Teaching as resistance

5 questions for 3rd grade teacher and activist Allie Grill

As we head into our second week of “school” in my house, I’m feeling both hopeless and hopeful. Hopeless because I honestly can’t imagine my kid back in a classroom anytime soon. Our former life—those blissfully chaotic mornings on the playground waiting for Coach Andre’s whistle to blow, the kids flailing around during story time in the library—it all just seems so proposterous already.

But I’m also hopeful because Maya is stomping around in her room playing freeze dance with her whole class, who miraculously show up on zoom each morning. The kids seem sort of alright?! And I’m mostly hopeful because the teachers I interact with are so outrageously committed and brilliant and kind—it just blows me away on a daily basis. One of them is Allie Grill, who teaches third grade at Maya’s Title I school and is an absolute force of nature. She’s fierce as hell about the wellbeing of her students and the pledges of her profession, but also has an ebullient, generous laugh. She is family-oriented, politically-active, and doesn’t, as far as I can tell, have an inauthentic bone in her body. I thought learning from her during this back-to-whatever-we-now-think-of-as-school moment would be wise…

Courtney: I saw you had your first class zoom where every single student showed up. How did that feel? Do you think this is an indication that technology and wifi access are getting out to kids?  

Allie: Well, it wasn't that they were all on zoom at the same time. They were all logged into Clever (our online student portal) at the same time. This was the first time I had all my students logged on simultaneously and even though it wasn’t live instruction I was thrilled! Getting all of my students logged in in the second week of school is incredible.

This is exactly why the teachers union called for a slow start to the year; so we can spend these early weeks getting students and families set up before we start content. Emerson has done an incredible job getting technology and wifi to students. So far we have distributed over 300 chromebooks and about 50 hot spots. 

The district has not started their distribution of computers and hotspots yet, and I am not holding my breath for those. I am really proud of the work our school has done to get technology to kids, and am frustrated that right now it is up to teachers and staff to get that into the hands of our families. I know some schools have already run out of chromebooks so there are still many, many students around the district without access to technology. 

Beautiful Ms. Grill on the picket line last year.

What have you noticed about kids’ ability to use and explore their voices in this time of distance learning? Any predictions about long term effects?

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot as I’ve been talking to families and hearing the hopes and dreams for their young people. So many families, particularly those of girls, have said to me something along the lines of, “My hope for her this year is that she finds her voice. That she is confident and speaks in class with conviction in what she believes.”

And they’re right. It is crucial that a student leaves elementary school with that confidence, conviction, and pride in herself as a young person and a learner. And truthfully, it feels so daunting to be responsible for that confidence and willingness to make mistakes over zoom. I am doing all the things I would do in the classroom: wait time, calling on a variety of students, eventually I will be using equity sticks, but it is so hard because the kids feel so far away. And I can’t pull a kid aside and do a quick check in. Everything is public, so I’m not sure how to support a student when they are clearly having a hard time in a given moment.

I have no idea what it will do long term, I imagine when we are back in school it will be a strange mix of excitement and trepidation, and I think our youngest students will have to relearn what it means to be in school—that school is loud, and messy, and we make mistakes and share them publicly, that sometimes we disagree with our teachers and classmates, and we’re all stronger when we’re in the mess together.

You are the teacher’s union rep at our school. What do you think the general public most misunderstands about the bargaining process between unions and districts? 

I think people often misunderstand why we are fighting for what we’re fighting for. For example, teachers have been fighting for less instructional minutes during distance learning and there is a narrative in the general public that it is because we don't want to teach, we want to get paid to sit at home, we don’t put our students first, etc. 

In reality, we are fighting for a system that is equitable across the district. A friend of mine teaches at Oakland International High School, where all of the students are newcomers.  Many of the students have jobs, or take care of their siblings, or have a host of other responsibilities to support their families during this pandemic. The teachers at that school know that their students benefit most from asynchronous learning because their schedules are so in flux. We are not asking to teach less, we are asking to be listened to because we know our students, their families, and how to meet their needs better than politicians who think a one size fits all approach will work during a global pandemic (spoiler: it won’t). 

And I don’t think these misconceptions are a coincidence, there are people who push these narratives, to weaken our union and our strength in the community. But families know us and what we stand for. 

You’ve been doing a lot of social media posting about reparations. I’m curious -- do you have a personal philosophy/practice around reparations? Where did that come from?  

Honestly, I’m still learning a lot about this right now. Mainly I am listening to Black femmes who are on the front lines of the work and have been calling for reparations for years, and have been ignored on every level. I credit Shi Shi Rose and Ericka Hart for a lot of my understanding of reparations and I recommend everyone follow them on social media and listen to what they have to say. 

Until there are reparations being paid on a federal level I am committed to distributing some of the wealth that I inherited from what Ann Friedman calls “secret white people money.” (I don’t know if she made that term up, but I think about it a lot). For example, a few years ago my dad’s uncle died and myself and my cousins inherited money from him. It was a true gift, and I did nothing to earn it. We know the inequities in who has access to land and real estate and inheritance in this country, and I feel committed to distributing that as much as I can.

What’s more, we often donate money to Black families when someone has lost their life. We saw massive fundraisers for the families of Geroge Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmad Arbery, to name a few. Those are great! And we need to be supporting Black folks while they are still alive. So I’ve been setting aside money in my monthly budget for different fundraisers for Black people around the country, rather than only donating to nonprofits or in the face of disaster. (Follow Allie to see her post these in her Instagram stories!)  

A customized pie chart that beloved Ann made for Allie, pre-covid.

You are a podcast producer with unlimited funds: who are your dream hosts and what do they talk about? 

This question has prompted the making of a long list in my head. I'll try and keep it short. 

I would probably start with Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman-- my podcast queens! I've been listening to their podcast Call Your Girlfriend for years, so I’d have to start with them. We would talk about podcasting and female friendships and then we would become lifelong friends. 

Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird would be up there to talk about the work they do promoting women’s sports, among so many other causes. I grew up playing sports and couldn’t have dreamt of role models like them. We would also become lifelong friends. 

And then I would have a long series of educators from around the country who are fighting for a more just system every day while teaching their students. We would talk about the intersection of teaching and politics, how we center anti-racist teaching, how our classrooms reflect our students and their lives, and our favorite ways to organize paperwork.

Thank you to Allie, and all the teachers out there working so dang hard to make sure kids still feel connected and curious, even and especially in these times. You are so powerful.