​Ibram X. Kendi wrote the book, How to Be an Antiracist, in 2019 that has played an important role in shaping what it means to fight inequity and racism in this country.  According to Kendi, it’s about taking individual and collective action to fight racism and inequity that will end racism, not getting rid of the racists in the world.  He followed this book with one for parents called How to Raise and Antiracist that was published this year.  I was fortunate to consider this work as part of the Microsoft Innovative Educators program this month with the 8-hour learning pathway entitled, Anti-Racism Journey for Educators with Students.  The work that educators do with students is probably one of the most important arenas where antiracist work must take place.  What educators do and don’t do to deal with racism in the classroom and through their curriculum is a critical battleground that has an immense impact on work to be the fight against racism.  The course allowed me to view the problems in education through the lens of norm-setting, restorative problem-solving through a social and emotional framework, and storytelling.  It was focused around 4 major topics:  Identity, Bias and Privilege, Antiracism Work and Work with Students.  Through each section of the course there were videos and articles to support a thorough reflection on these topics.  This is important work for educators to do continuously.  I unfortunately don’t think this work will be done in my lifetime if ever, so I was happy to see that Microsoft provided this opportunity to DO this work as part of a larger collection of training for educators.

​I have started my new job as Curriculum Integration Specialist at St. Mary’s and so far, I love it.  I am humbled to be working with a talented tech team and faculty, and excited to be working in the close-knit community that is St. Mary’s where I think amazing things are happening for students and I look forward to being a part of shaping that.  While talking to the librarian about starting here, she said, “everybody here wants so much to see everybody else succeed.”  When I heard that it hit me how blessed I am to be working here.  This was nowhere more apparent than in a meeting I recently attended to go over the schedule and plan for the student orientation weekend for the 172nd school year at St. Mary’s.  I was happy to be included having not experienced the orientation weekend before, but it was clear that this is a very well-organized event and the purpose of this meeting was simply to fine-tune an already successful event.  Questions came up such as “how do we make sure the students are grouped together, so no one has to enter the dining room alone?” and “how do we maximize the organization of department tables for the best flow of traffic?”  The meeting was about getting the input of all the various school entities to create the best possible experience for our students as they start the new year.
​
That afternoon I left work and drove a mile up the road to Haven House where I am involved in a boxing program for at-risk youth called Second Round.  Every other Tuesday is Orientation Night for prospective participants.  Coach Massey, the head coach was running the prospective participants through a drill where they had to listen to his commands.  Every time a participant didn’t listen to a command or performed it incorrectly, he had to do push-ups.  The attention to listening of the participants became quite keen by the end of the exercise.  Coach Massey said, “You guys did a good job of listening.   That wasn’t so bad.  How come you can’t listen to your parents at home?”  He paused for a moment, and no one offered a response.   Coach Massey continued, “I’ll tell you why…because there were consequences for not listening.  In the real world, the consequences operate a little differently.  For many of you the consequences for not listening are going to be jail or being put six feet under.”  I was struck by the stark contrast in orientations.  That’s not to say the talent of the staff at Second Round is any less.  I love the way Massey can captivate the room with his charisma and boxing wisdom and leave the boys with a lot to think about…or to watch Lisa, who draws the kids in with her clear explanations and sharp attention to breaking down skills, so the kids can understand what to do.  There is Patt, our newest assistant coach whose youthful enthusiasm and energy are infectious. Then there is Garron, the program leader who works tirelessly to juggle all the many hats he’s required to wear and still maintains a positive attitude through it all.  The focus at Haven House is about survival.  Helping the kids survive and thrive in the tough environment they live in.  Hoping that next grant will come through to ensure funding for the program.  I am equally as invigorated and humbled to be a part of this team as well.

Yes, indeed.  I am quite blessed.  I couldn’t ask for much more in terms of being involved in programs where I have the opportunity to make a difference with my unique set of skills in the lives of children.

​In my quest to inform the task of developing curriculum that addresses a variety of intelligences and learning styles, I read the book The Differentiated Classroom by Carol Ann Tomlinson.  The key principles of differentiated instruction outlined in the book and listed on page 48 are:

• The teacher is clear about what matters in the subject matter.
• The teacher understands, appreciates, and builds upon student difference.
• Assessment and instruction are inseparable
• The teacher adjusts content, process, and product in response to readiness, interests and learning profiles.
• All students participate in respectful work.
• Students and teachers are collaborators in learning
• Goals of a differentiated classroom are maximum growth and individual success
• Flexibility is the hallmark of differentiated instruction

There is a wealth of information packed into this 130-page book about how to go about differentiating instruction so that the differences students bring with them are addressed.  The first thing that is important to consider is the goal of having each student grow as much as they possibly can.  This is first and foremost and it’s clear that in order to do this you have to provide different learning experiences.  As Tomlinson states: “All students need to understand the same essential principles and even use the same key skills.  Yet, because of variance in student readiness, interest, or learning profile, children must “come to” the ideas and use the skills in different ways” (p. 37).  But even before one goes about differentiating for different students, teachers must have a clear sense of what the students should come to know, understand and be able to do from their study of the curriculum.  Without this clarity, differentiation is only shallow.  Students should come away with the same basic understanding and skills regardless of the path they took to get there.  Tomlinson goes on to say that what she calls durable learning must include understanding and engagement.   Student’s interests as well as their comprehension must be cultivated in order for learning to be long term. With the content one must address one or both of these questions in order to motivate students:  Is it interesting to the students? and/or does it have any practical value for them?  As Tomlinson states, “It is a human birthright to be a learner.  There is little we do that is more important.  In a healthy classroom, the teacher knows that we have little time for exploring and understanding.  Thus, he focuses on what matters the most about a subject and ensures that the essentials are at the core of student experiences” (p. 32).  She goes on to list these key features of what should be taught and learned in a classroom:

• is relevant to students; it seems personal, familiar, connected to the world they know;
• helps students understand themselves and their lives more fully now, and will continue to do so as they grow up
• is authentic, offering “real” history or math or art, not just exercises about the subject;
• can be used immediately for something that matters to the students; and
• makes students more powerful in the present as well as in the future

Only once this has been done can a teacher proceed to differentiate instruction in meaningful ways.  Tomlinson warns: “You need not differentiate all elements in all possible ways.  Effective differentiated classrooms include many times in which whole-class nondifferentiated fare was the order of the day.  Modify a curricular element only when (1) you see a need and (2) you are convinced that modification increases the likelihood that the learner will understand important ideas and use important skills more thoroughly as a result” (p. 11).
Tomlinson notes that there are numerous ways to differentiate based on students’ readiness, interest, and learning profiles.  She goes on to say that content (what students will learn and the material that will represent that), processes (activities through which students make sense of key ideas using essential skills), and product (how students demonstrate and extend what they understand and can do as a result of a span of learning) so that when you think about differentiating you should ask these 3 questions:

1. Differentiate What?
2. Differentiate How?
3. Differentiate Why?

One other critical feature of differentiated instruction is that assessment needs to be ongoing and its purpose is to inform how a teacher should proceed with instruction, not as a culminating activity to show what students have mastered.  This book was truly a powerhouse in terms of laying out a framework for differentiating instruction.  Now the task of making it a reality so that all students in a given classroom thrive and grow as much as possible.
​
Image Source:  freepik.com

The more I read about differentiated instruction, the more I realize that it involves first coming up with a quality curriculum, then getting to know your students and making adjustments based on the students you have.  Key to this is getting to know your students from the beginning so you can begin to make those adjustments as early as possible.  This, of course, is difficult in an online setting.  As I prepare to teach online for the summer, I am beginning to brainstorm ways to get to know students better at the beginning of a class.  Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with:
Interest Inventory- I am creating an interest inventory that I hope gets at some of the interests of my students.  I think it’s important to have the interest inventory be content specific, so you get a sense of what is most interesting to the students about your content area.  It should also include more general interest questions, so you get a sense of what is important to individual students.  I think also you need to get a sense of what is going on in the students’ lives right now.  When possible, get at what personal concerns students have and what their schedule is like.

Pre-Assessment- This is critical to know where your students are starting at with your content area and their academic and readiness level.  Regardless, of the course, I think it is important to include a writing sample, which is a lot more telling in many ways than a multiple-choice assessment.  A combination of both is a good idea.

Learning Style/Intelligences Inventory-  This is valuable for the teacher and the students to know what their learning preferences are as well as strengths and weaknesses.

Letting Students Get to Know You and Your Course:

It is equally important that students get to know you as well.  It is hard to develop a presence in an online setting.  Some ideas are:

• Teacher video that includes personal information so they see you as a person and hence feel they can relate to you.
• Course orientation video that shows students how to get around the course and do the major tasks required in the course.
• Class Treasure Hunt that includes a variety of tasks and scenarios that prepare students for the course and get them comfortable with where to locate important materials in the course.
• Course Syllabus that lays out everything about the course.
• Pacing Guide that breaks down what they should be accomplishing each day or week in a course.

​Image Source:  freepik.com