It’s Time to Talk Racism Day 11: Intro to Anti-Biased Education

When Chrissy from Buzzing with Ms. B. reached out to me to participate in this campaign against racism after the shooting in her hometown of El Paso happened, I knew I had to say yes. Here is someone who wasn't content with just feeling sad, angry or hurt about what happened. Here is someone who is taking action. My friend Megan from Too Cool for Middle School posted last week about the Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards and how she uses them to guide her in purposeful lessons about race, identity, anti-racism, and other topics. Head over to her post here to download a great resource for your classroom. I wanted to expand a little bit on how to do that using these standards and the Teaching Tolerance Website. Let me honest these topics can be overwhelming for adults to talk about much less teach to children about. This resource has helped guide me into feeling more confident when teaching these topics to my kindergarteners. Yes, I said kindergarteners!

Imposter Syndrome: What Do You Do When It Sets In?

Impostor Syndrome: an inability to internalize accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud". Some of the most successful people have felt Impostor Syndrome at one point or another. As this school year has gone on, I have felt more often times of self doubt. Knowing that I have such big responsibilities of being a mother and an educator, I've begun feeling lots of pressure. It's something I've continued to worked and struggle through.

Teacher Activist in the Classroom: Part Two

Working in the summer is hard. You want to just forget about everything and enjoy the summer, but in the back of your mind, you think about how there are certain things you want to get done. Then when you're a mom, it adds another thing to your plate. Finding a balance can be hard! That's why I didn't post last week. So for this blog post, I'll tell you about what I will be using to incorporate social justice objectives into my lesson plans. In order to be an effective teacher, you have to focus on your impact not just intent. I am a whole to part person, meaning that I have to see the end goal first and then break it down into pieces or parts to get there. I am going to go into what I am using to guide me in figuring out the whole (end goal) and then move on to where these pieces will go in my class schedule and lessons.

Teacher Activist in the Classroom: Part One

As I start this journey of teaching about cultural diversity, racism, oppression, and injustice and the systems that perpetuate it in our country in a way that is age appropriate for my students (see my previous post where I explain why I decided to go on this journey here), I struggled with figuring out where to start. Then it dawned on me. You can't look forward without looking back. Sometimes looking back can be painful. The history of this country, and of people of color as a whole is especially difficult, but what I discovered was that looking back at myself, and Mexican American people specifically, no matter how uncomfortable, was necessary. I can't begin to help others if I first don't know how we got here, how this all started, and when I began searching, I wanted to know more about people who are like me in a way that I had no idea I needed before.

Why I Want to be a Better Teacher Activist in the Classroom

Wow... classroom reveal 2016 was my last post. Where have I been?! 🤪 The past two school years have just flown by it seems. I've been so busy and there have been some big changes for me in and outside of the classroom. Looking back at some of my posts, it seems I was really trying to figure out where my place was with this little blog in the big world of teacher bloggers. Keep reading to find out where my head is at now and where I've been.

Classroom Reveal 2016

Wow I can't believe so much time has gone by and I haven't published this post yet. My classroom reveal is long overdue! This time of year is so exciting, getting back into your classroom after summer, seeing coworkers again, and meeting your new students. I can be a lot to take on, but it's also so much fun. I decided on a new theme in my classroom this year. I needed a change from the jungle/animal print theme I've been using the past few years. New grade, new theme!

#BHTeacherWeek16 Linky Post

I had so much fun this week joining in Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week challenge on instagram. It was lots of fun and I got to see lots of good idea, plus just getting to know fellow teachers. Click to see my #BHTeacherWeek16 posts!