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Will Gourley Celebrating Success, Emergency Distance Learning, General, Making a Difference Through Education, self reflection, Teaching online, Year End Reflection

6 Similes to describe how it felt to teach during COVID 19 Quarantine

Teaching during a quarantine was…

Like meaning with no  I, N or G. It was just mean. There were times when it felt forced, and meaningless because I was trying to make sense out of how to do this when it seemed more about keeping students busy and less about how they were feeling. 

Education during a pandemic was…

Like an infomercial. But wait, there’s more! More to do and definitely more to worry about.  Our students went AWOL – They’d gone absent without learning because they couldn’t connect. Their worlds had been turned upside down, and the one place where they could count on from Monday to Friday had been shuttered and now they were shut out. 

Learning for students during COVID 19 was…
Like making a pizza without a crust – there was nothing to hold all of the ingredients in place for students when life’s bigger problems consumed their ability to learn from home. Students needed their teachers to keep things together when things got tough and the class pizza, with all of its different toppings, got thrown into the oven.

Emergency distance learning was…
Like an ice cream cone with a hole in the bottom – the goodness melted away fast  and ended up on your shirt. Either way what was good couldn’t last long and usually there was something to clean up afterwards. I saw my students trying to make the best out of this mess yet there always seemed to be a scoop of some new flavour that no one wanted being added to the problem of learning outside of the classroom. 

Teaching from home during a shutdown felt…
Like performing a symphony where I had to write the score, conduct, play every instrument, and stack the chairs. There were so many little things that consumed the movements and moments of my day. It felt like I was simultaneously teaching a song to 25 individual performers all locked in their own rehearsal spaces.

Distance learning was…
Like running a marathon for the first time. You knew there was a finish line, but couldn’t remember how far you’d run or where you were going once you hit the wall. There came a point where fatigue set in and I began to doubt why I took this on in the first place? Some students hit the wall after the first day while others lasted until being told that the rest of their year at school was done. Even our strongest learners hit the wall at some point. Despite all of my training as a teacher, the toll that the marathon of teaching from home took on my mind and body was significant. I can only imagine how it affected our students.

I’m tired and a bit broken. The breath was stolen from my body when our students went home on March 13th. None of us imagined that we would be away for so long. I was allowed to visit my empty classroom 3 times since then and still hope that this has all been a bad dream. Walking down an empty hall in an empty school denied it’s life breath of students and their teachers was not how any of us would have wished this time in quarantine to be. 

From the onset and onslaught of learning in quarantine we had to work together, to grow together, and to continue learning together. It took time, patience, and grace. Each moment required a willingness to work meaningfully, to seek out those who had gone AWOL, bake a crust under that pizza, put a marshmallow in that cone to stop the good stuff from dripping out, play music until our fingers ached, and get up the next day ready to run the race again. 

The summer finish line has been crossed. We made it. Now where’s that pizza and ice cream?

 

Laura Bottrell General

Rolling with the Punches

I’m the first person to admit that I don’t like change. I don’t handle it very well and I don’t handle uncertainty well either. I like to have all the information and I like to plan ahead. I know I’m not the only one! This is not the time for people like me. Our world is full of change and uncertainty right now. I’m learning to roll with the punches as we all have been during this pandemic. Almost all aspects of daily life have changed over the past few months. The change hasn’t been limited to our personal lives either, as the world of education has undergone some major changes too. Our jobs have changed drastically and the adaptability of teachers has never been so important.

This week definitely has a feeling of relief to it. I’m going to miss interacting with my students, but after the whirlwind (that’s putting it nicely) of a year we’ve had, I think every teacher is breathing a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, that sigh of relief might feel very short-lived for a lot of us. There is so much uncertainty in the air about what the future of education looks like. What will September look like? Will we be back in classes as normal? Will we be distance teaching again? Will we be working with a blended model of both? Will we be safe? How are we possibly going to make this work? As much as we all need these answers, we simply don’t have them yet. It’s so easy to get caught up in speculation and worry. Our minds race through “what if” scenarios, which lead us to more and more questions and a lot more anxiety.

Social media can be a dangerous place during uncertain times. People speculate, share hypotheticals, and post their own ideas of needs to happen which can lead to misinformation and overload. Try not to get caught up in all of that.

We’ve worked hard to get to where we are this week. We’ve accomplished what was completely unthinkable up until it became our reality in March. Colleagues, we’ve earned this summer break. We need to honour our own wellbeing this summer. Of course, there are things we can do to prepare ourselves for possible scenarios and teaching models but we would be doing ourselves a disservice to speculate, worry, and try to create answers that simply don’t exist.

Celebrate your accomplishments, reflect on what you’ve learned (I know I’ve learned a lot these past few months!) and take some time to distance yourself from distance learning! Our students deserve refreshed and rejuvenated educators welcoming them in September.

The detailed school reopening plans will come and when they do, we will roll with the punches! That’s what us teachers do best, isn’t? Not to mention that this is a great opportunity to model adaptability for our students and our own children. Even for people like me!

 

 

Laura Bottrell General

How is bowling like teaching?

Think about a 7-10 split in bowling. You aim right down the middle and knock over all the pins except for the two at the back corners. Happens to me all the time!

“The ball is the lesson, the pins are the kids. We aim for the middle. We do the best we can. The pins that are left standing we often have another chance to kind of get to them, but at the end of the day those two pins that are staring back at you are the kids who need the most support and the kids who need the most challenge. So, we end up choosing one and the other one is left standing.”

Watch below to hear how bowling really is just like teaching, and how a professional bowler can teach us a valuable lesson about inclusive education that you might not have thought about.

 

Shelley Moore is a teacher, researcher, consultant and storyteller in Vancouver, BC. If you haven’t heard of Shelley yet, then I’m pleased to be the one to introduce you! I was first exposed to Shelley’s online content during a PD session at my board and have since found her analogies, knowledge and passion to be extremely valuable for my own growth as an educator. Her research and work has been featured at national and international conferences and is constructed based on theory and effective practices of inclusion, special education, curriculum and teacher professional development.

For teachers both new and seasoned, Shelley offers video content as well as other online learning opportunities that are sure to bend the way you think and open your eyes to things you may not have thought of before. If you enjoyed this analogy, wait until you hear her use baked potatoes to explore scaffolding complexity. You’ll probably laugh along the way, too.

I hope you spend a few minutes checking out some of her content! I just couldn’t keep this fresh, entertaining and helpful resource to myself. You can follow Shelley Moore’s channel called Five Moore Minutes on Youtube, as @tweetsomemoore on Twitter, or at www.fivemooreminutes.com .

 

 

 

Laura Bottrell General

Distanced But Closer: Changed Relationships

Distance learning has offered rewards and challenges that I’m sure no educator could have seen coming their way. As our school year’s end is approaching, I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on  the overall experience of distance learning for myself and my students. While I could probably write for days about all of the ways distance learning was impactful, I wanted to highlight one in particular.

In many cases, my relationships with my students changed.

At the onset of this wild ride, I was mostly worried about my teacher-student relationships changing, and not in a good way. I worried about how removing the social interaction of being together in the same room would negatively impact our relationships. I worried about the loss of our high fives, inside jokes, and the ability to play with each other. I dreaded the thought of simply assigning work from behind a screen while they completed it alone. Luckily, that’s not all how this turned out.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well I was able to maintain special, personal and close relationships with my students even over distance learning. I teach grade 3/4 and worried that my students’ lack of proficiency with technology and even just typing on a keyboard would add increased barriers to our communication. They floored me with their ability to adapt and overcome that. Every day, I exchanged instant messages with my students and was able to maintain the same banter and tone that we would if we were right beside each other in the classroom.

However, the most impactful change to our teacher-student relationships came from outside of the curriculum, outside of my planned program, and outside of anything either of us were expected to do.

With many of my students, the ability to stay in touch digitally and in real-time (we’ve been using SeeSaw as our main platform) allowed me to become a part of their daily life at home. Many of my students welcomed my presence with open arms into their daily activities and this opened up a new way for us to interact.

After a few weeks of getting used to online communication, my students started to send me photos and videos things that weren’t school work. I was getting pictures of Lego creations, arts and crafts, forts made out of cardboard boxes, or handmade jewelry. One student sent me a photo of lunch that she had cooked by herself for the first time. Another sent me a photo of flowers she had planted in her garden. Another student sent me a photo of a fox he saw in his yard. The other day, a student sent me a photo of herself doing a handstand in her pool that she had just mastered.

These offerings from my students acted as a catalyst for what I think was our most valuable learning together throughout this whole thing. Personalized, authentic and real-time exchanges that were child directed. A chance for me to engage them in critical thinking, prompt independent inquiry and point out their learning in one-on-one manner.

It might have been easy for me to fluff that off as typical kids being excited to show things off to their teacher, but there’s a Kindergarten teacher in me. And that Kindergarten teacher’s heart jumped with joy because my students were allowing me a window into their learning through real, authentic, hands-on learning and play. With them sharing their small projects, interests and curiosities with me, I could add to their experiences by noticing or naming academic concepts, prompting wonder, and pointing out their growth through their exploration.

It reminded me so much of teaching kindergarten, where the same relationship of observing a child’s play and drawing the learning from it was my main approach to teaching. This can totally still happen in grade 3 and 4, but when the world for them to explore is expanded beyond our limited classroom walls it is so much more enriched. To illustrate this, I had an entire conversation with one of my students about the things she noticed and wondered while she and her family explored a creek in a forest. That’s not something that can happen often in a primary/junior classroom (unless you’re lucky enough to teach near a forest!).

As time has progressed, I’ve shifted my approach with some of my students to simply building a relationship with them through what they are engaged in and interested in doing. It has added so much value to distance learning for those that have been struggling with engaging academically. We now have a class blog that I will post their offerings to, as well, so they can see what their peers are doing and accomplishing. Many times, other students will try something similar and send me a photo of it to post on the blog in response. This has led to inspired, busy, and most of all socially engaged kids.

Yes, my class’ overall engagement with the assigned work has declined significantly over the past few weeks – a trend I’m sure we are all seeing – but the one thing that hasn’t declined is the daily sharing of things they are proud of.

And, to me, is that better than them completing their assigned math? Of course it is.

Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Advocacy for change, Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Distance learning, Diverse Learning Needs, e-learning, Engaging students with online learning, Inspiring Teachers, Integration, Modern Learning, Teacher Appreciation, teacher efficacy, Teacher Wellness, Teacher Working Conditions, Teaching online, Technology, Use of Technology, Using technology well

“Techie People”

As someone who is passionate and truly geeky about the power of technology in education, I often hear from my fellow teachers, “I’m not really a techie person.”  Now, I get where they are coming from because technology can be intimidating.  Many times I’ve said, “I’m not really a math person.”  I can “do” math and I can “learn” math but it doesn’t get me fired up quite like tech does.  However, over the last few months educators who weren’t really “techie people” didn’t have much of a choice other than to use tech in order to do their job.  I cannot imagine what that must have felt like for some educators.  For some educators, it must have been terrifying.  For me, it would have been like my Principal saying that I was now the new math consultant for the intermediate grades.  It would have caused me serious panic and anxiety. I probably would have considered resigning but I would have dug in and done the best I could with the tools available to me and I would have reached out to fellow colleagues and leaned on their expertise. THAT is what teachers all over the province of Ontario were doing after the March Break, teaching and learning by the seat of their pants.

As an innovations consultant what I witnessed during the weeks of distance learning was fellow educators doing what they do best; rolling up their sleeves, getting in there and figuring the tech stuff out.  As I (along with some fantastic  and enthusiastic educators in my board) provided webinar workshops on technological tools for teachers, I saw teachers who were self proclaimed Luddites attending and showing appreciation for what we were doing.  The resiliency of educators during this time has been absolutely amazing. The necessity of teaching through technology broke through an invisible barrier that has existed for those teachers who thought that you had to be a “techie person” in order to use tech in education.  Teachers were no longer afraid to try a new technological tool, to make mistakes and ask questions. Teachers are discovering the power educational technology and they’ve been bit by the tech bug.  Educators will always continue to seek out new and innovative ways to deliver curriculum to students and learn as they go-no matter how steep the learning curve.  Some teachers who would have quickly proclaimed, “I’m not a techie person” before March Break are now excited about the possibilities of using technology even in their face-to-face classrooms.  The Educational Technology Geek Community is over-the-moon excited about increasing it’s membership!  We are a friendly bunch, inclusive, sharing and passionate and we’re happy to help.

Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Constant Learning, Design, Distance learning, Engaging students with online learning, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Modern Learning, Professional Judgement, Professional Learning and Growth, Teaching online, The Arts, Use of Technology, Using technology well

Bitmoji Education

Love it or hate it, the app of Bitmoji has worked it’s way into education and particularly into distance learning.  From “digital” stickers for feedback to entire Google Slide Classrooms with doors to other rooms, Bitmoji is everywhere.  Bitmojis are dancing, pointing and fainting all over educational platforms.  Confession time?  I’m on the love it team and I’ll tell you why.

Bitmoji allows for a personal and creative touch to things that we share with others.  When I create short Google Slide presentations for students they are surprised to see my Bitmoji in the corners of my presentation.  Some think it is truly “geeky” but many students appreciate the effort at making the presentation a little more fun. Not having to put my real profile photo on something and being able to add a Bitmoji instead provides a small layer of privacy.  I began to make virtual, interactive classrooms on Google Slides and soon realized design and creating something so personal was a throw back to the many hours I spent playing with Barbies as a kid.  It was like planning to remodel my kitchen but without any cost what so ever.  It doesn’t feel like work.  It feels like play.  115,000 members on the “Bitmoji Craze for Educators” Facebook page all agree that it is a type of escapism and the membership grows daily.

Colleague Deanna Palmer and I created a webinar workshop for our fellow teachers about how to use Bitmoji to add some Pop to distance learning.  In the webinar we included a step-by-step slide show for educators to take away.  Find it here: Using Bitmoji to Make Virtual Learning Pop

Like with any popular craze or fad there are those who don’t or won’t buy in.  Some teachers are reluctant because they are conscious of their digital footprint-especially since in order to create the animated virtual reality Bitmojis you need to have a Snap Chat Account.  Some teachers don’t think that their students will want to see their teacher’s cartoon face all over everything in their classroom.  I can appreciate that it isn’t for everyone.  I am well aware that making learning “fun” or “cute” doesn’t make it deep or engaging.  However, if a picture can be worth a thousand words and Bitmoji can express precisely what we are feeling.  Using a Bitmoji might resonate with a colleague or student and just might make them smile. If that is what my little Bitmoji avatar does, then it was worth it.

 

Deb Weston Equity, Inclusion, Violence in Schools

The Future of eLearning

ETFO’s position on in-person learning remains unchanged. The union firmly believes that the daily, in-person model of instruction and support best meets the educational, developmental and social needs of students, provides the best experience for support, and is the most equitable learning model for all students. ETFO’s expectation is that elementary virtual learning in any capacity, including through hybrid models of instruction, will end once the pandemic ends.

Given that we are at a time in history where a pandemic is pushing school work onto eLearning platforms, I can see growth in the technology of eLearning platforms for many students.

In our immediate future, eLearning will allow students more flexibility in choice and mode as they learn. This means that students could take courses offered by schools, other than the school they attend. Options could include a blended approach which comprises of specified times where they attend classes for hands-on activities.

Note that I see students developmentally ready at a high school level, as I believe students in elementary school require more ongoing face-to-face support with their teachers. In addition, students who are at or below grade 3 level should be limited in their eLearning as they still require personal interactions to learn and socialize with others.

I’ve highlighted some applications that are being used or will continue to be used on eLearning platforms.

Transitioning To Mobile Learning Apps

Teaching students through mobile apps may also be an option in learning languages (e.g. Duolingo), practicing math skills (e.g. Prodigy), and practicing reading skills (e.g. How to teach your monster to read).

Virtual Reality

Augmented and Virtual Reality solutions may become a way to teach students about places they cannot directly visit or experience situations they should not experience. Examples include  visiting the Tundra where polar bears live or learning about the impact of drunk driving through Smart Wheels for grades 4 to 6  (a program I participated in with my students. There are even virtual reality programs for seniors now.

Personalized Learning

Personalized learning may also be developed to support students with special education needs. Here programs adapt the learning environment to meet each students’ profile of needs and accommodations. These could include having computer programs reading text to students (text to speech) and recording answers (speech to text). Learning environments could also adapt to students’ learning profiles presenting learning with more visuals to visual learners, more audio to audio learners, and the use of augmented hands for tactile learners.

As the learner spends more time with their learning platform, the program would assess how the student learns best and adjust the platform accordingly. There is a debate as to whether personalized learning can really deliver  the same quality of learning as being face to face with humans.

Caveats to eLearning

I have been using aspects of online learning for several years with my grade 4 and 5 students. We use Google Docs/Drive to share work with other students in a collaborative format. My students also use assistive technology like Google Read/Write to complete work and then share it with me via Google Docs.

I’ve been teaching my students with significant learning disabilities online for over 2 months now. As time has gone forward, my students who are very good at working on their own have done well in our online learning environment. My students who need a significant amount of support are struggling more and some students have stopped participating completely (33% not submitting any work, 33% submitting some work, 33% submitting all work on time). Note that all students do not have access to high speed internet and to their own technology (as they are using computers from the school).

The big challenge is that my students are missing the social aspect of school as they once worked and played with their friends. Also, many parents have reported students with increased mental wellness challenges.

The one big take away from this experience is that the parents, mostly mothers, are having to take on the role of a teaching assistant while they run the household, take care of children and the elderly, make meals, do laundry, and work at their own jobs at home. Downloading the work of educators onto parents is not sustainable. This puts further pressures on parents,  mostly women, who do most of the unpaid work in their homes.

In the end, online eLearning will only work for a certain group of students. It will support the students who are already self starters who work well with little supervision from instructors. For the students who need support to learn, online learning may leave them behind.

Ontario’s current flawed model of online learning

All I know, at this moment in time, is that the current model of online learning is flawed as it expands the digital divide between those who have reliable technology and those that do not. Further, the diversity of learners is not being met as students who work well on their own succeed. But some students will not succeed, especially those students with special education needs. Learning for all promotes a safe, supportive, and inclusive society of learners, where no students are left behind.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

References:

2018 Training Industry Report

https://elearningindustry.com/future-of-elearning-technologies-hold-key

Kelly.McLaughlin 21st Century Learning, Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Distance learning, Engaging students with online learning, Flexible Classroom, Inquiry, Integration, Modern Learning, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection, Technology, Use of Technology, Using technology well

Looking on the bright-side during this dark time.

During this time at home, we are all probably having positive and negative learning moments. From seeing students thrive for the first time to having zero assignments turned in, the highs and lows have been a rollercoaster over the past few months. However, during this time for my sanity, I need to focus on the positive ones. I would love to share a few from my experience teaching grade eight online.

  1. Removing student anxiety: Many of my students have had a hard time in the classroom this year due to certain factors that make them extremely anxious. Attendance issues have made it hard for some of them to learn this year and that has always been something I have struggled with, how to reach the students who do not attend. Even the students who do attend have anxiety issues related to noise in the room, other students bothering them or starting the day in a terrible mood. My class is super respectful so I always had a hard time understanding what the exact factors were, but I came to realize it was just a feeling they carried with them and could not be easily fixed. With online learning, these students have submitted work daily and have been involved on our online teams meetings. They have been thriving in this environment and for the first time, I am learning so much about how intelligent they are and how much they have to share. The online platform has given them a voice and a chance to accomplish things.
  2. Reaching all learners: Now that the school day exists at all times, I can answer all questions at once without there being a physical line up or a limit on the amount of students I can help. When someone online needs help, I can help them right away as the odds that another student needs help at that exact moment is slim. Although my students are working at all hours of the day, I had informed them that I would be available (virtually) from 9-3 everyday. They keep their questions for the most part within these hours and I love that I can respond to them right away. Also, I am able to help students via platforms that work for them and I am so thankful that my students have downloaded all of the new apps that have been made available to us.
  3. Continued differentiation in a new and unique way: With the help of google classroom, I can assign specific work to every student at the click of a button. I can modify every assignment and make special ones for my students that go directly to their google drive. When creating an assignment or learning material, I can tailor the assignment to how they want to learn, what they want to learn and give it directly to them. I was already doing this in the classroom but I am happy I can continue to do it online. I was nervous about assigning work online and how I could make it specific to students so with google classroom I was happy to see it was an easy process. Then, once my students finish an assignment, I can assign them more work at their own pace. Right now I have students completing work at 25 different rates and I need to be able to keep track of what they have/have not done. Google classroom allows me to look at what they have handed in and then direct them to the next assignment.
  4. Small groups style learning: My favourite thing about teaching online is creating small groups live meetings. We have been using the apps “Teams” by Microsoft and it was has been an amazing way to teach in small and medium sized groups. Every Tuesday, I have a live math/literacy class with my students. I invite all of them but usually I only get half the class. From there, I create smaller groups to teach them the topics that they still need help with or to move them ahead in the unit. I also have a meeting on Wednesdays with my ESL students where we read a book and answer questions together. We also work on math topics and play simple word games. On Thursdays, all of the other grade eights meet together to play games and reminisce about the year. This Thursday, they will be sharing their favourite writing piece from the year and will be sharing to their classmates their strengths as a writer. Small groups is something I had done in the classroom but online now more than ever I have implemented small groups in a way that really reaches all learners. I really hope to bring that into the classroom at a new level more successful than ever before. That is my favourite success from the online learning environment.

Although there are days when I feel like I may be posting to no one, I know that there must be students who are benefiting from it. The online meetings have been such a blessing during this time as hearing their voices always remind me of how special this profession is and how lucky we are to have technology to help us through this time. I am desperately looking forward to the day where we can teach in the classroom again but for now, I am happy to have these successes to think on and to reflect about how they will make me a better educator. I hope everyone else has some moments that they can look at and reflect positively on.

Will Gourley General

Saying, “I am not racist” is not enough pt 2

This is the second of 2 posts about anti-black racism and being anti-racist. Here is a link to Saying “I am not racist” is not enough pt 1.

We are now witnessing some of the most significant events in recent history and they are direct responses to the overtly racist actions of those whose jobs are to protect the community. This is by no means the first time, nor will it be the last – regrettably. The death of George Floyd and other recent national news events have many ideological battle lines being drawn in the fight against racism.

I am hoping that these incidents will not be in vain if they can be used as the origins of how white people see themselves as complicit in perpetuating the racism that has led up to this point through their long and loud silences and that a genuine change can begin to end anti-black racism. Hence these posts.

Years ago, Desmond Tutu shared:

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. “

These words circle in my head right now as I consider how my actions as an educator, or perhaps more accurately, my inactions as an educator have allowed racism to continue without truly being aware of it? Seeing the streets filled with protesters seeking a change to a broken system has given me much to reflect on from the comfort and safety of my home far away. I am watching in fear as I see a system threatening to turn violently against them and at the racists who are using these tragedies as a tool to sew further seeds of their hatred and intolerance.

The events of the past week have amplified hundreds of years of inequality, inequity, and injustice in the social contracts of western society. Trevor Noah shared this so eloquently, that when the contracts that society pretends to adhere and uphold are continually broken, then what is keeping all of us from lashing out against the systems that are not honouring them as well? The only way I know how to answer this beyond changing my own actions is through education.

That got me looking for ideas on how to invite and be open to change. Here’s what I have gleaned from countless educators and activists so far that I am ready to do right now;

  1. Take a stand. Start by getting off of the fence. Stop saying “I am not racist”.
  2. Be prepared to be uncomfortable, to be called out, and to be challenged.
  3. Take stock of my past.
    Reflect on what needs to be done better to make a difference to stop anti-black racism.
  4. Excuse myself from having a saviour complex.
    Offering support not salvation.
  5. Ask and reflect about what are some of my privileges?
  6. Let my classroom resources reflect culturally relevant anti-racist convictions
  7. Let conversations with students turn into listening sessions where ideas and understandings can be turned into growth and deeper knowledge.
  8. Think about how I can leverage my privilege and position as a white male cisgendered educator to effect change.

I am sure there are more things to add to this list as I go forward, but I also need to be mindful of making choices and decisions that can be achievable without feeling overwhelmed or giving up the moment when things get tough. I am ready to apologize for mistakes I have made, am making, and will make. Relying on others is going to be a big part of my growth. Acknowledging that there is so much more to learn will play a huge part in going forward.

Consider the straight forward advice in this recent social media post from Mireille Cassandra Harper as a perfect place to ponder and equip for the journey to allyship.

We have the means to be on the side that helps change history. As educators, we can use our privilege of being agents of societal change and good citizenship to help change the values of students/society to be truly anti-racist. It will come with discomfort, change, and fresh perspectives that may not match past experiences. However, as change occurs, it will also come with a community capable of seeing everyone within it included, respected, and valued.

Accepting that meaningful change will not happen overnight is something else for me to work past, but I know that these are my first public steps to do so. I want all educators to understand the urgency that I share in this post and encourage you to be part of making this the change that needs to take place. It starts with saying, “I am anti-racist!”

Huge thanks to Ms E Ng for her genuine, supportive, and critical feedback in the writing of these posts.

Will Gourley Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Anti-Racism, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Equity, General, self reflection, Social Justice

Saying, “I am not racist” is not enough pt 1

“One either endorses the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist or racial equality as an antiracist,” Kendi writes, adding that it isn’t possible to be simply “not racist.”
from New Yorker Magazine article Aug 18, 2019

It’s not enough to say, “I am not racist,” and I feel that it is time for us all to join in the battle against anti-black racism and racists. Recent events and tragedies in the news are too numerous to mention (Arbury, Taylor, and Floyd). They have left my mind spinning, and I want to do something supportive and meaningful with the privilege I have as a blogger for ETFO.

I am a white, middle-aged, cisgendered male who has watched from the sidelines, trying to mind my manners and my business for far too long. I have become uncomfortable with the skin I am privileged to be born in without becoming part of the solution to overthrow the overt and ignorant racist actions of my predecessors, contempories, and self. I want to use my next two posts to encourage all educators to join me on a journey that leads to our collective allyship in the fight against racism.

Educators find themselves on the frontlines of many socially volatile spaces. It is impossible not to be in the middle of things that impact our world because we are responsible for teaching critical thinking skills as part of our work with students. More importantly, our students are directly affected whether it is by witnessing daily violence and oppression in media or because of way they are made to feel by existing systems because of the colour of their skin. They need to see their teachers standing up for them. We have fought for good working conditions. Now it’s time for another fight against anti-black racism.

This means asking questions, listening for understanding, and allowing for ideas to be shared that lead to growth and change – especially during times of great unrest in the news. This also means being uncomfortable when answers to questions cannot be found at the back of a textbook or anywhere else for that matter.

To be sure, teachers are dealing with torrents of important issues right now and we must prioritize one above the others if we haven’t done so already – that is racism. First, we need to know where we each stand before any of us can commit to overcoming the central issue of  the day, week, month, year, and history of humanity around racism? So where do you stand as an educator? Are you trying to keep your head down, your nose to the grind stone, and avoiding making any waves on the calm waters of your practice? Admittedly, there can be a lot of peace and safety by being a witness to someone else’s battle.

But that safety is not a privilege that everyone has, there is something bigger at stake than our comfort in all of this. It is the entire fabric of our existence as educators to be the ones who foster change and encourage potential in our students. We are also really good at taking a stand along side of the oppressed in order to make something good out of bad situations. It’s time we weave a new and stronger layer.

In some places we witness systems, employers, and staff working together and taking stands against racism in solidarity. I know school boards have been embroiled in significant issues to do with anti-black racism in the past years. Some have been making slow progress to correct their past mistakes and lead forward. Breaking down Structural/systemic racism is crucial, but it must happen at the same time as we identify the signs of individual racism. Check out the 9 slides on this post from @theconsciouskid:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAtmbeXJwOW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In know that there are countless educators already learning and working together educate themselves and others in order to move from allies to activists through social and academic spaces.

Consider the wisdom in this quote from Ijeoma Oluo

“The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.”

There is so much being done already to equip hearts and minds for this battle. Yet, it seems that ideological differences continue to be amplified in the media, and allowed to build up until the pressure below the surface of a once capped/dormant social volcano rises up. A volcano has erupted somewhere else. Now, those lying dormant in our own backyards are experiencing significant seismic activity. So are you going to be standing at the bottom when the lava flows? Probably not, because like me, our privilege has us miles away watching out of harm’s way.

I understand that not everyone is capable of standing in the streets to demand justice and change, but of each of us can use the privilege of our voices to show support, demand change, and to state unwaiveringly, “I am anti-racist!” Once you’ve said it, it’s time for action.

This is a much bigger commitment than saying, “I am not racist,” because it is not enough to say that you are not something. The time for neutrality is over. Saying, “I am anti-racist!” means you are standing up against anti-black racism, and are willing to take action. It means that you are going to help others get out of danger when the volcano explodes.

Your turn. “I am anti-racist!”

If you said those words, most likely, you are already taking the steps to move from acknowledgement that racism is an issue that plagues our world. It means you are working as an anti-racist ally. As teachers, we are used to taking on challenges in the face of adversity.  Now how can the tragedy of recent events north and south of the border be used to support our students in and out of the classroom so that something positive can come from recent tragic events? It’s our turn to ask how we can help?

In Saying, “I am not racist” is not enough part 2 I will continue this thought stream and will share what I plan to do in my own life to grow into allyship and activism. For now, let’s say it together, “We are anti-racist”.