It made me think on exiting stereotypes surrounding my students as well as stereotypes their families might encounter. I am thinking on how I can utilize social groups or general social and play times in the classroom to combat those stereotypes. Also wondering if there is a way to plan and replicate social skills and social play during the school day so that parents can use the same framework for play at home.

I think it is obvious to me that all of our lived experiences are influenced by race and culture. I grew up in a very racially diverse community and the topic of race was at the forefront of mine and many of my peer’s experiences. That hasn’t changed as an adult but what has changed is the people I am around. Now I navigate mostly white spaces which can be a culture shock by how unaware white people seem to be aware of their own selves. This has informed my teaching career in a lot of ways. I’ve become more sensitive to the fact that in this area many people do not have the vocabulary or awareness of how race and culture influences who we are on a micro and macro level. Being sensitive to this and providing learning opportunities for students to reflect on their understanding of the world has been a goal of mine. As with all my teaching, I try not to tell students how it is but have them discover it through meaningful experiences and questions. 

I think I struggle to relate to students who have a lot of privilege and wealth. Their experiences are not ones I am familiar with personally nor do I have relationships with people in that demographic. 

That our differences are important and should not be judged. 

I do my best, and if I ever make a mistake I apologize and ask students to correct me. 

Yes :) I love hearing from my students and give them a non judgemental space to share their personal experiences. 

I’ve done a lot of personal work to reduce this as much as possible. Sometimes I can have my own implicit biases come up but I’ve been working on this for a while as a professional in cultural awareness in different settings outside of teaching and within my own personal journey of unlearning and learning. In times where I have felt myself overstep, I will apologize to students and recognize I let my emotions or perspectives cloud my actions and hold myself accountable. In no way do I think I am perfect but I’ve been doing this work for a long time and it has been my mission since I decided to be an educator to create spaces where students feel empowered and can thrive in their own lived experiences.