#215 The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop with Felicia Rose Chavez (pt.1)

Hello everyone! If you have been following me on social media at all, then you have seen me gush about The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop book by Felicia Rose Chavez. After ten pages I was sold. After twenty I had nearly as many screenshots taken of key phrases and insights. By page thirty, I was certain I needed to bring Felicia's powerful voice onto the show. Luckily, she agreed, and I could not be more excited to bring this to you today. Felicia Rose Chavez is an award-winning educator with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Iowa. She is author of The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom and co-editor of The BreakBeat Poets Volume 4: LatiNEXT with Willie Perdomo and Jose Olivarez. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, she currently serves as the Creativity and Innovation Scholar-in-Residence at Colorado College. In this episode, we dive into her insight into how an anti-racist writing workshop differs from the traditional workshop model, why we need to alter how we view the teacher as "master," and how altering our practices can empower the future voices of this country. You DO NOT want to miss this one.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community by Liz Kleinrock. Most of us want to help cultivate an antibias and antiracist classroom and school community, but we don’t know how or where to start. This book helps us set ourselves up for success and prepare for the mistakes we’ll make along the way. Start Here, Start Now addresses the challenges that educators committed to antibias and antiracism face every day. Liz provides concrete strategies to overcome some of the barriers that prevent us from engaging in this work and includes lessons and activities we can start using in our classrooms right away. This book will help break habits that hold us back from this work, as well as build positive, sustainable teaching for the future. Start Here, Start Now is available as a book, ebook, and audiobook. To learn more and download a sample, visit Heinemann.com.