Today we'll hear an excerpt from Heinemann author Shamari Reid's "Humans Who..." YouTube series. In this series, Shamari joins some of the top educators and authors in the country to discuss the humanity in all aspects of teaching and life. In this installment, he's joined by Doctors Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, and Gholdy Muhammad. They explore the profound themes of racial literacy, teacher education, and the transformative power of love in teaching. Discover how writing their impactful books has deepened their understanding of love for people, justice, and creativity. This conversation will inspire and challenge you to think deeply about the role of love in our schools and communities.
Transcript
Shamari Reid:
We're talking about unearthing joy here, advancing racial literacy and teacher education. And of course we're talking about humans who teach. But let me ask both of you this. What did writing these books teach you about love?
Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz:
I can jump in if you don't mind. With Advancing Racial Literacies, the love that I have for my people, the love that I have for justice, trying to advance the conversation around race and people developing racial literacy is really what that book is all about. And also allowing me the groundswell to think about archeology of self, which is a little bit of that. So my love for theory, my love for creativity, around how do we try to make this life better, is really, I would say, reflected in that book.
Shamari:
And it's felt across the pages for sure. Gholdy, what did writing this teach you about love? Unearthing joy.
Gholdy Muhammad:
For me, it was like the love for writing, the love for teaching, the love for our teachers, our children, our families, our communities. When that is authentic, love will pour out on the pages. And it's kind of like if you meet an artist who's an actress or a singer, you know when somebody sing a certain way, the kind of passion and love they have already in them and it's just going to pour out.
Shamari:
That's right.
Gholdy:
And you can tell the other way, when it's like it's not fully there and it may not come across on the microphone or acting, right? And for me, that's what I learned.
Shamari:
And so now I want to dive into the books a little bit.
Yolanda:
We got some questions for you.
Shamari:
Oh, go ahead. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Gholdy:
So Shamari, my first question is what inspired you? I know Toni Morrison is at the helm of your inspiration because you feel it throughout, but talk about what inspired you to write this and how you chose to infuse those things about yourself, including your experiences in education, to really shape this perspective on the need to love more, do the self-work, and about humanity in our schools.
Shamari:
Thank you for that. What inspired me to write this book? The people who loved me honestly, when I sat down and thought about my community, and I have a pretty diverse community, but a lot of folks in my community teach in some capacity. They teach it in the K-12 space in schools, or they are professors, or they're my friends in ballroom who are teaching these ballroom youth how to walk their categories. But everyone is teaching.
And so when I thought about the love I had for them and I thought about the disrespect and the disregard for their humanity, this is just what I wanted to say. All those folks who love me, all those teachers are human and we've got to treat them better. I'm saying two things across the book. I'm saying two teachers to those of us who teach. I'm saying we are human and we deserve to lead lives with peace, love, and joy.
And I know that we don't hear that enough. I know teachers are often told what more we have to do, right? It's always more policies, more mandates, more directions, more grades, more tests, more this, more that. But these people who love me, these teachers in my lives are exhausted. They were exhausted. And I'm like, I don't think they have any more to give. And so I wanted to say to them, pause, water yourself, cultivate some self-regard, please, which is basically saying that your regard and your value is not tied to what you produce in a capitalist society. You are valuable because you are here. You have worth because you are alive. That's the only proven evidence you'll ever need.
Yolanda:
You emphasize the concept of love as a moral imperative in teaching. And it's very clear how, for me, you are instructing us on how to love ourselves, taking moments to pause, filling out your pie, really doing some deep identity work. So talk to us, Shamari, about what newfound love for yourself did you discover by the time you finished writing this book?
Shamari:
It's about self-regard for me. I think as I wrote that chapter, which is becoming very quickly my favorite chapter, chapter two, Humans Who Have Self-Regard. I was talking to myself, I needed to hear it. I needed to heal. I needed to understand that I was here and worthy of being here because I was here. So as I'm saying to teachers, as I'm saying to everyone else, cultivate a sense of self-regard, and I'm hearing Toni's words, Toni's powerful phrase, "You've already been bought and paid for. "She's quoting James Baldwin here.
She said, "You've already been bought and paid for." Your ancestors already gave it up for you. Now you can love yourself. It's about self-regard. The new-found love for myself is to, I fell in love with myself, not because I write, not because I teach, not because I'm this, not because I'm that, but because I'm here.
Gholdy:
It really sounds like the epitome of you are enough. I mean, we hear that and it sort of become cliche to some people, but it's such a powerful statement. You are enough, but you help us to really define and unpack what that really and truly means.
Shamari:
So both of you across your books and across your work have said in your own ways, love is the answer. Love is the answer. Love is the answer. Love is the answer. And my book is full of questions, which is a flip on that for me. I thought it would be more powerful to ask people questions that they could then answer to respond and make sense in their own context. So let me ask you this. Love is always the answer, but what is the most important question about love teachers should be asking themselves right now?
Yolanda:
Are you ready to love someone who's not your child, who's not your relative, who looks differently than you, who believes different than you, who prays differently than you? Do you have the courage to sustain that love with the children in your school? That's my question. And I also want to say that no matter the question, love is the answer.
Gholdy:
The first thing that pops into my head was, who are you serving? Who are you here to serve? We can say who you're accountable to and why do you do this work and all this, but who are you really serving? And the next thing I would love to ask all of us is that when no one's around, it's just you in silence. Who are you really? Who are you really when nobody is listening and no one is around? That's what I'm always asking and wondering of folks, especially those who are in front of our babies. Our children, yeah.
Shamari:
That's right. That's right. That's right. And I see the questions coming in the chat, so I'll just sort of cycle them. What advice do we have for brand new teachers? Their first year is so hard, which is true. Many of us understand that, and we are losing a lot of them after year one. So what advice do we have and how might they use our books to stay?
My advice is very simple. It is about self-regard. So what does that look like? That means this summer, if you're taking yourself seriously, you're treating yourself like someone you love, well, then you rest and you heal and you restore. So you don't go into year two frustrated, angry, exhausted, because if you don't take care of that, you'll teach from that place. And I know you don't want to. I know that sometimes students come in and we've had a long day. I know. And they ask a question and they do something and you just snap. And it's easier to snap when you're on the edge and we're on the edge when you don't take care of yourself. And so you have to take care of yourself this summer.
Yolanda:
I'll build on that because you can build on the source of self-regard for forever. And what you are trying to teach us specifically in chapter two and three and that have enough self-regard to find yourself a mentor, to recognize that teaching is a calling. It is hard, and you need help. And have enough self-regard and enough humility to watch and seek out people. And sometimes, y'all, your mentor is not someone in the building. I knew that I needed help. I loved myself enough to not have to fight and struggle through it. So I found someone. Find a mentor, find a few.
Gholdy:
And I would just add, especially keeping us there and coming back as a part of your question. I still remember the first feeling I had going into work every day. It was like some kind of melodic, sweet joy flowing through my body, moving all around me. It was just excitement. And I said I wanted to name that feeling, capture that feeling, understand that feeling, because I knew when I stopped feeling it was time to go. And so I think we have to really be mindful of how our body responds to places.
And sometimes we don't come back to teaching because that was just the wrong school to kick things off. It may be a different building, a different environment, a different environment that nurtures and helps to cultivate your genius and your joy too. So I want first year teachers to pay attention to their body and how they feel for this profession. Because see, that is going to keep you and sustain you.
I would also advise for first year teachers, do not compare yourselves to anybody else. Those 5th, 12th, 20th year teachers are still struggling too. Just know if that gives you any ease. But when we start to compare ourselves, we think we have to be at certain places. I want teachers who are new to let the school be a space to create, to envision, and to dream. That's what it's for. And then as Shamari said, go home and enjoy yourself.
Shamari:
I think we have time for one more question, and this maybe is a great final question. How are we taking care of our bodies to sustain this work?
Yolanda:
Gholdy is my gardener, and I cannot say this enough, you have to have the right people in your life. I could not do what I do without going Gholdy by my side. So how do I take care of myself? How do I sustain Gholdy? Bettina? We have a garden of people that we go to, but I would have to say, Gholdy is my principal gardener, and this is how I sustain when I want to quit, when I want to do whatever. When I want to just write poetry and I don't want to write papers, I'm able to talk honestly about everything.
Shamari:
That's right.
Yolanda:
Be honest with yourself and find someone that you can really trust. And I'm telling you, you can get through anything.
Gholdy:
I breathe. I breathe very slowly too. I catch myself doing it very often throughout the day where I'm just breathing slowly to kind of calm my mind and calm my heart. Because if you're like me, our minds are just da-da-da-da-da-da. We go to sleep. But 50 more ideas, and it's like I'm trying to turn it off. So the fact that I just keep trying and fighting for my body and my mind and spirit. I'm going to keep trying. And that spirit of trying something new is important too for me.
Shamari:
Yeah, yeah. Thank you all for joining us. Please do something kind for yourselves. Please do something kind for yourself before you go to sleep.
Edie:
Thank you for tuning in today. To read a full transcript and link to the full conversation on YouTube where you can also explore the other Humans Who episodes, visit blog.heinemann.com.
About the Author
Shamari Reid (he/him/his) is an assistant professor of justice and belonging in education at New York University. He has taught Spanish, English as a new language, and ELA at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels in Oklahoma, New York, Uruguay, and Spain. He is the creator and host of the podcast Water for Teachers. Shamari is also the author of the upcoming book Humans Who Teach: A Guide for Centering Love, Justice, and Liberation in Schools. As a scholar–educator, Shamari’s work centers love as a moral imperative in social justice education, and as a path toward culturally sustaining school communities. Shamari is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English where he was awarded the Cultivating New Voices research fellowship. He is also active in the American Education Research Association (AERA) as the chair of AERA’s Queer special interest group. Shamari completed his doctoral work in Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition, he holds an M.A. in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language and TESOL from New York University, and a B.A. in Spanish and Education from Oklahoma City University. His scholarly publications on race, gender, and sexuality in schools have appeared in various peer-reviewed journals such as Teachers College Record, Urban Education, and Curriculum Inquiry.
