TL;DR: Teachers are whole people who oftentimes surrender themselves to this profession. The idea that teaching is an extension of mothering began during industrialization and continues to this day, creating the perception that teachers should put the needs of students before themselves. Comparing teachers to superheroes is problematic because it’s a thinly veiled manipulation that justifies the injustice and minimizes … Read More
Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month: Celebrating All Year
TL;DR: Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th-October 15th. The terms Hispanic and Latino have different origins and cultural and political meanings. Hispanic primarily refers to individuals who come from Spanish-speaking nations. Latinx offers a more ethnic and geographic understanding and includes individuals who come from non-Spanish-speaking countries. Latine and Latinx are gender-neutral forms of Latino. Latinx and Hispanic … Read More
What Educators Can Learn from Choose Your Own Adventure Books
Originally published at ASCD.com: https://www.ascd.org/blogs/what-educators-can-learn-from-choose-your-own-adventure-books This post was co-authored by Greg Bagby. TL;DR: Choose Your Own Adventure books provide lessons we can apply to the educational world. Learning and trying new things can be complicated and messy, but it is worth the journey. Everything doesn’t always go the way you intend, but you learn from all of your experiences. Having … Read More
Take Ownership: It’s Leadership!
TL;DR: Take ownership to speak up when there is injustice and make a difference. Equitable practices in education mean change sparked by reflection. Consider our biases and use picture books to introduce the 7 “isms” to start the conversation: ableism, classism, ageism, religion as an ism, racism, homophobia/heterosexism, and sexism. Take ownership: It’s leadership! Leaders speak up when there is … Read More
Breaking Down Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
TL;DR: Diversity, equity, and inclusion must also include justice. Schools are smaller microcosms of our world, and include power dynamics that communities need to make sense of in order to shift from diversity and inclusion to equity and justice. This past week’s Daily Drop In theme was equity and inclusion. This is a topic close to my heart and even … Read More