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When you examine your intersecting identities from a place of wealth, what comes up for you?

I think that when I think about my intersecting identities in tandem with a place of wealth, it is very much about my mental state and my perspective. I feel as though teaching can fulfill me with all the riches I need in life, as children's success and growth is what keeps me breathing.

When you examine your intersecting identities from a place of literacies, what comes up for you?

When I imagine my intersecting identities from a place of literacies, I am grateful for the literacies that I am aware of and that surround me. Understanding that literacy is not just about the books you read and things you write, but also the common literacies of knowing how much to tip at a restaurant, is a huge part of growing and learning. I am grateful for the things I have been taught and have learned over time, giving me the skills to walk through this world feeling in the know. However, I worry about the literacies that I do not know and have not yet encountered. I don't believe that anyone in this world will ever know every single literacy of course, but I do know that some more know than others, and I fear the unknown for my sake as well as what I don't know for the sake of my students.

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1. Identity: How does our curriculum and instruction help students to learn something about themselves and/or about others?

At my school, each grade is required to indulge in an identity unit. Although, identity work truly does go on throughout the school year continuously as this, I believe, is not achieved through one unit. Each grade begins the year with this study, creating self-portraits and framing the different qualities that make each individual who they are.

2. Skills: How does our curriculum and instruction respond to or build students' skills in literacy and language arts?

At my school, we use small group instruction for all students. Each reading group consists of 7 or less students, receiving instruction that is tailored to their known "level" (F&P level). I find it difficult, as leveling students is a challenge for me, but I am currently the associate teacher in the room trying to learn as much as possible and I will do my best to make greater changes as time goes on.

3. Intellect: How does our curriculum and instruction respond to or build upon students' knowledge and mental powers? What are they becoming smarter about?

I often question this-I always wonder where curriculums originated from and who picks what topics occur when. I always say to myself, what is the goal here? What do I want my students to know when they leave here?

4. Criticality: How does our curriculum and instruction engage students' thinking about power, equity, and the disruption of oppression? (Muhammad, 2020, p. 58)

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy- Recently I read a biography about Jackie Robinson with my students and it was truly remarkable to see that when we were talking about his past and US history, they had knowledge surrounding inequality and our world divided and I was just so proud of them for engaging in this discussion so easily and freely.

5. Joy: How does our curriculum and instruction elevate beauty, truth, and happiness in humanity?

To me, joy is everything. If I don't want to be in the classroom, I am more than positive that my students will not want to be there either. Joy is everything. Making the students feel special and highlighting all of their amazing strides will take them much further than teaching them 2+2.

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After reading the Fube & Yoon chapter, reflect on your own childhood experiences.

As educators, in particular, we filter our lived experiences through childhood memories as lenses by which we encounter and interpret children’s lives (Fube, 141).

-It's funny because I truly could not agree more with this point. I base so much off of the way in which I felt as a child as if my students are little me. I have to think about what I would have wished for in a teacher and experience as a student and grant them with this gift of a positive and loving experience to learn from.

However, recently, as I’ve engaged in the

work of (re)membering and doing away with the seductions, I now answer that my first and primary teachers were my mother and grandmother (Fube, 144).

I love this answer here. My mom was the one who truly stepped up to the plate. A teacher herself, she saw me struggling and worked hard to fight for my accommodations and rights in school. To me, this was a lesson greater than anything a teacher could teach me.

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Reflections on Phonics/Reading Instruction | Focal Student 

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Reflections on Phonics/Reading Instruction | Focal Student 

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Reflect on how phonics instruction occurs in your classroom. If you are in the middle/upper grades, reflect on your current approaches to reading instruction. As you reflect, keep your focal student in mind and how they engage with instruction. Come to class prepared to share your knowledge and /or bring any questions you currently have.

In my classroom, with my head teacher, it feels as though phonics is a constant throughout the day. She somehow weaves it into all that we do. I guess this is natural through students learning and development as phonics is the basis of knowledge. We engage in a word study time period strictly dedicated to all the phonics that the students should be learning. My head teacher does not believe in a true program, but she does use some materials from Words Their Way.