Death in Education: An Ofrenda for All that has Passed while Teaching in Texas

• In Event: Philosophy and Emotion in/of Educators

Abstract

As educators of present and future teachers in a state that threatens public education, freedom of speech, and ethnic studies, we share our experiences with various forms of death. We write as an ofrenda to the physical, spiritual, and metaphorical deaths around us, including loss of land and life. Guided by Indigenous and Back abolitionist perspectives that understand our body, mind, spirit, and emotions as central to teaching and learning, we weave together our collective accounts of how we've intentionally worked amongst these physical passings and structural demises. Drawing from our practitioner pláticas, we share how we individually and collectively grapple with these endings to imagine new beginnings in education in which we explore pedagogical directions and implications of prioritizing rest, taking time to mourn, and teaching about these deaths openly (and strategically). This paper provides insights for other educators in similar political contexts grappling with various forms of death.

Authors

• Marial Quezada, The University of Texas at Austin

• Celine Norman, University of Texas at Austin

• Patricia R Núñez, UT Austin

• Luis Urrieta, University of Texas at Austin