.. One of the many ways I will act to end racism in my classroom, and in my life outside school, will be to make sure I demonstrate supportive encouragement in a vocal way for children of color or any notable characteristic that is capable of becoming stigmatized by peers, because when children see adults especially in institutional roles of power modelling behavior that destigmatizes vulnerable students, they are highly receptive and thus likely to consider that model before unquestioningly adopting behaviors their parents or peers may display.

Direct action against classism will also include the other isms because my thinking now is that I want to focus as early as I can on media literacy around advertising, to dismantle if I can, students' assumptions that the products they see displayed as social objectives. Understanding that the companies who make and market these products have a vested interest in seducing us into stereotypes that few individuals can even if ever attain, will hopefully prevent future psychological damage around body image for example, and class concepts of privilege and dependence, they very likely will suffer as victims of advertising; and prevent a list of social mental and public health harms that likely cost the taxpayer or at least the medical consumer very real dollars. I will teach my students to question advertising, and the values it transmits.

3. Throughout the semester, we have looked at the effects of privilege on both "agents" and...

I have become convinced that...

This is particularly important given the powerful modelling role adults in institutional positions like teachers and administrators have, in both perpetuating and confronting discrimination and oppression. The most valuable realization is that excuses like "I didn't own slaves," or "I never had anything handed to me" are subtle lies that enable us to look away from behaviors and practices we find difficult and demoralizing because they are systematically designed to demoralize and defend against such confrontation. Believing or at least accepting the possibility that there are people who actively work to perpetuate systems of privilege, that their privileged group does not include me no matter how hard I work, and that they are actively trying to get me to believe the lies that keep me subordinate to them, is the first step in 'pulling the fly back up' and starting to look for ways to remove the gate from their privileged community. It won't be difficult to recognize institutional discrimination now that I'm looking for it, because there are so many obvious ways now that I know how to look past the smoke and mirrors, that the more subtle ones will become apparent after these are dismantled.