Many students in Minnesota high schools today were in their early teens when George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer three years ago. A group of St. Louis Park High Schoolers met Thursday talk about how Floyd’s death has shaped their experiences.
Nafeesah Muhammad, a high school teacher in Minneapolis, follows her students’ lead on whether or how much they want to discuss social injustices in the news.
For Ms. Muhammad, covering these topics comes naturally. Some other teachers are uncomfortable or don’t see the purpose. As educators across the country wrestle with addressing the nation’s racial reckoning in their classrooms, what’s happening in Minneapolis offers a microcosm of the struggles and lessons learned since the death of George Floyd here nearly a year ago. It’s played out in the district in the form of teacher training, more space from some teachers for in-class discussion, and, in the Twin Cities region overall, an increase in courses focused on the study of race.