how it works

Upstander comes in two modes: Self Practice and Team Practice. 

Self Practice is meant for the anti-racist educator-in-training to practice their in-the-moment responses to high-stakes microaggressions on their own, at their pace. It came out of my feeling of being on the subway thinking, "I don't feel like grading quizzes right now, but I could really put this time to good use!" Self Practice is meant for exactly that moment. Think of it as a digital deck of microaggression flashcards.

Team Practice is meant to make the busy lives of administrators or Diversity & Inclusion Leads easier. If you want a quick way for your staff to discuss issues around race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, age, or spirituality, have them download Upstander and then break them off into small groups while you keep time and facilitate. You can then collect feedback from their responses to see which issues your staff might need more support and time to discuss with each other on.

self practice

Self Practice is divided into six decks. 

 

Each deck will present you with microaggressions and other high-stakes cultural sensitivity scenarios that could happen in your classroom.

 

While you are going through each scenario in this deck, consider the following:

  • Would you respond to the situation? If so, how? If not, what makes you uncomfortable?

  • Who might you discuss the situation with?

  • How would you respond to the "perpetrator" as well as the "victim"?

  • Is a one-on-one talk or whole-class response more productive?

  • Why might a student have responded in the way that they did?

 

If you know how you'd handle the microaggression, great! Click "Got It."

 

If you are "Unsure" of how to respond to the scenario, the deck will prompt you with guiding questions to consider.

 

If you have "No Clue," the deck will provide you with additional resources, articles, and videos related to the subject so that you can learn more on how to be a better ally or accomplice. 

team practice

Team Practice is also divided into six decks. 

 

Each deck is meant to be practiced with a team (e.g., in a staff meeting). In a large group setting, Team Practice would work best with a designated facilitator to keep a set amount of time for discussion, while small groups of teachers go over their reactions and ideas about the presented microaggressions with one another.

While teams are going through each scenario in this deck, have them ask each other the following:

  • Would you respond to the situation? If so, how? If not, what makes you uncomfortable?

  • Who might you discuss the situation with?

  • How would you respond to the "perpetrator" as well as the "victim"?

  • Is a one-on-one talk or whole-class response more productive?

  • Why might a student have responded in the way that they did?

Once small groups have decided on a response or when the facilitator has indicated that time is up, have teams select "Got It," "Unsure," or "No Clue." This will prompt one of the screens below that correlates with their response:

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the facilitator, you can use these screens to get a sense of where the staff falls on certain issues, call on groups who "Got It" to model responses for "Unsure" and "No Clue" teams, and get feedback on where the larger group may need more support or time to self-study. 

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