Books are a great gift to give during the holiday season. The West Wind staff has compiled a list of some of our favorite equity-focused books this year that make perfect gifts. Continue reading “Book Recommendations from the West Wind Staff”
Micro-affirmations are the small, often unconscious acts of appreciation, praise, and recognition that teachers provide as feedback and encouragement in the classroom. Sometimes these acts are conscious, such as using a system to make sure that all students are being called on equitably. Other times they my be more subtle, such as using a child’s name when referring to something they have done well (“I noticed that Hector was doing a great job of supporting his group”) or giving credit to a child for an idea they espoused (“I loved Imani’s idea of starting with X; do others have ideas about what we should do next?”) Research has indicated that the more widely-recognized microaggressions have a cumulative and negative impact on students. On the other hand, research by Todd Pittinsky and others is now suggesting that positive micro-affirmations can have a cumulative effect leading students to feel more engaged, more positive to the instruction and, as is critical to the success of students of color in the classroom, more likely to feel seen, affirmed, and that they belong.
As you engage with your team in talking about race during professional development, staff meetings, or other formal conversations, a set of shared agreements can support your team to deepen discussions, to engage deeply in self reflection, and to learn from one another. (To learn more about why and how to use agreements, see the Using Agreements blog post.) To ensure that your agreements work for your team, it is key that you spend time together digging into what each agreement means to you as a team and how you will use it. In this blog we will discuss the agreement “Assume Positive Intent and Take Responsibility for Impact” to unpack ways to understand it, ways it can feel challenging, and ways to engage with it during conversations about race.
With multiple holidays during the winter months, it can seem overwhelming to find the perfect gifts. As we approach this holiday season, many of us are shopping in ways to support our local businesses. We encourage you to seek out businesses in your community owned by people of color. For those of you in Iowa, we have some suggestions for Black-owned businesses across our state where you can find gifts. Continue reading “Black-Owned Business Gift Guide”
This blog was originally posted on The Core Collaborative on Oct. 26, 2020 and also on the Educational Equity Resources Portal.
The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have brought national focus on the systemic violence perpetuated against Black people. The enormity of the need for change has long been called for by people of color. The degree to which the white world has seen the need is questionable. Now in this moment of national attention, those of us who are steeped in this work have hope that some changes will happen, that attention will stay focused, and we know it is a long shot.
Continue reading “Am I Good Enough? Do you See Me? Am I on the Inside or the Outside?”
In this fall of impossible challenges, schools are doing the best that they can to address issues that they have never had to address before. Principals and teachers are stretched to the max trying to teach in person and virtually, figure out systems to keep children and adults safe, and hold out until a vaccine. And yet there is one upcoming event that happens every four years that comes next week that many worry about–the election. Continue reading “Affirming Dignity in the Time of Elections”
Reading Time: 6 minutesIn recent years, schools across the country have modified Halloween celebrations to better meet students needs — some have moved parades to after school, stopped the sharing of candy during school, replaced events with alternative celebrations, or cancelled Halloween celebrations. This blog provides considerations and key questions to support you to center race and ethnicity as you think about and plan for school-based Halloween celebrations and the use of costumes. Continue reading “Recognizing Holidays and Cultural Celebrations at School: Halloween”
by Mandi Bozarth and Isaiah McGee
During the past several years, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has grown as a topic of educational programming and planning. Evidence shows us that implementing SEL can result in improvements to classroom academic success and school culture and climate. As we return to class this fall, many districts and buildings are considering a new emphasis on SEL practices as early as the first weeks of school to support students who have experienced disruptions to their education due to the pandemic. With the growth of SEL programming and implementation, we are also aware of challenges some systems face when SEL is implemented without considering equity. If implemented in a color evasive way, without considering differences in the experiences of students of color or without taking into account the impacts of implicit racial bias, SEL can have negative impacts on marginalized student populations.
Continue reading “Equity Considerations for Social and Emotional Learning”
Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Isaiah McGee
Many educators have been asking what they can read to better understand race, racism, and its impact on schools and the classroom. I compiled a list of 19 essential books that can help educators not only better understand the elusive, pervasive, and persistent impact of race on schools, but also provide them with skills to challenge and mitigate its influence and provide marginalized students, especially Black students, the best learning environment and experience.
Continue reading “19 Essential Books to Understand Race and Equity in Schools”
Reading Time: < 1 minute
West Wind Education Policy is committed to disrupting historic and persistent inequities. We are deeply disturbed by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others, as well as the ongoing violence toward the bodies and spirit of people of color.
We join the protests against the institutional, ideological, internalized, and interpersonal systems of oppression that have made this a centuries-long struggle here in the United States.
(For information about the Four I’s of Oppression, see https://bit.ly/3cynRQt and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WWyVRo4Uas.)
