Beatrice Fennimore
Beatrice Fennimore is an educator and activist whose career has focused on child advocacy, public school equity, social justice and the practice of anti-bias education.
Dr. Fennimore is the author of multiple books, book chapters, and scholarly articles, all of which are informed by years of experience in K-12 and university settings. Her publications reflect her passionate interest in real-life strategies that respect diversity and support equitable opportunities for all students.
Her landmark book Talk Matters: Refocusing the Language of Public Schooling explores ways in which educator “talk” about students is a powerful vehicle that can either reinforce institutional racism and bias or restructure an institution-wide effort to build respect for the dignity and potential of every student.
Since the book’s publication in 2000, Dr. Fennimore has continued to offer popular professional development workshops that lead participants in examination of the kinds of descriptive “talk” about students that permeate their institutions and development of a personalized code of language ethics to support a renewed and refocused institutional language environment.