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.
As I've said before, I am a whole to part person. I know not everyone is and maybe for you it will be better to do this backward and start with the parts and move onto the whole. I found an organization that provides educators with materials to make your classroom instruction more inclusive, diverse, and equitable. While I agree that representation matters in literature, classroom decor, etc., I believe that you have to explicitly teach empathy, inclusion, but also teach about slavery, racism, colorism, and injustice. I teach kindergarteners who are emerging bilinguals. They are either immigrants themselves or their parents or grandparents are. They very well may know about racism and injustice without knowing the vocabulary. I believe my job is to explicitly teach about it so that as they grow up, they can have the knowledge to defend themselves, their families, and others. Teaching about being kind, and treating each other with respect, etc. just isn't enough. Although I know that I want to teach about this, I still need guidance on how to teach it. This is when Teaching Tolerance (I have linked their website) was really useful. Teaching Tolerance is "dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children." (Social Justice Standards, 2016) They have Social Justice Standards that you can use in guiding your instruction. I also liked this organization because you can create an account and bookmark different materials. Aside from the Standards, which are in Spanish too (!), they have articles, PD, and lesson plans. You can also create a Learning Plan to guide your own learning. First thing I did was download a copy of the Standards to my Google Drive so that I can always refer back to them when I need to. I will link that here if you'd like to download. On this page on the Teaching Tolerance website you can also find the standards in Spanish, an article introducing the Standards, and Professional Development Modules to delve into the Standards.

So if you're like me, I can easily get overwhelmed when I look at standards/objectives. Our TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) PDF document in Spanish Language Arts alone seems to go on forever! This PDF document is only 16 pages long and it's very easy to read. The standards are actually broken down into grade levels so you may not need to read the entire document. It gives in an introduction to the Standards and then it breaks down the 4 Domains-Identity, Diversity, Justice and Action. Then the Outcomes and Scenarios are broken down into grade levels. They are divided into grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each grade level has 20 Anchor Standards, 5 for each Domain. Anchor Standards 1-5 fall under the Identity Domain, 6-10 fall under the Diversity Domain, 11-15 fall under the Justice Domain, and 16-20 fall under the Action Domain. Each set of 5 Anchor Standards has an Anti-bias Scenario that provides an example of what the Outcomes would look like. In total, I read about 4 pages of the document that included the introduction, the Anchor Standards and Domains, and the K-2 Grade Level Outcomes and Scenarios.

I wanted to make sure to learn each Domain well so I decided to do the Modules for each. I am linking the page to access the modules for the framework here. Each Module takes about an hour. It states that the modules are made for individual use, but can be modified in order to accommodate a group. Learning about the domains isn't limited to these modules. The great thing about Teaching Tolerance is that you can create an account and save Publications, Professional Development, Lesson Plans, Strategies, and Articles. I was also able to order a film kit which are completely free! If you're interested in ordering one, I am linking it here. I ordered the Starting Small film kit since I teach Kindergarteners. Another film kit maybe more appropriate for your grade level so it's great that Teaching Tolerance offers more than one. I haven't watched the DVD yet so that will be a post for another day.

For my next post I will plan where I can put these Social Justice Standards to use. Will I incorporate them into all other content areas, will I carve out a specific time or subject? Maybe a combination of the two? I have some more research and planning to do before my next post. I'd love to hear what you think about these Standards or suggestions for other materials you have used for more equitable and diverse instruction. Leave me a comment!