Editor’s note: The application window for the 2016 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching will be open September 21 through December 15. To give educators more insight into the awardee experience, we’ll be featuring Q&As with four previous awardees on the TT blog throughout the application window. This spotlight on Amy Vatne Bintliff is the first post in the series.
Tell us about yourself, including what you teach.
During the award term, I taught reading to seventh- and eighth- graders in a small town in Wisconsin. I worked on centering our whole reading curriculum around human rights, social justice and anti-racist and anti-bias practices. Readers were much more engaged in the course after that [change]. It took about three years to create the class curriculum, and the curriculum was constantly evolving due to current events.
I am currently enrolled full time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning my Ph.D. in educational psychology.
What about the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching made you want to apply?
I knew that something special was going on in my reading class and that the impact of the class was permeating throughout the school and district. I looked at the Critical Practices for Anti-bias Education and had specific examples and evidence that supported many of the critical practices. Plus, completing the application process made me even more committed to enhancing parts of my practice. Though the application process was rigorous, I grew as an educator through the process itself and the reflection on those critical practices.
Please describe your experience during the award term.
The event that sticks out in my mind was when my classroom was filmed [by Teaching Tolerance]. Students were so proud to be a part of that experience. They wanted our work highlighted and really were so supportive of that process. They thought it was a real honor. I also received a box of amazing books [from TT] that awardees were invited to read before our summit. Many of the books challenged me, and the work of Howard Stevenson impacted me so greatly that I shifted my area of study to educational psychology!
What types of relationships did you build with fellow awardees, Teaching Tolerance staff, etc.?
One of the most challenging things I have faced as a social justice educator in a majority-white community has been this feeling of isolation. Though it can’t compare to what teachers of color are feeling out there, I still felt that I was constantly pushing up a hill that was too steep—especially when my advocacy was blocked in some way. When I met the fellow awardees in Montgomery, I became quite emotional. Just to have conversations about inequities was something that I had been craving. I want to critically investigate my own responses to racism, sexism, classism, my own privilege, etc. I was looking for colleagues who could both support and push me in the work, and I found that within both TT staff and my fellow awardees. My fellow awardees and I have continued to connect and just knowing that they are “there” means a lot.
What has the award meant for your practice (and, perhaps, your life)?
The award really gave me confidence to actively pursue a dream that I had—pursuing my Ph.D. I’d been writing and publishing but really didn’t have the quantitative background that I needed to measure the results that I saw within my students. I believe in anti-bias, anti-racist education and wanted the ability to measure the psychological shifts within people. My current projects include supporting efforts to eliminate human trafficking, providing post-restorative justice therapeutic interventions for victims who want counseling, and working on forgiveness education and its role in bringing peace to war-torn areas of the world. Plus, I’m learning to set up studies to support anti-bias education in classrooms.
What recommendations do you have for people who are considering applying for the award?
Make time for the process. Give yourself the space to be able to really reflect on your practice as you complete the steps in the application. The process alone will inspire you and give you new ideas if you allow yourself time to look critically at your practice. It’s involved but is worth the time.
And last but not least, what tips do you have for how teachers can stay fresh and inspired in their teaching?
I think that you really do need to hunt for people who can support you, as the daily position of educator is tiring. If you are working to tackle systemic injustices, it’s even more demanding on you physically and emotionally. Reach out into the community and find those supporters, even if they are in virtual environments. Also, listen to your students’ voices and follow them where they want to go. When you as a classroom community close in together and work to advocate together, that inspires you to keep going.
Thinking about applying? Learn more here!
