462 people have taken our online training.
In October and November 2016, our Education Development Worker Sara Hakim delivered Anti Racism training workshops to over 500 student teachers from St Pats DCU, Marino Institute of Education, Mary Immaculate College and also to Freobel College at NUI Maynooth.
Many of the students have taken the online teacher training course at http://training.theredcard.ie
The course takes the learner through:
- What is racism
- How it happens
- How it impacts
- How to respond
- Activities teachers or other educators can deliver in the classroom or PE hall to promote anti racism learning
It concludes with the learner writing their own statement about what they have learnt. During the course, they are encourage to keep notes, so as to ensure a good learning experience. Below is just a flavour of the feedback we have received from the student teachers.
‘More people should be made aware of this training programme and many students as well as adults can learn from this and the effects that people have to say about racism’.
‘Racism may be caused due to a lack of understanding, lack of knowledge, lack of education or as a result of fear’.
‘This informative online course has enabled me to identify the damaging effects which racism can have on young people’.
‘As a teacher I will strive to create an environment of inclusiveness, positivity and encouragement. In terms of physical education I have learned some new,
effective games and activities which I am looking forward to making active use of in the future’.
‘They worked really well to bring the children together through cooperative teamwork and the games were very manageable for any teacher to facilitate’.
‘ Action is crucial. The games and activities included in the previous sections provide me with some examples of how to address racism’.
‘I have learned that racism is something encountered in every social environment from the workplace to school. It can be physical and verbal and I also learned that children as young as seven are experiencing racism. I was surprised to find out that 45% of teachers witnessed racism in the classroom within a month’.
‘I now have many activities that I can use with my future class to talk about and combat racism e.g the trust fall’.
‘ Young people find it difficult to report racism’.
‘Before completing this course about racism I never realised how effected the person can be’.
‘ I have earned a lot throughout this course and will be more driven to end racism in schools,the workplace, football pitch, playground etc’.
‘ What particularly struck me when watching the videos was the mention on a 10-year-old child having suicidal thoughts due to the racism they experienced’.
‘With a united front and information filled resources such as this, we can aim to educate both adults and children to treat any form of racism as completely unacceptable and intolerable’.
‘Young people in particular can experience many challenges when confronted with racism. While racism can affect people of any age, the impact it can have on children and young people can have lifelong implications. The challenge it poses to the individual experiencing it is that they can start to view themselves in a negative light which can then manifest in various ways’.
‘I have gained a substantial amount of information and insight into the extent in which young children experience racism. As a student teacher, this insight is hugely beneficial for me so that I am aware of the warning signs and acts of racism’.
‘ People such as bystanders do not challenge racism because they feel uncomfortable about the topic, it is easier to avoid and they also fear the repercussions’.
‘As an Irish person, I’ve never been made aware of how much racist activity can go on without you being aware of it. This course definitely inspired me to be more aware of racism. It also gave good advice, through interactive videos about how to deal with racism, which I think was helpful for me, who will be in charge of my own class in the near future’.
‘ Seeing prominent sports figures and other people speak out about racism might encourage others to think about their actions’.
‘Collusion is one such barrier that results in an inappropriate response to incidents of racism. Other forms of collusion include silence, denial and active cooperation. Exploring these barriers allow the children to identify the do’s and don’ts in responding to racist behaviour and the positive and negative effects associated. The show racism the red card resource pack contains a lot of effective resources that I could use in the classroom to implement my own and also the children’s learning about racism’.
‘A way to prevent racist or discriminatory issues in the classroom would be to create an open, accepting, collaborative classroom whereby group work, collaboration and whole class discussion would be key features of my everyday teaching. Collaboration and team based activities can be easily incorporated across the curriculum. For example; Team based PE tasks such as those encountered in the education pack; walk the line, treasure chest and the trust game. Other activities like using photographs to explore prejudices of people can be used as part of SESE studies and oral language development’.
‘ I feel that I have a much stonger voice now when it comes to dealing with children’s feelings about racism in the classroom and to ensure to always encourage children to speak up if they witness it and that it is a very noble act to do for a friend in need’.
‘ I would like to teach about racism very early on in the school year and re-vist it so the children understand it is not acceptable and won’t be tolerated. I would use some of the activities in the video too to build upon these ideas especially the one where the children get pictures and decide the name/job etc of the person. That would be a great activity to start teaching about stereotypes’.
‘This online resource has thought me a lot about racism and includes some great activities that I can definitely use in the classroom’.