Tired of waiting: Minnesota needs more teachers of color

Read the entire op-ed by E4E-Minnesota member Pamela Femrite on MinnPost.

I just returned to in-person classes, and I expected it to be somewhat hard, but not for the reasons you may imagine. Along with being elated to be with my students face to face, I also felt a bit wary about how all of it would work in a way that was safe for everyone. I expected challenges such as sick students, having to social distance, wearing PPE all day, and not being able to have close contact with my students.

What I did not expect during my first week back was to serve as support for one of my students of color in a racially charged conversation. I’m not able to always be there for all students of color who face something like this; however, I know my presence as a teacher of color is needed, even if sometimes my advocacy, or my honesty, or even my presence is not welcomed.

To read the complete op-ed, visit MinnPost.