Bookmarks by JESSICA DODD https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks Made with wonder en-us 2020-08-17 17:55:04 UTC 2025-11-02 10:37:05 UTC hello@padlet.com “Multiplication is for White People” Raising Expectations for Other People’s Children. e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235442 Within this book it talked about the stereotypes we place on the children that attend urban schools. White people do not need to think that they are coming in to “save” these students. I have unfortunately learned that some people do think that way. Instead, we need to help students really understand that regardless of their situation that they have potential. We need to build relationships, start understanding their background and culture, and find positive ways to connect to the culture through curricular content. Every student has a skill and a talent. We don’t take the time to get to know our kids before we ourselves stereotype and set them up for failure.  It was good for me to go back and re-read and look at the notes that I took on each page to see if how I responded to the text then has changed or become more profound since I am now an educator. 

]]> 2022-07-31 07:05:06 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235442 The Lemon Grove Incident e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235450 This is a video of an incident regarding Mexican Americans that lived in Lemon Grove. This is something that was very educational for me to see. So many times, when I think of racism I automatically think of the history between blacks and whites. Learning about multicultural education and diversity has really opened my eyes to another incidence that I had never known about. The students in this town were segregated for their race, not their abilities. Many of the Mexican American students were born in the United States and spoke English; still they were segregated. From July 23, 1930, when the school board met, to March 12, 1931, when the decision was made that it would be illegal to segregate these students in a new school. Almost a year had passed that these students did not receive a proper education. I think the damage that the school board did was unacceptable. The families as well as the children worked very hard for their community and paid taxes as American citizens. The fact that people did not want to help them progress within their education as an equal opportunity to their own children is heartbreaking. I am very glad that they were so strong and had a willingness to fight and overcome the divide. As an ESL teacher, learning about this helped me see some of the difficulties that Hispanic families faced and are still facing as we fight for equal rights for our ML students within the classrooms. 

]]> 2022-07-31 07:05:09 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235450 Learning for Justice e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235456 I used the resource given to us for the 21-day challenge to connect and stay connected to something that will help me become a better educator and overall, more educated. I will use this resource to read about learning for justice and ask myself the hard questions about history, so I can take it into my classroom and teach it respectfully. It’s time that I take responsibility to learn how I can break the barrier and begin to have honest conversations. What I liked about this site is the first article that I came to referred to honest history. It took me back to our conversation we had in our last class about telling the truth; the hard truth when it comes to history. This specific article spoke about how white settlers formed a Republic of Texas in 1836 to continue slavery, which was being eliminated in Mexico. This took place all the way till 1865 when enslavers were still ignoring Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This was until Black Union Soldiers and Gen. Gordon Granger came to force compliance with the law. 

It is embarrassing for me to say that I don’t know about this history. I wasn’t taught this history. I am grateful for this exercise and the things that I know I will learn and hold with me beyond the 21 days. 
]]> 2022-07-31 07:05:12 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235456 Test Your Awareness e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235462  I LOVED THIS! This video is such a good “hook” to begin a lesson on noticing. I am taking this challenge to notice the things around me in my community and these are the questions that I am using. I will go back and post my answers in a week when I have had time to chart my noticing’s. Questions: 
1. Who is and is not represented in ads? 
2. Who are your ten closest friends? What is the racial mix in this group? 
3. As you move through the day, what’s the racial composition of the people around you? On your commute? At the coffee shop you go to. At the gym? At your workplace? At the show you go on the weekend?
4. What percentage of the day are you able to be with people of your own racial identity? 
5. Notice how much of your day you are speaking about racism. Who are you engaging with on these issues? Who are you not? Why do you think this is?
6. What is the racial mix of the main characters in your favorite TV shows? Movies? 
7. What is the racial mix of people pictured in the photos and artwork in your home? In your friend, family, and colleagues’ homes? 
8. Who is filling what kinds of jobs/social roles in your world? (e.g. Who’s the store manager and who’s stocking the shelves? Who’s waiting on tables and who’s busing the food?) Can you correlate any of this to racial identity?  ]]> 2022-07-31 07:05:16 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235462 You Cannot Divorce Race From Immigration e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235821  I chose to listen to this piece on immigration because I want to learn more about immigration and the arguments surrounding what has been going on in our country based on who should be let in? I enjoyed listening to this conversation between NPR’s Rachel Martin and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. Vargas is an undocumented immigrant. He wrote the book "Dear America: Notes of An Undocumented Citizen." He called ICE on himself and asked why he has yet to be deported. He believes that a conversation about immigration must also be a conversation about race. He acknowledges that we must ask the hard questions to get to a place of understanding with the immigration system. Again, I am enjoying this process because I can have access to resources that will help me learn and grow. Within the challenge of this week, I realize there is a lot that I don’t know or understand. Immigration being one of them. This was a great way for me to listen to someone who is a true undocumented immigrant, and here what he believes and knows needs to happen. ]]> 2022-07-31 07:07:06 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252235821 Engaging With Others to Grow and Learn e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252236912  | I engaged today with someone through a conversation about their sexuality. I have watched this person transition from a woman to becoming non-binary. Through the process of looking at resources within the 21-day challenge, there were two engagement tips that stuck out to me.
 1. Ask Clarifying Questions Notice when you are uncomfortable. 
2. Reflect on why you’re uncomfortable and think about what you can do to build more emotional stamina in this area. I realized that I practiced both today. I asked specific clarifying questions to make sure that I am respectful in what their pronouns are. The pronouns are they/them.  I then acknowledged that it can be uncomfortable to me to misstate their pronoun and use she/her because that is what I am accustomed to. I appreciated the honest conversation and within the conversation I was given three things to think about.
 1. Don’t over apologize and draw a lot of attention to the fact that you have misstated a pronoun in conversation. Correct it and move on. 
2. For someone who is transitioning to non-binary, it can be emotionally exhausting for them to try and tell you it’s ok every time you do not get their pronoun correct. It’s your job to make a conscious effort to learn. 
3. We use the pronouns they/them all the time. Example, they ran out in front of me on the interstate. Did you see them at the restaurant? This was a big growing moment for me. 
I appreciated the engaging conversation, and that this person took their time to teach me. Of course, it was understood that my intentions were pure, and I appreciated that acknowledgment. I reflected today over this engagement and thought to myself how different our world could be if a multicultural education was brought into our school systems where students are taught how to communicate and listen to learn. ]]> 2022-07-31 07:13:59 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252236912 A Look at Race Relations through a Child's Eyes e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252237244 This video was done in 2012. To me, I feel as though we have regressed even further since then, and it should not be that way. I wanted to watch and reflect on this because I was interested in seeing if I had any of the same experiences teaching 5/6-year-old students in kindergarten. It was very eye opening to see how different children reacted to pictures of a white child and a black child, and how that led to conversations they have heard either at school or at home about race. The consensus was that black children were more positive about race than white children. 

I can attest that all my experiences being a minority within a predominately black school system either doing hours for the TEP, student teaching, and now teaching have all been positive. There have been many times where I have entered a predominately white school for the same reasons, and almost felt out of place. That’s just my personal experience, but it matched what I saw within this video clip. I would like to see a video like this today in 2022. Maybe there is, and that’s something I can do to research this topic. I want to see the viewpoint from a child’s eyes today. 
]]> 2022-07-31 07:15:17 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252237244 21 Things You Can Do To Be More Respectful of Native American Cultures e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252237824 I found this read to be very informative of the Native Americans. It talks about 21 things you can do to be more respectful of their culture. 

This was number 5 on the list. Avoid sayings that diminish or disparage Native culture. Having an opportunity to do this 21-day challenge is so eye opening for me. I am grateful for it, and this is one reason right here. #5 on the list of how you need to be respectful of the Native American culture. I can say that I have used the term “Indian giver”, “lowest on the totem pole”, and “let’s have a pow wow” more times than I care to count. It is so important that we understand our ignorance, even though not intended to be cruel, and make changes. What I have realized in life is that not everyone is comfortable with correcting you if you have offended them or said something that you shouldn’t say again. Learning to be pro active about diversity is really our responsibility. I have enjoyed this so much, that I will continue to find resources and learn regarding many types of diverse cultures, religions, and sexuality. 
]]> 2022-07-31 07:17:53 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252237824 How Does Racism Affect Your Health? e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252238088  I listened to this Ted Talk from Mary Bassett. She is the director of FXB center for health and human rights at Harvard University.  
 The more I look at racial equity on this 21-day challenge, the more I am realizing that I do not know enough. Do I not know enough because of my “white privilege”? This is one of the hard questions I am asking myself on this journey.  This Ted Talk opened my eyes to a conversation I haven’t thought much about when it comes to racial equity and that is, how does race affect the medical attention you receive? This is called structural racism. Dr. Bassett spoke about the socioeconomic status of Americans and looked specifically at African Americans in New York. It was heartbreaking to hear the percentage of people who will die earlier than others based on their race. With this includes the color of people’s skin and the medical treatment they receive because of that, or simply because they do not live in an area where they have the proper food to eat that will give them nutrients, or maybe they don’t live in an area where they feel its safe to walk outside and exercise. She takes all of this into account when looking at people and the equitable medical treatment that they receive because of their race. This was eye opening for me!  Dr. Bassett made a great point about societal positions. She said that if you have a good one, then you should not waste it and advocate for those who do not. That is what her work aims to do.  In reflection, I need to think about the position I have in society and how the people around me are privileged and marginalized. I wonder what I can do to help. ]]> 2022-07-31 07:19:39 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252238088 Roe vs. Wade e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252238613 Today I engaged in a conversation regarding religion and Roe vs. Wade that was overturned. I had been looking at the guiding tips on things to consider when engaging within these types of conversations, and from the list, I used both: 
1. Validate others by listening closely and believing the truth and importance of what they are sharing. 
 2.Notice your biases and judgments as they arise. 
 This was hard for me. Literally made my anxiety go through the roof. I am not a confrontational person, and I have been raised to not share my political views. I have seen from just standing back and watching that there are many people in my friend circle who have stated if a person thinks a certain way, then they won’t be friends with them anymore. I am very much the opposite and want to hear why people think the way they do. It’s ok to me to have differing opinions. I have been very hesitant to have a conversation with the person that I did today based on all the things stated above. I did it however, and it turned out better than I imagined it would have.  I began the conversation after being engaged with the topic to let this person know why I would be hesitant to have a deep conversation with them about such a heated and personal topic. I think by me being honest upfront that it allowed this person to understand and listen more to see where I was coming from. I am glad to say that we are on great terms and have different opinions on our feelings and that’s ok!  I can tell you the truth and I would not have had that conversation had it not been for this challenge. I would have continued to be voiceless in the back. I have now had two hard conversations and know that I have work to do on communication, but I am getting there and feel slightly more confident than I did.  ]]> 2022-07-31 07:23:25 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252238613 What Does My Headscarf Mean To You? e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252238957 Even though this is not based solely upon Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s religion, she challenges us to look beyond our initial perceptions. It made me realize in a deeper way what an unconscious bias is. Sure, I have heard the meaning, listened to examples, but it’s not until you yourself are put in the position to see your unconscious bias that the light bulb goes off and you realize how dangerous it is for society today and the stereotypes we place on race, religion, sexuality, etc. 


]]> 2022-07-31 07:25:36 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252238957 Islam e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252239544 This read outlined the entire history of Islam which is the religion followed by Muslims. As I was reading this article, I looked deep into my unconscious bias. I realized that I indeed have stereotyped many Muslims due to terrorist acts that have been caused around the world. I am going to include the last part of the article, and I believe that it speaks for itself and the unconscious bias many Americans have regarding the Muslims religion. 

“In recent years, Islam’s supposed association with terrorism and mass murder has sparked a political debate in many countries. The controversial term “radical Islam” has become a well-known label to describe the religion’s connection to acts of violence.

Recent surveys have found that in countries with high Muslim populations, the majority of Muslims have overwhelmingly negative views of terrorist groups like ISIS.

While Muslims aim to clear up misconceptions about their faith, the religion continues to spread rapidly. Today, Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion. Experts predict Islam will surpass Christianity as the largest religion by the end of the century.” (History.com Editors, 2018)

I did not know that Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion. It makes me wonder where the religion is practiced the most within the United States, and how they are overcoming the misconceptions behind it. I will add this to my research list of things to read and learn about! 
]]> 2022-07-31 07:27:54 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252239544 Follow Up: My Noticing Within My Community e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252240365  I took the challenge to answer the questions below. I made sure to wait a week to make sure that I had enough time to watch and reflect on the things around me. 
Questions:
1. Who is and is not represented in ads? Within the ads that I see on TV, I have noticed that they are pretty diverse. More diverse than I have ever seen before which shows interracial couples, gay couples, and a mixture of ethnicities. I can say however after doing this challenge and really looking at ad’s that there are not many, or not at all, Muslims, or Hispanics that I see as much as I have noticed white, black and Asian people.
2. Who are your ten closest friends? What is the racial mix in this group? Out of my 10 closest friends, its 6 white and 4 black. Beyond those closest to me, many of my friends are black.
3. As you move through the day, what’s the racial composition of the people around you? On your commute? At the coffee shop you go to. At the gym? At your workplace? At the show you go on the weekend? I live in a diverse neighborhood, but I would still say that the majority of the people around where I go to the grocery story, and for some of my commutes are a mix of white and black. My workplace is made up of mostly black teachers and students, with a few white teachers and Hispanic students. I have approximately 60 El students.
4. What percentage of the day are you able to be with people of your own racial identity? I am not usually with many people of my racial identity until I come home in the evening with my family. My Para is Hispanic that I am with all day as well as my EL students.
5. Notice how much of your day you are speaking about racism. Who are you engaging with on these issues? Who are you not? Why do you think this is? I have noticed in this last week that there are very few conversations about racism unless I am in this class discussing it. I do not think that it is a topic on my end that is chosen to not be discussed. It is simply not a topic that has been brought up within any of my conversations. I see how it is easy for me as a white woman to not have to address racism if I chose not to. That is definitely something I have noticed and learned this last week.
6. What is the racial mix of the main characters in your favorite TV shows? Movies? The TV shows that I watch have a great mix of diversity and diverse topics within them.
 7. What is the racial mix of people pictured in the photos and artwork in your home? In your friend, family, and colleagues’ homes? This was a great question to think about and then go and notice. All of the pictures within my family’s home are of white people which is all family members. Depending on my friends and their ethnicity, that’s who I noticed was pictured within the photos in their homes, and in their classrooms.
8. Who is filling what kinds of jobs/social roles in your world? (e.g. Who’s the store manager and who’s stocking the shelves? Who’s waiting on tables and who’s busing the food?) Can you correlate any of this to racial identity?  This past week I paid a lot more attention to the people around me when I am shopping, getting gas, eating, and grocery shopping. When I am driving or even in the stores most of the time, I have always felt like there was an equal number of black and whites. What I noticed this last week really took me by surprise. I noticed that most of the workers in the restaurants, managers in the stores, and workers and managers in the grocery store were white. The only place I saw more diversity within the workers was in Target.  
I am glad that I chose to do this challenge where I went out into my community and noticed my surroundings. I am definitely shocked that what I thought vs. Reality is different.  ]]> 2022-07-31 07:31:52 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252240365 Gender Question e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252240845  After Speaking with a friend regarding their sexuality and the things that I could do to better educate myself. I found this podcast that I really enjoyed. This podcast looks at gender and sexuality through news articles. You get a chance to see it differently with the help of experts that are certified to speak on these topics.  Within this certain podcast called, how a judge learned about queer lives. It looks at the story of two lesbian women who were being threatened by the police and who went to the courts for refuge. We can see behind the scenes of what a judge did to better educate himself on the LGBTQ community. He sought counsel to help him understand this certain lifestyle and noted that he needs to progress within his views. He wanted to represent this couple and knew he needed to educate himself on the topic to represent them to the best of his ability. They quoted this judge saying that he is part of the society with all the misconceptions, and now he is in the process of unlearning, so he can help educate the society in which he lives.  I feel very close to the process in which the judge is going through. The process of unlearning. I grew up generationally where this was not something that was discussed in our homes, or in society. I have watched it progress slowly in the last couple of years, yet its just now that I know I must unlearn everything I have learned to understand and give the proper respect to many people around me. ]]> 2022-07-31 07:33:56 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252240845 Sayings that Diminish or Disparage Native Culture e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252242461 I heard a comment made about Native Americans, and I chose to educate the person who said it on sayings that can diminish the Native culture.
As we passed a street that was clearly named after a Native tribe, and it showed that they were having something for the 4th of July, and a comment was made that we should see if we could join their “pow wow” I let this person read the article I had recently read about how to be more respectful of the Native American culture. I challenged them to join this 21-day challenge with me, so I am sending the links to the things I find and then we can discuss them. I saw remorse for the comment that was made, and we were able to talk about how we say things so freely with no regard to how it could be disrespectful to others. That’s something that needs to change not only with us personally, but within our society. ]]> 2022-07-31 07:43:38 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252242461 Demographics in Shelby County, Alabama e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252242868 From the exercise I did on noticing’ in my community, I wanted to go research my area and see what the demographics are of Shelby County. To say I am shocked is an understatement. We live in a diverse neighborhood, and I was under the impression that the entire county was more diverse. 

I would challenge everyone to do this to understand the racial composition of the county they live in, and then think about or research why that is. We all need to notice more things about the community in which we are involved and live. 

 

]]> 2022-07-31 07:46:17 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252242868 Teaching While White e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252243328 I have connected with this site and read through a lot of the blog post and have listened to one of the podcasts so far titled, coaching for equity. I look forward to staying connected and using what I learn to help my co-workers and the people around me. 


]]> 2022-07-31 07:49:24 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252243328 Staying Culturally Connected e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252244166 A administrator at my school and I have discussed unconscious bias. The Ted Talk below would be something great to show to the staff at the beginning of the school year. This would allow us to have a look within ourselves when we teach and when we decide who we want to mentor.

https://www.ted.com/talks/yassmin_abdel_magied_what_does_my_headscarf_mean_to_you

]]> 2022-07-31 07:54:49 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252244166 YWCA e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252244490 YWCA Central Alabama is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

I made the choice today that I am going to engage within the conversations happening at the YWCA of central Alabama. You can register to receive a zoom link and attend the zoom to watch great panelist. I am going to see if I can get a friend group together who would like to watch this together and then have some open conversations about some hard topics, we need to educate ourselves on and how we can move forward to make change within our society. 

]]> 2022-07-31 07:57:06 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252244490 Continuation of Growing and Learning e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252244834 I want to share that this is important to me for many reasons. One being that it was very hard for me to teach as a white person during Black History Month. When I taught kindergarten, I made sure to touch on important topics and put in as much as I could about the mistreatment of Blacks during the civil rights. Every year I would have a child say, “Mrs. Dodd, you are white, do you hate black people?” To which I wanted to cry. Seeing that I feel like we have regressed racially instead of moving forward like we should be doing, who am I to run from speaking the hard truth? It's so important that I showed these students history, but then also showed them the history of their culture where they stood tall and overcame so much. They should be proud of the generations before them that were able to fight for their rights. ]]> 2022-07-31 07:59:15 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252244834 The Amazing 21 Day Challenge e47215 https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252245514 I share this link that was given to us for this challenge with friends and family. I have reflected and there is no doubt that I have grown and learned so much within this challenge. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn. 
I wont say that this challenge isn't hard. I had to self-reflect and come to some hard realizations that I unfortunately have had unconscious biases, and I didn't know all I thought I did about my community and certain cultures so close to my heart. 
I plan on continuing to use these resources to learn and educate myself. I want to be the best I can be! 
Awesome learning experience! ]]> 2022-07-31 08:04:35 UTC https://padlet.com/e47215/Bookmarks/wish/2252245514