https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5 en-us 2021-04-19 19:56:26 UTC 2023-11-24 19:32:24 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4d6.png jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1435019460 How might we (as teachers) teach students accurate background information about different peoples and cultures through an anti-racist lens and do this without stereotyping? ]]> 2021-04-19 19:59:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1435019460 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443091956 According to their website, #DisruptTexts is a “a crowdsourced, grassroots effort by teachers for teachers to challenge the traditional canon in order to create a more inclusive, representative, and equitable language arts curriculum that our students deserve" (Ebarvia et al.). ]]> 2021-04-21 15:28:07 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443091956 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443094132 I had the privilege of being able to interview Ben Woodcock, an English teacher at Okemos High School. Ben is also a teacher consultant for the Red Cedar Writing Project, as well as the secretary for the Michigan Council of Teachers of English. In my Zoom interview with Mr. Woodcock, I asked him some key inquiries relating to my overarching question. Below, I have paraphrased Ben's responses and added them in my own words. I have also included some links to Ben's website for some of his useful teaching resources.]]> 2021-04-21 15:28:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443094132 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443178415 #DisruptTexts has provided educators with a thorough guidebook listing eight texts that center Black, Indigenous, and voices of color in literature. Teachers are encouraged to teach these texts in order for students to learn from a wide variety of perspectives, as well as to decenter whiteness in the classroom. The guide also includes a plethora of resources and lesson plans educators can teach alongside the texts. Some resources that are included with the texts are called "Considerations around Racial Identity and Intersectionality" as well as "Historical Context." These resources explain how to teach in depth about a character's identity before beginning to dive into a text. I will now go into greater detail about these specific sections of the guide. I will be focusing on the novels Frankly in Love  and Juliet Takes a Breath. ]]> 2021-04-21 15:44:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443178415 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443248537 1. #DisruptTexts and their book guide.

2. An interview I conducted with Ben Woodcook, a secondary English teacher.]]> 2021-04-21 15:57:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1443248537 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444295837 Considerations for Teachers and Students:
"Before starting Juliet Takes a Breath, we recommend working with students to consider how their identities and experiences may inform their reading experience. For some students, this book may be the first time that they have read about a lesbian Latinx character and her exploration of her sexuality and beliefs.(#DisruptTexts).
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Considerations Around Racial Identity and Intersectionality:
"Throughout the book, Juliet is exploring her identity, particularly on what it means
to be both lesbian and Puerto Rican... It is
critical to understand the questions students may have about Puerto Rico and lesbian identity. Puerto Rican identity is complex due to its history with enslavement and colonization... It is important to understand this because it impacts the way Juliet sees her body as well as the way she identifies with others.... When considering her lesbian identity, a new name she’s openly trying out, her understanding of self is challenged. She begins to explore what it means to be both (lesbian and Puerto Rican) and how she can walk this way in her life" (#DisruptTexts). 
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Source for everything written above: https://storage.googleapis.com/classroom-portal-production/uploads/2020/11/47136c91-disrupt-texts-guide.pdf]]> 2021-04-21 19:31:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444295837 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444297663 Considerations for Teachers and Students:
"Teachers should also interrogate their own biases and stereotypes about Asians and Asian Americans before, throughout, and after their teaching of the text. Teaching Tolerance’s article “I Am Asian American” and teacher toolkit are suitable starting places. Specifically, teachers should develop a working understanding of the Model Minority Myth, its history, and its implications" (#DisruptTexts).
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Historical Context:
"The National Association of Korean Americans provides information to help readers locate Frank and his family within a broader history.... Take time to help students understand the connections between history and the novel’s setting" (#DisruptTexts).
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Considerations Around Racial Identity:
"The Asian population of the United States is diverse and rapidly growing. Frame
conversations about ethnicity through first helping students understand how many
different ethnicities encompass Asian and Pacific Islanders by using the website AAPI. Then, apply that knowledge to thinking about how Frank, his peers, and his parents, relate and name their own racial identities" (#DisruptTexts).
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Source for everything written above: https://storage.googleapis.com/classroom-portal-production/uploads/2020/11/47136c91-disrupt-texts-guide.pdf]]> 2021-04-21 19:31:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444297663 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444360682 2021-04-21 19:48:30 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444360682 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444365162 Ben said before he teaches The Hate U Give, he plays a few Ted talks for students narrated by Black women and their experiences. He said he really likes using this teaching method because it prepares students minds to begin learning about something they may be unfamiliar with. Ben also has students work on “Articles of the Week,” which are nonfiction articles he assigns that help to build students' knowledge. Lastly, Ben sometimes has students complete Web-quests that are based around a text’s author and historical background. ]]> 2021-04-21 19:49:47 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444365162 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444368020 Ben said his approach is to begin by teaching information about the text's author and what the author’s purpose for writing was. He said he does this practice for all of the texts read in class. He also said that he tries to teach every book in class for about the same length of time in order to equally cover each text. ]]> 2021-04-21 19:50:37 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444368020 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444378579 Ben said that a strategy he uses to avoid stereotypes is having students do a lot of self-reflective work in the classroom about their own possible biases. For example, near the end of a unit he will have students fill out exit slips that ask questions such as, “What two things are you going to take away from this lesson and how will you apply that to your own life?” Ben said he also likes to have students write a lot of journal entries throughout the lesson. He said he especially likes having students journal their thoughts because he is the only one that reads them, so if a student possibly writes something harmful or stereotypical, other students' feelings aren’t hurt and he is able to work with that individual student one-on-one. ]]> 2021-04-21 19:53:27 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444378579 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444382054 Ben said that if you do the important pre-work before diving into a novel, then students will know what to expect and the story will be less of a shock to them while they are reading. Thus, if students already have knowledge of what is to come, they can focus less on simply what is unfolding in the plot and instead take more time to absorb the more important details at play.]]> 2021-04-21 19:54:24 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444382054 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444387871 Ben’s advice for this was that it’s okay as an educator to say “I don’t know, but I'll get back to you.” He said it’s completely okay if you may not know something in the moment, but it is very important that you make sure to find the answer and then tell the student within a few days. He also said that if it’s a good question, he will bring it up to all of his class hours and address it with them. He said students asking questions is very helpful because it gives him feedback of what to include in his lessons for next year.]]> 2021-04-21 19:55:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1444387871 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1448809292 2021-04-22 18:27:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1448809292 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1448814145 2021-04-22 18:28:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1448814145 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1455048197 1. Teachers need to put in effort outside of the classroom (before, during, and after reading a text) to thoroughly research and learn about the culture they will be teaching. This is a never ending process. 

2. Teachers should study and learn the historical background of a culture before teaching about it. Then, they should teach their students this information. 

3. It is imperative for educators to interrogate their own possible biases and stereotypes.]]> 2021-04-24 18:51:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1455048197 jordannacker https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1460878470 1. Before beginning a text, it is important to work with students to analyze how their own personal identities may inform their reading experience. 

2.  If a story discusses a character's multiple identities, such as their racial identity, sexuality, and so on, it is important to define and go over intersectionality with students. It is also important (as the teacher) that you anticipate and understand questions that may arise about character's different identities. ]]> 2021-04-26 17:51:09 UTC https://padlet.com/jordannacker/8xurred2616yc4f5/wish/1460878470