About Rebecca

Dr. Rebecca Eunmi Haslam, Founder of Seed the Way LLC, seeks to empower teachers and educational leaders to cultivate and sustain actively anti-bias, antiracist pedagogies, curricula, practices, and learning spaces. Seed the Way is committed to identifying and disrupting patterns and practices that continue to oppress BIPOC and other people marginalized by social inequity.  Seed the Way provides training and consultation for teachers and school leaders through interactive workshops, facilitated discussions, coaching, and consulting.

Rebecca Haslam, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Education Department at Saint Michael's College. She also serves as Coordinator of a new Graduate Certificate Program in Racial Equity & Educational Justice. Her research is currently focused on equity pedagogies that support the social-emotional well-being of Students of Color. Prior to SMC, she served Burlington's public schools for 14 years as a classroom teacher, curriculum developer, and K-12 equity & inclusion instructional coach. Rebecca was named the 2015 Vermont State Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers(CCSSO), and was the 2018 recipient of the Vermont NEA Human and Civil Rights Award.

Seed the Way is focused primarily on training for K-12 public school faculty and staff. Because one-time events rarely result in sustainable and systems-level changes, Rebecca does not offer such services. With increased need across the country, Seed the Way is prioritizing collaborations with partners who want to take a comprehensive approach to educational equity work.

​​For more information, to request a proposal, or to inquire about rates and availability, please complete this inquiry form or email rebecca@seedtheway.com.

The SEED Model

See

Learning to see the water means being willing and able to notice when we are normalizing racism, oppression, and marginalization in our own curricula and praxis (cultural relevance, terminology, representation, historical perspectives, instructional methods), as well as in relationship with others. Instead of accepting social inequity as just the way it is, we need to consider how patterns of dominance and oppression influence our own interpretation of what's 'normal,' and how our biases inform our pedagogical practices and interactions.

Excavate

We all have biases. They start forming when we're young and are informed by messaging we hear from trusted people in our lives, the media, in school curricula, and in literature. When we encounter what we perceive to be difference, our biases serve as the basis for our assumptions and interpretations in ways that might not be aligned with our own stated core values or sense of integrity. Excavating is all about surfacing our biases, being willing to dig them up, and doing the reflective work necessary to recognize when they get in our way. 

Evaluate

We each need to constantly evaluate our own integrity gap; in other words, am I showing up the way I want to in the moments I'm needed most? Our own biases will inform our response in ways we might not be aware. We need to consider the tension between intent and impact and be able to discern when 'what I meant' matters a whole lot less than how it landed. As educators, we cannot be silent when someone in our care is experiencing racial abuse (Kendi, 2020) or [micro]aggressions. This comes down to our core values and non-negotiables. Our responses and patterns define the classroom culture: shared values, relational ways of being, implicit messaging about what is important, who matters, who feels a strong sense of school belonging, and what 'normal' means at school.

Determine 

Determining how we respond happens in the moment and as much as we want to be "ready," that is rarely the case. Context will always matter, and while there is no one right way to respond when racism, bias, hate, and harm are present, we must always intervene. Each determination helps define school culture and how it feels to be at school. Race Forward  calls these choice points; each decision made by each individual influence and cumulatively impact outcomes at the systems level. Careful evaluation now will help us determine our next steps. What are my non-negotiables? What will I tolerate? What warrants my intervention? How are my own biases and defaults informing my interpretations? Whom am I keeping safe? It's harder to do this kind of thinking in what I call those "yikes moments". Sustaining anti-bias, antiracist (ABAR) learning spaces require us to be proactive, collaborative, and accountable to each other.