Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month in the Classroom

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Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has become an important part of professional development in many districts. Here are some DEI resources specific to AAPI issues:

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice offers Bystander Intervention Training, with new dates being added to the calendar regularly.
• The Asian American Education Project’s Teacher Training Workshops cover AAPI civil rights history, identity, racism and more (through June 2021).
• How to Respond to Coronavirus Racism from Learning for Justice describes how to speak up against those who are the targets of prejudice or bias.
• The New York City Department of Education’s COVID-19-Related Anti-Bias Education Resource Guide is filled with lesson plans, toolkits and more.
• Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month Resources from the Anti-Defamation League offers lesson plans, children’s books and more to help people navigate incorporating AAPIs into anti-racism education.

It should not take a pandemic and an increase in hate crimes to recognize the AAPI community, but now is every educator’s chance to step up, celebrate Asian American culture and show our support. Says Ben Nguyen: “I am hopeful that this increased national attention will allow a lens into further integration and acceptance of AAPIs into the ‘American culture’ in which we all operate.”