Some of the most important learning I’ve done lately…..
Nice White Parents Podcast
I can’t tell you how many people have recommended this podcast series to me. Reporter Chana Joffe-Walt takes us on a decades-long journey, letting us in on the harm that nice white parents can do when it comes to equity and public schools. This five-episode series is important for anyone who is interested in equity and public education. Chana Joffee-Walt and the NY Times also published the booklist behind the podcast that can be accessed here.
#31DaysIBPOCBlog Series
Dr. Kim Parker and Tricia Ebarvia created this hashtag and blog series. In May of 2019 and 2020, posts were shared using the hashtag. If you missed this daily blog series, you can find all of the posts on the #31DaysIBPOC website. These blog posts are not only brilliant in their messages about children and education but I also discovered several new people each year who I continue to learn from on social media. The individual posts are incredible and collectively they are so powerful to return to.
Educators for Ant-Racism Conference
Wow! This conference was incredible. The group of educators who started as a book club reading Dr. Bettina Love’s We Want to Do More Than Survive and grew it into this international virtual conference are my new heroes. This conference gave educators time and space to learn from experts across all aspects of education. The website will have speaker recordings, slides and other resources up soon. You’ll definitely want to follow this group and all they have to share.
Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy
This was an institute I had been looking forward to attending in person before the pandemic hit. So it was one of the first things I put on my calendar once they announced the virtual institute. This weeklong institute led by Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul and Tricia Ebarvia was an intense week of learning about systematic racism in society, schools and classrooms. The combination of speakers, readings, small group cohorts and affinity time made for a great deal of personal learning . I will definitely attend again if offered. This podcast gives a bit of information about the institute as well as some reading resources shared.
All Because I Trusted Them to Use the Chat Box by Aeriale Johnson
I always learn so much from elementary teacher, Aeriale Johnson. Her latest blog post about remote learning and trusting our students is a must read. It would be a great piece to start important conversations about our goals for our students’ experiences this year at school. Aeriale’s blog is one that I read regularly. Her unwavering belief in children is evident in every post. I always learn so much from her.
Cultivating Genius and Conversation with Dr. Gholdy Muhammad
I read Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s book Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. This book is such an important one for all educators, PreK-12+. I was fortunate to listen to a conversation with Dr. Muhammad on one of NCTE’S Member Gathering’s this summer. Listening to her talk about the book and her work really pushed my thinking. I learned so much from this brilliant educator. It is a book I will return to often.