Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator: Where to Begin

I two-timed the blog world, sorry!  Click on the link to see my post about Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator over on the Comprehensible Classroom's blog.

Two toxic moments in staff meetings and what we can learn about being truly inclusive

This is a post that I want to write because these incidents happened.  There are a lot of other incidents that don't necessarily rise to the top in the pile of indignities, assumptions,  and examples of ignorance that are part of the life of being a bi-racial Latinx woman who is white passing and who is not afraid to speak up.  Name spelling and pronunciation, anyone?  (And yes, I acknowledge the great privilege I carry with my light colored skin and hair color.)

These things happen, and I think we can learn from them. So, stick with me.  This is not about comprehensible input.  It is about being better teachers.  And hopefully better humans.  

Anyway, let me give some background.

If you have read my blog for a while, you maybe know that one great passion of mine is inclusion, with the related passions of diversity, social justice, anti-bias, and dismantling the system of oppression and racism and bias that we live with every day.   

One key idea for me in being inclusive is that each member of my classroom (and hopefully community) feels safe and seen for who they are and what they need. They feel safe to say no if they are uncomfortable, or to ask a question if they don't get it.  They feel safe talking, or not talking.  

One of the greatest compliments that I have ever been given was in feedback about a presentation I did this summer.  I am putting it out here because it makes me feel great (because I read this blog too!) and because this idea of safety goes hand in hand with consent.  I am grateful that what I try to do was seen.  

[Elicia] was so open and engaging that she made each of us in the over-crowded room feel welcome. She modeled many important social-emotional practices: tiny physical "brain breaks" to reset our tired minds, differentiating by offering different options and encouraging us to make the activities we liked our own, responding to all suggestions and comments with "yes and", and above all, modeling asking consent for every little thing - "do you mind if I use your picture?" "may I use you as an example?" 

So this work is not just part of my teaching practice, it is who I am and what I bring to the classroom.  I believe in it and it's important to me.     

Fast forward to some incidents in staff meetings.  I want to be clear that I don't have issue with the activities I am describing.  I have concerns with the responses made by my peers, and I want to bring to light some of the embedded assumptions that are made when choosing these activities.   And I want to highlight what a good response to these kinds of incidents looks like. 

After these incidents, I sat down with my administrator and shared my concerns and we made a good plan to address them.  I am really thankful that I have a administrator who makes time and takes time to hear me, and takes these concerns very seriously.  

#1: In a getting-to-know you activity, there is a soccer ball being with questions written on it being tossed around. When you catch it, you answer the question that your right thumb lands on.  This game was being modeled as one that could be played in class or in our advisory groups, with kids.  Some questions were about favorite things, like breakfast cereals, and others were things like "what makes you sad?". 

Let's digest that for a minute.  First, what are the assumptions there?  

• Everyone in the community knows about breakfast cereals.  
• Everyone gets to eat breakfast.
• Everyone is feeling comfortable with getting a ball tossed at them.
• Everyone has the physical ability to catch the soccer ball. 
• Everyone feels comfortable talking about what makes them sad.  (Because you know what makes me sad?  Surviving this.  Is that really what people want to hear?  Trust me, the answer is usually no.) 

Being me, I asked the person running the game what happens if a student doesn't want to answer that question. (Because if I don't speak up, who will?)  Before an answer could be given, someone snickered and made a very belittling comment about what a stupid question that was, that they (the students) could answer the questions.  

Wait- WHAT?  Do we not want all students to feel safe?  Do we not acknowledge that students come from different backgrounds?  

The game leader (our very thoughtful admin) quickly responded "oh sure, great question- have them answer one near their thumb" and moved on.   

So, on one hand, I feel like the admin heard the question, acknowledged its value, and answered it.  I felt seen and heard.  But on the other hand, not only was my question belittled, there was no awareness from at least one colleague that it might be relevant. 

#2:  In a later activity, several pictures of a prominent sports figure were projected, displaying different emotions.  The activity was an emotional check-in.  The pictures were of this sports figure with different facial expressions, and we were supposed to put our initials next to the image that best expressed our emotional state.  

Again, let's dig in to some assumptions about the activity: 

• Everyone can read facial expressions and assign meaning to them.
• All participants know who the sports figure is.
• Everyone is comfortable sharing their emotional state.

I was not super happy for a number of reasons when this activity occurred.  But more frustrating to me was that I had no idea who the sports figure was and I didn't really know what the expressions were.  I asked who the person was (because asking about the expressions felt like it would open me up to ridicule, so I chose instead what I thought was a safer route).  The admin quickly responded, telling me the name and sport. No biggie.  

But my colleagues gaped.  "You don't know who X is?" "Do you know who Y is either?"  "How can you not know who X is?" "Are you serious?"  

I was shocked.  Like, really, really shocked.  Hurt, disappointed, sad, angry, and a dozen other negative emotions.

I want to reiterate what I said at the beginning of this post.  I did speak to my administrator. He heard me. We made a plan. I felt heard and seen and respected.  It's ok and I'm ok.  But it is a solid example of embedded assumptions and of not treating each other with respect and kindness.  And of side conversations getting out of control.   

Imagine if I was a kid in a class where that happened.  Maybe I'm 12 and growing in all kinds of new places.  Maybe I am new to the school.  Maybe my family doesn't allow screen use at all.  Maybe I just lost my parent. Maybe I ...there are a million maybes.  But I am sure that in that moment, I have completely lost the trust of that kid.  Note that the person running the activities, the "teacher" (admin, in this case), handled each moment with consideration and kindness.  It was the side talk, the outside conversations that were harmful.  

And please, I am not saying that every kid needs to be coddled and treated like a precious snowflake.  I believe deeply in the gift of failure, the power of hearing no, and the growth that those bring.   

But friends, they see a lot more of the real world than we think.  And they are still kids.  

I can not control what happens to them outside of my classroom.  I can commit to making my classroom as safe as possible.  Especially in 2019.  

What can I take away from these situations as a teacher? (Hopefully they will apply to you too.) 

For me,  it is to critically examine the actual things I do in the classroom and constantly ask myself what assumptions I am making.  Yes, it is exhausting.  I am going to do it anyway.

It is also to take a moment before reacting- to questions, to comments, to actions.  But especially to questions.  If I want to give an eye roll or a smirk, I need to check that right at the door. Because it is legitimate to someone.  

I need to keep focusing on creating a community where those kind of side comments can't happen (through procedures) and don't happen (through community building) and when (not if; I am only human) they do, I own it and address it.

I need to remember to take a cue from my administrator.  He never got defensive.  He owned what happened, apologized sincerely, and together we found a way to repair it.  

Most important, I need to keep asking questions and question other peoples' assumptions.   

I need to remember that it takes courage to ask questions and call attention to unpopular ideas and call people out on their assumptions.  And sometimes I am going to feel bad or unwelcome.  (These weren't even about race. Think about that.)   I need to remember that is who I am- courageous- and find ways to connect with communities that support me and that build me up and help me when I'm down.   

What's new this year #2: Positive adjectives

If you know me or have been reading this blog for a while, you know that diversity, inclusion, and social justice are as important to me as comprehensible input.

There are so many ways that these two passions meet and I am so grateful for the privilege to think hard and try to eliminate bias and use inclusive pedagogy in my teaching.  I am grateful to my colleagues and friends who want to talk about bias, and to the university (where I am an adjunct teaching a Methods course) for providing training and support in deconstructing bias and being more inclusive.  I just finished reading "Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria" and my mind is racing with ways I can bring some of the things I learned into my classroom.

In the meantime, while I cogitate, I want to share one thing that I changed this year that has had a HUGE impact on classroom culture and teaching.

Years ago, I attended a workshop presented by Elevate Education Consulting (Anna Gilcher and Rachelle Jackson) about how to be more inclusive and reflect positive values through TPRS stories.  It was life-changing, and I have continued to attend workshops and presentations by this amazing duo.  One of their handouts includes a list of diversity-positive attributes.  (This is *not* the link that will take you to the most updated version, but it is all I could find!)

Although I had the list by my side, I never made it visible to the kids.

This year, I decided to buy a $3.00 window shade from a home decor store (bad call, should have paid more as it falls constantly, but it works!) and write out the adjectives with their definitions (in light blue because that was the only blue sharpie I could find).

What I have seen:
The students ask for me to pull the shade down when we do birthday compliments.
They have started using the words even when I don't have it visible.
Our TPRS stories are kinder, more inclusive, and more real.

This was *so* simple.  But I think it makes things nicer!

Soy Yo as a celebration of diversity (and also a sub plan)

Background: (Feel free to scroll down to the actual plan!)

I had the opportunity to sub for a colleague who was going on a weeklong camping trip with the entire 7th grade.  The plan was that I was going to teach her 6th grade Spanish class.  In order to minimize what she needed to do, I also offered to write my own lesson plans for the week because I wanted to try out some of the great lesson plans I have seen others posting and have had kicking around in the back of my head.  Also, I have developed an obsession with Bomba Estereo and wanted to teach Soy Yo.  Since one day of the week would be taught by a non-Spanish speaking sub, I had to write out plans for that, but for rest of the week I was going to wing it. I mean, I had a loose plan.  But it was very vague.

I spent a week in Moab!  

Well, I did not get a chance to teach it.  Instead, due to a family emergency for another teacher, I also went camping in Moab. For a week. And it was awesome!

So we had a sub for a sub, and no lesson plans.  I threw together a plan in between packing knowing that the sub's sub spoke Spanish.

The feedback I got when I returned was that it was an awesome 3-day plan. (Oops- I hoped it would be four days. Oh well.)  She strongly recommended that I teach it in my other classes and had nothing but good things to say.

So, I will teach it to my others (probably my 8th graders, with some modifications), but I thought that I would share it with the world as I am pretty proud of it.  Scroll down for credits, as I borrowed and adapted lots of great resources from other people.

THE PLAN

Day 1 -INTRODUCTION to SOY YO

This activity was adapted from Elevate Education Consulting

Resources:     

Slideshow for Day 1 (circles of care, etc.)      

Activity handout: Soy Yo                        

Day 1 Teacher plan 

Please note: these are view only files. To edit, please make a copy.

1) Circle of care

Awesome activity borrowed from Anna and Rachelle!

Show first slide and demo circles.

Students WRITE NAMES ON PAPER, draw circles of care.

Lead discussion.  -who is in your circle?  (Can do in small groups too- whatever feels right.)

2) Qualities of people we admire.

Show slide two.  Students can write or think. 

Lead brief discussion. 

3) List of qualities (that have easy Spanish cognates!) in our circle of care

Show side 3

Students will add the qualities they admire to the people in their circles of care. 

They can add qualities that are positive that are not included on the slide. 

4) Share with partners or groups of three. 

"The qualities that I admire..."

Then maybe whole group share. 

5) Independent work

Pass out activity.  Students fill in - there are key structures at the top, and word lists at the bottom.  Help them to understand every word.

6) Soy Yo activity. (movement)

  Show slide 4 -

Explain directions- it is about moving if the statement applies to them, not just standing up if it applies to them.

Read the statements in Spanish.  Translate if they are confused.  (Translation is better than charades.)

7) If time, have them turn the activity over and follow instructions. (Slide 5)

DAY 2 Clip Chat / Modified MovieTalk

(This is not part of the sub plan unless your sub has experience doing ClipChats/Modified Movietalks)

Here is a description of Clipchat / Modified MovieTalk from Martina Bex. 

Resources

Soy yo embedded reading adapted from Sr. Jordan (USE AS SCRIPT for clip chat / modified movie talk)    
 Soy yo song lyrics  

Slideshow Slideshow (Movietalk from Sr. Jordan)   

Please follow the directions on this slide to access Sr. Jordan's materials and read his blog post!   

Video link 

1. Establish meaning: make sure students understand these words: 

se va- leaves
piensa -thinks 
les debo enseñar mi talento- I should show them my talent
toca- plays

2. Narrate: Either use screenshots or the video, and narrate what is happening in the video. Ask lots of questions and make sure students understand what is going on. Use either version of the Embedded Reading for a script or modify for your students. Remember- you want students to understand the words that you are using, not guess! 

3. The carrot: Be sure and let them watch the whole video a couple of times through!

4. Still have more time? If you have extra time, you can pass out the song lyrics and watch the video or just listen to the song.

DAY 3 
Materials     Soy yo embedded reading

Read the embedded reading- read version 1 together, then version 2.

Learn about embedded readings, created by Laurie Clarcq and Michele Whaley, here. 

Reading activity options:

• You could do a volleyball translation (one kid reads the spanish, the other translates to english then reads the next one in Spanish, then the other translates. They are familiar with it.)  Or, go straight to version 2. 
• With whiteboards or blank paper, each kid picks a moment from the reading and draws it (but no words).  Put the drawings around the room and in pairs, kids wander and use the reading to decide which sentence from the reading best describes the picture.  Play the video.  Stop at key moments and have kids in pairs decide what sentence best describes the action.  

¿De dónde eres...?  
Write soy de - I am from and soy- I am on the board, and eres- you are, eres de- you are from on the board
Read some of the the De donde es…slideshow together.   The focus is on nationality and where people are from,  and work in adjectives from day 1 in your discussion.  Ask lots of personalized questions! 

Day 4- Writing

Updated Jan 2022: I would choose not to do his part of the activity with my stronger understanding of comprehension based teaching.  However, I might use this as a sub plan! 

Materials- Soy yo activities and slideshow from day 1 

I was thinking that the first line is Soy yo, then three lines, then last line is soy yo.

Soy YoSoy yo.
Soy interesante y creativa
soy de Colorado
Soy una maestra.
Soy Yo.

They can illustrate them and make them pretty them on blank paper.

Other ideasLyrics training- lyrics training?  https://lyricstraining.com/play/bomba-estereo/soy-yo/HTX6w0ZWzT#b7w

Read about the special flute Saraí uses in the video- https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaita_colombiana

A video of the band singing the song for NPR live- http://www.npr.org/event/music/551210935/bomba-estereo-tiny-desk-concert
http://zachary-jones.com/zambombazo/tag/como-eres/

CREDITS: I have taken a variety of free resources and adapted them for my needs.  I have asked permission for use and re-posting if the resources were not freely posted in public forums.  Copyright is important! 

• Lyrics to song- posted by Donna Graham Rubio (found in the files of the IFLT/NTPRS/CI Facebook group)
• Original embedded reading-  created and posted by Jeremy Jordan. (Here are all his great resources including the original)
• Soy yo screenshots for Movietalk- also by Jeremy Jordan
• Diversity-positive attributes and circles of care activity by Rachelle Adams  (Elevate Education Consulting) and Anna Gilcher, PhD.
• Original Soy Yo activity that I modified, by Leslie Van How Phillips (found in the files of the IFLT/NTPRS/CI Facebook group)
• ¿De dónde eres?... slides posted by Sara Shreiner (found in the files of the IFLT/NTPRS/CI Facebook group)
• Soy Yo movement activity, adapted from Alina Filipescu 

Part 1: DIY fidgets (Fidgets are not your enemies...except when they are)

This is a follow-up post to my original post about turning my classroom into an OT sensory experiment.  Read the original post here.  

Click here for How To Implement and CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Of course you hate them.  But they are not your enemy!

Overall, the experiment was successful for me and my kids.  I started adding fidgets and sensory supports to my class BEFORE fidget spinners hit the market, so I was well prepared to deal with that wave of nonsense.

Why Fidgets:  "Fair is not Equal." 

I am not going to go into the "why" too much. If you read my original post, I go into it probably deeper than I should. Suffice it to say that I am totally sensory seeking, and many kids are too.  Have you seen that kid who constantly runs his fingers through his hair?  Or the girl whose leg will not stop knocking into something?  Or the kid who chews the end of his pen and pencil so bad his gums occasionally bleed?  Those are the extremes, but everyone benefits from learning how they learn. If I can help them learn better, feel calmer, feel better, than that's why.

What 
smooth     pokey      soft      heavy     textured    fuzzy    hard (solid)      squishy    interesting   heavy
These are the adjectives you want to keep in mind when looking for fidgets.

Where/How Much
Take your huge budget of $30.00 or so and head to the dollar store.  A slightly more expensive option is a party supply store.  In Utah, Dollar Tree and Zurchers are the places.  Family Dollar does not usually have what I am looking for.

Look for things that are interesting to touch but small enough to fit in a hand.  Dog and cat toys are very popular with my kids, as are items from the bathroom section- the little massager roller is a favorite for pokey and solid.  Squishy toys, legos, and stuffed animals are all favorites too.  Get some, remove anything that can be removed, and see what they like!

Special considerations: 

Remove the keychain part! 

*Special note for chewies* I keep coil type keychains (with the metal part removed) in labelled zip lock bags for the kids who need them or bring them in.  (No one else gets to touch them.  How gross!)   A search on Amazon for chewies will bring up very expensive special chewies, which are great to recommend to parents but are not in my budget.


 Things break:  Some great squishy toys are also prone to breaking when put in a middle schooler's hand.  So...be thoughtful.  Take apart anything that can be taken apart.  Of course, if they break it, a natural consequence is that they clean it up.

DIY Chair fidgets:

http://blog.maketaketeach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Chaundracu.jpg

Ask at your local bike shop for used tubes. (Those are the tubes that go inside bike tires.)  They are surely going to be free.  Cut off the pokey bit (the valve stem) and wrap one end of the tube around one front leg of a student chair.  Tie a simple square knot.  Pull it fairly tight across the front of the chair to the other front leg and tie that end in a square knot.  Cut off the excess.  Voila- you have a chair fidget that is silent and can be used, pushed up or down, and is completely free. (Or you can buy special expensive things that do exactly the same thing.)

Weight belts/Lap Belts- great for wigglers and kids who keep putting books on their heads. (This really happens.  You know it.)
1) Find kid pajama pieces at the local thrift shop, or fuzzy socks from the dollar store.  Note: it is incredibly hard to find non-gendered items, but it is worth looking!  I ended up with a Frozen PJ set, which both the boys and girls seem to love equally, and it contains almost no stereotypical symbols or colors.  
2) Purchase bulk rice and/or beans.  This is the biggest cost of the project.
3) Cut off pieces of the PJ set to make tubes (think arms, legs, right?) and sew them up at either end to make heavy tubes.  Sew them really, really, really well.

Part 2: Classroom Community Management Strategies for Fidgets

Original Fidget Post
DIY- how to make your own fidgets click here

This post will explain how I actually manage the fidgets in my classroom.

Available at the dollar store!

Storage:
A simple over the door shoe organizer or something similar works great.  It is also very cheap.  Tip: Get a clear see-through hanger.  It makes it easy for everyone.

Logistics:
Each student in my class has a number already.  I bought enough wooden clothing clips for each kid (also, dollar store), and numbered them.  The clips just live on the side of the shoe hanger.  When a student wants to check out a fidget, they find the clip with their number and clip it to the pocket that the item came out of.  Then, at the end of class, they put their clip back.  I only need one set of numbered clips because each class uses the same numbers.

How I introduce them: 
1) I introduce the why.  Fair is not equal.  We all need something to help us.

2) I introduce a few things at a time.  Maybe one from each category (soft, hard, smooth, weighty).

3) I clearly state the rules. Here is an editable copy of my rules.

4) I enforce the rules.  I  really enforce the rules.  If I am distracted, if someone else is distracted, or if the tool rolls out of a student's hands, it goes away.  No arguing, no whining, just try again tomorrow.  

For the next week, I go over the rules at the beginning of each class and continue with the enforcing.  (That continues all year for some, but some kids figure out what won't come flying out of their hands and adapt.) 

It seems to work! 

Part 2: Teaching Empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking: how?

Some thoughts on lessons about empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking:

Otros zapatos, otros ojos (other shoes, other eyes)
My level 2 Spanish students are grappling with the idea of immigration, documented and otherwise, and looking at push/pull factors for people who decide to immigrate.  This is the lead-up to reading the novel Esperanza, by Carol Gaab, which is the story of a woman in Guatemala whose husband is forced to flee for his life due to politics.  To help give the students a global perspective on immigration, we have been using the cultural unit El Viajero (by Martina Bex) which deals specifically with dangers on the Mexican/US border.  We also read a short reading (also by Ms. Bex) on immigration in Spain.  We have been having some rich discussions with a variety of viewpoints.

Today, I wanted to push the discussion a bit further.  I gave the students the warm-up questions (in the target language- TL):
Are you happy with your life here in the US?  Why?
Do you think that life is better in other countries? Why or why not?

We discussed their answers for a while, then I asked them to imagine: (also in TL)
-You are black.
-You are an immigrant with dark skin.
-You are Muslim.

OK, I picked these three because they are topical and relevant.  Before writing them, in ENGLISH, I let them know that I had selected three roles that I felt were important to talk about.  These were just three of any possible other people.  I did this in English because I wanted them to know that I was being thoughtful about stereotypes, as I expected them to be thoughtful.  Also, I never miss an opportunity to point out that in Spanish, a description of someone (black, dark skinned, bi-racial, Catholic) is not considered racist or rude.  I pick my English very carefully, and this was a moment that I really wanted them to be clear on.

So, students spent a moment thinking about the answer to the same questions, but from someone else's eyes.  They shared their answers, then I asked them to introduce themselves (to say what perspective they were speaking from).

I was too engrossed in the fascinating, nuanced conversation that we had to report it back. Suffice it to say that it was a powerful thing to consider these same questions from a different person's perspective.  Their answers showed a great deal of empathy, knowledge of current issues (way to go, civics and history teacher!), and remarkably nuanced points of view.  They were not reductive (as in only thinking about people based on their skin color or religion) and they were able to find positives and negatives.  I was blown away.

Two of our essential attributes are empathy and being open-minded.  I feel like this lesson helped me see what an amazing job our school does with students.

Part 1: Teaching empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking...in the target language

Part 1: Philosophy and Derivation of my Plans

Teaching empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking...in the target language.

Is it possible?  Is it important?  And if the answer to the previous questions is an emphatic YES, then how do you even start?  With novices?  

Terrible iPhone picture of inspiring poster from NTPRS16 Diversity and Inclusion Workshop

I am going to try.  This fits into my personal "Tikun Olam" goal: repairing the world.  (I am not Jewish but this is one of our school's values and the one that I am most drawn to.)  

Last year, at NTPRS16, I attended a really amazing workshop on diversity and inclusion.  For me, the workshop brought a lot of threads that I had been playing with all together into one big gorgeous blanket.  And knitted into that blanket: We must teach empathy, critical thinking, and diverse perspectives.  It is a moral obligation.  

One thread came from Bryce Hedstrom's Special Person interviews. (Scroll down to Special Person interviews from the link.)   His presentation started with the quote "Only Connect" E.M. Forster.  Bryce made a very compelling case for social learning and why we remember things about other people, based on brain research.  (Aside: I love that one of his passions is reading the science behind why we learn what we learn, and how.  Very inspiring.)  In Special Person interviews, teachers use comprehensible language and input to help students listen to each other, learn about each other, and connect.  Bryce also insisted that it is our obligation as teachers to help kids who are so disconnected by social media and all the other disconnectors in their lives to...only connect.  That, in my own words, this is one way that we can help them begin repair the world.

Another thread was woven from Alina Filipescu's workshop about classroom management.  She is a brilliant teacher and so many of my daily routines are borrowed from her workshops.  Two actions that she takes that I put away to think about were: 1) Show inspiring stories.  English, Target Language, doesn't matter.  Take a few minutes to show kids inspiration and hope.  2) Write cards to each and every one. Hand written.  Mailed to their home.  [Aside: I started...with hand written and mailed thank-you notes for holiday gifts received this year.  Start with what you can do...right?]

Yet another thread that has been coalescing for me is based on Bob Patrick (a brilliant Latin teacher) and his colleague's work around creating language classrooms that are accessible to all learners, including those with special needs.  The work that they are doing is brilliant and one reason why I am so drawn to TPRS/CI.  (Almost) anyone can learn a language.  It isn't just reserved for smart/monied/privileged/organized/school successful students any more.  I have seen this play out in my classroom (and I feel like I am just scraping the surface of creating equity...I have so much more to learn).  

Finally, my own threads and passions: diversity of thought, cultural perspectives, implicit biases: I came from a graduate program that taught a social justice-through-education curriculum.  I am bi-racial.  I live in a community where I am anything but the dominant (even if I am light skinned and married, which makes me at least similar to much of this city) and work in a community that is apart from the dominant culture.  Issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice are incredibly important to me.  

At the diversity and inclusion workshop at NTPRS, we were presented with examples of implicit bias, asked to question what values we were teaching with our stories, and given actionable examples to help break out of teaching values that weren't necessarily aligned with equity and inclusion. 

I ate it up! It was amazing!  And I had to chew on it little by little before deciding how to make changes in my own classroom.  I forgive myself.  Change is hard.  And balancing the wackiness/unexpected details of TPRS with a vision of diversity and inclusion can be...well...challenging.  Part of the reason TPRS is so fun is because it is so silly.  How do I keep the silly and inject something more?  

The first change I started making was teaching my level one novice speakers adjectives for personality traits that went beyond physical description.  I just started with "works hard" and "friendly".  I have got a lot of mileage out of those two.  Instead of someone being pretty and attractive, now they are friendly and work hard.  Think about that.  What message am I sending?  Yeah, I feel pretty good about that.  

In my next blog post, I will discuss what I am trying to do to further implement empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking in my classroom...and all my stellar failures and occasional successes.