Join Upper School English Teacher and Diversity Coordinator Brandon Woods, Middle School English Teacher and Diversity Coordinator Jennifer Nabers and Lower School Spanish Teacher and Diversity Coordinator Kasey Taylor for a discussion about Learning for Justice in action at Latin.

TRANSCRIPT

Jennifer Nabers (00:15):
How's this, like, changed something I've taught? So when I looked at the social justice standards, it was then really important for me to think, like, are there memoirs I can bring in where I can really implement these standards? And so this allowed me to really shape, like, some curriculum choices that I was making.

Kasey Taylor (00:34):
Exploring identity is like a foundational element in the lower school environment. And this happens in a number of ways, but again, scaffolding the opportunities year after year after year allows kids to see how identity development evolves over time.

Brandon Woods (00:53):
Our goal of inclusion and the word I would use along those lines is belonging. And how do you gain a sense of belonging into a community? And I would say there are two possible vectors. One is being able to identify your own identity and your own needs. And what do you need as a person in the community to feel included, to feel a sense of belonging. There's also an obligation towards others.

Kasey Taylor (01:22):
Hi everyone. I'm Kasey Taylor. I am lower school Spanish for junior kindergarten, senior kindergarten, first and second grade. So the "littles" in the lower school and also lower school diversity coordinator.

Brandon Woods (01:35):
My name is Brandon Woods. I am an upper school English teacher currently teaching ninth and tenth grade. And I am also a diversity coordinator and I focus on curriculum JK through 12.

Jennifer Nabers (01:48):
Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer Nabers. I teach seventh grade English and am one of the middle school diversity coordinators. What does a unit in class or a class exercise or activity look like using this framework? Let me talk really specifically about how this changed something I've taught. So for many years in seventh grade English, we read the diary of Anne Frank. But at some point, you know, I was really interested in bringing memoir into my classroom it's, like, a really popular genre. Kids really love it. You can do a lot of writing exercises with it. It lends itself really well to, like, middle school, the middle school experience. So when I looked at the social justice standards, it was then really important for me to think, like, are there memoirs I can bring in where I can really implement these standards?

So I ended up including two memoirs. In the past couple of years, I've added, "It's Trevor Noah," which is the young reader's version of "Born a Crime." And then the George Takei graphic novel, "They Called Us Enemy. "And so this allowed me to really shape, like, some curriculum choices that I was making, because then when I look at, for example - and these are, like, the student outcomes, like, if you look in the middle school band - things like, "I am curious and want to know about other people's histories and lived experiences," or "I can explain the way groups of people are treated today and the way they've been treated in the past, how that shapes their identity and culture." So by using the standards, I could, I could make sure that the text I, I was selecting would be a really good fit for the things that I would know I would want to talk about in my, in my classroom.

Brandon Woods (03:33):
So just to talk about the ways in which this system can look outside of a conventional classroom or conventional curriculum. My partner, Adam Apo, and I are doing a project on the history of the gay rights movement in Chicago. And the final project is they're going to do a collective action after talking to a number of historians and activists who have done collective actions in the past. And the goal for them is to less lead that action, but to listen to other groups and to listen to people who've been impacted and help them with the resources of Latin and the students come up with a collective action that will better the lives of particularly LGBTQIA+ youth in Chicago.

Kasey Taylor (04:28):
For lower school, exploring identity is like a foundational element in the lower school environment. And, this happens in a number of ways, but again, scaffolding the opportunities year after year after year, allows kids to see how identity development evolves over time it's ever, you know, ever-shifting, ever, ever being reshaped. It is not something that is fixed and that's really a key component to understanding identity development that we want the kids to really own that by the time they work their way through the lower school environment. So identity development shows up in a number of ways, like, in for example in JK, self portraits are something that are regularly done, creating "Me" paints, which the kids use a different combination of colors to create their just right paint that matches their skin color is another way that identity development happens.

In first grade, they do a project that's called identity bags where they get to bring home a little paper bag and fill it with a few objects that represent parts of their identity. And then they come back to school with their bag and, and share with their peers. Fourth grade, for example, they do family heritage projects. So, they choose an object that is special to their family and do a little bit of research to understand where did that object come from? What does it represent? How does it connect to their heritage? So those are just a few examples of how identity work lives in the lower school.

Brandon Woods (06:07):
How is this framework connected to the DEI work, DEI goals and the DEI action steps of the school? Well in every way, but I would try to be as specific as possible. I think one of the ways it connects is with our, our goal of inclusion and the word I would use along those lines is belonging. And how do you gain a sense of belonging into a community? And I would say there are two possible vectors. One is being able to identify your own identity and your own needs. And what do you need as a person in the community to feel included, to feel a sense of belonging, but there's also an obligation towards others. What do I have to do to recognize other people in the community? What is my obligation towards them in terms of my, my thought patterns, my actions. And so one of the wonderful things about the, the framework, whether it's identity or diversity or justice or action, is all getting students to think in both of those ways, who am I and what is my responsibility to others? And, and to myself.

Kasey Taylor (07:16):
One of the things you hear from anti-bias educators, social justice education, is that this work is, is not necessarily a curriculum per se. Rather, it's a way of being, it's a way of thinking. It's a way of communicating. It's a way of relating and behaving with the world around you. And it's about having certain dispositions and, and inclinations towards equity and justice and, and looking for those opportunities to create a fair world, a fair world for everyone. And so the social justice standards are just as much for adults in our community as they are for students. We're all on this learning journey together. And so we're paving the way with having this framework, helping us do that together as a community.

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