Every time I leave a Jay Marks session I'm competely exhausted... in the best possible way. I've said this before, but Jay really creates thoughtful activities where it's impossible for you not to be 'in' the session. This time around I was prepared to be 'in the moment,' share information about myself with people I have never met before, and reflect heavily outwardly and inwardly- the latter being the most important as it leads to growth and possible new perspectives. I have written posts about the Social Justice cohort sessions that many of our Royal Oak Schools teachers attended last year. A lot of the topics and activities were ones we did before, so I won't repeat that information in this post. However, as I said to a fellow colleague: "In my opinion, you really can't think about these topics enough." Even though I've done many of the activities, I find that I have new thoughts and ideas as I work through them again a second or third time. Let me just dive right into this post and give a little background for new teachers and readers. This year I am part of a four session learning experience about Culturally Responsive Teaching. Much of the time of the first session was dedicated to getting to know ourselves and our own cultures, coming to a definition of what it means to be 'culturally responsive,' and for some of us, maybe even identifying some of our own biases in the process. Before joining these workshops with Marks, I may have had a narrow view of culture. I have always attributed culture to ethnicity, but I really didn't take into account the whole picture or person. One of the activities I love is the cultural portraits (and it's not because I'm a Visual Art teacher <3 :) I love the activity because it's personal, you can see where people are in their own journey, and it's visual. There's something powerful in the gallery walk. Looking, reflecting, discussing and ultimately seeing similarities and differences. Recognizing where we are and where we need to go in our own process. I really tried to think of categories that formulated the foundation of who I am as a person. Totally easy right? Yeah... totally... Interestingly enough my categories really had nothing to do with my race/ethnicity. Though it's a part of me, it doesn't define who I am. Even though it has shaped me as a person and affected pieces and moments of my life, I don't base everything about me on the color of my skin. However I am very aware that this may not be the case for someone else. If I'm being honest, I have been afforded certain luxuries and privileges based on my upbringing and the color of my skin.
Another activity that we did at the social justice cohort (last year) was the group activity where we linked arms (privilege walk). Jay would ask us all questions and if it applied to us, we would step forward. In the end, you could see the levels of opportunity with each group/individual. I knew I probably would fall somewhere in the middle. Not the top and not the bottom. But I guess I didn't realize how far back I would be from the top group (which was 100% white). It gave me a different perspective on privilege. Something I always knew I had, but didn't realize the how large the gaps were. Much of my own cultural identity has been blurred between two worlds. Since I was adopted into a Caucasian family I have certain perspectives and privileges that I came to realize as I became older. However, outwardly on the surface I am Asian-American. That is my category, but it is not that which defines me. A weird place to be in the world, I think. You're not part of any one group, but receive the positive aspects of both- and also the negative. This is something that I have had to think about and process as an adult many times over. So how does this connect with teaching? Anyone...? Anyone...? Bueller...? Bueller...? Why does it matter to know our cultural selves? Why does it matter to know our students' cultural identities? A simple answer is that by knowing our students cultural backgrounds, we are really getting to know our students as individuals. A lot of what I heard in the discussions were the words 'mindful,' 'appreciation,' 'perspective,' 'sensitive,' 'understanding,' 'accepting...' To me at the very core of culturally responsive teaching is relationships. As a teacher you have to be invested in your students. It's not just supporting them academically, but helping to support their development into becoming a well-rounded individual/citizen. We know that relationships are at the center of everything that we do in school and in life. As I continue moving forward developing a better understanding of Culturally Responsive Teaching I want to make it a goal to be more mindful of...
Interested in knowing more about the Social Justice Cohort and Culturally Responsive Teaching? Reach out! :) Resources: How to Teach Students Who Don't Look Like You
0 Comments
It has been so long since I've blogged. I'm trying to make it a goal of mine to blog regularly because I think it's good to reflect on practices, update everyone on what's happening in the building and hopefully promote an online community. I really can't even believe we are back to school already. Summer just flew by! We started off on our first day by setting the stage for the rest of the year. The IB Team decided that our focus would be on the IB Approaches to Learning or ATLs. The plan is to thread this theme throughout the late start PDs. This will help with consistency and it will give groups a focus for the year. One thing to remember about the Approaches to Learning is that there are 5 skill categories, 10 skill clusters, and over a 100 skill indicators. These DO NOT have to be covered all by one teacher or department. We will collectively be covering these as a building. I'm confident that these are all skills that we are promoting and teaching every single day. The only change is that we collectively and collaboratively need to work on teaching these skills more explicitly. "They are not an add on to the curriculum, but are an integral part of assisting student achievement in each subject." - Diane Mckenzie It's hard to do things differently. Especially if you're in the teacher groove. Some of you may know that I have taught at all levels in this district. I'm not a stranger to switching roles and taking on new challenges. When I first started at the high school, I just came from the elementary. I was laid off from my Response to Intervention role at Keller and Oakland and was fortunate enough to be called back to teach Visual Arts at Northwood and Addams. In late August, there was a last minute change and I was moved to ROHS. To be honest, that was the BEST move for me. I always wanted to teach at the high school level and now I finally was getting the chance. I learned a lot in the first three years teaching Graphic Comm, Visual Imaging, and Web Design. But if I could go back and change one thing about how I taught those first three years at ROHS... I would change my assumption that students come 'knowing' certain things and they automatically come with certain skills. I found myself assuming many things. I assumed that since they were 16, 17, and 18 and that they knew how to save files. They knew how to self-manage. They knew how to submit work. They knew how to team. They knew.... Why did I think that? Well, of course, because I told them to do it. Duh. :) Now being in my 10th year of teaching (Yeah, IKR? Crazy) and my 7th different teaching assignment, I realize that telling and teaching are very different. We all know this, but it's really easy to get into the 'telling slump.' Teachers provide opportunities for learning. They create experiences where students can problem-solve, ask questions, and think deeper. Sometimes this is a good reminder. I'm actually reminded again, now that I'm writing this. It's really easy to get into the 'telling slump' It wasn't until I was given a Web Design class that I fully realized that I had to change my instruction. I had never taught Web Design. I'm not going to lie... I was scared. Coding is not one of those things that you can just teach off the cuff. Well, at least I can't. Those who know me, know that I'm a perfectionist. I have a plan. I'm organized. I wasn't a stranger to writing curriculum. Creating something from nothing is my specialty, but... teaching another language to students? Rut Roh! I realized that I was in a 'telling slump'. I mean, don't get me wrong, I had great moments of awesome teaching. The moments in which you leave at the end of the day and think, "Man. That went sooooo good!" I had to take what I learned from my elementary colleagues and differentiate like crazy. Technology classes are difficult because there isn't a large group that has the same ability level or even close to the same with some outliers. They are allllllll over the place. This combined with constant student absences... (It's really the same story for all classes) what do you do? Well, I know what I had to do. Change.
I had to model like mad, create video tutorials, create different leveled projects and assignments, and have student teams. While one group was working on one task and the other group working on another task, I was able to pull students that needed more one-on-one instruction. Organized Chaos. This. Was. Not. Easy. BUT it felt soooo good. I walked out of work more days thinking, "Man. Today was soooo good!" And whenever that happens... I feel like it's a win. My own story hopefully highlights the idea that sometimes we have to slow down. Be cognizant of the telling slump and find ways to explicitly teach the skills that students will no doubt use the rest of their lives. As we move into our Approaches to Learning journey this year, take a moment to reflect. Are there times in which you could take a couple extra minutes to explicitly teach skills? Are there things you assume students know already? Do you need help? If so, reach out. We are all in this together. :) @ROHS_Reimold [email protected] RESOURCES: |
|