There was a classroom I was observing several months ago where the teacher showed a film on Black experience in Latin America and it actually featured people of African descent picking cotton. This was a painful moment for the African American students in the room, and it was unnoticed by the Latina teacher in theContinue reading “Curriculum Violence”
Author Archives: Seahurst Wellness and Education Center
The Legacy COVID-19? Compassionate Educational Frameworks (Here’s Hoping!)
I have been thinking about one of the last schools where I taught and realizing: what teachers are going through now, is what many students go through on a daily basis. Lack of job security, lack of structure, lack of routine, lack of control. In some cases, lack of rent, and the threat of havingContinue reading “The Legacy COVID-19? Compassionate Educational Frameworks (Here’s Hoping!)”
Loving Brene…
What do I love about Brene Brown? She doesn’t believe in objectivity without the embracing of one’s subjectivity. I think that once we realize that we are embroiled in the controversial topics facing education today rather than casual – or formal – observers of them, we can begin to heal and transform the world. YouContinue reading “Loving Brene…”
Culturally Responsive? Or the White Racial Frame?
“Cultural responsiveness” is a term that gets thrown around a lot and I have to say that sometimes I wonder if this doesn’t come across as patronizing to people of culturally or socioeconomically diverse backgrounds. I feel like it might if we talk about cultural responsiveness only when it comes to interacting with people ofContinue reading “Culturally Responsive? Or the White Racial Frame?”
COVID-19 and kids… What if we cared this much about the environment?
I had a disturbing thought yesterday: what if people care more about this than the world we’re leaving for our kids because, unlike global warming, this impacts older decision makers and the economy and the lives of the elderly. I’m glad that we’re having the response that we’re having – this is, indeed, an emergency.Continue reading “COVID-19 and kids… What if we cared this much about the environment?”
W.E.B. du Bois and Booker T. Washington
I am reading The Souls of Black Folk, which was published in 1903 by W.E.B. du Bois. I am learning a lot, and I am also remembering how he came across for me when I was a student learning about him when I was in fifth grade. I will share that with you now, thoughContinue reading “W.E.B. du Bois and Booker T. Washington”
A Best Read of 2019: “Ethnographic Thinking: From Method to Mindset,” by Jay Hasbrouck
This book was written for business by a local author and it was at my favorite local bookstore (Three Trees Books in Seahurst, WA) and it really helped me navigate difficult conversations around race, ethnicity and organizational change in 2019 (the book itself was published in 2018). A lot of the challenge for me overContinue reading “A Best Read of 2019: “Ethnographic Thinking: From Method to Mindset,” by Jay Hasbrouck”
In Defense of Mothers
The mother cult in Western culture. The thing is that this “cult” is damaging to so many women and it places a great burden on all of society. Not only are mothers put down as responsible for everything that their children do or say, and thereby a huge burden is being placed on mothers andContinue reading “In Defense of Mothers”
Education versus Schooling: Two Sides of the Same Coin – but not the same thing!
I love helping students who do not traditionally fit in in their educational environments. Why? You guessed it! Because I don’t fit in as a student and I believe that that makes me uniquely qualified to help people like me survive school in a way that keeps their callings and self-esteem intact. So that theirContinue reading “Education versus Schooling: Two Sides of the Same Coin – but not the same thing!”
The Unpredictability of Trauma-Informed Classroom Teaching
The structure and worldview of the classroom always takes time to establish, but when there is an environment that is constantly in flux, we cannot forget that there are multiple classroom cultures and also individual student cultures to consider and, therefore, multiple pools of meaning coming into contact. These pools may be at oddsContinue reading “The Unpredictability of Trauma-Informed Classroom Teaching”
