Thursday Thoughts September 22
Yesterday Martha shared an interesting MBES fact with the staff. Our student body speaks over 26 different languages. That is amazing! The diversity at Medlock Bridge has increased exponentially over the past decade. Our school is a microcosm of the interconnected global society that students will one day live and work in as adults. Whether they choose to live and work in the US or abroad, we are raising a generation of people who will be more tolerant, understanding and hopefully more respectful toward each other than any generation prior. When I see the students collaborating in class or laughing and playing together at recess, it makes me proud to be the principal of a school that embraces ALL children. Thank you for the work that you are doing to make sure that Medlock Bridge is a place where EVERY child feels loved and valued.
Staff Spotlight
This week I would like to share an email that I received. I wholeheartedly agree with the sender of this email and think that Jennifer Birkmeyer is worthy of this week's spotlight.
"Every morning I am at work, I open
my door sit down at my desk only to hear the enthusiastic voice of Jennifer
Birkmeyer. I don’t know her very well at all
and only know the sound of her voice, but I am just so amazed at how she
carries on the whole day. From what I am hearing she is
exactly the kind of teacher that I would want my children to have. Jennifer always, I mean always has
energy. She is getting the children energized and excited all the time. I
constantly hear cheers in her classroom. Her words are always filled with
encouragement and truly has the vibrant personality needed to teach a room full
of 1st graders that always keep you on your toes. I just wanted someone to know that
it has been a joy to listen to her teach her class every day. She’s got a lot
of kick and I’m so inspired by her!"
Jennifer your passion for teaching children is amazing and we are thankful that you are a part of the MBES Team.
Jennifer your passion for teaching children is amazing and we are thankful that you are a part of the MBES Team.
Preparing for Cultural Diversity: Resources for Teachers
Edutopia
Originally Published: August 29, 2013 | Updated: September 8, 2016
How can teachers effectively engage students from diverse backgrounds? It's a question many teachers face at the beginning of the school year, and of course, there isn't one prescribed strategy that works. Luckily, there are many useful resources to help new and veteran educators explore the subject.
If you're looking for a starting point, How Can We Prepare Teachers to Work With Culturally Diverse Students and Their Families? (an article from the Family Research Project at Harvard University) features insightful advice and useful tips from leading diversity education specialists. These researchers agree on the underlying message that communication plays an integral role; you'll also find insight into preparation and information about connecting with students and building relationships with families.
Two other sources of inspiration are Yvonne Pratt-Johnson's article Communicating Cross-Culturally: What Teachers Should Know and this book excerpt from ASCD's Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners. In addition to these articles, here are a few other resources that will help educators develop inclusive learning environments and approach race, gender equality, empathy, and bullying prevention during class.
If you're looking for a starting point, How Can We Prepare Teachers to Work With Culturally Diverse Students and Their Families? (an article from the Family Research Project at Harvard University) features insightful advice and useful tips from leading diversity education specialists. These researchers agree on the underlying message that communication plays an integral role; you'll also find insight into preparation and information about connecting with students and building relationships with families.
Two other sources of inspiration are Yvonne Pratt-Johnson's article Communicating Cross-Culturally: What Teachers Should Know and this book excerpt from ASCD's Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners. In addition to these articles, here are a few other resources that will help educators develop inclusive learning environments and approach race, gender equality, empathy, and bullying prevention during class.
- Resources for Multicultural Classrooms (Teaching Tolerance): Produced by The Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance’s classroom resources page offers free lesson plans for exploring topics like race and ethnicity, gender equality, and sexual orientation with students. For specific teaching practices, start with Teaching Tolerance's Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Teaching, a self-paced, four-part, professional development learning program.
- Awareness Activities (EdChange.org): The EdChange-produced Multicultural Pavilion is a wonderful assortment of resources for educators. This Awareness Activities collection provides plenty of engaging ideas and activities to introduce diversity at the beginning of the school year. Don't miss the Teacher's Corner for curriculum ideas, strategies, and much more.
- Teaching Diverse Learners (Brown University): This website is "a resource dedicated to enhancing the capacity of teachers to work effectively and equitably with English-language learners (ELLs)." You'll find great practical teaching strategies, ideas for engaging elementary ELLs, and tips for reaching out to families.
- Lesson Plans and Resources (Teaching for Change): Teaching for Change is a nonprofit, with a mission of providing "teachers and parents with the tools to create schools where students learn to read, write, and change the world." The site features thoughtful and engaging lesson plans, tips for addressing race and diversity in the class, and links to great teacher resources.
- Lesson Plans and Resources for Multiculturalism and Diversity: Scholastic produced this collection of resources for teachers. Along with some engaging lesson plans, there are also plenty of articles featuring tips and strategies to help educators engage students and families from diverse backgrounds. Connect With Kids and Parents of Different Cultures is a great place to start.
- Strategies for Teaching Culturally Diverse Students: This TeacherVision-produced article is full of useful and ready-to-use tips for welcoming and engaging diverse students. Discover more useful ideas and lesson plans in TeacherVision's Diversity Resources for Teachers collection.
- Resource Library (Inclusive Schools Network): This library is rich with resources covering a range of topics on diversity, with a focus on creating equity for students with disabilities. Start with the Inclusion Basics, which provides a great overview of creating an inclusive classroom. The Culturally Responsive Teaching resource page offers great ideas, tips, and strategies for reaching culturally diverse students with disabilities. You can also dig deeper into subjects like assessment, collaboration, and working with families.
More From Edutopia
You'll find a trove of insightful articles on Edutopia. Check out the Culturally Responsive Teaching page for additional resources. Here are a few popular blog posts from Edutopia writers:- Equity for English-Language Learners by Rusul Alrubail (2016)
- Teaching Toward Consciousness by Joshua Block (2016)
- Equity vs. Equality: 6 Steps Toward Equity by Shane Safir (2016)
- Social Justice Projects in the Classroom by Michael Hernandez (2016)
- How SEL Can Help Students Gain a Multicultural Perspective by Maurice Elias (2015)
- Five-Minute Film Festival: Talking About Race and Stereotypes by Keyana Stevens (2015)
- Empowering Educators Through Cultural Competence by Jose Vilson (2015)
- Creating an Anti-Racist Classroom by Danielle Moss Lee (2012)
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