Rosie Timothy

Becoming the mother of biracial children changed Rosie Timothy’s view on social justice and how she approaches it in her classroom. 

“It should have never taken a direct experience with being ‘othered’ because of the color of our family’s skin to change how I view these topics, but my family has inspired me to create change in the spaces that I have access to,” Rosie said. “I want better for my kids than what they have access to right now.” 

One way Rosie worked to create change was to have her AP Government class read the novel “Just Mercy” and meet with a lawyer from the Equal Justice Initiative. They were then tasked to create a policy to address an issue they believed to be affecting society. 

“It was truly amazing to see our students create research-based solutions on an issue that was impacting the community around them,” Rosie said. “I overheard conversations outside of my classroom about what they were learning and received positive feedback from other teachers and parents. I loved to see their widening perspective on issues, and they were carrying the conversation forward outside of the classroom.” 

Rosie currently teaches civics, U.S. History, and Government and Economics at The Master’s Academy in Oviedo, Fla., and recently attended the Bill of Rights Institute’s Free Speech Colloquium. 

“It was amazing!” she said. “I used the sample reading on various free speech examples in my classroom when taking a closer look at the First Amendment and I plan on using very similar resources this year. I loved how the experience brought in an expert, and we were able to engage in meaningful discussion with a variety of viewpoints, as well as the tangible application for the classroom.”