How Race Impacts Learning & Teaching at Our School: Multiple Perspectives III

My colleagues' eloquent responses to our race and teaching professional development article continue:

"Building relationships is an important part of developing and maintaining a racially and ethnically responsible school environment. When students witness staff members caring about each other and the students in the school in a genuine manner they are more likely to care about themselves and the work they are doing. To piggy back off of what [another colleague] said, “When I was in school my teachers all cared about me and talked to me frequently about how things were going. I also had parents who were on top of me to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to” It was the same for me, so I didn’t want to disappoint my family or my teachers by doing poorly.  

Today, I feel that building strong relationships with students will help instill those same thoughts in them and hopefully regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or family view on education that at least for the 8 hours we have them each day we can help bridge the gap. Part of the article that I found especially relevant to how culture impacts teaching and learning at [our school] was analyzing how we build relationships, 'Respecting and being interested in students experiences and cultural backgrounds,' I think that at [our school] we are all very invested in the lives of our students and make it a priority to not just know about them but to be “interested” in them even when we get the same little stories time after time.  

I think that our interest in them makes them a little more comfortable and committed. By doing the work we do day in and day out, building relationships with students, peers and families but recognizing that we still have work to do, we are able to create a responsible school environment at [our school]."

"I agree that the key to success for our students  is a delicate balance of content, expectations, and interpersonal skills. Know yourself, know your content, and most importantly, know your students. Let students know that you care about them in a truly genuine manner. Relationship building and rapport, coupled with rigor, high expectations and persistence, is absolutely critical in helping our students to thrive and flourish academically and personally."

"I also agree that relationship building is key to success no matter what the race of a child.  I think this is important for our entire staff not only teachers. I am so glad to have a wonderful paraeducator. She has spent countless hours looking through student files, helping with students during class and Bobcat Time and her determination at getting to know each student shows. Not only does she know the students that need support, but she connects with all the students in the classroom. They feel very comfortable coming to her and asking for help just as often as they come to me. It’s great to see that someone else in our building is trying to form positive and lasting relationships with our students. I think that we need to encourage the whole staff to find ways to connect with students on a daily basis."

"I would like to see more discussion or info. on racially/culturally responsive teaching strategies specifically."

"I feel very lucky to be teaching in this school.  Of course I don’t know everyone, but the teachers I do know appear to accept and practice what is being shared in the article.  We care about our kids and enjoy getting to know them as kids – not just data points to review and analyze.  I believe that comes naturally when teachers truly like kids – and I believe we at [our school] really LIKE kids and being with kids.  And I mean kids as a whole – regardless of cultural background.  All kids have individual needs – culture is just one of many.  I truly believe we do that here.  I feel like these articles and lessons preach to the choir.

“'Ganas' is what I have a difficult time with.  I have a great desire to motivate my kids to succeed, but getting them to want this has always been my greatest challenge.  Sure, I have successes, but it’s the failures that concern me.  Again, this is worrisome regardless of the child’s background.

Part of the article was bothersome to me.  I felt rather insulted reading, 'Valenzuela located the problem of student underachievement not in students’ identities or in family culture or poverty, but rather in uncaring school-based relationships and ineffective organizational structures.' NOT HERE.

What I need to know is what “culturally relevant pedagogy” looks like. We’ve seen our peers sharing great lessons teaching to different learning styles, but what does a culturally sensitive lesson look like?   If someone asked me that question of course I could come up with an answer, but I would like to know if what I am saying is truly what is expected of me. I am a visual learner. I need to see it.

I could go on and on, but I think perhaps that’s enough."


"I see the definite benefit of building relationships with students—getting to know a child and who they are and where they come from allows you to see and hear differences between us. By getting to know my students, I can see where they have strengths and weaknesses, in the hopes of building their weaknesses, without taking away their strength. As a teacher, I have tried to add different activities that can address a variety of learning styles to allow all students for success. With the new curriculum, I have not been as creative because I have been trying to reach the key concepts for all (READ: same high standards for all). My hope is that in the next year, I am able to work with Beth and Ellen to find alternative topics/activities/and labs that meet the standards AND relate to each individuals’ learning styles (English teachers—I apologize for any grammatical errors…). I ramble on because I feel that race and learning are similar.  I have found that if I am unsure or if I have a question about a topic or background or cultural aspect that I take time to ask—not necessarily (and usually not) in front of the class, but students will usually share. My odds of getting an answer increase if I tell the student why I am asking (for clarity, for information, etc.) and then tell about what takes place in my own personal culture.  (I always enjoy hearing about holiday traditions because it gives us common ground to perhaps holidays not common to all.)


I think that having continuous conversations about race and how we can embrace our differences AND our similarities, that we will continue to move forward.  I love to see what one colleague has had happen with the group of guys that she is working with to peer mentor (the Wolf Pack, as she has called them). This teacher has empowered students of various backgrounds to teach their peers and reinforcing that what they have to say is important and worth sharing with a friend. As a staff (speaking from the point of view from a non-ILT member), we need to continue to TALK about race---not being TALKED to, but share with each other  and really listen. I think that the study circles were helpful for this—and could be (and have been) for students as well. Continuations:   Edline messages, Connect Ed, Hispanic Parents Group, African American Parent Group, Language Line, supporting minority students in the higher level classes and sending the message that “You are smart and you can do this!”, professional development opps during the school day, study circles, modeled strategies…"

"I also agree that relationship building is key to success no matter what the race of a child.  I think this is important for our entire staff not only teachers.  I am so glad to have a wonderful paraeducator in Judy Koval.  She has spent countless hours looking through student files, helping with students during class and Bobcat Time and her determination at getting to know each student shows.  Not only does she know the students that need support, but she connects with all the students in the classroom.  They feel very comfortable coming to her and asking for help just as often as they come to me.  It’s great to see that someone else in our building is trying to form positive and lasting relationships with our students.  I think that we need to encourage the whole staff to find ways to connect with students on a daily basis."


"I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughtful comments this week. Here are some things I’ve been thinking about.

Even though we all have the best of intentions, race very much impacts teaching and learning at [our school], as evidenced by our test scores, grade distribution, referral data, and so on.

There’s no easy answer for this. Race and ethnicity have invisible and pervasive effects on how we see ourselves, how we communicate to one another, and how we interact with one another, no matter how much we may wish otherwise.

I read a fascinating book by Malcolm Gladwell over break called Outliers. One chapter was called “The Ethnic Component of Plane Crashes.” I can’t do justice to it here, but the chapter basically explained how the airline industry used a study of culture to improve communication in the cockpit and thus reduce airline crashes. One of the case studies they cited frequently was a crash in which US air controllers (US= Low Power Distance Culture; inclined to think everyone is equal; values direct communication) did not interpret the last transmissions of a cockpit crew from a High Power Distance Culture (more likely to respect authority, less inclined to value direct communication). The crew couldn’t get the Kennedy control tower to understand that they had no fuel as a result of being rerouted several times due to bad weather. The controllers didn’t understand that when the crew said, “We’re low on fuel” meant they were OUT of fuel (apparently most planes come in with fuel tanks almost completely empty).  The last thing on the flight’s blackbox recording was a comment about how the NY controllers “sounded mad.” The plane crashed and the crew died.

I thought this was just fascinating. I’m sure this type of miscommunication occurs throughout the school day (not air traffic control mishaps, but you get the idea).  My “take away” idea from this chapter is that I can’t forget that every time I speak and act, culture and race are part of “my transmission” . Other parts of the book discussed the impact of class on how parents foster children’s interests and talents (a topic I’d like to read more about).

Our best way to develop and maintain a racially and ethnically responsible school environment is to continue on the path we have begun with by continuing to have Study Circles and being committed to open and honest communication with one another."

"What stayed with me after reading this article is how often we sometimes will overlook how different cultures can help us in the classroom. In my classroom, I use this to my advantage—we compare Spanish traditions to American ones as well as to those present in students’ lives as my students come from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Asia, etc. In addition, coming from a multicultural family, I had stereotypes compared against me growing up. Whereas instead, my teachers should have embraced the fact that I have parents from two different cultures and it has made me broaden my own knowledge and cultural awareness of the world. In our classrooms, we need to share everyone’s cultures.

I think our school environment could definitely improve by stressing at the beginning of a school year and throughout the year (of course) how important it is to get to know one another—not only students and their peers but also the teacher. We should involve parents more in embracing the racial and ethnic differences present in our school as well so that they can continue to work with their children at home and help them gain understanding into the value of this issue. Students have so many different perspectives all influenced by their own culture and we need to help them teach others and foster their growth."

"One thing that really struck me in reading this article was on page 68, top paragraph, where it talks about academic rigor.  A direct quote from the article reads, “Compelling evidence shows that when teachers hold high expectations for students who have been marginalized by their schooling experiences, student learning is enhanced, as long as high expectations are linked to greater resources and support (Ferguson, 2004).”  I couldn’t agree more about the need for high expectations and academic rigor for all students .  I think it’s safe to say that MCPS also believes in high expectations and rigor.  Unfortunately, more than ever in the wake of economic recession and budget cuts, we find ourselves lacking in the areas of greater resources and support.  I’d love to see more research devoted to how we can most effectively provide high expectations and rigor while class sizes are simultaneously growing, the budget for support staff is shrinking, and our overall resources that we can make available to our students in our schools is shrinking.  On second thought, maybe any funding available for such research should be diverted to beefing up those resources and supports we so desperately need for our students."

"Two things-

First thing-

I think that it is interesting that of all of the responses I have read (plus the one I wrote) [one another colleague's] is the only one that cites our data.

“…as evidenced by our test scores, grade distribution, referral data, and so on.”

Second thing-

Many of the responses people posted identify [our] staff as people who follow the practices suggested in the article, research, and staff development. I believe I am someone who follows the practices set forth in the article and in staff development.

So what I wonder is… why do we have achievement and discipline data that is predictable by race?"

Now, that, my friends, is a question ALL educators need to seriously ask themselves.

 

How Race Impacts Learning & Teaching at Our School: Multiple Perspectives II

As my colleagues' responses to the previous prompt about race and teaching continue, I would like to continue sharing them with you:


"As has been mentioned in other posts, at [our school's] professional development efforts have often been made so that we are made more culturally sensitive. I have also had similar professional develpment efforts from in other schools. At [our school], I feel that we do apply this knowledge in very professional ways. Frankly, I think the article in examining 'common nonproductive beliefs' uses generalizations and applies these to educators. This is what the article is trying to encourage educators not to do to students. I, too, feel that we need to be culturally sensitive so that we can develop a positive and productive relationship with students, but we must treat each as an individual first and use the cultural considerations as a means to interpret the paths with which the relationship can take. What I found intriguing was the consistent mention of flexible groupings.  I and my many of my collegues here at [our school] do this. The groupings and regroupings help students and teachers to differentiate and help students to be exposed to the rich diversity within our school."  


"What resonated with me from this article was how much teachers and administrators can learn from their students. A culturally aware school should be a place where adults are learning from their students as much as students are learning from their teachers. Each students brings a different cultural view and experience into the classroom that can enhance and enrich every student's education. I believe that if teachers, administrators, and students are constantly learning from each other that we can make everyone aware of our assets instead of dwelling on the deficits. I also think that [our school] does an excellent job of being culturally aware through trainings for staff and for clubs and activities for students."


"I find it difficult to add any new salient points, there have been so many thought provoking things written here. I will try to add my two cents. I think that many times teachers use their own background experiences as their take on race and ethnicity. Someone who grew up within an area with a diverse population may be more aware of their students culture and include their experiences to allow them to connect with the instruction. One of the things I had to learn in my years (many!) of teaching was how different my students perspective was when discussing events in history. A simple activity such as beginning a unit of study and having students share their experiences in that area can empower them to make a connection. I feel that one way to actively improve our school environment is to come up with new ways to engage parents to become more active partners in our school environment. Parents are our most powerful ally in helping our students feel that they matter and that they see education as something that will give them opportunities for success."


"I agree with what people have stated about the staff at RMS and how we interact with students and that race impacts teaching and learning at RMS by the way we monitor students progress and track targeted students. We are aware of how ethnicity and race impact instruction and learning and incorporate it into our lessons and assistance. The PD discussions we have provide a path and outlet for the teachers to get information about how race can impact learning and improve dialog to impact instruction. 

The article mentioned the idea of shadowing or collaborative study with students to identify what motivates them and what interests them. This might be a good idea to determine what afterschool activities to offer to increase motivation and ownership of the school. We may be offering ASAs that some groups of students do not find interesting or engaging. Tuning our ASA might help us with improving the whole school experience to increase motivation and investment in the learning process. This process may also be helpful in building a portfolio of intervention strategies and techniques for ASAs. We may have an increase in voluntary ASA intervention attendance if the offerings were of more interest."

"Moving here to Maryland from the Midwest, I half expected a bit of a culture shock. After growing up, living, and finally teaching  in what is referred to as the most segregated city in the country, I knew  what my beliefs were  and why I enjoyed teaching in Tier I schools even though they were stressful. Teaching here I have found that students are students are students no matter where you go.

The life experience for my present students is no different than the ones I have had in the past. The exception would be my former students would say: “Snow day? What’s a snow day”? But seriously it requires that the teacher be responsive to the diverse cultures that exist in a school. It took me a while after being a manager in the business world to recognize that today’s school generation needs to be shown, in their eyes, respect by the teacher before it is given back. Not a hard thing to do but certainly contrary to when I was growing up. Things to try are treating each individual student as a gifted child. As elementary as it may sound, each one needs to be praised and listened to.

I do feel that [our school] community does maintain a responsive environment for the continued excellent education for the students. The parent meetings of students on the cusp are a huge plus which I have never seen utilized to this extent before. The cultural recognition is also recognized."

"Race and ethnicity impact all that we do, either directly or indirectly and must be considered overtly. This is critical in practices of grouping/regrouping students for activity in classrooms. This became remarkably clear in a conversation I had with a friend. She is an African-American woman with whom I have had several classes. We were discussing dream places to relocate to. Stowe, VT came up as one of her places. In a  subsequent conversation she stated that she had crossed Stowe off the list. Essentially, her action was a response to the scarcity of people who were like herself.

Could this same overt sense of belonging relate to our students? Absolutely! Balancing classes on race and gender has as much value as balancing for skills. People must feel welcome when they enter an instructional space.

We have postmodern examples of persons who are not stopped by race and ethnicity…pop culture has now lifted the stories of Nelson Mandela in Invictus, Leigh Anne Touhy and “Big Mike” in The Blind Side and Greg Mortonsen through Tea for Three and Stones to Schools.

Let’s focus on building relationships with all our students, plan mindfully incorporating all the gifts and talents our students bring to the classroom, including their culture, and be open to activities that are beyond paper and pencil."

"Two things that stuck with me throughout the article was “ maximizing learning opportunities” and “ more conscious of race is not discriminatory ; its realistic. I believe that we have had many trainings to help us be more open as a school community about race and culture. We have discussed common roadblocks such as “I don’t see culture” and impacts beyond our control. Each of us has a story that impacts our belief system and our work with students. I feel continued self reflection and modeling of practices will continue the level of responsive teaching to our students. We have started this with our last meeting where we watched our teachers in action. Having an opportunity to learn from staff members who are making connections with kids on different levels will give us the ideas, practice, and motivation to continue to grow ourselves.

Making authentic cultural connections for students is important yet I feel it is often a struggle with curriculum and the level of testing to think out of the box that way. I am also trying to work on my own thinking of how to highlight achievement or accomplishment for more than a designated month. After taking a training this summer my eyes were opened to missed opportunities. We were asked to identify 10 pop culture African American icons.  Pretty easy for a group. Then we were asked to identify 10 alive doctors, Phd’s, poets, CEOs, etc. No one in the room could do this."

"Here at [our school], we are always looking to add new teaching tools to our toolbox. We try to take what we learn from our various professional development opportunities and plug them into our teaching right away. However, the teaching practices and theories that Hawley and Nieto describe in this article, “Another Inconvenient Truth” cannot be so simply incorportated into everyday instruction. This article is about creating a culture within the school that promotes individuality and celerates differences. 

A teacher recently approached me and said, “I have this new student in my class named Charlie (pseudonym) and I know absolutely nothing about where he comes from. What do I do?”

I tried to explain to this teacher that you don’t have to be an expert on every culture’s history and traditions. The aim is not to attempt to be an expert on the thousands of different traditions and holidays practiced by all the students in the school. Instead, the goal is to create an environment in the classroom that encourages students to express their individual differences in a risk-free learning setting where those differences can be celebrated instead of criticized.

When people go through training to become ESOL teachers, they don’t study to become experts at Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, etc… Instead they work on becoming experts at the process of language acquisition itself and they learn strategies for helping their students reach their English language goals.

As teachers of an increasingly diverse population of students, it’s critical that we don’t get caught up trying to merely become knowledgable about various racial and ethnic differences. Our focus should be directed to creating a positive, respectful, and risk-free learning environment where students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds can feel valued."

Let's keep the dialogue going, friends.

How Race Impacts Learning & Teaching at Our School: Multiple Perspectives I

I have been genuinely impressed with the candor, openness, and reflectivity of my fellow colleagues in responding to our recent professional development article on race and equity. We were asked to respond to the following prompt from the article:


Discuss the ways in which race impacts teaching and learning at our school. How can we actively develop and maintain a race and ethnically responsible school environment (classrooms, school traditions, interactions/communication, after school activities, policies, etc.)?


Many of my colleagues had wonderful bits of insight and thoughts, which they shared with the rest of the school. With their permission, I am including some of their posts anonymously below:


"When I think about our school, I think about the attempts we have made throughout the years to learn about race and diversity. I think about the professional development opportunities provided to the leadership team and staff at large. I remember the few who have participated in Study Circles. Through all of these experiences, I know the path that I have taken and know that the learning never ends. I still engage in conversations with those who also participated in the Study Circles and apply what I learn to my interactions and teachings of students as well as my interactions with other colleagues. Some things you here 2, 3, or 4 times but because I believe that it is an ongoing process of learning and doing, I never tire of the next attempt to teach me! I truly believe in that. I hate to waste my time, so I focus on looking at the 'state' we are in and try to see what I can do to make a positive impact or change. 


I think that over time, we have seen [our school] impacted in terms of sometimes lowered student expectations in the classroom or in the hallway. I think and I have heard others say, "I don't see race..." as if it is something bad to do so.....this is even after trainings that we have had over the years. This thinking will continue to have a negative impact. I'm not sure what our current discipline data shows us but historically we have been very off  in terms of students of color. Building positive relationships alone is not the KEY! Positive relationship building can make a positive impact if as adults we can do so considering the lens we are looking through. It IS important to do it through a lens of race and ethnicity. 


As a school, I believe one of the keys to  developing and maintaining a race and ethnically responsive school environment is through developing an understanding what we should be talking about and doing this through PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES. It is not good enough to just say we do this. In these PLC's what are people talking about, and what are the outcomes of our discussions? What are the purposes of the PLC's?  Until [our school] is able to feel comfortable enough to address difficult issues with a "Let me see how I can do this" mentality, without getting bogged down with worrying what others may think and fearing failure and repurcussions, our PLC's or anything else we do will  not be able to contribute to positive change. If we think we have already ARRIVED.......then there is no where else to go with the students. We need to be open to our areas of weakness and open minded to improvement and that it usually is "What am I doing or not doing " that directly impacts student progress."


"I agree with what people have stated about the staff at [our school] and how we interact with students and that race impacts teaching and learning at [our school] by the way we monitor students progress and track targeted students. We are aware of how ethnicity and race impact instruction and learning and incorporate it into our lessons and assistance. The [professional development] discussions we have provide a path and outlet for the teachers to get information about how race can impact learning and improve dialog to impact instruction. 

The article mentioned the idea of shadowing or collaborative study with students to identify what motivates them and what interests them. This might be a good idea to determine what afterschool activities to offer to increase motivation and ownership of the school.  We may be offering ASAs that some groups of students do not find interesting or engaging.  Tuning our ASA might help us with improving the whole school experience to increase motivation and investment in the learning process. This process may also be helpful in building a portfolio of intervention strategies and techniques for ASAs. We may have an increase in voluntary ASA intervention attendance if the offerings were of more interest."

"I agree that we spend a lot of time reading and discussing about race and equity yet the problems persist.  Last week I had to step out on a limb and confront an issue that in the past I would not have done.  A student in my class of African-American descent used a derogatory term towards another student.  He used the term without regard for the feelings of anyone else in the room.  Instead of telling him his actions were inappropriate, I told him that is offended me and why.  I also stated my belief that when people use these terms they are disrespecting their own heritage and I was sure that is definitely not what he intended.

Being a Caucasian female, I made statements that years ago I would never have dreamed of doing just because it makes me uncomfortable.  Today, at least I can confront the issues and be secure that if questioned about my statements, I would be confident in defending myself."

"As an ESOL teacher, I am constantly looking at how students of all backgrounds, ethnicities and languages can work together in one cohesive class.  As the article states we are primarily discussing the differences between black and white.  However, nowadays we also have to identify and work to understand the differences between students from South America and from Spain, French speaking African countries and France.  Even if there is a common language, there are still many cultural differences which often need to be addressed through different teaching styles and strategies.  Whenever possible it is important to try and integrate discussion about holidays or special meals so not only do the children feel involved but they feel that their culture is valued and you appreciate and recognize those differences as opposed to lumping them into one large group.  These students have very different background knowledge than those students who grew up here so they might not have the knowledge to read about Abraham Lincoln, so maybe you have to build up that knowledge ahead of time, or give them a biography about a famous soccer player or another political activist from their region of the world that they might be able to make a connection with.  Plus, they would then (hopefully) volunteer some answers that would benefit the class as a whole."

"I believe that race impacts teaching and learning at [our school] in ways that are beyond a teacher’s control. At [our school] and in other schools that I have been associated with both locally and internationally, I have witnessed how teachers have infused a cultural sensitivity into daily lessons.  I have seen how teachers bring about engagement through successful relationship building with students.  I have seen how teachers bring about engagement through meaningful learning.  I see teachers, my colleagues, unwavering in their commitment to building, maintaining and expanding race and ethnically responsive school environments.

 

I believe that the impact that race has on teaching and learning can be minimized if parents were involved to a greater degree. “Engaging families directly in their children’s learning.” I feel this is an area which warrants an upgrade. Perhaps this is an area where old ways firmly ensconced are replaced with active involvement by all parents for all students.

 

I believe that the impact that race has on teaching and learning can be minimized through the revision of county developed curriculum.  …”transform their curriculum and pedagogy…”…”created a curriculum that focused on learning about…” This task must be shared among the curriculum specialists and the classroom teachers.  Teachers have been adept at embedding learning relevant to the students they teach but what a wonderful resource it would be if the county mandated curriculum already contained such references rather than having a teacher recreate the proverbial wheel."

---
Thank you for your honesty and wisdom, friends!

We need to learn best practices from one another!

The following is one of my colleague's responses to a professional article our school recently read on race and teaching. Enjoy!

“Teachers need opportunities to witness diversity responsive practices.” I thought this was a particularly pertinent quote. What do diversity responsive practices look like? Who are the teachers in our school who have these strategies in their ‘teaching toolbox’ and utilize them regularly? Can we identify “people from whom and places in which others can learn” in our school? Can we be provided with “time and resources” to observe and learn from them?


One colleague in my building comes to mind when I think of one of these individuals in our school from whom we can learn. Recently, she has established a group of minority students from her on-level English class who meet each day at lunch to tutor each other and to act as "cheerleader and support" for each other. Daily, this group enjoys the camaraderie of being together and the challenge of learning something new.


Additionally, the article suggests for us to practice “family involvement strategies that are responsive to racial and ethnic diversity.” It suggests that we “learn about the communities in which we teach by becoming familiar with community resources.” Several years ago, our faculty actually ‘toured’ the community in a bus to witness, firsthand, the diversity of our students’ communities. It might be interesting to do this again…perhaps bring in social workers, police officers, pastors of local churches or other community’ resources’ who would be able to give us more of a glimpse as to where our students come from and what issues they face each day.


Lastly, I agree with Hawley’s statement that “policies and practices that are particularly responsive to the needs of students of color are likely to be the best things we could do to enhance the learning of all students.”

Breaking Out of Our Comfort Zones

This week, our important staff discussions of race and equity continued. Many of us found the race and diversity article (previously discussed in another blog entry) both provoking and affirming. The information it contained reminded me of diversity trainings and staff development lessons and experiences I previously participated in. From several conversations with colleagues, there are two additional topics worth sharing with you.



First, our middle school students seem to be open to interacting with each other. I think this collaborative climate is good. While there are certainly still issues, we are starting in a better place than some other schools in the area.The students I teach this year appear to have a genuine interest in each other and display a level of caring I have not seen in other schools where I have taught. Many colleagues have also discussed their previous school experiences that were quite different in how students did or did not interact.

From the little bit of Spanish she knew, my colleague shared one impactful story with me:

"Often, you would hear students speaking their native language in and out of class, intentionally or unintentionally excluding other students from the conversation. There were times when they were talking about things they didn’t want a teacher to hear, and I get that, but also there were just casual conversations, that could have been engaging to others if they could have understood. We often encouraged our new to the country ESOL students to speak English, to practice of course but to also try to make new friends that didn’t speak Spanish. We also would hear students insult each other’s Latino heritage, discussing the flawed language or dialect of other Spanish speaking countries, this type of stereotyping was common and caused a lot of friction. We also would see Latina’s hugging and kissing their way up the hall between each class. Encouraging these students to arrive on time would provoke an angry response about their culture and how we don’t understand or care. These types of behaviors don’t seem to happen here at our school, and students all seem to want to accept each other more readily. This makes it easier to problem solve or create teachable moments when there are issues here."


In addition, we need to acknolwdge that we all have some level of discomfort for people not like us, and that we need to reflect and be aware of our inner feelings. Part of that awareness will help us see how others perceive us. I took part in a Staff Development exercise that facilitated that awareness and caused me to really reflect and learn about myself. I have pasted the link here if you care to try it. The research and the process are described in detail, so I hope you find it meaningful:


https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/background/faqs.html

For it is when we dare to reach outside our comfort zones that we often learn the most, about both ourselves and our students.

What do YOU resolve to do for yourself this year??

Every year, we make commitments to ourselves to make this year the best, healthiest, and happiest yet. Every year, we like to start with a clear slate and forget about all the bad "stuff", heartache, and disappointments that happened the previous year. And every year, as teachers, we hope for a better, more productive year for our students, schools, and colleagues.

Our hopes may span far and wide, but at a certain point, we need to be fair to ourselves and realistic. We need to not forget that we need to take care of ourselves before we can even think to improve the lives of those around us, especially our students. Yes, we do have one of the most difficult professions in the world to leave at work. I can venture to say there is not a night that goes by where I don't do work for school, grade papers, answer emails, or at the very least THINK and worry about my students -- and what I did right or wrong for them that particular day. With the increased pressures on teachers with merit pay, standardized tests, decreased planning time, and a host of other tasks/commitments vying for our time, we need to take time to put everything in perspective, calm down, and just BREATHE. Right before break, I noticed my fellow colleagues frazzled and at their wit's end. What we all needed was a real break and a change to recharge, refresh, and rejuvenate with family, friends, and -- God forbid -- alone.

Now that we are back to reality and the grind this week, we need to honor our New Years' resolutions to ourselves, whatever they may be. We must not feel guilty in wanting to put ourselves and our needs first (at least occasionally!) and not beat ourselves up if we indulge in the simple pleasures of life: naps, bubble baths, pedicures, haircuts, walks, yoga, exercise, dinner with friends, a favorite book, reality TV, etc. It is often the most mundane and simple of things on our "lists to accomplish" that are often the most needed and beneficial to us in the long run. We need to take care of ourselves first so we can then take care of everyone around us, whether that may be at home and/or in our classrooms.

So, what are my 2011 resolutions, you may ask? Well, I've always liked to do things in threes (I usually even sneeze in threes!), so here they are:

1. Spend less -- Yes, I am a spender by nature; Amazon.com and I are BFFs. Luckily, my husband is a fantastic saver and continues to teach me a lot about finances! I am determined to finally take control of my finances and avoid purchase temptations.
2. Sleep more -- I am one of those lucky people who can function just fine on 5-6 hours of sleep, but I know this is not healthy for me in the long run. Can I make it to 7 hours a night? Let's hope so!
3. Spend more quality time with awesome family and friends this year. -- Last year, I traveled almost every weekend in the winter and spring due to illness in my family, weddings, or marathons. I want to travel less for unnecessary things (ie: marathons every month = NOT a good idea!) and more for pure pleasure to see those I love, whether it may be my mom at her new home in Florida, close friends in Boston, or to another new city where an old friend has moved. Hey, I still have a free Southwest round-trip flight to use too....hmmmmmm.....

Regardless of what your resolutions are this year, I urge you to use the start of 2011 for YOURSELF. Ask yourself what are you most passionate about, what makes you happy, and how you can incorporate these things and activities into your daily schedule. Think of it this way -- If there are five things in the world that you woke up tomorrow without and would be devastated about, what would they be? When we stop making decisions for everyone else's benefit and learn to start saying NO to unneeded additional commitments, we free ourselves from the bonds of obligation. We emerge with greater freedom to do things for ourselves and not feel guilty about it.

And as teachers, we emerge with clearer hearts and minds, ready to be physically and emotionally present for our students who need us the most.

Race & Equity: Yet Another Inconvenient -- but REAL -- Truth

Mention race and equity to any group of seasoned or even novice educators, and you will probably encounter eye rolls, irritation, sarcasm, indifference, and even outward, blatant frustration. These two words have become the new "catch phrases" on the block that everyone in the education world seems to be talking about. And the talking doesn't stop. Some educators even feel like these issues are shoved down their throats, primarily in the form of mandatory professional development. 


My school is no exception, and neither is my Staff Development teacher. Don't get me wrong; race and equity are HUGE issues all teachers need to seriously grapple with, consider, and try to come to terms with on a daily basis. Those who ignore these pivotal issues and pretend they don't exist aren't fooling anyone, most especially their own students. "Race blind" teachers might as well be living in a different century.


This month, my Staff Development teacher wants us to reexamine race and equity from a new lens, from the perspective of experienced, informed, and aware educators who need to continually refine and improve our practice -- and conversations about these controversial and important issues with one another and our students.


The following article does an impressive job discussing the paramount importance of race and equity in our daily classroom lives from a variety of perspectives. What can YOU take away from it to bring into your own practice starting tomorrow??


The article is from the November 2010 issue of the Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development and begins below:

Another Inconvenient Truth: Race and Ethnicity Matter

Willis D. Hawley and Sonia Nieto

Race and ethnicity affect how students respond to instruction and their opportunities to learn.

Given the shameful differences in the academic outcomes and graduation rates of students of color compared to many Asian and white students, one would expect policies and practices related to students' race and ethnicity to be high on the reform agenda. Of course, there is widespread discussion of the "minority achievement gap," but solutions on the public agenda are invariably color-blind. It is widely assumed that what works for white and Asian American students will work for students of color—if only we did it more often.

We need, however, to recognize an inconvenient truth—that when it comes to maximizing learning opportunities and outcomes for students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, race and ethnicity matter. Race and ethnicity influence teaching and learning in two important ways: They affect how students respond to instruction and curriculum, and they influence teachers' assumptions about how students learn and how much students are capable of learning.

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I have the full article available as a PDF. Let me know if you are interested.