Silent But Deadly
Silent But Deadly
What if I Offend Someone
By: Breaira O'Shea
September 22, 2019
You're a reading teacher but you don't like to talk about diversity?
(Betta get over it!)
Diversity and Social Issue Awareness is crucial for Life. As teachers it is important for us to teach and encourage our students to be aware of injustices and know how to not only speak about them but stand up and be activists in their everyday experiences.
You may ask, but Bre, How do I do this?
*mY KidS wOnT UndErStaNd*
- Read Alouds
(Using books about Social issues can spark conversation and thoughts about these issues, creating this dialogue amongst your students is crucial and very beneficial in their understanding and acceptance of others)
- Student-Led Social Action Projects
(Researching issues in todays society and have your kids participate in rally's or writing letters)
-Valuing Multiple Perspectives
(regardless of you (as a teacher) all positive beliefs and points of view need to be validated and heard, one way to do this could be journals where only the teacher and the student can have a dialogue regarding any topic that the student feels they need to get their point across. After this, as the student wishes to share the point of view with the class a community circle is a great place to share beliefs in a positive environment)
-Community Circle
(Community circles are a great way to create a space where all students feel welcome to share ideas and stories from their life. Creating this space is crucial for social understanding)
What social issues should we talk about??
(ALL OF THEM!)
(We as teachers should talk about every "ISM" we can to ensure our students are prepared and able to successfully talk about them"
#Letsgetourkidswoke
Yay! You made it to the end!
1) Which "ism" worries you the most about teaching and what in your personal life has made you eerie of this topic?
2) What are your thoughts on parents who may or may not be supportive of the "social issue"conversations in our future classes? How will you handle them?
3) What are some more ideas on how to bring in these conversations to our classes in a way to support all ideas and thinkers?
Bre,
ReplyDeleteI just want to start out by mentioning that I love the comment you made about valuing multiple perspectives. I like the idea of letting the student and teacher have private dialogue in a journal, and allowing the student to later share that with the class if they want. If any of my teachers in elementary school ever did that, I would feel like my thoughts were validated and valued at the very least!
In response to your second question, I think this is a very touchy situation that we have to be aware of. There will no doubt be parents who disagree with things that we teach, especially if they have anything to do with social issues. That's why it is so important that the parent first understands that your classroom isn't a place to force your opinions on your students, but one that gives their child a voice to express their own. However, if we do claim to do this for our students, we also should do the same for their parents. If the parents are upset, give them a space to talk about why and what they would do in your position. Even if you disagree with them, they deserve a space to talk about their perspectives and views as well. I think the first step to working with parents on these issues is to show them that you value their opinions and voice.
Hi Sam!
DeleteI love your idea! I totally agree with your point about allowing the parents a voice! Especially if the kids are having an opinion its more than likely the parents are influencing that certain belief, I'm thinking Parent Meetings where the parents can come together and talk about the issue as well, especially if their are conflicting areas.
Great work! I love all of your memes!!
ReplyDeleteI want to talk about your first question. It asked about which "ism" worried me the most going into teaching. I honestly worry about all of them. When I first read your question my first thought was someone accusing me or someone else of pushing one of those 'isms'. My concern with that is not that we now have a learning lesson for everyone, but that I might share something with my students that a parent has a problem with. I am a firm believer that if it comes up, or a child is old enough to ask a question they are old enough to get an age appropriate answer. So if these come up in my classroom I want to be able to share what they mean and why it's a thing with them. But my fear is just how parents will react.
Mara,
DeleteSam had a great idea about allowing the parents a place to vent and talk openly as well as the kids, I think your honesty is amazing and I appreciate you opening up. all of this is a huge risk, but developing relationships with your parents and your students could definitely help bridge the gap and make parents feel more comfortable! THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE!
Bre,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, loved your memes! To answer your second question, I think the first step is building a community. Build a community in your classroom with your students AND with their parents. That is crucial! When you have good relationships, it makes it easy to talk about things openly. I think it is important to ask why a parent may not what you to teach their child a specific topic, and you can take this into consideration. Once they have given their perspective, explain to them what you are trying to do, the purpose, and what you want the students to get from it, WHY IT IS CRUCIAL THEY LEARN THIS! When you're open and honest, and take their ideas into consideration, I think it is going to create a community where you can talk with the parents about anything.
You mentioned so many great ways to bring in conversations about ISMs and other social issues. One particular one I think that is great is community circle. In my current classroom, I do not like the way community circle is held. It is about 2 hours into the day, and the teacher draws a question (always just her choosing), and the students answer their "favorite" whatever. This has no meaning, and many students have began not participating. I think a better way to address it would be to allow a student to pick from the questions, and the questions being critical. Things like "what is social justice" "what is racism" and then go into a lesson about that. Everything has to have meaning, and connect back to one another, because if not, the students aren't going to get much out of it. Each day is going to be the same for them.
Jazlyn,
DeleteYes girl! thank you for sharing your ideas about creating community, I 100% agree! we have to create this community to make sure we are doing right by not only our kids but our parents! also I love your idea about community circle! have you tried talking to your teacher about it? maybe when you take over the class you can propose your idea! we all should try and do something while we student teach and see how it goes! maybe test the waters so to say?
I have not mentioned this to my teacher, but it is something I plan on talking with her about before we start student teaching full time. I think she is very open to allowing us to test what ideas we have, which is relieving. I definitely am most excited to test multiple different ways of doing things and seeing what works best with my kiddos!
DeleteBre, I really loved your blog! I’ve been thinking about parents for a while, especially after hearing about parent teacher conferences recently. I agree with Samantha and Jazlyn, we want to build community with them. I think we can also take a little of what we read in “What if I offended someone?” By Laura Darolia, when she said we are not all going to agree but we need to set the standard of openness and respect for differences. I was thinking about ways I would incorporate literature in my curriculum and thinking maybe involving parents in some way in an activity related to what we read would help bridge the conversations. There are ways to communicate without actually engaging in the conversation. Hopefully things like this will open the door for those productive conversations.
ReplyDeleteI love what you said, "Set the standard of openness and respect for differences." That is such a beautiful saying! I also agree with bringing in the parents for relating things to the students and bridging the conversations. I almost used a meme, of the Simpsons and Marge was asking Lisa about how the characters in one of her books was. I wish more parents could have these conversations, but i also realize it is up to the teachers to encourage it.
DeleteBre,
ReplyDeleteYour memes are hilarious and everything you said is so true. if you feel uncomfortable about a topic then you shouldnt be a teacher. Which "ism" worries you the most about teaching and what in your personal life has made you eerie of this topic? mine would probably be ableism. it was a bias i guess i never acknowledged i carried because it was someting i lacked knowledge about. often times we say things like oh that was crippling or paralyzed with fear and are even encouraged to talk like this when detail comes up in the classroom. i learned this through teachers and being discritptive so as a future teacher it is something i need to be concscious of and make my students aware of it. on another note i have been worried about parents but at the same time as long as you have open communication from the beginning i feel many potential conflicts can be avoided. i hope as we become teachers parents are more open minded to the ideas we want to bring into the classrom, however each challenge will be looked at as a learning progress.
Bailee,
DeleteI think it is very important to understand your own bias', and the way you recognize your own bias' shows your character. Thank you for sharing your truth, how do you think you can keep working towards being more open about abelism? I also agree with your views on parent involvement, Great Job!
Bree,
ReplyDeleteI loved you blogs and of course the memes! I liked all the ideas you shared on how to teach about diversity and social issues. These are crucial aspects to life and dismissing them and teaching kids that math is more important is harmful. Our students are going to one day experience everything the world has to offer, the good and bad, and they also need to be prepared for that. It is important for us as future educators to help educate them in this area. To answer your second question, I would say have a list of things you may talk about over the year and send them to the students adult at home, so they are aware ahead of time about what will be discussed in class. If an issue arises, it can be addressed with the help of administration to work out a solution. It is crucial for students to have this understanding so I would try to make it work rather than giving up because a parent wasn't happy.
Alaina,
DeleteI like the list, the only thing I would say is that I want to use topics that are in the news. I want to talk about the "Ism's" that are affecting my students then, I would definitely do a list of the things that could come up, but I would also make it known that not all of the topics would/could be talked about. I think it is a good idea, to also allow the parents to maybe "Veto" topics, and we can use that to see which parents are weird about certain topics, and that way we as the teacher can have conversations about the veto.
We're always going to encounter parents who disagree with what we're teaching and/or how we're teaching it. It's a reality we must learn to live with. That doesn't mean we stop trying, of course. This may come across as blunt but it's our job to educate children, not to please their parents. Be sensitive, be respectful, be communicative. I would approach the situation with an open mind and do my best to understand why the parents feel the way that they do. Perhaps we can come to an understanding. If not....welllll I'm gonna keep teaching it so....yea.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure which "ism" makes me the most wary. I think what makes me more worried than the possibility of offending someone is the idea of teaching kids about an "ism" I'm not properly informed about. Of course there's an easy fix to that: research what you're teaching. Still, I'm terrified of inadvertently spreading misinformation. Love your post!!
Sam,
DeleteI think your worry about spreading misinformation takes care of that. Honestly, if you are truly worried about that and your willing to do the research then I think you will be fine! I am a truly believer, that if you do the work, and your heart is in the right place, then you are doing good. I appreciate your humbleness about not knowing everything, and I applaud you wanting and bringing up research.