Educators Must Be Activists: Advocating for Muslim Students

As educators interested in supporting linguistically and culturally diverse learners, we have had to view our roles in different ways since the presidential campaign and the election of Trump. In this article, two teacher educators and two in-service ESL teachers in the U.S. reflect on our various experiences working with Muslim students and preparing teachers to support Muslim students in the current socio-political context. We discuss these experiences with the goal of suggesting some priorities in teacher education. Ultimately, to prepare teachers to be effective teachers for Muslim students requires them to go beyond being culturally responsive to becoming advocates and activists. This advocacy and activism necessitates a push against the cultural norms of Whiteness that dominate U.S. teacher education.