From the beginning of the first video, one of the things that resonated with me was when the speaker said that there are a lot of smart competent people working hard, but there is still predictable racialized achievement disparities. This lets us know that it is not enough to just work hard, but actually have intentional work proven to decrease these achievement gaps. The idea of having tools, or a protocol, to help with uncomfortable conversations speaks to this point. Also, I think having these tools helps to structure uncomfortable conversations with colleagues and students, something that has to happen for these achievement gaps to be closed.
Another thing that really spoke to me was the math teacher that recognized that although her algebra curriculum did not give much room for this additional work, it was important to give her students a safe place to process and vent their feelings helped them to be more focused and engaged the other 4 days of the week. It is important as educators to establish these relationships with our students and that it can actually improve our instructional time. It also benefits our students as it gives them the language that they need to have difficult conversations which is a skill that they can use throughout their lives.
Another thing that really spoke to me was the math teacher that recognized that although her algebra curriculum did not give much room for this additional work, it was important to give her students a safe place to process and vent their feelings helped them to be more focused and engaged the other 4 days of the week. It is important as educators to establish these relationships with our students and that it can actually improve our instructional time. It also benefits our students as it gives them the language that they need to have difficult conversations which is a skill that they can use throughout their lives.