Our Response...They are Waiting

Our students are looking to us to help them understand what's happening in today's political climate. We can take time, a time of fear and uncertainty for many, and see it as an opportunity to build stronger relationships with our students and families, to show that we can support one another and learn from each others' experiences by sharing ideas openly, and practice civil discourse when we don't, and we won't always agree. 

Here are some ideas that might help the tweens and teens in your library and classroom:

-Invite students to create and display books and resources representing their family's refugee or immigrant experience

-Post primary resource such as the Order or the (former) Attorney General's response and title the board "What do you think?"

-Create an "I Wonder" bulletin board where students and/or you can write a questions

-Journal: give students time to write down their feelings in class

-Reread the U.S. Constitution and discuss checks and balances that are in place to ensure balance and representation in our democracy

-Give students many opportunitied to practice academic and civil discourse. Provide sentence starters for students to use https://edtechknowledge.wordpress.com/tag/

and use https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/29/learning/lesson-plans/analyzing-trumps-immigration-ban-a-lesson-plan.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Flearning&action=click&contentCollection=learning&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&conte&_r=0&referer=

-Things aren't always yes/no, all/none, good/bad. Most of life is about negotiation, compromising, and living and working in the middle. Try this human continuum strategy to hit the idea home. http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104014/chapters/Human-Continuum.aspx

-Listen to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and discuss ways that we want to be treated and how to treat others, whether we agree or disagree. http://www.teachertube.com/mobile/video/mlk-i-have-a-dream-speech-20916

-Research, interview and promote a variety of heroes in your community from a variety of backgrounds. Be sure to include individuals who were or work directly with refugees and/or immigrants 

-Review relaxation techniques and stress busters https://www.edutopia.org/sites/default/files/resources/stw-glenview-stress-reduction-activities.pdf

-Discuss the power of the media and taking charge to power off to take a break from the headlines

-Discuss and read about people http://choices.scholastic.com/story/unbreakable-4-teens-who-prove-power-resilience and characters who were and are resilient through trying and/or war-torn times. What would you add to this list? 

Homeless Bird; Outrun the Moon; What Elephants Know

-Read about characters who are complex and develop, change, and grow smarter and more open-minded over time: Every Falling Star; Touching Spirit Bear 

-Advise/Guide a group of students who've been asking to start a new club that fosters inclusion and acceptance: Interfaith Club; GSA https://gsanetwork.org/resources/building-your-gsa/10-steps-starting-gsa; Cesar Chavez Club http://www.chavezclubs.org/

Resources for Teacher Librarians, Classroom Educators, and School Leadership

-Share your story. What is happening in your school library following the anti-immigration order? https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevyEfPw1fEgRbgRhjPsQjwFQe1bU2L3qSY2kcnTW6oCWzNcg/viewform

-Read http://www.slj.com/2016/10/diversity/a-path-forward-how-libraries-support-refugee-children/

-Read: Responding to Hate and Violence at School http://www.tolerance.org/publication/responding-hate-and-bias-school

-Build literacy based, anti-biased lesson plans with Teaching Tolerance http://perspectives.tolerance.org/

-Read http://www.tolerance.org/blog/what-do-i-say-students-about-immigration-orders

What are you doing in your libraries and classrooms? 

War

Interesting Perspective on the term “Civil War”.  Saw CBS segment last night and made me think about some possible resources for beginning an inquiry into "war".

 

-War and the Pity of War (at PB Middle Library) book of poetry from two sides (pro/con war)

-Eleanor’s Story, local author Eleanor Ramrath who was an American teen who ended up in Germany during WWII

-Flag of their Fathers (CBS Sunday Morning segment) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-flags-of-their-fathers/

-War Widows of Afghanistan

http://pulitzercenter.org/project/war-widows-afghanistan-struggle-stigma-women?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=EventInvite&utm_campaign=PaulaBronsteinTalksAt

 

Higher level

The Economist. The economics of violence: Are countries poor because they are violent or violent because they are poor? Conflict and Poverty. 2011.http://www.economist.com/node/18558041

 

18+ or Y.A. only - Turtles Can Fly

 

 

-Jenny

 

Sra. Scherf

Never doubt the power and value of a single teacher. My high-school teacher surprised me yesterday at my school when she brought me flowers, a card, and a gift for my daughter. She is an award-winning educator who remembers and continues to care about her students long after they are no longer on her roster. When I had her as my teacher I didn't perform at my best. She always pushed me and wasn't satisfied with my effort, but always treated me  as the person she knew I could be if and when I was ready to shine. Thank you for seeing in me what I didn't. She ignited my passion to learn Spanish and called me to apply to become a bilingual educator 20 years ago. Mil gracias Sra. Scherf. Here's to making a difference and treating every child like they are special and believing that they can and will make a difference in our world in their own time, in their own way. 

Finland's Less Stress Approach

Perspective: The global education pioneer eases students into the classroom.

Read More:
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/08/how-finland-starts-the-school-year/497306/

Happy School Start

Depending on your location, you are ready to go on summer break, started fall already, or have students who start Monday. Whenever you are starting your school year, I think my friend and neighbor's thoughts ring true for me and may be the same for you too. 

Shared with permission from Kristie Wilson, pre-k, San Diego Unified: Happy back to school to all the educators and school professionals in the area!  Wishing you the best year!  Let's hope this is the year the laminator doesn't break right before open house and all parents read the papers you send home.  May your kids dreams be higher than the play structure and hearts warmer than whatever that thing is on the lunch trays on Tuesday.  This is it, this could be the year you have too much help from parents and suddenly boys lose interest in Axe body spray.  This may even be the year you don't drop all the papers you just stacked neatly and don't ruin your shoes in that puddle that didn't look that deep.  What if this is the year your name somehow gloriously gets left off of the bus duty/ recess duty list and you never send a kid to the office for lice?  May you be brave enough tell someone "no" and generous to tell someone "yes."  May your stapler always be full and your pencils always sharp.  May your prep periods feel long and your meetings be short. May your coffee cups be full and your game faces be on.  You are valuable, you are needed, you are great, you are mighty, you are the front line, you are the light carrier.  Cheers!

Islam in the classroom

It is up to us as educators to facilitate lessons, discussions, and cooperative skills that open-minds and increase understanding. Children repeat what they hear at home and from outside sources but we must not let bullying and hatred into our classrooms. Hate begets more hate. It never ends but it can end by making our classes a safe place. San Diego Unified School District Board Will Address Islamophobia and Bullying of Muslim Students | NBC 7 San Diego http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Unified-School-District-Islamophobia-Muslim-Students-CAIR-Plan-388390272.html?_osource=mobilesharebar

We need to address this in San Diego, how about where you live? 

Sign-up for one of my favorite resources, Teaching Tolerance Magazine, or check it out online. There are also many resouces for understanding world religions, ask you Librarian for suggestions or get started with these:

http://www.slj.com/2013/05/resources/islam-in-the-classroom/

http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/taking-closer-look-religions-around-world

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/islam08.socst.world.glob.lppillars/the-five-pillars-of-islam

Teachers and communities may be fearful, and are not always trained to lead lessons on religion. http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-na-islam-schools-20151220-story.html

But, that's not helpful for us as teachers, our students, or our communities to not address that students may be hurt and bullied while other students may actual be fearful of muslim students based on what they hear in their homes. Noone can learn in fear. So, it becomes something we can take time to learn more about: how to talk and lead studies about religion in a fair, unbiased, inclusive, and caring way. It's our responsibility to make sure our children see themselves in our literature and in our classroom and to help build a future where we may not all believe the same things but we can understand each others beliefs. As we say in IB, just because someone is different, that doesn't make him wrong. It just means we may have different ideas. Moving toward developing international-mindedness is something we work on in IB and this paper may help understnd that educational philosophy more. 

http://www.ibo.org/globalassets/publications/ib-research/imeufullreportfinal.pdf

Thank you for working to develop open-mindedness, peace, and caring in our community and in your classrooms. 

5 Paragraph Essay?

Should we teach it anymore? "You write to communicate something, and that means you have to adapt the form to the function," argues Mark Anderson, a teacher at the Jonas Bronck Academy in New York City. Is the ol' five paragraph essay support or a straight jacket? Read more from the article: Is the Five-Paragraph Essay History? http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/06/20/is-the-five-paragraph-essay-history.html?cmp=soc-tw-shr via @educationweek. What are your thoughts? Have you ever used this fornat in real-life? Should we teach curruculum that does not have relevance in the world of career, life-skills, or higher level academia? If we don't teach this clear format of thesis/claim and support, will students learn to identify and cite high-quality evidence or is there a more efficient tool for teaching conventions?