A few years ago, I sat in a colleague's classroom where students were doing TedTalk presentations. I can't remember what this student's talk was about, but he was going to show footage of a Black man being murdered as part of his presentation.

I told him he couldn't do it.

But, what if I wasn't there to stop him?

Every time I see a Black person killed by the police, I cry and I hurt. However, some people become desensitized and see it as fodder for a point they can make in their presentations, papers, and think pieces.

I make mistakes every year as a teacher, and some of them have to do with how I approach anti-racist education.

Along with critical thinking, we can think about how we address empathy and compassion with our students.

I shouldn't have had to be in that classroom

for a student to consider why it is not okay to show a human being's murder for a class project.