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Required Discussion: Bias, Judgment, and Stereotypes

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Required Discussion: Bias, Judgment, and Stereotypes

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Think about your situation and your students. Have you ever experienced or witnessed any unfair bias or judgment? How can you use your experiences to relate to and empathize with your students?

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UPDATED TIME: Optional: Zoom Meeting with JTHS 204 Administrators

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UPDATED TIME: Optional: Zoom Meeting with JTHS 204 Administrators

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On Friday, July 30, at 9am CST, I'm hosting a Q and A session with two of our administrators from Joliet Central High School. Think of this time as "Everything you've ever wanted to ask an administrator but didn't have a chance to."

Time has been updated to 9am due to a schedule change with our admin.

Shad Hallihan is the principal at Joliet Central High School. He has worked multiple positions in the district, including English teacher, Athletic Director, Division Chair, Freshmen Academy coordinator, and assistant principal.

Steve Locke is the assistant principal of buildings and grounds and activities at Joliet Central High School. He has also worked multiple positions, including History teacher and Athletic Director. Steve has extensive experience with advocating for low-income students involved with athletics and activities.

What questions do you have for them? Feel free to present them with any situations that you might want to address with your administrators at some point, or even ask them what might be the best way to present a certain situation.

Please have questions submitted by Thursday, July 29. You do not have to attend the Zoom session to ask a question.

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems.

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Material will be posted Sunday and Wednesday.

I'll try to keep discussions lighter this week in anticipation of final projects being completed.

We'll have a discussion with two administrators from my school on Friday, July 30, 10am CST. As with all sessions, this is optional. A zoom link along with a place to put questions is under "Optional Material."

Final projects are due this week - I have had a few come in, and everything is looking great! No pressure, but if anyone would like to share their project with the class to supply resources with everyone, please let me know via email (but no pressure on this!).

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Week 1 Padlet: https://lowincomemusic.padlet.org/donstinson831/k4oae3g96ypvek7y

Week 2 Padlet: https://lowincomemusic.padlet.org/donstinson831/g3iu84n78g8n3agc

Week 2 Video Wrap Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCjFSQ-n_s4

Week 3 Padlet: https://lowincomemusic.padlet.org/donstinson831/boy3pbfp48ofopzz

Week 3 Video Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_djSoxCMC2c&list=PL7fjDvPTKRHohxY_QaDAV0ood5HuFEqms

Week 4 Padlet: https://lowincomemusic.padlet.org/donstinson831/jkjuakpn98hjcczf

Week 4 RIF Scenario Video Response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrJYguY7mBs

Week 4 Budget Tips Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a--JYXS2GE

Week 5 Padlet: https://lowincomemusic.padlet.org/donstinson831/4hjk95lm3s12qopp

Week 5: Roosevelt Griffin Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWmCSzM-RNc

Week 6 Padlet: https://lowincomemusic.padlet.org/donstinson831/m94tlbp3ka2bpkps

Week 7 Padlet:
https://lowincomemusic.padlet.org/donstinson831/jrvchwqfdnemuuyh

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Don Stinson
dstinson@vandercook.edu
Cell: 815-919-8980

Please don't hesitate to reach out. You are free to contact me at any time for course related issues, such as content, questions, tech related issues, or ideas. If I don't reply right away, I will do my best to get back to you within 24 hours.

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Course Calendar (Updated 6/20 to reflect assignment 2 change)

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Course Calendar (Updated 6/20 to reflect assignment 2 change)

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Here is the course calendar. It's available in the Schoology site under Course Information, but it's probably easier if it's just posted here. It is uploaded in Excel format - if you cannot view, please let me know and I can make a PDF of it for you.

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For anyone that is unable to access PowerPoint.

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Required: Project 2/Final Project Information

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Required: Project 2/Final Project Information

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(Copied from Previous Week) Based on school report card submissions and classroom discussion, I've replaced project two with a proposal for your final projects.  The original second project would have been redundant and low-level for where we are at. (Please take that as a compliment.)  Furthermore, the final project may take more time than I originally anticipated.

Project two is now replaced with a final project proposal that was due Thursday, July 1.  This will segue directly into the final project.

I have linked this as both a Powerpoint and PDF, just in case you do not have access to Powerpoint.

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Music is expensive, but the benefits can outweigh the cost in the hands of effective teachers and students that are convinced that they are “worthy of music education.”

Working in a low-income high needs setting is an opportunity and not a sentence. The work will be challenging and rewarding. Some teachers may feel like they are making real changes in the course of a student’s life trajectory. The satisfaction that both a student and teacher may feel after overcoming obstacles and breaking stereotypes is immensely rewarding, but can also take a toll on both.

That all being said, teaching in a high needs environment is not for everyone. The teacher that tries but either does not succeed or has limited success should not feel ashamed or degraded; it is OK to seek work in a different setting, especially if a low-income and high needs environment is taking a personal toll on the teacher. Every type of person, including race, culture, socio-economic status, and personality types, deserves a good teacher, and many teachers may thrive in situations that they never expected to be in.  We are not trying to create “rags to riches” stories; rather, we are hoping to give all students equal opportunities.

I do hope that this course did not come across as being condescending or unaware of students from the middle class to higher-income areas.  Furthermore, I hope that I did not paint a picture of low-income area families constantly needing a helping hand.  Rather, the intent was to focus on specific issues and possible solutions to help provide a fair or equitable education for all students.  We will always have those students that seem to get the job done without any stress or need for additional support. It is easy for those students to blend in, but we should not forget them, and we should never prefer one group over the other simply. We can certainly celebrate students that have worked through tough issues, but we don’t know what everyone is going through.

Finally, remember that teaching is a lifestyle that can be broken down into additional sub-lifestyles.  Think about your current professional description: it may be middle school orchestra and general music teacher.  Or it might be K-12 orchestra, choir, band, and technology teacher.  Adding “teacher for low-income area students” is yet another lifestyle.  If this is you, wear it with a badge of honor, but also don’t be disappointed or ashamed if this is not the lifestyle for you.  Our situations already had challenges prior to COVID-19. Still, I'm confident that all of us will prevail and come out as stronger teachers and advocates for our students and ourselves

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Required Discussion: How Much is Enough? When Does Our Role Stop?

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Required Discussion: How Much is Enough? When Does Our Role Stop?

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Where does a school and teacher's role in a community end? Regarding services beyond "reading, writing, and arithmetic", where do you anticipate P-12 education will be in 5-10 years?

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Taylor Mali: What Teachers Make

This is a quick afternoon read. Taylor Mali became teacher-famous in the 90s for his poem "What Teachers Make," which can be found on Youtube. If you ever find yourself getting bogged down by educational philosophy and reform and instead need a quick pick-me-up, this can provide a small spark.

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What Teachers Make: In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World

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What Teachers Make: In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World: Mali, Taylor: 9780425269503: Books: Amazon.com

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Stephen Midlock's Case Studies for Educational Leadership: Solving Administrative Dilemmas.

Do you ever wonder why an administrator made a decision in a certain way? This book might provide some insight. I love this book. It brings forth case studies/dilemmas that have no right or wrong answer, but forces you to think in terms of an administrator. Quite a few of these scenarios helped me to become a better music organizer. If you plan on being an administrator some day, I think it's worth the money. Otherwise, see if your current admin has a copy that you can borrow. The price tag is hefty.

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Case Studies for Educational Leadership: Solving Administrative Dilemmas

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Case Studies for Educational Leadership: Solving Administrative Dilemmas [Midlock, Stephen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Case Studies for Educational Leadership: Solving Administrative Dilemmas

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A download link to all resources from the class and some additional resources will be available by the end of the week.

If you have any resources that you think the class may benefit from, please feel free to link in this post.

All Padlets will also be included in this post in a PDF format for your reference.