decolonize your classroom spread

in addition to being a tarot reader, i'm a teacher! i created this spread as a way for me to reflect on my pedagogy before i go back to school next week.

this is a photo of my classroom & my first time using Google drawing!

1: RESIST imposed curriculum to create an anti-racist, anti-colonial pedagogy

2: REIMAGINE the power structure in the classroom to center students

3: RECOGNIZE and support students from marginalized/persecuted communities, without expecting    them to educate you or their classmates

4: REJUVENATE and take care of yourself

although i have been using the slutist tarot almost exclusively since it's release in july (#INLOVE #OBSESSED #FEMME4FEMME), i decided to use the rider-waite-smith deck to throw this spread. this was my INAUGURAL rws spread-- i was gifted this classic deck a few weeks ago. i wanted to use rws for this spread because: 1) my friend who i met teaching gave it to me 2) even though i teach all girls, & so the women/femme-centeredness of the slutist tarot is appealing, i don't want to think through my pedagogy using erotic imagery 3) patricia colman smith, the artist behind the rws deck, was never given credit for her word, financial or otherwise, until somewhat recently. the rws carries within it the resilience of marginalized people, and the righteous promise of truth-- patricia colman smith DID create the art, IS responsible for the first widely available tarot deck, and REDEFINED tarot by drawing actual images for the suits of the minor arcana-- this is the deck i want to use to think about teaching.

"decolonize your classroom" spread using the rider-waite-smith 

1: RESIST: THE EMPRESS-- the only major arcana card i pulled. this is a reminder to me that i am "the mother" of my curriculum, & that i have the power to make it nurturing, joyful, & expansive-- to encourage the celebration of process, growth, & confidence in my classroom.

2: REIMAGINE: two of swords: third time i have pulled two of swords in as many days-- this is something i need to reflect on. it's hard for me to let go of power in the classroom. power is control, & i need to be in charge of my little punks, & make sure they feel safe & practice healthy boundaries. while i certainly believe in student-centered & student-led teaching, i do have expertise that i need to share with them. this is a place of growth for me as a teacher-- how can i (especially as a white native english speaker) create space in our classroom community for my students to feel empowered & in control?

3: RECOGNIZE: three of swords: the first thing i thought when i saw this was "white traitor," from professor hesse's "The 8 White Identities." i am usually the only adult & the only white person in my classroom-- there is no room for white fragility, or centering whiteness. there is only room for authenticity & honesty. my students & their experiences belong in the center. that's not to say that we don't talk about or make whiteness visible-- just that i have seen "woke" white teachers alienate their students in their rush to show how much they understand their own privilege. that's still centering whiteness. i find not talking-- not rushing to fill the space-- just listening-- to create the best classroom community. i say "i hear you," a lot. i need to learn spanish. i never want my students to feel like there is only one language (or one way to be) welcome in the classroom. i often think they just need the space to articulate what is happening around them, to them, in their communities-- i provide the language, not the content. i can do better at this. i didn't say "intersectionality" to them until the end of the year last year-- too busy privileging grammar, like i thought a teacher "should".

4: REJUVENATE: knight of cups: teaching is very emotional-- i teach from the gut. by fridays i don't want to talk to anybody, see anybody, do anything at all besides lay on my bed & recover. i need to practice self-care day by day-- the knight of cups is here to remind me to reach out to those relationships that rejuvenate me, instead of waiting until i am in crisis.

this spread certainly offered me some salient things to think about as i look to the new school year-- please let me know if it works for you, as well!