Daniel Harada, Teacher & Educational Equity Advocate
“I think so often we listen to respond not listen to understand and right now our kids need a space to talk and ask questions.” — Daniel Harada (he/him)
As a new school year begins to unfold, there are a few critical questions we believe need to be answered. What lessons did teachers and school leaders learn over the last year? How will these lessons inform their efforts to build inclusive and equitable schools where all students can thrive? What support do educators need as we continue to navigate a pandemic and a time of hyperpolarization?
To bring insight to a few of these questions, we interviewed changemaker, teacher, and educational equity advocate, Daniel Harada (he/him).
Some of the questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q1: At this moment, what does it mean to be a changemaker?
A1: Being a changemaker does not have to mean doing large things. They can be the little things that you do in your daily life. Make changes in your immediate circle. Many times we think we have to engage in these larger acts of change to make a difference, but this isn’t true. Changemaking can be on a smaller scale, such as talking about the importance of voting in every election and not just the presidential election or getting involved with organizations that are in need of support in your local community. Changemaking can still happen during the pandemic, it’s just more immediate and local instead.
Q2: What is something you would want every educator to incorporate into their classrooms or practice?
A2: I have a two-part ask for all educators. I would ask that every educator examines their biases and how they impact what they do in the classroom and how bias impacts their students in other aspects of education. Everyone has biases. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it is a problem to pretend biases don’t exist. Or acknowledge bias, but do nothing about it. This is where the second part of my ask comes in. Once you are aware of the biases that exist, do something about it. Do the self-work to ensure your bias is not impacting your practice. Organize and make changes to eliminate bias in your district or state. Educate others who might not have had to think about their bias and challenge them to do better. We need to do this work if we want our students to receive the education they deserve.
Q3: How have you helped your students during the pandemic? What has helped you as an educator during this time?
A3: I think that the biggest support I have been able to provide has been giving my students a chance to feel heard. I listen to them to really hear what they are saying. I think so often we listen to respond not listen to understand and right now our kids need a space to talk and ask questions. Sometimes the questions they ask are hard and I don’t know the answers and that is okay. We talk about how everyone, even adults don’t know everything and it is okay to say “I am not sure yet.”
This is also what has helped me as an educator. Having colleagues that are willing to listen and be supportive has been huge. Teaching is a profession that should be collaborative. We need to listen and hear each other. We need to learn from our colleagues and improve our practice. We need to be able to have people push us to do better. And sometimes we need to just take a second to vent and be a little salty. Being remote has made this hard, there may need to be more intentionality to plan times to talk and get together. But this time is so important and I thank every single person who supports me as an educator in these ways because I truly believe that without them I would not have been able to stay teaching.
Q4: What do we need to build a world of belonging?
A4: We need to be holding conversations, explaining our ideas, and creating space to think with each other. We don’t always have to agree with each other, but it’s critical to reach a form of mutual understanding. We should also stop politicizing everything and having only debates with each other. Having a dialogue is different and more conducive to building understanding. Dialogues allow us to be open to hearing ideas that may be different from our own. Finally, as we engage in dialogues with each other we should always make an effort to listen to understand and not only to respond.
About Daniel Harada
Daniel Harada is a 5th-grade teacher in Federal Way and is a board member of Equal Rights Washington. He also provides leadership to the Safe Schools Coalition and the Equity Team for the Federal Way Education Association. Daniel is also the recipient of the WEA Human and Civil Rights Students Involvement Award.
This series is part of our ongoing effort to amplify stories from We the Changemakers Project. Daniel Harada was nominated by the Federal Way Education Association.
