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I have chosen the aspects of validation and affirmation from Zaretta Hammond's "Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain" book because those are two distinct strategies I hope to embody in my teaching. Practicing the affirmation of my students' personhood and acknowledging their cultural traits that have been pushed out by the dominant culture while also validating that their life experiences with inequities are unjust and difficult will be so important in building relationships with my students. If I do not make my students feel seen and known as well as their experiences and traumas seen and known, I will not be able to do right by them. I need to know my students inside and out to best serve and facilitate their needs and to create a pedagogical practice that is culturally responsive.

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"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou

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My Personal Comittment to Equity Statement

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My Personal Comittment to Equity Statement

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I have included this TED Talk in my toolkit not only because it is a personal favorite and Chimamanda is my all time favorite author, but also because it serves as a vital reminder to me. I was 17 when I first saw this TED Talk and it sparked something in me that has been a burning curiosity ever since. Recognizing my own stereotypes, biases and racism is vital if I am to be the equity-literate educator I strive to be.

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story | TED

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The book "Teaching to Transgress" by bell hooks is an essential resource for me to include in this toolkit. Although I have not read all of this book, what I have read has pushed me to think critically and reflectively about my role in the fight for anti-bias, anti-racist teaching. When I am in need of theoretical building blocks to support my philosophy of teaching, bell hooks words provide me with guidance and perspective.

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I plan to teach in a student centered way that stimulates high engagement among my learners. I have chosen to include this TED Talk about student centered learning in my toolkit because I believe that when teachers step back and allow for learning that is student driven and authentic, there will be more success and culturally relevant teaching. When students become bored and want more interactive and culturally relevant material, I will need to turn to them to give ideas and inspiration to guide the learning process.

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Students need to lead the classroom, not teachers | Katherine Cadwell | TEDxStowe

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I chose to include this equitable classroom checklist in my toolkit because I see it as a valuable way for me to check my actions and teaching practice in a concrete way. I believe this checklist will challenge me to be more equity-literate and anti-bias educator being that I can asses my routines and actions on a daily basis. I believe this checklist will be an important tool in constructing the norms and routines of my classroom in my first year of teaching.

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I chose this website as a place to find tools and strategies for how to be equitable to my English Language Learning students. The website includes seminars, podcasts, tools and continuing education on how to differentiate Math lessons for all learners. This website will be a good resource when I am planning and preparing Math lessons and I have a classroom full of English Language Learners who need the curriculum adapted to meet their needs.

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I chose this item for my toolkit because I believe that an essential part of being a teacher means being an active, authentic and mindful listener. In Cornelius Minor's book "We Got This" he emphasizes the importance of teaching being a dialogue, not a monologue. I believe that in order to meet the unique and varying needs of my learners, I will need to listen every day to both what they say and what they do not say. In order to confront my bias and privilege, I need to learn and empathize with those who have a different experience than me (my students), so that I can become a more equity-literate, anti-bias educator. Mindful listening will be an essential part of many situations, but I can see it being vital in the inevitable instance where a student calls me out on my racism or bias. In those moments, it will be essential that instead of being defensive I instead listen and learn in order to do and be better. The attached article, "We Got This" by Cornelius Minor and "Mindfulness for Teachers"  by Patricia Jennings are all great resources for me to turn to as I continue to practice the art of mindful listening.

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Today's guest blog is written by Valerie Brown, President of Lead Smart Coaching, LLC, specializing in mindfulness and leadership training for school leaders and others.
Research on listening indicates that the we spend about 80% of our waking hours communicating: writing 9%, reading 16%, speaking 30% and 45 to 50 percent of our day engaged in listening, to people, music, TV, radio, etc. About 75 percent of that time we are forgetful, pre-occupied, or not paying attention. One of the factors influencing this statistic is that the average attention span for an adult in the United States is 22 seconds.

It's no surprise to note the length of television commercials is usually anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. This constant change of focus makes it more difficult to listen for any significant length of time. Immediately after we hear someone speak, we remember about half of what was said. A few hours later we remember only about 10 to 20 percent. Yet, less than five percent of us have ever concentrated on developing our listening skills.

When people hear these numbers, they often say: " This is so interesting. I know that I spend hours preparing to speak. I don't think I've ever consciously prepared to listen."

Listening, deeply listening, is a greatly underrated life and school leadership skill. Perhaps one reason for this is that our western culture often privileges the fast-talking, think-on-your feet mode of being. Listening for genuine connection and understanding, listening that engenders trust and authenticity asks so much of us.

I was reminded of this popular wisdom about listening: When two people are in dialogue, there are actually three conversations going on. The first conversation is the external conversation between the two people. The other two conversations are each person's internal dialogue.

Real listening is hard because it is increasingly difficult to focus because of constant distraction and because attention is fractured. Linda Stone, the former Microsoft executive coined the term 'continuous partial attention'. In other words, attention is seldom fully focused. In his New York Times article, The Art and Science of Listening, Seth S. Horowitz notes the difference between hearing and listening. Hearing, according to Horowitz, is a highly underrated sense. Hearing is quantitatively faster than visual recognition, at least 10 times faster because hearing has evolved as an alarm system, a way to escape danger and pass on our genes.

Like you, I've attended many 'active listening' workshops and professional development trainings. The basic instructions are something like this: Pay attention, lean forward with interest, make eye contact, affirm the speaker quietly with a head nod or 'hum', occasionally restate the speaker's words or key phrases, and repeat. Sometimes that can be great advice and other times this approach can feel wooden and mechanical, diminishing understanding and trust.

An important first step in developing empathic listening begins with developing empathy, kindness and acceptance of ourselves as leaders. Before we are able to build bonds within school teams in stable times or times of transition and change, we must build bonds of support for ourselves. Before we can thoughtfully consider others' feeling, we must thoughtfully recognize and understand our own feelings.

Empathy, according to psychologist and science journalist, Daniel Goleman, in his Harvard Business Review article, What Makes a Leader, is an essential leadership skill. It does not mean becoming a doormat, passively agreeing to others with whom you disagree, or trying to please everyone all the time. Instead, empathy is about thoughtfully and intelligently taking others' perspective, recognizing their emotions, staying out of judgment, and communicating understanding of others. With empathy, school leaders are in a better position to consider not only others' emotions, but their needs, and values, again, strengthening true connection even across cultural, racial, gender, and ethnic differences.

Excellence in school leadership also requires clarity and authentic listening. Too often school leaders listen to 'fix or solve' a perceived problem that calls for empathetic listening. Sadly, other times leaders listen long enough for the speaker to stop talking. We may be listening and evaluating, or worse, judging others through a harsh lens. At times, we are listening for what we want to hear, expect to hear, or hope to hear, again, diminishing true connection.

To listen to another begins with noticing, and mindful awareness. Mindful listening is about noticing when you're fully present and when you're not. It encourages school leaders to notice and to understand that each conversation is the relationship.

Here is a powerful empathetic listening practice to enhance your readiness to listen fully and to broadened and build trustworthy relationships and connections.

Empathetic Listening Practice
Expressing genuine interest in another person fosters empathy and connection. This practice is especially well-suited for difficult conversations and for expressing support. Research suggests that using this practice can help others feel understood and can improve relationship satisfaction, supporting outstanding leadership.

How to Practice Empathetic Listening
Find a quiet place where you can talk without interruption or distraction. Invite a conversation, following these steps. You don't need to cover every step, but the more you do cover, the more effective this practice is likely to be.

Step One: Paraphrase. Once the other person has finished expressing a thought, pause and paraphrase or mirror back what he or she said to make sure you understand and to show that you are paying attention. Helpful ways to paraphrase include " What I hear you saying is..." " It sounds like..." and " If I understand you right.... " Be careful to avoid parroting, which can sound phony.

Step Two: Ask open questions. An open question is a question that you could not possibly know the answer to. Examples of open questions include: " What did you learn from that experience? How did that shape your opinion? " Open questions move the speaker into a new way of thinking. When appropriate, ask questions to encourage the other person to elaborate on his or her thoughts and feelings.

Step Three: Express empathy. If the other person voices negative feelings, strive to validate these feelings rather than questioning or defending against them. For example, if the speaker expresses frustration, try to consider why he or she feels that way, regardless of whether you think that feeling is justified or whether you would feel that way yourself were you in his or her position. You might respond, " I can understand how that situation could cause frustration."

Step Four: Use engaged body language. Show that you are engaged and interested bymaking eye contact, nodding, facing the other person, and maintaining an open and relaxed body posture. Avoid attending to distractions in your environment, such as checking your phone. Be mindful of your facial expressions: Avoid expressions that might communicate disapproval or disgust.

Step Five: Avoid judgment. Your goal is to understand the other person's perspective and accept it for what it is, even if you disagree with it. Try not to interrupt with counter-arguments or mentally prepare a rebuttal while the other person is speaking.

Step Six: Avoid giving advice. Problem-solving is likely to be more effective afterboth conversation partners understand one another's perspective and feel heard. Offering unsolicited advice is often counterproductive and diminishes connectedness.

Step Seven: Take turns. After the other person has spoken and you have engaged in these active listening steps, pause, and ask if it's okay for you to share your perspective. When sharing your perspective, express yourself as clearly as possible using " I " statements. It may be helpful, when relevant, to express empathy for the other person's perspective.
Step Eight: Mindfully Observe What Happens

Notice when you choose to listen and when you become distracted.

Notice what it's like to give a person your undivided attention without advising, correcting, or fixing.

Notice what happens in the communication when you interrupt and what happens when you don't.

Notice what happens when there is a lull in the conversation, and you ask, "Is there more?"

Notice what happens when you let go of your agenda, and instead focus on being present.

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Leaders: 8 Steps to Be a Mindful Listener (Opinion)

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Today's guest blog is written by Valerie Brown, President of Lead Smart Coaching, LLC, specializing in mindfulness and leadership training for school leaders and others. Research on listening indicates that the we spend about 80% of our waking hours communicating: writing 9%, reading 16%, speaking 30% and 45 to 50 percent of our day engaged in listening, to people, music, TV, radio, etc.

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I have included the strategy of class meetings in my toolkit because of what I read about them in Cornelius Minor's book "We Got This." In order to maintain community in my classroom,  I need to ensure that students are at the center of their learning and of the conversations being brought up throughout the schoolyear. Holding regular class meetings and opening up the space for comments, concerns, observations and authentic dialogue is a form of anti-bias, equity-literate teaching. I will need to step back and allow students to be at the center of their learning. Holding regular class meetings will be important for instance if there are fights or disagreements in the classroom. If something happens at recess that has affected many students, a class meeting can be held to converse about what happened and why, allowing for whole class reflection time.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Rubric Framework

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Rubric Framework

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I chose this culturally responsive scoring rubric to include in my toolkit because I found it incredibly insightful and helpful when I assessed some of my lessons. This scorecard allows me to assess both the resources and texts I use in the classroom as well as my own plans and lessons to see just how anti-bias and equity literate they are. This rubric is a great tool to use when assessing if a read aloud or picture book is culturally responsive or not.

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I have chosen to include the use of a growth mindset in this toolkit because I believe it is an essential aspect of equitable teaching. I need to have faith in my students and believe that they can do anything they set their minds too so they can also believe in themselves. I need to emphasize the power of mistakes and growth through trial and error so that students can adapt that as well. Believing in "smart" and "not smart" or that student abilities and attributes are fixed would be a direct injustice to my students. In the instance that a student wants to give up because they did not pass a test or get an ideal grade, having a growth mindset will be essential for myself as an educator and for them as a student.

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This resource is included in my toolkit as a way for me to continually be inspired and driven to teach in a justice-oriented way. The wide variety of resources on this website including lesson plans, posters, articles and workshops, will all be valuable for me to pull from as I begin my journey as an educator. When I want to practice anti-bias and equity-literate teaching I can access the wide variety of resources on anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-ableism, etc. that are a part of this organization.

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Learning for Justice is a community education program of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that centers civic and political action education for everyone.

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"When we love children, we acknowledge by our every action that they are not property, that they have rights- that we respect and uphold their rights. Without justice there can be no love."
-bell hooks

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These 3 connected resources were all chosen because I have used them in various ways and they have inspired one another. I believe the inclusion and celebration of historically marginalized voices in the classroom is a key component to being an equity-literate and anti-bias educator. I have used and hope to continue to use these resources to kickstart a lesson or to inspire conversations and inquiries during morning meetings.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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I chose to include the podcast Teaching to Thrive in my toolkit because I find it to be a resourceful way I can listen to Bettina Love and other abolitionist teachers share how best to be anti-bias and anti-racist in the classroom. The Abolitionist Teaching Network and it's resources have proven insightful for me on my journey to being an educator that is equity-literate. This podcast offers various tips and examples of how to be an abolitionist teacher in the here and now. For example, one episode I listened to had some important reminders of how to be equitable in the distance learning model.