTT6Tctvg