Disrupting Bans on Knowledge: (Re)Imagining Educational Possibilities Through Pedagogical and Curricular Acts of Resistance

• In Event: Voices of Disruption: (Co)Constructing Educational Possibilities Through Intersectional Collaborative Frameworks of Resistance and Imaginings

Abstract

How can we “dismantle racial injustice and construct educational possibilities” in educational spaces where state and local legislation silences and prohibits educators from engaging in dialogue about racism, gender identity, sexuality, diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational spaces (AERA, 2023, p.1)? Using a Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education (DisCrit) framework (Connor, Ferri, & Annamma, 2016), this study examines these restrictive and exclusionary educational environments through the experiences of a social justice-oriented scholar-practitioner conducting professional development workshops while navigating overtly racist, homophobic, ableist, and transphobic educational policies, practices, procedures that uphold notions of white supremacy and heteronormativity.

This project arose from a cautionary caveat delivered by a state official at the moment before the author agreed to deliver a professional development workshop, “before you sign the contract, I strongly suggest that you read [State Bill 1492].” Heeding this warning, this study foregrounded the voices that State Bill 1492 attempted to silence, and examined the experiences of educators forced to teach in oppressive educational environments encouraging educators to “imagine boldly what education spaces free of racial injustice can look like” (AERA, 2023, p.1) in exclusionary educational spaces with legislation and regulations that severely restrict and proactively eliminate opportunities for “freedom-dreaming” by students and educators (Kelley, 2002; Love, 2019).

Enacting legislation that controls what is taught, and in this case, what is not taught in classrooms is nothing new. Recently, school board and congressional meetings have transformed into contentious battlefields where efforts to prohibit potentially “divisive” teaching practices from the classroom and pass what Kreb (2023) describes as “anti-critical race theory legislation” (p.1927) are silencing diverse voices. These attempts to control the pedagogical and curricular decision-making of educators are resulting in the banning of books, teacher censorship, and other initiatives that are limiting children’s intellectual freedom (Sachdeva, Kimmel, & Chérres, 2023). On the surface many of these bans promote widely accepted ideas such as a prohibition on discrimination of any form in schools, but under the guise of equality, these practices prevent the teaching of such concepts as systemic racism, structural racism, critical race theory, gender identity, and actively work to erase the histories of marginalized youth (Kelly, 2023). These “weaponized peace” efforts, where racial justice opponents “wield a desire for peace, stability, and harmony as a weapon to hinder movement toward racial equality” (Joshi, 2023, p. 1411) work to inhibit diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, enable racism and discrimination to endure, and create oppressive learning environments where educators avoid the topic of race, racism, and gender identity for fear of alienating students and families by discussing “political topics” (Connors & Trites, 2022, p.64).

Limited studies have looked at the educational experiences and perspectives of educators working in this climate of censorship, and this inquiry looks to add to the growing body of research that critically investigates the impact of teacher censorship on the pedagogical and curricular decision-making of social justice-oriented educators (Leland & Bangert, 2019; Hartsfield & Kimmel, 2020; Mamvuto, 2021; Connors & Trites, 2022).

Author

• Christopher Hall, Boston Public Schools