Discussion of our questions about Chapter 5 Oppressions and Power and view the resources to come up with 1 idea that answers 1 of the questions we posted. by https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg Please post your group names, the question you are answering, and the group's thoughts based on reading Sensoy and DiAngleo Is everyone Really Equal? en-us 2021-10-01 14:29:52 UTC 2026-03-14 14:05:46 UTC hello@padlet.com Some of Questions We are Pondering jholmes20 https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784351818 2021-10-01 14:30:36 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784351818 Teaching 6 Year Olds About Privilege and Power jholmes20 https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784368206 2021-10-01 14:36:22 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784368206 Let's Talk About Power , How Teachers Use of Power Shapes Relationships and Learning jholmes20 https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784394468 2021-10-01 14:45:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784394468 Chapter 5 Oppression and Power jholmes20 https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784425060 2021-10-01 14:56:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784425060 Emily, Veronica, Jael, & Thanujaa emilyb191 https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784976306 Question - "As an educator, how can I work towards implementing an anti-oppressive teaching environment?"
 
Answer:
**teaching students about the historical context which has created conditions of oppression in society 
*using diverse materials to challenge dominant narratives using storybooks and picture books
*using appropriate language in the classrooms
*constructing classroom expectations with students to ensure we are not being discriminatory to others 
*identify any oppressive thoughts or conversations happening in the classroom and talking about these issues of oppression and power in the classroom - both students and teachers making environment anti-oppressive 
*working through uncovering and challenging internal biases and prejudices 
*making the classroom a safe space to have students bring their lived experiences, acknowledging tough topics 
*making content relevant to all students lived experiences
*allowing opportunities for student voice in the classroom 

 
 

]]> 2021-10-01 19:12:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784976306 Sara M, Sabrina M, Leah W, Matthew https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784981483 Q: How can we introduce children to the concept of oppression? 
A: For younger ages we can have students think about a time they felt left out for obvious reasons (for example: only boys can play). We can then go on to explain to them how this is a form of oppression. This can be a way to introduce younger students to concepts of oppression, and then give them more examples, ie: race, religion, gender]]> 2021-10-01 19:16:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784981483 Julia A, Deanna B, Nadia S, Sabrina P https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784986902 As an educator, how can I work towards implementing an anti-oppressive teaching 
environment?

- create a space for open and honest conversations to take place 
- setting rules/boundaries in the classroom to ensure everyone is respectful and can voice their opinions in a safe space 
- creating and teaching anti-bias lessons
- ensure various voices are heard, lessons project multiple perspectives 
- anti-oppressive teaching should not just take place in a single lesson, it should be frequently incorporated to lessons regularly 
- conduct independent research on different types of oppression so lessons are well-informed and diverse for students' needs
- providing students with resources on oppression so that they can also learn independently
]]> 2021-10-01 19:19:32 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784986902 Group 2: Iqbal, Christina, Laura & Megan https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784987368 How can we introduce children to the concept of oppression?

- Using children’s literature to engage students. This is helpful because it uses easy-to-understand terminology about power, privilege and oppression. The use of illustrations are especially important for visual learners. For example, “I Am Not a Number” by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer, a picture book about residential schools. 
- We need to remove the "stereotype" or "norm" that first or second grade may be a bit to early to discuss heavy topics. Kids are aware of race at a very young age. In the article "Teaching 6 Year Olds About Privilege and Power" Turner says "students should be able to bring their own honest questions to class". 
- It is also important to have students “asks questions that help kids to see patterns of injustice, and encourages them to make connections across the curriculum.” (Katrina Schwartz).
- Young children have a keen awareness of and passion for fairness. They demand right over wrong, just over unjust and they notice differences. In the text "Are We Really Equal", the authors mention that "values associated with primary education such as play, community, cooperation, and sharing virtually disappear in the higher grades, as values such as rationality, independence, and competition take over" (92). As educators we should teach students to hold onto these values as it may help them deal with issues of power/oppression.
- Using the news (i.e. Newsela is a good resource for teachers. It simplifies news articles and makes them easy to understand for children). Using this, educators can engage with and teach culturally relevant content.
- We can also do circle time and have group discussions; the class can have drama class and perform skits, being in a librarian who can recommend books for children at their age level.

]]> 2021-10-01 19:19:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784987368 Tayler Gorman, Lecs Petel, Natalie Pawarroo, Keerthana Selvaruban https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784987442 Is there a certain age group/grade that is most "appropriate" to start introducing concepts surrounding oppression and power such as the "isms" in the classroom?

Our group recognizes the wisdom and lived experiences of our students in that no matter the age, they are not exempt from experiencing or knowing about forms of oppression; although, they just may not have the exact words to verbalize the experience or awareness. That being said, there is a plethora of materials that range in grade and age that are appropriate and can help broach topics of oppression and power with students. It also matters that educators remain mindful and intentional in the resources we bring within the classroom and find strategies to talk about these topics in a beneficial manner.  It is important to begin even with younger students because "Oppressive beliefs and misinformation are internalized by both the dominant and the minoritized groups, guaranteeing that overall each group will play its assigned role in relation to the other, and that these roles will be justified as natural. When we believe the social hierarchy is natural, it is difficult to see our positions within it as unequal at all" (Sensoy and DiAngelo, pg 90). Thus, even starting young with discussion about the "isms" and oppression and power can help prevent misinformation and dismantle it. Overall, every age and grade is "appropriate" to begin thinking and discussing these concepts, it will just look and sound different every time.





]]> 2021-10-01 19:19:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784987442 Stephanie E., Alexander P, Julia C, Ridima W. https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784988893 How can we introduce children to the concept of oppression?

- As a teacher, you need to recognize the demographic of students you are teaching to. How we choose to teach about oppression should be dependent on who is sitting in our classrooms. 
- When teaching in the elementary grade, selecting picture books that can elicit probing questions about characters or topics in the story that might incite oppression would be beneficial. We might also bring in resources that discuss social justice specifically, like picture books or videos. 

]]> 2021-10-01 19:20:42 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784988893 Group 3: Alana G, Susanna L, Mariam S, Julia F https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784989734 How can we counteract dominant narratives in the classroom?

- bring a variety of diverse resources (books, stories, etc) into the classroom
- look at the curriculum more critically, even the curriculum documents, think critically about where they are coming from
- ask students to share their own lived experiences and diverse perspectives
- challenge the dominant narrative even when students bring it up
- discuss the culture and how it perpetuates the dominant narrative
- take time to recognize our own biases as educators
- give students a voice
- how you set up the classroom (organizing furniture, decorating the walls, etc.) can be a way to counter the dominant narrative or challenge traditional teaching  practices
- integrate diverse ways of thinking, for example, Indigenous ways of building community for learning

]]> 2021-10-01 19:21:16 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784989734 Amanda, Jordan, Jessica T, Ranmeet, Danesha anaalam https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784990504 Is there a certain age group/grade that is most "appropriate" to start introducing 
concepts surrounding oppression and power such as the "-isms" in the classroom?

1. Different age groups can be exposed to injustices based on different concepts. Teaching grade ones about residential schools will look very different then students in high school. 

2. Jordan suggested using picture books to bring more difficult topics into the classroom in a productive manner. (When We Were Alone is a book by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett)

3. "It's not fair to shield them from oppression and power imbalances." -Jessica

4. Ranmeet mentions how teachers might be afraid of scaring the children, "shielding their innocence" (Jessica) want to teach the students but do not know where to draw the line so they avoid it completely. 

5. Amanda was the only one who got the full truth in schooling (the residential schools and the murder of indigenous communities- this means over 80% did not receive this information).

]]> 2021-10-01 19:21:45 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784990504 Shormeh, Simona, Carrie and Vanessa https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784991143 Q: How can we introduce children to the concept of oppression?

A: -Use books as a resource to teach anti-oppressive practice. For example, window books:  by having students see themselves   identified or reflected in the stories. 

-Asking students: What is oppression? As an open-ended question and to use the resource as a way to explain what oppression is. 

-Use vocabulary such as privilege, power, hegemony (just to name a few) from the text: "Is everyone really equal" to create discussion around "What is oppression?"

- For older students: present to students two articles where they have the opportunity to recognize how oppression is represented in society. 

-The article Teaching 6-Year-Olds About Privilege and Power says that younger children don't find it as difficult to speak about oppression. Take advantage of this and ask them to share their lived experiences when they felt they were being discriminated against.]]> 2021-10-01 19:22:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784991143 Lisa, Kristian, Sarah and Emina https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784992688 Question: Is there a certain age group/grade that is most "appropriate" to start introducing concepts surrounding oppression and power such as the "-isms" in the classroom?

We collectively disagree with the premise of the question. WE are not the ones introducing concepts surrounding oppression, power and -isms to students. They are already experiencing it. The question should be how do you start bringing in these real life experiences into the classroom in order to educate your students further on them.

The ideas and concepts can be introduced at a younger age but the language needs to be reflective of the age group we are speaking to. We believe that we can have open and more frank discussions surrounding oppression and power can begin around the junior grades (grade 4).

It can be difficult to talk about these things especially when the school environment may belong to the dominate group versus having some (if any) members of the minority groups.


]]> 2021-10-01 19:23:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784992688 Abisha, Jessie, Alondra, Marilu https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784993494 Is there a certain age group/grade that is most "appropriate" to start introducing concepts surrounding oppression and power such as the "-isms" in the classroom?

"Language is not a neutral transmitter of a universal, objective, or fixed reality. Rather,
language is the way we construct reality,  the  framework we use to give meaning to  our experiences and perceptions within a  given society."

We believe that it is important to start these discussions with children at a young age. Children are very impressionable as kids so it would be a good idea to start simple lessons with them when they are younger. For example, teaching them about how we are all equal and what we as individuals can bring into the society. Teaching children to be considerate of others and be aware of their environment is a great way to start. As children get older they can work towards learning in different ways and learning more about the "isms."

]]> 2021-10-01 19:23:33 UTC https://padlet.com/jholmes20/58d0lkkkjgsfw5gg/wish/1784993494