3 Thoughts

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    vivian chen

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    If you read my post from yesterday, you know I’ve been attending a social studies conference this weekend. I’ve learned a lot, and as with most learning experiences, I’m also left wondering as well.

    Here are three (because I’ve got 15 minutes before its midnight EST) things I’m thinking about:

    • How can we protect our ethnic studies classes in this current political climate? (I live in California where we have a law in place that all students will graduate with an ethnic studies class by 2030.)

    • A professor shared his work around creating an inclusive world history course. An idea he talked about was reframing kids “trouble-making” as a “generative intellectual asset”–something that opens up the possibility for inquiry. Why are the kids pushing back? What do they need in lieu of what we’re offering?

    • A teacher shared how she offers different levels of tasks to her students, calling them spicy and mild. Students choose which level their brains need that day. I’m thinking of the possible ways to use this idea.

    Thank you for helping me process some ideas /questions on my mind after a day of learning.

    8 responses to “3 Thoughts”

    1. Ramona Avatar
      Ramona

      Kudos to you for taking the time to process after your day of learning. I was too exhausted after a three day conference to do anything other than crank out 8 lines for day 8.

      Liked by 1 person

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    2. franmcveigh Avatar
      franmcveigh

      Great questions. #3 is hanging in my brain. Spicy or mild? I always wonder about only two choices even though that was my default as a parent: this or that? Choices are definitely needed for some student autonomy.

      BTW I love social studies and was even in a social studies fraternity in college because of all my electives!

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      1. vivian chen Avatar
        vivian chen

        I agree, Fran. I try to offer as much choice as I can as a teacher. I thought the spicy or mild idea was a good start if you’re currently only doing one thing for all kids. It was presented as a way to differentiate for kids who might need extra support, particularly language learners. So if you had a task that was currently one-size-fits-all this would be a way to differentiate without adding too much to the teacher workload.

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    3. juliemckelly4 Avatar
      juliemckelly4

      Having a choice between spicy or mild is a fun way to engage students.

      Like

      Reply
    4. arjeha Avatar
      arjeha

      Conferences are such great learning opportunities.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
    5. mschiubookawrites Avatar
      mschiubookawrites

      Appreciate you sharing your reflections while they are still fresh. I love the reframing of how we see our youth in #2 and the spicy/mild terminology in #3.

      Liked by 1 person

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    6. crbrunelle Avatar
      crbrunelle

      I also teach in California and am wondering what the future is for ethnic studies. I have been in a cohort learning how to embed it within our elementary school studies and we just keep moving on – which I am happy about – but I wonder how it will all play out. I appreciated your second note a lot. What do they need? is the question. Also options are nice for me and I imagine students also like having choices. It sounds like a lot of things to process, but helpful learning.

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    7. Trish Avatar
      Trish

      “What do they need in lieu of what we’re offering?” Why isn’t everyone asking that question and with curiosity, pursuing some answers—and I know there are probably as many answers as there are kids who need them! I am so glad to hear that this in-person event was worth the effort, even if seeing your niece and nephew was certainly enough in itself!

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