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Decolonizing Educational Practitioners are Equity-minded: They are: • Willing to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of their students and critically reassess their own practices • They monitor unequal outcomes (how did my first-generations students do in my major assignments compared to other students?) and turn the lens on themselves and their institutions in order to “make sense” of unequal outcomes •They are Race/Gender/Sexuality conscious and aware of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in American higher education • While the graduation rate of first generation low-income students in the UC system is higher than the national average, Equityminded educational practitioners in the UC system are willing to assess and acknowledge that their practices may not be meeting the needs of first generation Students of Color as well as they could• Source: USC Center for Urban Education 

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Decolonizing Educational Practitioners are Equity-minded: They are: • Willing to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of their students and critically reassess their own practices • They monitor unequal outcomes (how did my first-generations students do in my major assignments compared to other students?) and turn the lens on themselves and their institutions in order to “make sense” of unequal outcomes •They are Race/Gender/Sexuality conscious and aware of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in American higher education • While the graduation rate of first generation low-income students in the UC system is higher than the national average, Equityminded educational practitioners in the UC system are willing to assess and acknowledge that their practices may not be meeting the needs of first generation Students of Color as well as they could• Source: USC Center for Urban Education 

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The term "Equity-Mindedness" refers to the perspective or mode of thinking exhibited by practitioners who call attention to patterns of inequity in student outcomes. These practitioners are willing to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of their students, and critically reassess their own practices. It also requires that practitioners are race-conscious and aware of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in American Higher Education.

In order to understand and become "Equity-Minded", it warrants that various practitioners (faculty, administration, staff, etc.) assess and acknowledge that their practices may not be working. It takes understanding inequities as a dysfunction of the various structures, policies, and practices that they can control. "Equity-Minded" practitioners question their own assumptions, recognize stereotypes that harm student success, and continually reassess their practices to create change. Part of taking on this framework is that institutions and practitioners become accountable for the success of their students and see racial gaps as their personal and institutional responsibility.

Developing a Practice of Equity Minded Indicators

CUE Director Estela Mara Bensimon developed twelve indicators to help institutions develop a practice of Equity-Mindedness.
Developing a Practice of Equity Mindedness
1) Do you routinely examine and report racial/ethnic participation in:

Honors program

Institutional scholarships

Participation in undergraduate research

Study abroad

Transfer from community college to four- year college

Transfer from community college to highly

selective four- year colleges

Internships and other forms of high- value experiences

Student surveys

Fields of study

Graduation with honors

2) Do you have a set of racial equity indicators that you monitor annually?

3) Does your campus have goals that are explicitly stated by race and ethnicity to improve retention, graduation, STEM participation, etc. ? Does your campus recruit community college transfer students and report on transfer access by race and ethnicity?

4) Does your campus recruit community college transfer students and report on transfer access by race and ethnicity?

5) Does your campus publish an annual report on the state of racial equity? If it does not, who would need to make it happen?

6) Does your campus report on admissions applications, acceptance, and yield by race and ethnicity? Does your campus report on incomplete admissions applications by race and ethnicity?

7) Are you familiar with your campus recruitment and admissions practices?Is there a racial/ethnic map of the high schools where recruitment takes place?

8) Are faculty, administrators, and staff evaluated on meeting racial equity goals?

9) Does your campus report on faculty, administrator, and staff hiring outcomes by race/ethnicity for faculty, e.g., number of applicants, number interviewed, and number hired?Has your campus (or you) conducted a study of faculty search procedures to identify implicit bias in standard search procedures?

10) Would your campus leadership be open to routinely examine practices, policies, new initiatives, reports, etc., to determine if they meet criteria of equity-mindedness?

11) Would your vice president of academic affairs, deans, and department chairs be opento engaging faculty in the examination of course level data dis-aggregated by race and ethnicity? To examine their syllabi? To conduct classroom observations to understand interracial relations between instructors and students?

12) How much support would you get from your president to do items 1-11? The academic senate? Trustees?

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The term "Equity-Mindedness" refers to the perspective or mode of thinking exhibited by practitioners who call attention to patterns of inequity in student outcomes. These practitioners are willing to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of their students, and critically reassess their own practices.

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"When I say practitioners are missing, I am referring to the lack of scholarly and practical attention toward understanding how the practitioner-her knowledge, beliefs, education, sense of self-efficacy, etc.-affects how students experience their education." Bensimon "The Underestimated" (444)

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"When I say practitioners are missing, I am referring to the lack of scholarly and practical attention toward understanding how the practitioner-her knowledge, beliefs, education, sense of self-efficacy, etc.-affects how students experience their education." Bensimon "The Underestimated" (444)

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UC FIRST GEN FACT SHEET: •In 2019 more than half of UCIs graduating class were first generation students • According to data from UCOP Institutional Research and Academic Planning, about 42% of all UC undergraduates are first generation students • Given that the proportion of first generation undergraduates in the UC system has grown 6% from 36% in 2006 to 42% 2016, it is safe to assume that by 2026 about half of the undergraduates enrolled in the UC system will be first generation students • According to UCOP, UC’s first generation students are ethnically diverse; likely to come from immigrant families; and the majority come from low-income families with incomes of $50,000 or less  

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UC FIRST GEN FACT SHEET: •In 2019 more than half of UCIs graduating class were first generation students • According to data from UCOP Institutional Research and Academic Planning, about 42% of all UC undergraduates are first generation students • Given that the proportion of first generation undergraduates in the UC system has grown 6% from 36% in 2006 to 42% 2016, it is safe to assume that by 2026 about half of the undergraduates enrolled in the UC system will be first generation students • According to UCOP, UC’s first generation students are ethnically diverse; likely to come from immigrant families; and the majority come from low-income families with incomes of $50,000 or less  

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Source:  UCOP Institutional Research and Academic Planning “First Generation Student Success at the University of California,” 2017.

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First Gen Challenges • Economic pressures: Our first generation students report constant worry about how they will pay for the cost of college tuition and housing.  They worry about how they will pay for technology, books, and other supplies required in their courses.  They also worry about the financial well-being of their families at home • Integration into the University: Our first generation students often struggle as they learn to navigate the university and understand academia; they struggle to develop a sense of belonging in the university and often feel alienated from university culture and the academic tasks we ask them to engage in• Underprepared UC Campuses: Our first generation students often arrive to their UC campus less prepared than traditional students because of educational inequalities in their K-12 schooling and our UC campuses are often not prepared (with academic and other support programs) to meet the academic and other needs of the first generation students they accept • Self Efficacy: Many of our first generation students have doubts in their ability to succeed in college and struggle with a low sense of self-efficacy.  When they have academic difficulty, they are often unable to separate their poor academic performance from their intellectual self worth because they have been schooled in deficit mindsets. •They experience a disproportionate amount of mental, emotional, and physical strain due to racial microaggressions and an unwelcoming campus/department/program climate (Yosso, et. al, 2009) • Major Anxiety: They experience heightened difficulty in deciding on a major and anxiety about the major they’ve chosen because they are the first in their family to attend college and their priority & purpose in obtaining a higher education is to ensure the financial security of their family: this is what is at stake for first generation students in your courses

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First Gen Challenges • Economic pressures: Our first generation students report constant worry about how they will pay for the cost of college tuition and housing.  They worry about how they will pay for technology, books, and other supplies required in their courses.  They also worry about the financial well-being of their families at home • Integration into the University: Our first generation students often struggle as they learn to navigate the university and understand academia; they struggle to develop a sense of belonging in the university and often feel alienated from university culture and the academic tasks we ask them to engage in• Underprepared UC Campuses: Our first generation students often arrive to their UC campus less prepared than traditional students because of educational inequalities in their K-12 schooling and our UC campuses are often not prepared (with academic and other support programs) to meet the academic and other needs of the first generation students they accept • Self Efficacy: Many of our first generation students have doubts in their ability to succeed in college and struggle with a low sense of self-efficacy.  When they have academic difficulty, they are often unable to separate their poor academic performance from their intellectual self worth because they have been schooled in deficit mindsets. •They experience a disproportionate amount of mental, emotional, and physical strain due to racial microaggressions and an unwelcoming campus/department/program climate (Yosso, et. al, 2009) • Major Anxiety: They experience heightened difficulty in deciding on a major and anxiety about the major they’ve chosen because they are the first in their family to attend college and their priority & purpose in obtaining a higher education is to ensure the financial security of their family: this is what is at stake for first generation students in your courses

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“I want to be able to provide for my family and let my mom know that her hard work over the time I’ve been alive was worth something and that I would not put that to waste. I want to graduate and get a job that will help provide for my family, so they don’t have to worry about anything financial”—UCI student, "Education Narrative" 

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“I want to be able to provide for my family and let my mom know that her hard work over the time I’ve been alive was worth something and that I would not put that to waste. I want to graduate and get a job that will help provide for my family, so they don’t have to worry about anything financial”—UCI student, "Education Narrative" 

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Exacerbated Challenges Due to Distance Learning During the Pandemic •Technology: they are not likely to have up-to-date laptops or computers at home with up-to-date  software, cameras, and microphones working effectively as required for effective distance learning: the technology that is available is likely to be dated and shared by other family members. They also may not have access to the internet or have a slower low-cost internet service.  They are more likely to use the Canvas app on their smartphones to view their course work.  They are often unaware of free campus resources to help meet their technology needs • Quiet Space/Time: Many of our first generation students do not have a quiet space in their home to complete their course work or they have family obligations such a caring for siblings or sick relatives that trump school • Health: Because covid has disproportionately hit low-income communities of color, your first generation students are more likely to have or have had Covid themselves or in their immediate family and be suffering with the physical and mental health consequences of the pandemic • Work: Because the pandemic has brought many of our first generation students home where their families are struggling financially during the pandemic, they are likely to be working more hours per week to help alleviate the family’s economic hardship 

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Exacerbated Challenges Due to Distance Learning During the Pandemic •Technology: they are not likely to have up-to-date laptops or computers at home with up-to-date  software, cameras, and microphones working effectively as required for effective distance learning: the technology that is available is likely to be dated and shared by other family members. They also may not have access to the internet or have a slower low-cost internet service.  They are more likely to use the Canvas app on their smartphones to view their course work.  They are often unaware of free campus resources to help meet their technology needs • Quiet Space/Time: Many of our first generation students do not have a quiet space in their home to complete their course work or they have family obligations such a caring for siblings or sick relatives that trump school • Health: Because covid has disproportionately hit low-income communities of color, your first generation students are more likely to have or have had Covid themselves or in their immediate family and be suffering with the physical and mental health consequences of the pandemic • Work: Because the pandemic has brought many of our first generation students home where their families are struggling financially during the pandemic, they are likely to be working more hours per week to help alleviate the family’s economic hardship 

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[00:00:00] Bonni Stachowiak: Today, on episode number 344 of The Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast, Sharon Hamill joins me to talk about Caring for the Whole Person.

[00:00:12] Production Credit: Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential.

[music]

[00:00:21] Bonni: Welcome to this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed. I'm Bonni Stachowiak and this is the space where we explore the art and science of being more effective at facilitating learning. We also share ways to improve our productivity approaches so we can have more peace in our lives and be even more present for our students. Sharon Hamill, PhD Psychology Professor at Cal State University San Marcos is recognized for her leadership and palliative care education and innovative approach to raising awareness about completing advanced directives for healthcare.

As founding director of the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care at Cal State University, San Marcos, Hamill created and continues to direct the What Gives Your Life Meaning, WGYLM, annual campaign. Held over the last five years, the campaign raises awareness for students, staff, and faculty to advocate for their own healthcare, including planning for advanced directives.

The campaign features guest speakers, a resource fair, films, and discussion panels, and a pledge drive to increase the number of students completing advanced directives. WGYLM allows students to take leadership in educating the community. For example, students developed a website to support children and young adults who serve as family caregivers and lead workshops on palliative care. Sharon, welcome to Teaching in Higher Ed.

[00:02:08] Sharon Hamill: Thank you. It's wonderful to be here.

[00:02:10] Bonni: I am excited to get to hear about your work. I'm just having this sense that so many of us are going to get so many benefits from today's conversation. Thanks for joining me on this day, and especially during this time.

[00:02:25] Sharon: Oh, I'm so delighted to be here. I think here are some really wonderful messages to share.

[00:02:29] Bonni: Talk to me about where you first remember hearing about palliative care.

[00:02:36] Sharon: It actually happened when I was pregnant with my third son and I was diagnosed with melanoma. I went into a doctor's office and I heard them refer to me as the pregnant melanoma patient. I was so devastated by that, that I was not a human being that I was a disease. I started to do some investigation into this topic of how do we deal with people with disease.

I'm an expert in family caregiving. Really, it grew from there. Then when the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care was established at Cal State San Marcos, I jumped at the opportunity to be the Faculty Director, because it meant that I would be able to use my research and to help contribute to a world in healthcare that would recognize people, not diseases.

[00:03:38] Bonni: I know our conversation today is going to blend our teaching in with our personal lives which, of course, isn't that really how it works anyway.

[00:03:46] Sharon: Absolutely. It's funny because especially working on a college campus and palliative care, we often got questions like why would you be teaching about this to these young people? My answer was always, "Why wouldn't we?" We need to make this as much a part of our life as anything that has to do with healthcare or major life events. We know that college students daily are dealing with illness and death. We may not see it, we may not hear about it until there's a funeral and the student needs to take some time off.

The truth is, we know from a recent AARP study that about 11% of college students, that's about 5 million college students, are actually caregivers in their families. This is something that they're living with daily, but they may not tell us. We may see it in an absence. We may see it in a failure to complete an assignment but the truth is, these students are trying to navigate some very difficult roles simultaneously and they often do it alone.

[00:05:00] Bonni: It's been an interesting semester for me in terms of the ways in which having more asynchronous online assignments have allowed me to see some of these glimpses. Now the class I have been teaching as a class about personal productivity but just like us talking about our lives as both teachers but also, there's so many other aspects to our lives, of course, the same thing would be true for our students. Just to be able to see me talk about major life events, the number of students losing parents, and dealing with their own COVID diagnoses or family members.

It seems bigger than ever before. Some of that, of course, has to be true but some of it's always been there, and I just didn't have as many glimpses into it. Would you talk about, for your own experience in your teaching, was there a time when you started to be able to see more of these glimpses of your student's lives, like the things that maybe you would have just counted as an absence before and then times now where you're able to see more of that?

[00:06:08] Sharon: Absolutely. I think the pandemic has really laid open for us to see things that have been there for a very long time. Because we haven't given a name to it, or we haven't recognized the responsibilities that our students have or the responsibilities that faculty, staff, and administrators have too, it's almost as if we treat that work environment in that school environment as somehow being unaffected by things going on in the outside world.

The pandemic has made that painfully clear that we aren't immune, that we are impacted by what's going on in the outside world. What it has done- I always try to look for silver linings but I see that it has made us all much more cognizant of those family responsibilities that our students have, that our faculty have, and really, anybody connected with university. Then it becomes like when you talk about the asynchronous classes, we know that these young caregivers, these college student caregivers, are more likely to take those kinds of classes because they afford them the opportunity to manage their family life while they're still trying to get that college education.

I think we are really opening our eyes to it's not just a student trying to combine work and school, but there are some very real family responsibilities that are impacting their ability to do either of those roles. How are we responding in a way that still provides access and equity, and really gives them the opportunity to be socially mobile and get that college degree?

I think it is a shift that we're going to see ongoing, now that our eyes have been open to this. It's not just when a student comes to you and says, "Hey, I have an ... I can't come to class," maybe we're going to think a little more deeply about why is that that the student is doing that. I think that's the beginning of some great changes.

[00:08:26] Bonni: How do you explain to people what palliative care is and also, what it's not?

[00:08:32] Sharon: Oh, this is a great question because I actually spent a number of years on a board of a hospice. When most people hear palliative care, they connect it to hospice, because hospice services, which are focused on those people who are terminally ill and expected to die within six months, they get palliative services. We think of palliative care as an extra layer of support. It's typically offered in palliative care teams. You might have a physician, a social worker, a palliative care nurse, a chaplain.

The idea is that rather than just focusing on the disease state of that individual that's saying, "Let's look at the whole individual, and what might they need," and maybe they need some chemotherapy or they need some physical support. Most likely, they also need emotional support, a support with their family relationships, and spiritual support. Traditionally, palliative care has been found within hospice. Often when I would speak to people about palliative care, they assumed I was telling them, "You're likely to die within six months."

A lot of education around, "No, we're talking about why should you have to be dying to get whole-person healthcare? Why should you have to be terminally ill to get the support that all of us benefit from when we get treated as more than our disease state?" A lot of the education around palliative care is getting people to understand that this is about supporting the whole person who happens to have a serious illness that may or may not result in the end of their life but they're worthy of support. What can we do to help make that journey they're on more palatable for them and for their families, and actually increase their quality of life?

[00:10:38] Bonni: Would you tell us about your work with What Gives Your Life Meaning?

[00:10:44] Sharon: This has been just one of the best projects I've ever had the pleasure of working on. About four or five years ago, there was a faculty learning community that came together to focus on palliative care. We said, "What could we do? What kind of project could we do for our students that would help educate them about palliative care?" We were actually told that we were crazy for focusing on students because they know they don't want to talk about those things. The truth is, they do want to talk about those things. They need to talk about those things.

We established a series of events that would focus not on death and illness, but on the positive side, what gives your life meaning, and who needs to know. We began by putting signs up all over campus that had the letters WGYLM, and didn't say what it was referring to, which created a lot of interest and questions about what is this. Then at a couple of weeks later, we laid out yard signs, like the old Burma shave signs so that as they were walking across campus, they saw these signs that said, "What gives your life meaning?" Then the last one was and who needs to know?

Then the campus conversation became about what was important to people. This created an opportunity for us to introduce the idea of advanced directives and say, "These are all important things to you that make your life special. Have you shared this with people that are close to you?" If there was a time in your life where you couldn't speak for yourself, would they know what to do and what was important to you? It was really about conversations. We included things like a pledge drive, asking our students to pledge to have a conversation because I believe completing an advanced directive is a process.

Rarely does a person sit down and decide to say what they're going to put in their advanced directive, which is really a legal document that instructs your physician as to what your wishes are, and who you would like to speak for you in the event that you cannot speak for yourself. We talked with students about, have they ever had this conversation with anyone? I always remember one student when we were talking about who would you want speak for you? She raised her hand and she said, "It absolutely would not be my mother."

I said, "Well, why not?" She says, "Because that woman would keep me hooked up to machines for 30 years. If this happened to me, I would need my dad to make those decisions." Then I asked her, "Have you talked with your mom and dad about this?" She said, "No." I really believe that so many of these students went home afterwards and talk not only for themselves but also asked that theory question. We asked them, "Do you know what your parents want?"

The whole idea was not to answer the questions for them but to get them to have the conversations because we believe that's how you can set up your life the way you want it to be but also in the event that there's a terrible illness or an accident, or a pandemic, that you're not left wondering, what would this person have wanted, that you've had the conversation and you each know what you're bringing to it.

[00:14:35] Bonni: We were introduced to advanced directives, although they actually the name has changed over the years. Actually at our church and my mom came up to the events that they would do I believe it was the associations Orange County Alzheimer's Association, or I'm trying to remember exactly the name of it. I'll find it and put it in the show notes. I've found for myself in my life that the first couple of times it was nice if there was another group that could facilitate or prepare you to have it.

Then it's been exercise over time in the sense of that if we don't let it go for too long, and just bring up these conversations, and of course, Alzheimer's runs in my family. It's really hard to have conversations because it's scary, but I had so much would rather just work through my own fear so that I do know the answers to those kinds of questions but it's really hard work.

I feel like in some ways, I've already been able to grieve the loss of a parent role because over your lifespan, your parent, then is no longer taking all those parenting roles on and eventually, if people live a long, great life, then eventually they do become a little bit more childlike in terms of needing more care from you. Some people as you already well know, that gets accelerated so much. Then you do see people in their 20s, that are having to take on more parental type of characteristics. That's a huge grieving process, in addition to just needing to have these conversations.

[00:16:07] Sharon: It's a very huge grieving process and it's also important that even though the roles you may take on more of making decisions for a parent, for example, there's still that dimension that they aren't children, or with children, we know as they develop, they will advance and get more skills. In the case of something like Alzheimer's, we know that we're looking at the ... It's a very complicated kind of process.

Your point about when do you talk about this, it is true that if a family member has a disease, that you may end up coming in contact with the Alzheimer's Association, or the Parkinson's Association. They'll get you thinking about it. If you're doing any estate planning, they'll get you thinking about it. With What Gives Your life Meaning, our focus has been kitchen table conversations. You got a holiday coming up and especially if no one is ill. That is actually the best time to have the conversation because you don't have the anxiety of I need to make a decision today or tomorrow but just here's what's really important to me.

If I was at the end of my life, this is how I would want it to go. What would you want? Doing this over a cup of coffee and some pie and talking. Actually, I've three sons. My husband and I have had multiple conversations like this with them. I'll tell you that anxiety that you mentioned, we all have it, that I always tell the students in my own family that it's far easier to have some of that anxiety around that kitchen table than to be in a hospital ICU when someone's been intubated and trying to figure out what do we do now.

We're trying to avoid those situations, by having people contemplate this recorded in an advanced directive, which the State of California has a form that you don't need a notary. You can just fill it out yourself, have a witness sign it, and then make sure your doctor has a copy of it. Also, the person that you've asked to speak for you, you need to talk to that person and say, "Hey, I'd really like to put you down as the person who's going to be speaking for me."

Then like the student I was talking about, if there are people who think they're going to be picked as sure person, and they're not, you really need to have a conversation with them as well and say, "Here's why I picked the person that I did." The best possible time to do this is when you don't need to because there's an emergency that you're dealing with.

[00:18:58] Bonni: Tell us about your work with the youth resilience project?

[00:19:03] Sharon: Well, we know, based on a study that was done in 2005, at that point, they were telling us we had about 1.4 million caregivers under the age of 18. What we know is that is a gross underestimate. We know that the college students that we're seeing, the 5 million, most of them report that they were caregiving before they came to college. We have this hidden generation also referred to as the forgotten generation of caregivers under the age of 18, who are managing roles that are typically reserved for adults.

They may be taking care of a parent or grandparent that's typically who it is or a sibling who's disabled. They may be doing some basic like housework and meal preparation, things like that, we call this instrumental activities of daily living. We found that a good number of them are actually doing the more intimate kinds of care for the activities of daily living, including things like toileting, and bathing.

When you are under 18, and you're doing these things, there's this very strange dimension, and this occurs across the globe, we look at caregivers in other countries as well. There is a fear that those under 18 have that if they let somebody know that they are providing care, the Child Protective Services will come in and take them away, which is not the case. They do fear that and so they don't tell anyone, and that means they miss out on opportunities to get support to help them and their families function.

The Youth Resiliency Project has different kinds of programs where we've worked in the schools, training care counselors in resiliency skills such as mindfulness, and using problem-solving techniques so they could share them with other peers at the high school to help build those resiliency skills for those young caregivers, and actually, any student who's dealing with any kind of challenge. We also had on campus, had retreats where we bring in students from the local schools, and we have the youth caregivers website on our campus website that provides some resources for those young people.

[00:21:34] Bonni: I'm trying to picture what this work might be like, and I'm thinking that it's possible there's a connection also with normalizing things, because then if I'm in these retreats, and I'm participating, then I see, oh, there's other people who also have to provide this care and struggle with some of the same things that I do. Is that true?

[00:21:56] Sharon: Absolutely, and that is one of the big things that we're trying to promote, is getting people to acknowledge there are millions of caregivers out there, some identified many not, and the young ones are the ones who are being missed. What we can do is create materials for educators. For example, we have the K through 12, teacher counselor, workbook, or toolkit that provides information about young caregivers and grieving youth.

We have the What Gives Your Life Meaning manual, and both of these are free manuals that are available on the website that I'll talk about in a little bit, but the manuals are there to help people understand what is at their fingertips they can be doing when they're talking with a young caregiver when they're dealing with a bereaved youth, when they're trying to help a college student understand, you're not the only one. There are millions of us out there, you've got support, and here are the places where you can go to get the kinds of support that you need.

[00:23:05] Bonni: Before we get to the recommendations segment, I just wanted to hear a little bit about the work that students do with the St. Francis Soup Kitchen. Could you talk about that work?

[00:23:16] Sharon: Yes, you know what? That has been absolutely one of my greatest joys, unfortunately, right now with the pandemic, the soup kitchen has been shut down. What happened was I had a couple of Master's in Public Health graduate students who needed a placement so they could do an internship. They came to me and said, "I've looked at your St. Francis Soup Kitchen, one of the ideas was that we wanted to introduce the diners there to advance directives. We know that with homeless and low income, they often end up in hospital ERs, and nobody knows who they are.

They don't know how to contact family members. We wanted to bring in students who could help educate the diners about the services available in the community, and also the need for advanced directives." I had a couple of absolutely amazing women who came in and arranged for shot clinics and did one-on-one education, we often brought in supplies like toothpaste, et cetera.

They would come and talk with us, and it was an opportunity for these outstanding graduate students from Cal State San Marcos to be able to be on the front lines actually educating folks about their own healthcare and things they could do to ensure they have quality of life. You often learn much more from your students than you teach them and watching them interacted, it truly was one of the greatest joys of my career to see them dive right in, get right in there with the people and do what they can to educate them so that these diners could make better choices for themselves with their healthcare.

[00:25:15] Bonni: I'm reflecting back on all of the stories that you've shared in our short time together, and one thing that hasn't come up yet, but I suspect it's just because I haven't asked [laughs]. That you're willing to embrace messiness, you have to be in order to learn from your students, as you just described now, and in order to make these opportunities available, would you just share a little bit about messiness, and then we'll each share our recommendations.

[00:25:39] Sharon: It's funny, I think, sometimes as educators, we think we have to have control over things and certainly, when you're out there, even on the campus doing a What Gives Your Life Meaning campaign where you have the students working with you to do the education at the resource fair, et cetera, or you're in the soup kitchen, and on any given Monday night, you never knew what you were going to get at the soup kitchen. To watch how quickly students could adapt based on what was being put before them, and I think for myself, it just hung my own skills that I have my plan, and then there's what actually happens.

We like to think sometimes as educators we have to have all the answers, but there's such richness to being in the trenches and having to really collaborate and problem solve with your students as things are coming up. Case in point, trying to get people to get flu shots and hepatitis shots at the soup kitchen and listening to people say these shots will give me those diseases, and then watching these public health students get in there and do their thing. I was just in awe. I think you have to embrace the messiness and recognize that that's probably where the best learning is going to occur.

[00:27:11] Bonni: I love that you tied it to control because it couldn't be more true, and not to mention, when I think back to my own life of my own resiliency, that as it ebbs and flows, how do you ever gain resiliency in your life? Well, you've dealt with a lot of messiness, and you have. How could you get more resiliency skills if you weren't dealing with that?

[00:27:31] Sharon: Well, I teach a class on risk and resiliency, and one of the key things about resiliency is you can't be resilient unless you've had adversity. Resilience is the ability to meet and overcome adversity so that adversity is a keen teacher, and we know, looking across and when we start looking at things like adverse childhood experiences, we know young people have these experiences that will impact their mental and physical health for the rest of their lives. It's in our best interest to say, what do we have? What do we know that helps to interrupt that?

One of the things that I always share with my students is that having an adult, a caring adult, in a person's life, whether it's a teacher, a parent, a neighbor, you actually have the ability to disrupt those negative outcomes. I think that gives that comes back to control, there are certain things you can control in a really messy situation, and that is being that solid rock, admitting you don't know all the answers, but hey, we're going to hang in this together, we're going to figure it out. Those lessons are golden.

[00:28:49] Bonni: This is the time in the show where we each get to share our recommendations, and I am cracking up so bad, Sharon, because I thought that my recommendation wasn't going to map to anything that you just said, but I actually just found a connection I'm pretty happy with right now. Speaking of control, as the pandemic emerged, I think many of us with some semblance of self-awareness would realize life felt very out of control. For me, sometimes this is not always the case, I have different ways that I might try to, and hopefully healthy ways, self medicate [laughs] and things like that.

One of the things that I discovered was just how good it feels to organize a drawer. It's not like I have the energy or the time to do massive projects, but I find a little bit of peace of like just taking a little thing and making it a little bit less chaotic in this tiny little space that I can actually control and it doesn't bother anyone else other than [laughs] things are a little bit more organized.

I really got a big kick out of this television show on Netflix called The Home Edit and it is just your classic organizing show. They will often have a celebrity for the first half or second half of the show who they get to show their home and they have some fancy costumes from all their times on the show the office and how they organize their memorabilia around the show that they were on or it might be a member of the community that someone has nominated who's worthy of being served in this way.

It was really fun. There's that home edit, show and then there's also the home edit book. The book is, I tend to mostly just read digital books this way but this is one that I really wanted to be able to hold in my hand because of all the beautiful images inside of it. I would recommend both the home edit show on Netflix and also the home edit book. Sharon, I'm going to pass it over to you for your recommendations.

[00:30:47] Sharon: I think the first recommendation I would make to the teachers out there would be to go to www.wgylm.org, which is What Gives Your Life Meaning site. You can get a free manual that tells you how can you have this positive campaign or series of events on your own campus. It was written by faculty who are used to working with no dollars. It's very creative. What did we do to put it together and we said we wanted to share it with others so you can get that, other teachers out there that are working with young people that are grieving, or they're dealing with a family illness. There's another free the toolkit, the K through 12, teacher counselor toolkit to give you some understanding there.

Then I would also recommend that it's not a particular website because there's so many. The whole notion of mindfulness. Bonni, we've talked about the importance of breathing, and the importance of slowing things down. I think the combination of doing something to take a little control back over whatever it is, maybe it's you're going to have dinner set at a particular time at night and that's going to be your goal for the day. That gives you control, but also to recognize and acknowledge that this pandemic, the normal course of working with students and teaching and living your life, there's constantly challenges being faced, learning how to calm yourself. They're wonderful, wonderful websites.

Cal State San Marcos has a mindfulness Cal State San Marcos, UCLA, UCSD. There are so many free resources out there that can help you learn how to calm yourself. The neat thing about it is a lot of educators from kindergarten up through advanced degrees are using these techniques with students because you can actually improve health. It's free. It's readily available. A good search on mindfulness will bring up all kinds of things for you to use and practice. I really do highly recommend it, especially right now.

[00:33:17] Bonni: I am so glad that the Cal State University system has connected the two of us. I've so enjoyed learning from you. I look forward to staying connected and being able to continue doing that and do my own search on mindfulness and see what pops up. Thank you so much.

[00:33:32] Sharon: That's great and thank you so much. It is so wonderful to get the opportunity to just share about teaching and I just love learning about what others are doing. Thank you so much, Bonni for what you do, too. You're doing a real service to all of us.

[00:33:47] Bonni: I appreciate it. It brings me joy. We're having this conversation in the morning time and you're just starting my day out, right. I feel like I'm in a more peaceful place. I really appreciate your time.

[00:33:57] Sharon: Great. I do as well.

[music]

[00:34:02] Bonni: What a pleasure it is to have been connected with Sharon Hamill and to get to have this conversation about the importance of advanced directives, and the whole idea behind What Gives Your Life Meaning and who needs to know about it. Thanks to all of you for listening as well. It's Episode 344 and I'm so glad to have you listening during this time.

Thanks for being a part of the community. If you'd like to receive our updates occasionally these days, please head on over to teachinginhighered.com/subscribe. Thanks for listening. I hope you'll share one of your memorable episodes with a friend this week. Thanks again. See you soon.

[music]
[00:35:02] [END OF AUDIO] The transcript of this episode has been made possible through a financial contribution by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). ACUE is on a mission to ensure student success through quality instruction. In partnership with institutions of higher education nationwide, ACUE supports and credentials faculty members in the use of evidence-based teaching practices that drive student engagement, retention, and learning. Teaching in Higher Ed transcripts are created using a combination of an automated transcription service and human beings. This text likely will not represent the precise, word-for-word conversation that was had. The accuracy of the transcripts will vary. The authoritative record of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcasts is contained in the audio file.

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Caring for the Whole Person, with Sharon Hamill - Teaching in Higher Ed

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00:00:00] Bonni Stachowiak: Today, on episode number 344 of The Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast, Sharon Hamill joins me to talk about Caring for the Whole Person. [00:00:12] Production Credit: Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential. [music] [00:00:21] Bonni: Welcome to this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed.

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Questions to Ask Yourself as a decolonizing equity-minded educational practitioner• Is the diversity of students in my class reflected in my course theme, readings, and writing assignments?• Have I used the online environment to created a course aesthetic, where my first generations students can see themselves in course images, course readings and assignments? • Are the readings and writing assignments in my courses relevant to my first-generation students’ lived realities?• Is my course designed in a way that welcomes my first generation students into the university community or does it continue to exclude them?

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Questions to Ask Yourself as a decolonizing equity-minded educational practitioner• Is the diversity of students in my class reflected in my course theme, readings, and writing assignments?• Have I used the online environment to created a course aesthetic, where my first generations students can see themselves in course images, course readings and assignments? • Are the readings and writing assignments in my courses relevant to my first-generation students’ lived realities?• Is my course designed in a way that welcomes my first generation students into the university community or does it continue to exclude them?

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Recommendations • The online environment offers us unique opportunities to work towards designing a course aesthetic that legitimizes our first generation students’ histories, experiences, lived realities, and ways of being and knowing

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Recommendations • The online environment offers us unique opportunities to work towards designing a course aesthetic that legitimizes our first generation students’ histories, experiences, lived realities, and ways of being and knowing

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For example, you can add an image to your Canvas course shell and embed, images, music, art and other culturally sustaining artifacts to your Canvas pages

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Dena Simmons: How students of color confront impostor syndrome

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As a black woman from a tough part of the Bronx who grew up to attain all the markers of academic prestige, Dena Simmons knows that for students of color, success in school sometimes comes at the cost of living authentically.

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Recommendation • Design your online course in a way that is predictable from one week to the next.   Establish a weekly routine of work with set deadlines (for example, assignments are due Th and Su), explain how your online course works on the syllabus, and include an instructional video that introduces and explains how the course is set up at the beginning of the class and ideally, an instructional video that explains the work for each week or Unit.

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Recommendation • Design your online course in a way that is predictable from one week to the next.   Establish a weekly routine of work with set deadlines (for example, assignments are due Th and Su), explain how your online course works on the syllabus, and include an instructional video that introduces and explains how the course is set up at the beginning of the class and ideally, an instructional video that explains the work for each week or Unit.

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“not having a consistent set of deadlines [and a predictable routine of work] is like asking students to attend an onsite course in which they never know the meeting time until the class before” Warnock,  Teaching Writing Online (146).

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Shift your course policies and procedures from a rules orientation to a relationship of empathy (I understand your challenges) and authentic caring (Valenzuela Subtractive Schooling).  Some course requirements or policies are required by our program and have to be in our syllabus verbatim, yet most of the course policies about attendance, due dates, extensions, make-ups, revisions, are left up to individual instructors.  Review your course syllabus and Canvas website and delete rules & punitive oriented course policies: For example, “Because of the fast pace of this course I can not accept late work, No Late Essays. No Exceptions, Don’t Ask.”  or “After the third time you blank_____, I will blank_____.  These examples were in my own syllabus and in my view at the time, they were a form of self-preservation and a way for me to be explicit (up front) about course expectations from the get go, yet I’ve deleted all such policies from my syllabus after doing the CUE Syllabus Self Review and have found that it does not result in more late essays or more incomplete work.  A useful exercise is to review your syllabus and Canvas website for policies and procedures you’ve invented and ask yourself:  How will my first-generation students perceive this? Will this make my first generation students feel welcomed or unwelcomed in my course? Sometimes less is more...

Here is a link to a Syllabus Review Process Worksheet I developed using the resource below

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Recommendation • Be explicit about your willingness to reach for your first generation students—wherever they may be—so they can achieve the course objectives.  For example by offering students the opportunity to revise not-passing essays with the help of a tutor or after meeting with you. You can also include a statement that conveys your willingness to work with them in your Welcome Letter

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Recommendation • Be explicit about your willingness to reach for your first generation students—wherever they may be—so they can achieve the course objectives.  For example by offering students the opportunity to revise not-passing essays with the help of a tutor or after meeting with you. You can also include a statement that conveys your willingness to work with them in your Welcome Letter

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Recommendation  • Practice intrusive Office Hours, use an online sign up sheet and ask students to sign up for REQUIRED conferences or check in meetings in Zoom, Google Meet, etc. When in conference, offer students aggressively directive feedback on their writing (Méndez-Newman, 30-31)

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Recommendation  • Practice intrusive Office Hours, use an online sign up sheet and ask students to sign up for REQUIRED conferences or check in meetings in Zoom, Google Meet, etc. When in conference, offer students aggressively directive feedback on their writing (Méndez-Newman, 30-31)

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Source: Beatrice Méndez Newman "Teaching Writing at Hispanic Serving Institutions"

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Recommendation • Work to explicitly develop student self-efficacy, their sense of Sí Se Puede.  Teach students that academic success is a socially constructed practice not an inherent ability

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Recommendation • Work to explicitly develop student self-efficacy, their sense of Sí Se Puede.  Teach students that academic success is a socially constructed practice not an inherent ability

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The power of believing that you can improve | Carol Dweck | TED

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You Tube: What It's Like to be a First Generation Student

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Laura Rendón "From the Barrio to the Academy"

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The art on this wall is by the Chicanx muralist Juana Alicia  

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The art on this wall is by the Chicanx muralist Juana Alicia  

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Juanaalicia.com

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"Having a higher education means experiencing internal feelings of doubt and fear. As an only child, it also meant feeling that navigating this new atmosphere was incredibly isolating...Being a first generation college student means breaking the cycle of poverty. That means, as a first generation college student, I have to be successful in this new and unknown “world.” I have to be successful. Otherwise, I would feel bad for letting the sacrifices and support my family has given me go to waste."-UCI Student "What Does Higher Education Mean to You?" Narrative

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"Having a higher education means experiencing internal feelings of doubt and fear. As an only child, it also meant feeling that navigating this new atmosphere was incredibly isolating...Being a first generation college student means breaking the cycle of poverty. That means, as a first generation college student, I have to be successful in this new and unknown “world.” I have to be successful. Otherwise, I would feel bad for letting the sacrifices and support my family has given me go to waste."-UCI Student "What Does Higher Education Mean to You?" Narrative

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What Does a Higher Education Mean to You_

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Recommendation • Teach Outlawed Knowledge • Anzaldúa taught us to rethinking rhetoric • To use her threshold concepts to teach writing as openings,  ‘aperturas’ for our students’ experiences and ways of being and knowing to change how we teach and construct knowledge¾for transformative pedagogies and epistemologies that set teachers-students on a path towards constructing our own visionary philosophies-our own outlawed knowledge

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Recommendation • Teach Outlawed Knowledge • Anzaldúa taught us to rethinking rhetoric • To use her threshold concepts to teach writing as openings,  ‘aperturas’ for our students’ experiences and ways of being and knowing to change how we teach and construct knowledge¾for transformative pedagogies and epistemologies that set teachers-students on a path towards constructing our own visionary philosophies-our own outlawed knowledge

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Yolanda Santiago Venegas Teaching Portfolio

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Yolanda Santiago Venegas Teaching Portfolio

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White Profs at Hispanic Teaching Institutions: Radical Revolutionaries or Complicit Colonists?

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White Profs at Hispanic Teaching Institutions: Radical Revolutionaries or Complicit Colonists?

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 “all of us are on a path of empowerment.  We have to empower the imagination to blur and transcend customary frameworks and conceptual categories reinforced by language and consensual reality.  To explore the “cracks between the worlds,” (rendijas, rents in the world) we must see though the holes in reality- Gloria Anzaldúa “Flights of the Imagination"

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 “all of us are on a path of empowerment.  We have to empower the imagination to blur and transcend customary frameworks and conceptual categories reinforced by language and consensual reality.  To explore the “cracks between the worlds,” (rendijas, rents in the world) we must see though the holes in reality- Gloria Anzaldúa “Flights of the Imagination"

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bell hooks: Moving from Pain to Power I The New School

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Resources * USC Center for Urban Education 5 Part Webinar “Racial Equity in Online Environments” (Designed for CCC: relevant to all decolonizing educational practitioners)

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Resources * USC Center for Urban Education 5 Part Webinar “Racial Equity in Online Environments” (Designed for CCC: relevant to all decolonizing educational practitioners)

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Racial Equity in Online Environments
Webinar V: Equ ity-Minded Mathematics Instruction - Thursday, 5.14.2020 Webinar VI: How to Express Care with a focus on Racial Equity - Thursday, 5.28.2020
This webinar will include one or more math instructors from California and Colorado who have worked with CUE on developing pedagogical practices that are critically race conscious. This session will address: (1) traditional vs equity-minded conceptions of the ways in which math is done and thought about, (2) how to draw upon student's knowledge, (3) noticing racialized patterns in data close to practice (gradebook and attendance mapping, designing homework problems), (4) engaging students conversations that focus on how they are experiencing the online environment.

This session is informed by common assumptions that racially minoritized students are deficient. Often times instructor's and administrators' responses imply that "racial equity" means to provide interventions that "fix students". This session will critically address how to provide authentic care to students with a focus on racial equity.
Webinar I - Series Introduction: The Importance of Equity-Minded Virtual Practices During COVID19: A Conversation with Students - Thursday, 4.23.2020 The transcript for webinar 1 is available here Webinar II - Eq uity-Minded Online Teaching: Using Canvas as a Model - Thursday, 4.30.2020 The recording for webinar 2 is available here The transcript for webinar 2 is available here Webinar III - Being Aware of Learning Opportunities and Constraints Posed by Online Teaching and Moving Towards Anti-Racist Practices - Thursday, 5.7.2020
Recordings and Transcripts
The recording for webinar 3 is available here The transcript for webinar 3 is available here Webinar IV: Online Support as an Anti-Racist Practice - Thursday, 5.14.20 The recording for webinar 4 is available here The transcript for webinar 4 is available here Due to recent episodes of zoom bombing where outsiders attempt to take over zoom meetings and webinars, we will wait to release each webinar's password and link confirmation until 48 hours in advance. We apologize for any inconvenience this change presents and thank you for your understanding as we work to ensure the integrity of our presentation. We will also share the recording via our social media platform.
Introduction to CUE and webinar series by Chancellor Eloy Oakley and Dr. Estela Bensimon. This webinar session will provide a foundation of understanding to Equity-Mindedness. This webinar will introduce key terms and principles which will guide every webinar in this series. In addition, five student panelists will join to engage in a discussion about their experiences transitioning into online learning in the midst of COVID-19.

Professor Jennifer Ortiz will illustrate how to use Canvas with an equity mindset. She will provide examples of techniques and strategies which can be easily applied in any course. For example, she will show participants the video message she uses to welcome students into her class. This session will also have a focus on the implementation of AB705. Professor Ortiz is the Chair of English at LA Trade Tech and a Fellow at the Center for Urban Education. She has collaborated with CUE's staff on the development of equity-minded teaching materials.

This webinar will address the "taken-for-granted" practices and assumptions that shape the online learning environment and ways in which they can be detrimental to the success of minoritized students. For example, many students only have access to a cellular phone and instructors are not considering how the materials they upload may become distorted on a phone. The current circumstances are overwhelming and it is easy for instructors to default to the students who have the know-how to navigate technology.

The immediate and unforeseen transition to exclusively online courses and administrative services in the wake of COVID-19 can make it difficult for administrative and students. In this webinar, panelists will: 1) discuss how administrators can proactively engage students with the goal of building and sustaining authentic relationships with minoritized students and 2) share strategies for doing so in online teaching and virtual support.

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Webinar V: Equ ity-Minded Mathematics Instruction - Thursday, 5.14.2020 Webinar VI: How to Express Care with a focus on Racial Equity - Thursday, 5.28.2020 This webinar will include one or more math instructors from California and Colorado who have worked with CUE on developing pedagogical practices that are critically race conscious.

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Teaching Con el Corazón Con Razón • In this recording from the 2002 Practicing Transgressions Conference celebrating the republication of This Bridge Called My Back Gloria Anzaldúa talks to us about Corazón Con Razón

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Teaching Con el Corazón Con Razón • In this recording from the 2002 Practicing Transgressions Conference celebrating the republication of This Bridge Called My Back Gloria Anzaldúa talks to us about Corazón Con Razón

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"Whereas Freire was primarily concerned with the mind, Thich Nhat Hanh offered a way of thinking about pedagogy which emphasized wholeness, a union of mind, body, and spirit"- hooks "Engaged Pedagogy"

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"Whereas Freire was primarily concerned with the mind, Thich Nhat Hanh offered a way of thinking about pedagogy which emphasized wholeness, a union of mind, body, and spirit"- hooks "Engaged Pedagogy"

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“In teaching writing we are tacitly teaching a version of reality and the student’s place and mode of operation in it” — James Berlin 

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“In teaching writing we are tacitly teaching a version of reality and the student’s place and mode of operation in it” — James Berlin 

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Final Thoughts • There is no such thing as an innocent, neutral, course theme, assigned reading, or writing assignment: The choices we make will either welcome our first generation students into our university community as critical conscientious thinkers who understand the transformative power of literacy or continue to exclude them • “There is no apolitical classroom. English language arts teachers must examine the ways that racism has personally shaped their beliefs and must examine existing biases that feed systems of oppression.” —NCTE There Is NO Apolitical Classroom 

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Final Thoughts • There is no such thing as an innocent, neutral, course theme, assigned reading, or writing assignment: The choices we make will either welcome our first generation students into our university community as critical conscientious thinkers who understand the transformative power of literacy or continue to exclude them • “There is no apolitical classroom. English language arts teachers must examine the ways that racism has personally shaped their beliefs and must examine existing biases that feed systems of oppression.” —NCTE There Is NO Apolitical Classroom 

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The following post was created by members of NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English.
The members of NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias have felt an urgency since we each joined the committee to stand against racism and bias. We have been working on ways to encourage each member of NCTE to speak out against the systemic and individual acts of racism that disenfranchise our students in and out of the classroom.

We know that racism exists in our classrooms and in our communities. We feel that silence on these issues is complicity in the systemic racism that has marred our educational system. We see no place for neutrality and urge each member of NCTE to educate as many people as possible about the ways that systemic racism affects all of us in negative ways.

There is no apolitical classroom. English language arts teachers must examine the ways that racism has personally shaped their beliefs and must examine existing biases that feed systems of oppression. In light of the horrific events in this country that continue to unfold, and the latest terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, we would like to share resources that we hope will encourage all NCTE members to speak out against the racism and bias that have been a part of our nation's fabric since the first immigrants disembarked from European ships.

Our Action Subcommittee has been working this year on creating classroom resources for teachers to use as statements of love and support. Printable classroom posters and bookmarks for NCTE members will be available at the 2017 Annual Convention, as well as available for download after Convention. Until then, we offer this incomplete resource to help continue the daily work that is antiracism. Please share other resources in the comment box below.

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

- Elie Wiesel, Acceptance Speech on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1986

Resources for Working with White Students

Raising Race Conscious Children
"A resource to support adults who are trying to talk about race with young children. The goals of these conversations are to dismantle the color-blind framework and prepare young people to work toward racial justice."

Dismantling Racism in Education
Heinemann Dedicated to Teachers Blog
Sara Ahmed, Sonja Cherry-Paul, and Cornelius Minor talk about what racism looks like and how we can begin to break up the assumptions we make about racism.

Resources for Teaching in These Times
On June 14, 2016, in response to the Orlando shootings, NCTE began collecting teaching resources from its members that continue to build in relevance given the ongoing struggles and critical conversations taking place across the country.

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation
"Race Forward's mission is to build awareness, solutions, and leadership for racial justice by generating transformative ideas, information, and experiences." Check out their video that explains systemic racism.

This resource was contributed by Kristin Beers
Online PLC: Read Aloud as an Anti-Bigotry Tool
Suggestions for using read aloud as an anti- bigotry tool with our youngest learners. This resource provides questions to prompt conversation, as well as a list of categorized titles that support this work.

Resources for Understanding White Supremacy
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Confront Antisemitism
Resources on anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and distortion
Southern Poverty Law Center
"The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality."

Ten Ways to Fight Hate
" Ten Ways to Fight Hate, which has been updated for 2017, sets out 10 principles for taking action, including how to respond to a hate rally that has targeted your town. It urges people not to engage white supremacists at their rallies. Instead, it offers tips for creating alternative rallies to promote peace, inclusion and justice."

Oath and Opposition: Education under the Third Reich
"The Museum has developed . . . materials . . . to help today's educators explore the pressures teachers felt under the Nazi regime, the range of decisions individuals made in the face of those pressures, and the relevance of this history now." (This rich resource includes a number of case studies you could use with your classes.)

Yad Vashem-The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
Read their working definition on anti-Semitism, which "encompasses both traditional and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism."

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
"Founded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is our nation's premier civil rights/human relations organization. We have a distinguished history of reminding the world just how tenuous civil rights are and we mobilize people to engage in reasonable discourse as together we find solutions to serve our diverse society." See their website's extensive Education & Resources section as well as their definition and historical explanation of anti-Semitism.

University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Lesson Plans
"Dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action."

Antisemitism and the Bystander Effect
"Students will watch testimonies from survivors of and witnesses to historical and contemporary antisemitism who describe the consequences of the bystander effect in their own lives. Students will construct a social media message for the #BeginsWithMe campaign that describes their own plan to counter bystander behavior."

100 Days to Inspire Respect
"At a time of heightened political uncertainty and polarization, middle and high school teachers are in need of easy-to-use resources that encourage their students to grapple with some of the most difficult but important topics: hate, racism, intolerance and xenophobia. '100 Days to Inspire Respect' provides educators with 100 thought-provoking resources that tackle these challenging topics and more."

The following book was recommended by Jenny Cameron Paulsen
Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
"By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members."

Charlottesville-Specific Resources

The Charlottesville Syllabus
"The Charlottesville Syllabus is a resource created by the Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation to be used to educate readers about the long history of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia. With resources selected and summaries written by UVa graduate students, this abridged version of the Syllabus is organized into six sections that offer contemporary and archival primary and secondary sources (articles, books, responses, a documentary, databases) and a list of important terms for discussing white supremacy."

" How to Talk to Your Kids about the Violence in CharlottesvilleAugust 12, 2017, Los Angeles Times article by Sonali Kohli
Mental health experts and parents discuss developmentally appropriate ways to address the issues raised over the weekend.

#CharlottesvilleCurriculum
A growing list of resources posted by educators from around the country.

"''Blood and Soil': Protesters Chant Nazi Slogan in Charlottesville"
August 12, 2017, CNN article by Meg Wagner

" Charlottesville Murder Suspect's Teacher: 'He thought Nazis were pretty cool guys'"
August 13, 2017, ABC News article by Michael Edison Hayden

Resources for Understanding Bias
The following resources were contributed by Susi Long on behalf of the Early Childhood Education Assembly
The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB)
"The People's Institute believes that racism is the primary barrier preventing communities from building effective coalitions and overcoming institutionalized oppression and inequities. Through Undoing Racism®/Community Organizing Workshops, technical assistance and consultations, The People's Institute helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society."

Don't Be a Sucker - 1947
"In this anti-fascist film produced by [the] US Military in the wake of WWII, the producers deconstruct the politically motivated social engineering of Germany by the Nazi regime."

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards
"The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K-12 instruction. Comprised of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes, the Standards provide a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable."

Anti-Racism Educational Consultants Network
"The ECEA is honored to present a network of some of the country's most respected professionals. They are experts in helping educators examine issues of race and racism in schools, childcare settings, and teacher education programs as they consider new possibilities for practice and policy. They consult widely, each with extensive experience in classrooms and with teachers, administrators, and preservice teachers."

Resources for Educators Focusing on Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching
"Our intent is to continue building and expanding this collection but we offer it now as a beginning, in support of educators working to (a) deepen understandings about institutional and interpersonal racism and its manifestations in early childhood settings, (b) understand the depth and breadth of histories often left out of or misrepresented in our teaching, and (c) apply new awareness to transforming practice and policy."

Articles and Other Readings

"These [three] special themed issues [of NCTE journals] explore and demonstrate not only the physical violence that Black and Brown children and youth and young Black girls encounter on a daily basis but also the symbolic and linguistic violence and the spirit-murder that are inflicted upon the lives and humanity of our children and youth of Color. In addition, all of these special issues provide the field with practical lessons and pedagogies for teaching in our current racialized and gendered context." - Lamar Johnson and April Bell

1. From Racial Violence to Racial Justice: Praxis and Implications for English (Teacher) Education (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by April Baker-Bell, Tamara Butler,
and Lamar Johnson
"We come to this project bearing soul wounds and heavy hearts, anxiety and anger, tears and fire. We sifted through a series of events and melded our wounds into a project that could heal us, our families, our communities, and Black, Brown, and other marginalized youth affected by racial violence."

2. "Beyond the Dream": Black Textual Expressivities Between the World and Me (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by David Kirkland
"In the most basic sense, this issue is about acknowledging how Black textualities, like vulnerable Black bodies, are contested in American classrooms, complicated by competing interests that wrestle daily for an ethical place in the consciousness of English language arts. It is in English language arts classrooms, as this issue suggests, that Black textualities have the power to move our assumptions past beliefs that strip away the humanity of others.

3. Black Girls' Literacies (a special issue of English Education) Edited by Marcelle Haddix, Sherell McArthur, Gholnecsar Muhammad, Detra Price-Dennis, and Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
"We now must be urgent in interrogating hegemonic systems, English education practices, and educational policy to ask how we can experience a shift in the way we teach, talk about, and represent Black girls in school and society. In this way, English education becomes a site of possibility and disruption-a space to begin to ask these questions and respond." - Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz

How Two Teenagers Created a Textbook for Racial Literacy
From Facing History and Ourselves by Stacey Perlman
"Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi started the student-run organization, CHOOSE, to overcome racism and inspire harmony through exposure, education, and empowerment. This led them to collaborate with Princeton University on The Classroom Index, a textbook devoted to racial literacy."

This resource was contributed by Corinne Viglietta" Essential Everyday Bravery: Thinking and Talking About Identity and Difference in Your Classroom "-a downloadable packet with 6 stand-alone lessons, 4 short scripts, 4 video clips, and 1 long list of more resources from Folger Shakespeare Library
These resources were contributed by Jodi Derkson
The lessons were created by 10 excellent teachers, and designed to work in all kinds of classes with all kinds of students. These teachers are themselves people of different races, ethnicities, and religions, and they teach IB and AP, special needs, honors, and "regular" students in urban and suburban (mostly public) high schools in or near Washington, DC. These resources are also the product of CrossTalk, a yearlong community engagement project led by the Folger Shakespeare Library and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of their Humanities in the Public Square initiative. More info here

This resource was contributed by Emily Salinas
Drop the I-Word Campaign
"Race Forward's Drop the I-Word campaign to eliminate use of the word "illegal" was launched in September 2010 as anti-immigrant sentiment and hate crimes against communities of color had increased. Although the Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, and many other news outlets and journalist associations have dropped the i-word, this racial slur in still being used in the media and everyday language."

This resource was contributed by Melanie Gustafson
Click! The Ongoing Feminist Revolution
"We aim to bridge the gap between those two clicks by offering an exhibit that highlights the achievements of women from the 1940s to the present. This exhibit explores the power and complexity of gender consciousness in modern American life."

Choose Your Voice (middle school)
Free online teaching resources and tools, curriculum-based for grades 6, 7 and 8, to help students speak out against racism, antisemitism and intolerance.

Voices into Action (secondary school and college)
"Designed by curriculum experts, this program utilizes a wide variety of media to present compelling information on a history of human suffering, stemming from social injustice that is still a growing problem today. Explore thought-provoking issues with your students by accessing our lessons and resources on antisemitism, racism, discrimination and stereotyping."

These resources were contributed by Nadia Kalman
"For contemporary global literature from Mexico, Russia, and other countries currently in the political discourse, along with multimedia contextual materials and teaching tools, teachers might try Words Without Borders Campus. Here's a link to a blog post on building inter-cultural empathy and understanding."

Books for Teachers

A Search Past Silence: The Literacy of Young Black Men by David E. Kirkland

All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald

Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S. by H. Samy Alim, Geneva Smitherman, foreword by Michael Eric Dyson

Black Intellectual Thought in Education: The Missing Traditions of Anna Julia Cooper, Carter G. Woodson, and Alain LeRoy Locke by Carl A. Grant, Keffrelyn D. Brown, and Anthony L. Brown

Community Literacies en Confianza: Learning from Bilingual After-School Programs by Steven Alvarez

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World edited by: Django Paris and H. Samy Alim

Digital Griots: African American Rhetoric in a Multimedia Age by Adam J. Banks

For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin

by Bryan Stevenson

"Multiplication Is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children
by Lisa Delpit

Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America by Geneva Smitherman

The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children, 2nd Edition by Gloria Ladson-Billings

The Latinization of U.S. Schools : Successful Teaching and Learning in Shifting Cultural Contexts by Jason G. Irizarry

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
These additional book resources were contributed by Elaine Richardson These additional book resources were contributed by Deborah Kelly
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore

The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
by Melba Pattillo Beals

Books for Students

A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing edited by Ilan Stavans

Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings - An Anthology edited by Roberto Santiago

Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus by Carolina Maria de Jesus

Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

MARCH: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake
Rich in Color We Need Diverse Books Lee & Low Books A Mighty Girl
When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

Websites to Follow (for books for our students)

If you have resources you would like to add, please share them in the comment box below.

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There Is No Apolitical Classroom: Resources for Teaching in These Times

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The following post was created by members of NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English. ...

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Top 12 Ways to Support Latinx Student Success

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 Equityminded education involves decolonizing forms of thought and action

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 Equityminded education involves decolonizing forms of thought and action

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In this course students (you) will:

1. Learn to use reading, writing, and speaking for personal and political decolonization

2. Learn to use reading and writing as tools for critical intellectual inquiry in the process of decolonizing your mind

3. Practice using reading, writing, and discussion to question frames of intelligibility and systems of knowledge as you begin to construct your own epistemologies, your own ‘theory in the flesh’ (Bridge, 23), your own visionary philosophy...