ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of

Racial Isolation

Johnny Bell

University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida, USA

Keywords African-American history, activism, diversity, revision, social studies

How to cite this article (APA): Bell, J. (2024) A story of revising social studies units in midst of racial isolation. Annals of Social Studies

Education Research for Teachers, 6(1), 38-47. https://doi.org/10.29173/assert73

ABSTRACT

Black teachers encounter various microaggressions in and around schools that

make the profession taxing (King, 2016). While hurdling relational challenges, Dr.

Bell funneled his energy and revised two units for fourth and fifth grade students in

the learning community. One unit, Events Leading Up to the American Revolution

received limited edits due to the restraint of planning time and COVID19

quarantine mandates before implementation. The second unit, Activism, received a

major overhaul as it was originally cut short during the Spring 2020 semester. This

article reflects Dr. Bell’s account of the year spent revising both Social Studies

units that students engaged in. He includes the events that led to the decision to

focus on Social Studies content and the reactions of students and their involvement

as they learned content and participated in class discussions. His students enjoyed

the interactive lessons, although a majority of the planning was done by him

without much collaboration from his team members. As a result, this experience

has inspired him to find an opportunity to develop a secondary social studies

course.

Published July 2024

Corresponding Author

Johnny Bell

jbell@pky.ufl.edu

DOI 10.29173/assert73

Pages: 38-47

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Creative Commons

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INTRODUCTION

This article will take you on the journey of a Black male educator who is passionate about supporting

students and maintaining his own well-being. His story is laced with a love of social studies, learning,

and sharing the stories of marginalized figures in history.

The fourth and fifth-grade learning community (4/5 LC) spent hours collaborating on topics

ranging from planning field trips, discussing student needs, and brainstorming other professional

responsibilities. The team of seven teachers comprised three partnerships; half of the educators

taught math and writing content while their partners delivered instruction for reading and science.

Each of the four subjects was taught daily, which is common in Florida public schools due to the

state assessments. Social studies was squeezed in once a week on Wednesdays.

During the fall semester, the unit was titled Events Leading Up to the American Revolution, with

the next unit on Activism during the spring semester. This was originally planned for the Spring 2020

semester, but the COVID-19 pandemic paused the development of the unit. At this time, state

lawmakers passed legislation to decapitate diversity in education. Oklahoma, Arizona, and

Tennessee already passed education reforms by the start of the 2021-2022 school year; other states

such as Florida would soon follow. Table 1 models the two-year, semester loop of the 4/5 LC’s Social

Studies units.

Table 1

Pacing of Social Studies Units

Year “A”

2021-2022

Year “B”

2020-2021

Fall

Spring

Fall

Spring

Events Leading Up to the American

Revolution

Activism

Early Colonizers and Indigenous

People

Westward

Expansion

THE ISSUE

Conflicting Interests

A major critical incident between me and a learning community member also magnified the divide

between the team and me. When two white teachers openly supported another teacher’s use of a

derogatory word for Black people, I realized that I was on my own. This intensified my desire to

infuse diversity into the Social Studies curriculum because white teachers—especially 4/5 LC

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

educators- would not share the impact of minorities on the birth of the United States. The hushed

tones and administrative whispers to sweep the critical incident under the rug modeled why I doubted

the integrity of white educators.

This was shocking because I taught in a K-12 public school that advertises a diverse, inclusive,

well-rounded philosophy. Like many minority educators, I was the only minority teacher in our team of

seven educators, compared to most schools where nearly 80% of teachers identify as white

(Hinchcliffe, 2019; Sun, 2018). Our school claims to match Florida public school student enrollment

demographics by percentage. Over the previous two years, I observed different microaggressions

towards myself and other minority students. Like many predominantly white schools (PWI), this one

operated on the norms of the white majority (McGrady & Reynolds, 2013).

As the lone teacher of color, I felt a duty to support minority students’ social and emotional needs

by including the experiences of marginalized people (Bell, 2023). Simultaneously, I realized through a

series of “Did you know” and “Have you heard about” questions that students had limited knowledge

of historical events based on grade-level benchmarks for Social Studies; that school year coincided

with my second year in a doctoral program, which motivated me to increase my knowledge of

historical and present ramifications of policies that impact teachers, schools, and society. Although I

was a full-time educator and doctoral student promoting the publication of my second Young Adult

fiction novel, I decided to revise the unit.

REVISIONS

Events Leading Up to the American Revolution Unit

I began by researching state standards and contemplating what voices were missing from the

content. My research included incorporating sources such as Equal Justice Initiative (eji.org). As I

scrabbled for time to make the unit inclusive, I incorporated age-appropriate visuals such as videos

and images for students. My knowledge increased, which resulted in more enriching lessons with

literature and research on minorities during the American Revolution.

Class conversations began with the Boston Massacre and notable casualty Crispus Attucks.

Students learned about Indigenous Peoples’ conflict between choosing which side to support—

Loyalists or Patriots. It was exciting to watch their curiosity grow as discussions erupted amongst

them. They hung on the edge of their seats when we learned about different spies, including Black

and French spies such as James Armistead Lafayette. When we discussed the Boston Tea Party,

students quickly connected to this early example of activism—they linked the Boston Tea Party to the

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

thousands of people who protested after the George Floyd murder.

Students were also shocked to learn that Paul Revere had assistance on his famous midnight

ride from a Black archaeologist named Wentworth Cheswell. The most powerful lesson occurred

when we discussed the first Continental Congress. Most of the class casually glanced at a picture of

older men wearing wigs in ugly clothing until I posed a question: What do you notice about the group

of early American leaders? The students unwrapped the founding leaders’ image to decipher whether

it was a group of wealthy, landowning white men. I shared that Abigail Adams—former First Lady of

President John Adams—passionately pleaded with her husband and the other men to not forget

about pursuing rights for women. A white girl blurted out, “Man, that just isn’t right!” These facts left

students bewildered and motivated me to continue revisions.

Re-shifting the Work

Working solo after the disheartening restorative practice meeting left me emotionally drained but

lit a fire within to persevere with the social studies inquiry work. With a full doctoral student course

load and other professional and personal requirements, I realized more time was needed to revise

the unit to a satisfactory level completely. This led me to shift my focus toward working ahead on the

Activism Unit for the upcoming Spring semester. While sitting in a required team meeting, I petitioned

for the opportunity to create the upcoming Activism Unit. None of the fourth and fifth-grade learning

community teachers objected.

For the Activism Unit, I repeated the steps of studying state standards, benchmarks, and

resources. Concurrently, Florida politicians executed their plot to terminate diversity-enriched

curricula in public schools and collegiate courses. Nonetheless, I persevered with the formation and

creation of the lessons. I juggled time between doctoral coursework and teaching responsibilities.

The unit was over two-thirds complete when we returned for the Spring semester. As with the

minority-infused revisions in the previous unit, I wanted to know whether team members would follow

the equity-focused Activism lessons and guided script.

Activism Unit

We began with the once-popular Kid President (How to Change the World, 2013) who discussed

how to change the world. Students engaged from the onset utilizing strategies such as three-column

notes and think-pair-share. I also included a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “A riot is the

language of the unheard,” (King, Wallace interview, September 27, 1966) and reminded students of

our previous unit when we learned about the Boston Tea Party. Our brief, 35-minute lessons

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

focused on learning about different types of activism, forms of activism, and activists. We

navigated topics and people involved in Civil Rights and Women’s Rights, such as Title IX in 1972

and Representative Patsy Mink. Children learned about the conflict between Susan Anthony and Ida

B. Wells on their polarizing stances on rights for women of color. Students were intrigued when we

discussed their rights as children and learned the painful price peers their age incur, such as Malala

Yousafzai.

My partner teacher checked in to see how the unit was progressing. She was the only one on the

team who contributed by finding an age-appropriate book—Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood

from Champions of Change (Stevenson, 2019)—that covered the encounters of many activists such

as Nelson Mandella, Helen Keller, and Autumn Peltier. Pages were uploaded onto the slides,

allowing students to read aloud and view pictures from the book. As we concluded the unit, students

openly shared their knowledge on activism topics such as gun violence, police brutality, and mental

health. The highlight was receiving emails from parents expressing thanks that we were covering

such topics.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS

My academic research focuses on the stories of Black male elementary teachers (BMETs). Although

we are in different states with varying years of experience, our stories were similar. Veteran minority

teachers have stories that mimic my own. They/we encounter pressure due to the rarity of them/us

in PWIs (Kelly, 2007). Three critical reminders are to remain vigilant, educate yourself, and stay

assertive. Additionally, we must continue to watch out for microaggressions against ourselves, our

children, and our cultures, as the white majority seeks to force us to assimilate. Furthermore, we

must continue to educate ourselves on the history of our people and about educational policies, so

we understand what rights we have in the workplace. Lastly, we must continue to advocate for

ourselves and our future.

Q & A WITH Johnny Bell

Question #1

Teacher’s Question:

What advice would you offer to educators who want to follow your approach in states that have limited the

teaching of diversity and/or African American History?

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

Johnny Bell’s Response:

I recommend finding like-minded educators and establishing a support group for the emotional toil and to

network and gain ideas for the unit, lesson, or course. As the quote says, “Many hands make light work.”

Finding others who have similar interests helps on multiple fronts- not only does it lighten your load, but

other perspectives are brought in that can fill in the gaps in your abilities. Other teachers can help you

create a cross-curricular unit. One of the great travesties in education is that our children cannot learn how

different subjects are related and how skills from one subject can help them succeed in other classes.

Enjoy being uncomfortable because this is where you grow the most as a professional and a person.

Consider how much you grew in your first two years in education--mainly because you were learning how to

teach, build relationships effectively, and manage the professional requirements. There will be pushback

from every angle- a student, a parent, and even a colleague. While you may not always be aware, be

prepared to articulate your professional stance on why this topic is necessary. One of my go-to lines is

paraphrased by Spanish writer and philosopher George Santayana, “those who do not [learn] history are

doomed to repeat it.”

Question #2

Teacher’s Question:

What instructional materials and strategies best support students to engage critically with instructional

materials which include diverse voices and experiences?

Johnny Bell’s Response:

Search for content and voices that best relate to your students. Children- like adults- need an opportunity to

digest content by having independent processing time and collaborative thinking. One internal difficulty I

experienced was determining the level of guidance and direction of our whole-group conversations. Ideally,

I preferred to allow small-group collaboration to increase participation, but I felt the best way to supervise

was to discuss the whole group.

Some concrete recommendations are to avoid dichotomous questions and incorporate critical thinking

terminology. I referred to Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Chart to help with my questioning. At the elementary

level, I did not sense children had enough background knowledge but may have experienced

microaggressions they could not verbalize. In my position as a teacher of color, this provided space to help

minority students articulate and make connections to historical events of the past and present.

Also, get out of the way! Don’t limit activities and sources to your preconceived notions. Take chances by

incorporating videos, pictures, and stories to help educate your students. To be honest, our children hear

our voices so much that someone new may potentially draw a higher level of attention. I firmly

believe that growth occurs just outside our comfort zone. So, be willing to get uncomfortable.

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

Question #3

Teacher’s Question:

How can colleagues resolve a ‘critical incident’ related to diversity when one or more colleagues has been

harmed?

Johnny Bell’s Response:

This is difficult, especially if the aggressor and other witnesses refuse to acknowledge the damage and

feelings of the receiver. In my case, it was/is difficult to resolve because there has been a collection of

critical incidents (Bott & Tourist, 2016; Curtis et al., 2020; Pui-Ian et al., 2005) I experienced in the previous

three years leading up to the major event, including being denied admission to the school for my then-

fiancé (now, wife's) children for an entire school year. In my case, some events not only affected me as a

professional but affected my personal life. Also, some of those white teachers will not make eye contact

with me in the hallway.

Restorative circles are a great starting place, but it doesn’t mean a healthy resolution will always be

reached. Sometimes, you learn the mindset of others. For example, in our meeting, only one white teacher

shared that the critical incident led them to do their own research to understand the ramifications of what

happened, but two other white teachers displayed their beliefs by doubling down in support of the

aggressor’s volatile language.

One of the greatest challenges- I perceive- was the inability for white colleagues to shift their thoughts and

step into a different viewpoint of an incident. This was magnified by literature in my dissertation (Battey et

al., 2018; Carothers et al., 2019; McGrady & Reynolds, 2013) and my findings from the BMETs that were

participants. Teachers of color have less of a challenge of viewing different perspectives because we are

used to things such as code-switching and being conscious of how we move in white-dominant spaces

(Downey & Pribesh, 2004; Milner, 2020).

Question #4

Teacher’s Question:

What advice would you offer to White educators as to how they can support teachers and students of color

in our current context?

Johnny Bell’s Response:

Do your own research about the oppression minorities have and continue to suffer. Read literature from

authors such as bell hooks, Dr. Bettina Love, Robin DiAngelo, and Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings are some

popular researchers.

Examine your social groups. Who is in your innermost circle of friends? Who attends your church? What

teachers choose to come visit you during planning? Who do you live with? How do you hear people

comment about events in society?

Truly examine yourself. It’s okay to look in the mirror and realize you were wrong about something. We as

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

people are born stubborn and with an innate belief that our way is right (look at any toddler). However, as

we grow and learn, we realize that we are really learning and evolving humans. The day we stop desiring

growth and self-improvement is the day we stop growing as people.

Question #5

Teacher’s Question:

What are some strategies or practices that you engaged in as a Black educator to practice and prioritize

self-care?

Johnny Bell’s Response:

During the months following the major critical incident, I vented to a Black classmate in the doctoral

program. He talked me off the proverbial ledge and helped me maintain focus throughout the remainder of

the program. For the remainder of that school year, I removed myself from any non-mandated meetings

with the team and did everything- eating lunch, grading work, making lesson plans in the safety of my

classroom instead of operating in the learning community “fishbowl” (office). The “fishbowl” has

workstations for each team member, a large meeting table, a printer, and other miscellaneous items that

teachers use. While reflecting, I really didn’t practice self-care. Instead, I dove head-first into my

dissertation topic by allowing my passion to improve the quality of work.

Some habits of self-care that I try to practice at school is to spend about five minutes at the end of each

day in horizontal reflection. I recount the events of the day and consider what went well and what didn’t;

what comments did I miss that were potentially triggering and how can I respond to future challenges if they

repeat themselves? I also leave work at work. Like a demotivational poster said, “homework is preparing

kids for unpaid overtime.” I do not take work home and I let students know that I have a life outside of

school. I try to have a continual activity at home such as DIY projects.

REFERENCES

Battey, D., Leyva, L., Williams, I., Belizario, V., Greco, R., and Shah, R. (2018). Racial (mis) match in middle

school mathematics classrooms: Relational interactions as a racialized mechanism. Harvard Educational

Review, 88(4), 455-482.

Bell, J. (2023). Blacked-out: Narratives of Black male elementary teachers. Doctoral dissertation, University of

Florida. ProQuest.

Bott, G., and Tourish, D. (2016). The critical incident technique reappraised: Using critical incidents to

illuminate organizational practices and build theory. Qualitative Research in Organizations and

Management: An International Journal, 11(4), 276-300.

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

Carothers, D., Hasan, A., and Houdyshell, M. (2019). Teacher shortages and cultural mismatch: District and

university collaboration for recruiting. Journal of Social Studies Education Research. 10(3), pp. 39-63.

Curtis-Boles, H., Chupina, A. G., & Okubo, Y. (2020). Social justice challenges: Students of color and critical

incidents in the graduate classroom. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 14(2), 100-108.

Downey, D. and Pribesh, S. (2004). When race matters: Teachers’ evaluations of students’ classroom

behavior. Sociology of Education, 77(4), pp. 267-282.

Hinchcliffe, K. (2019). NC’s teacher diversity gap: Where are the Black and Brown teachers?

https://www.wral.com/nc-s-teacher-diversity-gap-where-are-the-black-and-brown-teachers/18129132/

Kelly, H. (2007). Racial tokenism in the school workplace: An exploratory study of black teachers in

overwhelmingly white schools. Educational Studies, 41(3), 230-254.

King, J. (2016). The invisible tax on teachers of color. The Washington Post, 1-4.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-invisible-tax-on-black-teachers/2016/05/15/6b7bea06-16f7-

11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html

McGrady, P. and Reynolds, J. (2013). Racial Mismatch in the Classroom: Beyond Black- white Differences.

American Sociological Association, 86(1), 3-17.

Milner, R. (2020). Black teacher: White school, Theory into Practice, 59(4), pp. 400-408.

Participant. (2013, December 13). How to Change the World. [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z7gDsSKUmU

Pui‐lan, K., Brown, W., Delamarter, S., Frank, T., Marshall, J., Menn, E., and Riggs, M. (2005). Taken with

surprise: Critical incidents in teaching. Teaching Theology & Religion, 8(1), 35-46.

Stevenson, R. (2019). Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change. Dreamscape Media

2020.

Sun, M. (2018). Black teachers’ retention and transfer patterns in North Carolina: How do patterns vary by

teacher effectiveness, subject, and school conditions? AREA Open, 4(3), 1-23.

ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert73

A Story of Revising Social Studies Units in the Midst of Racial Isolation

Bell, Johnny

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Johnny Bell

I am an assistant professor with secondary teaching responsibilities at the University of Florida. My

ultimate, professional goal is to become well-rounded on the history of Black American experiences in the

United States, as well as blending the stories of Latinx and other minority groups into academia. In

reaching these goals, I hope to work within the k-12 setting to make academic histories, which rarely travel

beyond the ivory tower, more accessible to students. I am inspired to do this work due to experiences as a

minority educator, and the stories from generations before me. My research focuses on lessons and

inquiries that incorporate interdisciplinary skills. When I am not teaching and studying, I enjoy watching

basketball, traveling, and staying active through exercise. After publishing two Young Adult fiction novels

that feature Black and Brown characters, I have become active through social media on Twitter and

Instagram (@johnnybellbooks), and operate two websites currently, www.johnnybellbooks.com and