María Patricia

Marinating: On more ways to make this a part of everything we do.

• “Proponents of the multilingual turn suggest that the native-speaker goal should be revised and replaced by a goal of plurilingual competencies (Conteh and Meier, 2014; May, 2014 qtd in Rojas). This makes me wonder, how can I celebrate plurilingualism more in my instruction and the work I do with schools with EKC?

• IBDP… yes, it taps into international mindedness, but the assessments and the scoring prioritize English speaking and writing to near perfection. How can DP teachers embed and prioritize translanguaging and other strategies into their classroom instruction to help students celebrate their multilingualismn whilst adequately preparing students?

Marinating:

• How we start the DEIJ conversations at our schools, the school we work with?

• What do parent conversations look like in the international setting?

• How can we empower students to be more aware of DEIJ and literacy (thinking upperclassmen here in high school)?

In some quick readings, I came across two phrases that stuck with me:

“Discovering our identity through literacy”

“Observing opposing discourse”

There’s so much to unpack here about the stories we tell, the voices we hear (and don’t hear), and the ways literacy can both affirm and challenge identity.

What’s still marinating for me: How are we involving and educating parents in this work? Are we bringing them into the conversation about representation, equity, and language? If not, how might we start?

I can see how this is essential to address across the four levels: ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized.

As strategists, what does it mean to bring ease to our schools, while raising the rigor of deep inquiry into the systems around us? How can we intentionally facilitate profound, organizational learning and ongoing, strategic improvements that, collectively, amplify marginalized voices and nurture belonging for all?

Looking forward to the next session. Thank you, Beth! ~Annie

As a language strategist, how to balance the rigor that is expected from the work we are doing with language teachers while also putting efforts to highlight the importance of students' own cultural and educational background so to facilitate an inclusive environment for every learner? This needs more than each individual's intentional work. It is institutional support and heavy lifting that has to come in structure.

Will continue pondering on this...