SHINE! Office of DEI Newsletter
Showing How Inclusivity Nurtures Equity (Vol V 11.18.21)
From the Director's Desk
November's Celebrations
National American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month
International Men's Day
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Diwali
Beginning of Hanukkah
In American culture, the month of November begins the "true" fall season. The nights have gotten longer, the evenings are cooler, and the holidays are approaching. Next week, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. The beginnings of the holiday began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest. There are many myths about the actual Thanksgiving holiday and as educators, we may wonder how to teach the correct narrative to our students. In this issue, I will have a section called "Debunked: Myths vs Facts." Also, in this issue, Ms. Johnetta Evans is in our DEI Spotlight for the inclusivity and diversity work she does in her 6th-grade social studies classroom. As always, our top sharers are listed on our leaderboard, and books are shared that are culturally relevant.
As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, I asked our division superintendent what he is thankful for. Dr. Bracy shared "I am thankful we were able to bring students and staff back to in-person learning in a safe environment. I am thankful for the work done by all those who were behind the scenes that made our safe return happen. I am also thankful that we were able to give staff an extended Thanksgiving break for staff to unwind and become refreshed after the holidays. Finally, I am very thankful for my family and loved ones."
Dr. Bracy shares the sentiments of many of us. COVID-19 has taught us to be grateful and thankful for the gift of life. I am thankful for all of the positive emails/phone calls I receive daily regarding the equity training that many of you have participated in from my office. I am so blessed and thankful for my family and the unconditional love they give me daily. I am also thankful for my two best friends Tameka and Rhonda, who have been my cheerleaders for over 20 years. Finally, I am thankful for Portsmouth Public Schools and being afforded the opportunity to realize my dream of performing equity work every day in the city I was raised in.
Next week, when you are with family or even in your quiet time alone, I encourage you to reflect on the things that you are thankful for and remember our world is better because of the diversity that we add to it.
If your school/department is doing innovative things that you would like to share please contact me.
Recognize, Accept, and Celebrate Diversity!
Dr. "PC"
Follow us on Twitter @PPSOfficeofDEI
LAST ISSUE'S TOP SHARERS...OVER 1500 VIEWS!!!
Top Sharers
Churchland Middle School, Mr. Paul Wilson 215 views **2ND WEEK**
Churchland High School, Mr. Shawn Millaci 159 views **2ND WEEK**
Victory Elementary, Dr. Wayne Williams 97 views
Lakeview Elementary School, Mrs. Garyn Moody 86 views **2ND WEEK**
Hodges Manor Elementary School, Dr. Faye Felton 83 views
Douglass Park Elementary, Dr. Sherie Davis 70 views
Mt. Hermon Preschool, Dr. Patricia Williams 64 views
THANK YOU PRINCIPALS FOR SHARING OUR NEWSLETTERS!
WHO will be on our leaderboard for THIS issue?
Recognizing our School Psychologists
Chit Chat with Tom Byrnes
Gracias el pavo de Thanksgiving by Joy Cowley
Katie Saves Thanksgiving (Katie Woo) by Fran Manushkin
Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen
As Molly nears her first Thanksgiving in the New World, she doesn't find much to be thankful for. Her classmates giggle at her accent and make fun of her unfamiliarity with American ways.
And Molly’s mother only makes things worse when she creates a doll for a school Thanksgiving project that looks more like a Russian refugee than a New England Pilgrim. But the tiny modern-day pilgrim just might help Molly to find a place for herself in America.
PPS Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion's
Meet Mrs. Johnetta Evans
This issues Office of DEI Spotlight is on Mrs. Johnetta Evans, 6th grade teacher at Victory Elementary School. Recently, the Office of DEI had the pleasure of being invited to watch the 6th graders present their dioramas on Indian tribes. The students were fantastic in the professionalism and in their creativity. They worked in groups and encouraged each other. Not only were the students supporting and encouraging each other, the school's administrative team Dr. Williams and Mrs. Pope were in the audience as well cheering on the students. The 6th graders were excited to show off their intriguing projects and to share the information they learned about the Native tribes that they researched. I asked Mrs. Evans a few questions about herself and the project, here's what she had to share.
This is my 18th year teaching in PPS.
What inspired you to have your students create dioramas? What was the purpose of the project?
The 6th grade students presented "Around the World in a Day" as a Social Studies geography review in October. The students selected a continent to research and they dressed according to the country or state located on the specific continent. They presented as if they were from the country or state and shared the landmarks, cultural customs, and traditions. They enjoyed the project so much I shred with them that they created dioramas to display various environments of the Native American Nations. The purpose of the project was for the students to learn about the natural, human, and capital resources the Native Americans used to survive in their environments.
How do you incorporate diversity and inclusion into your instructional practices?
I incorporate diversity and inclusion into my instructional practices by becoming acquainted with my students by inquiring about their favorite subject(s) or what they want to be when they grow up. When you show a genuine interest for your students, it gives them assurance that you care about them which fosters effective and open communication between the teacher and students. Also, showing each other respect by speaking to each other by using what I call "professional" words. Using our professional words help us to be sensitive and mindful of the different cultures in our classroom. In addition, giving students the freedom to creatively express themselves with various tactile assignments and work with their peers on performance based projects establishes a relationship building community.
Why do you love teaching in PPS?
I love teaching in PPS because it is a small school district which has a family feeling due to the relationships created between educators and parents. Even though we are a small school district, we make a big impact by supporting our students to reach their life goals and reminding them that what they want in life is attainable because they are unstoppable.
Thank you so much Mrs. Evans, you are "unstoppable". Thank you Dr. Williams and Mrs. Pope for inviting me to witness the amazing students at your school. Victory Elementary was very welcoming.
DEBUNKED: Myths vs Facts about Thanksgiving
Myth: Pilgrims and Native Americans were friends and worked together.
Fact: According to the National Museum of the American Indian, the settlers stole and took whatever they wanted from the Native Americans. The relationship was not harmonious.
Myth: The official holiday began from the "first Thanksgiving."
Fact: The official Thanksgiving occurred in 1637 after a war between the Pilgrims and the Pequots. There was a harvest celebration in 1621 between the Plymouth settlers and Wampanoags, but it wasn't called Thanksgiving and it didn't happen every year.
Myth: European Pilgrims civilized and introduced the concept of "giving thanks" to the Native Americans.
Fact: Native Americans had complex societies long before the arrival of European settlers. Native Americans had traditional cultural celebrations such as harvest celebrations, feast traditions, and their own indigenous holidays. Not only that, they had their own way of giving thanks and had their own religious beliefs, customs, and rituals.
Myth: Plymouth Rock was the first European settlement in 1620.
Fact: Spanish settlers arrived and settled in Florida in the mid-1500s and Jamestown, VA was 14 years old at the time the Pilgrims arrived in Jamestown. In fact, the expose to European diseases resulted in pandemics of illness among Indigenous peoples along with the trading of enslaved Indigenous peoples lead to the decimation of their populations.
Myth: Plymouth Rock was a wilderness of unfarmable land.
Fact: Plymouth Rock was the village of Patuxet where the Wampanoag had lived for generations. The land was well-managed and maintained with crops. This was the home of Squanto who is known for teaching the Pilgrims how to farm and fish, saving them from starvation. Squanto was kidnaped as a child and sold into slavery. He was sent to England where he learned how to speak English. He escaped slavery and found his way back to the village of Patuxet, which is how became connected to the Pilgrims.
So, what really happened around this time of year in 1621? Edward Winslow and William Bradford's records are all that historians have that give us a real glimpse of what actually occurred that fall evening. The colonists celebrated by firing guns and the Wampanoags came into the English village with about 90 of their men thinking that trouble might have been occurring. After showing up uninvited, the colonists asked the Native Americans to stay. Because there wasn't enough food, the Wampanoags caught a deer and gave it to the English. There was a bountiful harvest that was described containing crops and fowl. Winslow wrote the feast lasted for three days.
Our modern-day Thanksgiving holiday is built on bits and pieces of the traditional European harvest celebrations and Indigenous spiritual traditions. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official national holiday.
Resource:
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/explain-thanksgiving-fact-vs-fiction-155645929.html
https://www.thoughtco.com/fact-and-fiction-origins-of-thanksgiving-2477986
PPS Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Email: janeen.campbell@Portsk12.com
Website: https://www.ppsk12.us/about_pps/departments/departments_a-f/diversity__equity_and_inclusion
Phone: 757-393-8728
Twitter: @PPSOfficeofDEI