Welcoming Schools

UOTeach Welcoming Schools: Gender Inclusive Learning Communities

2019 UOTeach Welcoming Schools
WORKSHOP SLIDES: Welcoming Schools UOTeach 2019

OBJECTIVE 1:  Considering Gender Norms and Gender Identity:
* Related to other aspects of Identity
* Present in MY OWN sense of myself
* Informing how I interact as a learner and a Future teacher

OBJECTIVE 2: Interrogating how Gender Norms and Gender Identity Diversity are:
* Socially supported / Socially denied in schools
* Addressed in instruction / Ignored in instruction
* Opportunities for enrichment / Barriers to enrichment

The Welcoming Schools Workshop began with a panel of current education professionals sharing life stories.  Each educator shared how their educational experiences have been shaped in relation to their identity.

ws 2019 Part i.  Identity, Intersectionality, and Inequality

Identity, Inequality, and Intersectionality

The Welcoming Schools panelists shared personal stories about how multiple aspects of identity have created opportunities as well as barriers for them within the education setting. Some of the critical identity based topics that were highlighted in the storytelling included:

Each of the concepts above has an internet link for your further reading and self-education.

It is critical to note that our panel shared personal stories in order to make visible systems, structures, and experiences that are most often rendered invisible in our day-to-day interactions within an education setting.  The only instruction given was to explicitly include how gender identity or gender expression was connected to the experiences each panelist choose to share in their storytelling.

The Tip of the Iceberg

Beneath the Surface

Each panelist was limited to a five-minute window and only shared a very limited view of their experiences in school and in society related to their identities.

As with all personal stories we asked that you reflect upon, connect with, and learn from what you heard shared.

We also asked that you remember that each panel member’s story belongs to that person and can only be shared with that person’s explicit permission.

To find identity based stories made public (memoirs, blogs, videos etc.)  you are encouraged to explore many diverse podcasts, published articles, books, movies, and blogs where people are offering public versions of their personal experiences for discussions and for learning.

ws 2019 Part 2.  (UOTeach) equity and DIVERSITY DISCUSSION PROTOCOLS 

After the panel discussion we went through a review of the UOTeach Learning Community discussion protocols.  Protocols are a critical tool for each new teacher to consider in order to support students in a classroom community.

You can read this article, Starting With Ourselves: Preparing for Tough Classroom Conversations, to get more ideas about how you will develop your own classroom protocols for engaging in equity and diversity dialogues.

UOTeach Dialogue Protocols:

  1. Stay engaged.
    Listen deeply and ask with curiosity.

  2. Speak what is true for you.
    Beginning with I statements can be helpful

  3. Experience discomfort.
    Reflections on your own discomfort are rich with new information

  4. Have an appreciative inquiry stance.
    Assume good intent and be attentive to negative impacts

  5. Expect and accept non-closure.
    Be open to unexpected outcomes as well as to ambiguity

ws 2019 part 3.  BINARY GENDER FRAMEWORK  — GENDER STEREOTYPES — and GENDER INEQUALITY

For this discussion we considered fundamental issues related to normative gender in curriculum, instruction, and performance in the classroom.  For further reading on this topic you can follow this EDUTOPIA link:  Gender Equity in the Classroom

We looked at how gender stereotypes, gender norms, and gender bias prevent people of all genders from full and affirmed participation in society.

Here are a few videos on the challenges of Masculinity and Femininity to developing youth:

ws 2019 part 4.  INCLUSIVE GENDER FRAMEWORK  — GENDER IDENTITY STEREOTYPES — and GENDER IDENTITY INEQUALITY

For this discussion we used materials from Gender Spectrum, HRC Welcoming Schools, and Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition.  Critical topics related to having a gender inclusive framework are linked below:

ws 2019 part 5.  homework — critical pedagogy — reflexivity and doing my own work

Equity and diversity work in education is endless.  Developing your own tools for both reflection and for resilience are critical to sustaining your momentum as a teacher.  I recommend you explore some of these excellent authors and resource homes as spaces that may give you personal ideas for how you will intentionally cultivate and care for your own heart and mind.

The Courage to Teach: Courage Renewal Center

Ask What Matters – Self-Reflection Cycle

Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience

The Trauma Stewardship Institute

Courageous Conversations About Race

Engaging in Difficult Dialogues: Alaska Native Frameworks UAA

Racial Justice and Real Talk About Burnout

 

ws 2019 part 6.  further reading / watching / listening

Additional related readings:

Reference Materials

Reports

Videos

Additional Resources: