The Colors of our Diverse World

We live in a state of constant change.  Changing technology.  Changing families. Changing beliefs. Changing demographics.  Changing culture.  Our world is changing - it's becoming increasingly more colorful - and it is our duty to embrace that change so that our diverse student populations feel honored for their lifestyles and beliefs.  Our Truman family is more homogeneous than most, so we must work that much harder to prepare students for living in a diverse and ever-changing society.  Start small with your own inclusive practices, such as those below...

1) When addressing parents, do you use inclusive language?  Instead of referencing moms and dads in your emails and communications, refer to them as parents/guardians.  This includes all family structures: single parents, same sex couples, grandparents, etc.

2)  When talking to students about their family, don't assume that they all live with mom/dad.  Recent data shows that only half of kids live in traditional families (and that includes stepparents!).  44 percent of children are raised by single parents, grandparents, and other family structures.  

3)  When talking about students with disabilities, don't define students with their "label."  Just yesterday, I heard a news reporter share that an "autistic boy" has been missing for 4 days.  I cringed, and thought, "No, he's a boy with Autism."  I don't want to be defined by my challenges, you don't want to be defined by yours, and our students deserve for us to see them as more.

4)  When creating a classroom project/assignment, do you ensure that every student will be able to access it?  Most of our students have Internet access at home, but not all, so consider how you explicitly give options for kids who don't.  Those options can't just be go to a friend's house.  There are students whose family preferences won't allow that.  We must give them a school-based solution.

5)  When designing a field trip or special event, can all kids participate?  Sometimes, it's as simple as ensuring that the provided meal doesn't have peanut products, but it could be so much more.  As we design conferences as a family friendly event and look to add food trucks, we must ensure that there are foods available for the diverse needs of our families, considering allergies and cultural and religious limitations.  It's not just about food -- it's thinking globally about your students.

6)  This year, Beth Hausner, our fabulous ELL teacher will be sending regular "tidbits" of information about our diverse populations.  Use this information to better understand your students.

But, we can do so much more than being inclusive...we can find opportunities for students to learn about those who are different.  And, different comes in many forms:  race, religion, beliefs, geography, gender, the list is infinite.

How do you connect students with the world beyond Truman, St. Louis, Missouri, USA?  Do you have authentic opportunities for students to connect with other kids in other parts of the world?  Do students have real chances to appreciate different experiences and perspectives?  Here are a few ideas...

1)  Skype with a class in another country.  There's a tool called Mystery Skype which allows students opportunities to learn through research, critical-thinking, geography, and listening and speaking skills.  education.skype.com/mysteryskype

2)  Writing is thinking!  Give kids time to write about people and places.  A great resource is shutterfly.com/classroom.  They can publish books!

3) As relevant, have dialogue about diversity.  You don't have to teach ELA or SS to have valuable opportunities to discuss humanity.  Flyertime is always an appropriate venue for these discussions, but I know it can be an intimidating topic...there are some great resources to help you in this process:  http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/index.php/strategies_and_resources/by_technique; http://www.nameorg.org/resources.php; www.tolerance.org.

4)  Move beyond dialogue about diversity and into opportunities for equality.  "Equity Literacy for All" (Educational Leadership, March 2015) highlights that in math, students can calculate living wages, historical trends of poverty, etc.  By focusing on equalizing opportunities for kids, we move beyond understanding and into advocacy for our students.

5)  Learn and use the language of our students.  Ok, I admit that I often intermix my French, German, and Spanish, but I'd like to think that the effort I make matters to the students (as well as our esteemed modern language teachers) taking those classes.  Imagine if I took the same time to honor ELL students in the same way.  

Maybe most importantly, spend time reflecting and discussing your own personal beliefs, stereotypes, etc. with trusted colleagues and family/friends.  You've had experiences in your life that have colored your perceptions about diverse populations and the world.  To start connecting with kids more and helping them appreciate the differences in others, we must confront our own reality.

#ShutUp

Uh-huh.  I said it...shut up!  Don't be offended, it's all in good fun, but remember that talking to students and teaching are not synonymous.  The more we talk, the more opportunities we give students to tune out learning.  Talking helps us know that we are working hard, but that's not enough.  The students need to be hard-working.

This week, I was fortunate to learn from Kate Roberts (check her out at @teachkate and kateandmaggie.com), and in my learning were a few key reminders (more will be coming soon, but these are the highlights).  While her reminders were primarily about teaching writing, they apply to any content area:

• Mini-lessons should be mini.  15 minutes of explicit instruction is the maximum amount of time before students should begin constructing and applying their knowledge.
• Conferencing should not be interrogation.  Instead, when conferring with students, they should talk more about what they're thinking.  Teachers should ask questions that are open-ended:  What were you trying to convey?  Why did you make that choice?  How could you...? etc.
• Small-group instruction is coaching.  Okay, that's the focus of all of this.  Talk less, coach more. 
• Partner students:  Ensure that each student has a learning buddy.  In writing, this allows for authentic conversations and relevant learning experiences.  It also gives students are resource rather than relying on the teacher.  At some point, there will be no teacher...they must be independent.

So, to you, all of our fabulous TMS teachers, I say #ShutUp and teach on. (Disclaimer:  #ShutUp is great as an adult joke but is not kid-appropriate).