Equity Update
November
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Welcome to November.
Email: sivadasana@isssaquah.wednet.edu
Website: https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/equity
Phone: (425) 837-7122
Facebook: facebook.com/IssaquahSchoolDistrictFamilyPartnership
Preparing for the day after the election
"No matter what happens on Election Day, this Wednesday will likely not be a routine morning anywhere in the United States, including at school. The consequences of the presidential election—or the uncertainties surrounding a contested result—will echo through our communities. Students won’t be immune to that. And neither will educators...We cannot know, four years later, how this election will unfold. But we can refuse to be shocked. We can refuse to be silent. And we can prepare to create an environment that best serves the students in our care."- Teaching Tolerance
Please read the article below for some practical tips on preparing your classrooms for the day(s) after the election results.
Preparing for the upcoming election
Questions to ask yourself:
- When at work, what is my educational purpose in saying, doing, or wearing something related to the upcoming election?
- When at work, how will I make ALL of my students feel about something I am saying, doing, or wearing related to the upcoming election?
- When at work, is what I am saying, doing, or wearing related to the upcoming election promoting the success of our lowest performing students (see Executive Limitations- 16).
*See the power point below for election guidance referencing the CBA, EL-16, and district regulations.
Upcoming Cultural Holiday
Diwali or Deepvali - November 13, 14, 15 and 16
Diwali or Deepvali is the Hindu festival of lights. Diwali will be celebrated on Nov. 14, 2020. It is celebrated by Hindu, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists. How the festival is celebrated varies regionally in India and based on specific religious group. It is one of the major celebrations in India (think Christmas and July 4th) and schools in India are normally closed for a week to allow families to partake in the various religious celebrations and family gatherings. Homes are decorated. Food and treats are shared or part of family celebrations. Lamps are used to bring light to houses. Fireworks and sparklers are a big part of the celebrations.
Due to social distancing, families may not be having large gatherings this year, but students may be more distracted with family gatherings and religious practices during the three main holy days.
Guajarati's and Hindus from some other regions celebrate Govardhan Puja the day after Diwali on Nov. 15th. Students may be impacted with homework or tests the following Monday.
*Please open the religious holidays calendar below to see how you can best support students who celebrate these religious holidays.
Religious Holidays Calendar
Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way- written by Lorna Gilmour
US Textbooks, media, and movies have often shown the head dress and tom-a-hawk carrying "Indian", as the normalized view of the indigenous people not only to our country, but to countries around the world.
Consider the scene in the Oscar willing Korean film Parasite, where main characters are dressed in “Indian costumes” for a birthday party celebration. As an immigrant, it was a thoughtful, reflective experience scene for me. While the US has historically taught children inaccurately about the indigenous people, we are also showing people around the world a biased and inaccurate representation of the indigenous people.
What does that mean to so many of our families that have moved to the US from other countries? What is their mental model and views of indigenous people in the US. People from other countries still refer to natives of the United States as “Red Indians” as it was a popularized term in the US media and literature for decades. How do we address this problem of our own making?
We have to create and deliberately correct those misunderstandings with our students. Part of being a culturally responsive teacher, is having awareness and knowledge of other culture’s perspective and history. Here is a link to an article on addressing Thanksgiving in a socially responsible way. It also includes articles to help better your understanding about Thanksgiving and it’s meaning to the indigenous people.
As adults, we have to find ways to correct misunderstandings, biases and stereotypes with each other. Here is a good article that also addresses an educator of color’s experience at school, having courageous conversations with fellow staff members, and intent vs impact at a high school regarding a simple Thanksgiving activity. “One high school teacher explains how she turned "Thanksgiving Trivia" into an opportunity to share under-taught history with her colleagues as well as her students, regardless of the time of year.”
Decolonizing Thanksgiving toolkit provides educators with many resources to combat racism, stereotypes about Native people and myths of Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, consider honoring and acknowledging the Native indigenous inhabitants of our area. Activities need to best suit your class and your knowledge, the most important part of Land Acknowledgement is to be authentic and heartfelt.
Land Acknowledgment- is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth. Imagine this practice widely adopted: imagine cultural venues, classrooms, conference settings, places of worship, sports stadiums, and town halls, acknowledging traditional lands. Millions would be exposed—many for the first time—to the names of the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the lands they are on, inspiring them to ongoing awareness and action. https://usdac.us/nativeland/
Other thanksgiving resources- https://www.okcps.org/cms/lib/OK01913268/Centricity/Domain/130/NASS%20Thanksgiving%20Lesson%20Plan%20Booklet.pdf
Repeat Information from October's Equity Newsletter
History Months
*The Equity department recognizes there are many history month celebrations and we may not be able to spotlight all of them.
Hispanic Heritage Month
For Hispanic Heritage month, the Equity Department felt it was critical for all of us to understand the difference involved with Latinx, Hispanic and Spanish.
Latinx, (Latino or Latina), Hispanic and Spanish
These three words hold very important meanings in terms of identities.
“Latinx” is a newer gender-neutral term used in lieu of “Latino” or “Latina” to refer to a person of Latin American descent. “Hispanic” focuses on Spanish-speaking origin. This includes Spain, but not Brazil, because Brazilians speak Portuguese. In turn, “Latino” refers to people of Latin American origin which includes Brazil, but not Spain. Generally, “Hispanic” is based on if your family speaks the language of Spanish, whereas “Latino” is focusing on geographic location – Latin America. Spanish is a language, though it can also be a nationality and yet some countries in Latin America do not speak Spanish.
Halloween
See below for some helpful guides and tips on this topic:
Costumes should not become opportunities to turn a person's identity into a stereotyped image. While students might choose to dress as a famous person or character whose identity is different than their own, reinforce the importance of not darkening skin or using makeup to change one's skin color to match the person who they are dressing up to be.
*Remember, students are often unaware of the long history these traditions have of causing harm and need our help in understanding why it can be hurtful and problematic.
Have conversations about Halloween costumes with your students ahead of time- This helps students see why somebody else's struggle shouldn't make up someone's Halloween costume.
Teaching Tips:
History of Halloween:
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
Culture not a costume article about inappropriate Halloween costumes along with Educator Resources
https://worldview.unc.edu/news-article/culture-not-a-costume/
Teen Vogue video – My culture is not a costume (Facebook)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8
Teaching Tolerance resources
https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/teach-about-blackface-and-other-racist-halloween-choices
https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/what-do-halloween-costumes-say
(grade 3-5 lesson plan)
Columbus Day
Here are some tips on how to re-frame how we teach Columbus Day:
Teach Only Truth
- Teach about both Columbus and Native Americans. Do not suggest that they were friends.
- If your students are too young to learn about genocide, don’t teach them about genocide. But don’t teach them falsehoods that they will have to later unlearn. Falsehoods that go in early form the template of our assumptions and common knowledge, and are very hard to unlearn.
- For older grades, read the truth about Columbus in age-appropriate ways.
Teaching untruths about the racial history of the U.S. alienates people of color from school, especially in history/social studies, and this widens the performance gap.
This info is from Tch – Teaching Channel website https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/un-columbus-day
Two videos that also explain the knowledge based on points from above. The brainpop starts out with teaching Columbus Day the way we may have learned about it when we were younger, and the last half shows more accurate representation of history.
https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/famoushistoricalfigures/christophercolumbus/
https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/columbus-day-video
Upcoming Professional Development offered by the Equity Department
- Oct. - Jan (10 sessions) 10 clock hours
Course Description: Participants in the course will watch a series of movies to develop cultural awareness. Topics covering the collectivist societies such as communications, societal expectations, and family will be addressed in the weekly discussions.
Clock hours – 10 clock hours, every Monday evening on Zoom starting Oct. 12 to Dec. 14th (Clock hours based on number of discussions attended - minimum 3 hours)
*Visit True North for more details and complete movie list
- Book Study: How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (Dates coming soon)
Six week course- Helps participants understand different forms of racism in society and how to eliminate them, and then apply that new learning to their teaching.
*Soon to be in True North Logic
Inviting Interpreters to Support Linguistically Diverse Families at Zoom Events -
Resources for district departments, school buildings and teachers
Using Interpreters for Class or School Family meetings or events.pptx
Repeat Information from September
Cameras during Zoom and Team Meetings
*In case you have not, check in with a student that has not had their camera on during class and identify why. This not only helps build relationship, but provides insight as to what might be going on for the student, and how you can be of support.
Using Video to Assess Student Attention in Virtual Class Meetings
Why does it Matter to be flexible around screens on
"I don't like teaching to blank screens"
Giving students the option to turn their cameras off may make them more comfortable and open up new possibilities for teaching.
Family Partnership Liaisons
Francisca
Ina
Wenli
Student Schedule Support
Interpreters and Translations
Website and Staff Hub Presence
Repeat Information from August Newsletter
Interpreter and Translation Training's
- How to use Language Line
- How to use Google Voice- Great tool to use that allows you to use your personal phone to make calls without displaying your personal phone number.
- How to use Alboum
Lorna has also provided pre-recorded power points for Language Line, Alboum and Google Voice (see below) *Please reach out to Lorna if you want to schedule a training with her.
Equity and Cultural Competency Resources
- Culturally Responsive Teaching and Equity in a remote world.
- Setting equitable expectations for Zoom and Teams live instruction.
- Culturally Responsive supports for students.