An informal learning community for educators worldwide. Our passion for learning and connected learning experiences help us to improve our teaching practices. #txeduchat features guest moderators every week.
Welcome to #txeduchat ! Delighted to have @nnekamcgee guest hosting our conversation tonight! Tell us who you are and where you're connecting from for this important discussion.
Good evening, #txeduchat! I'm so humbled and excited to moderate this evening's chat on equity in education. Please join us for this engaging discussion. #road2equity
I'm a sophomore at The University of Oklahoma! I’m participating in this chat for my learning with educational technology class and I am excited to learn from you all! #txeduchat
We ❤️ when little girls #volunteer w/ #TeamVictoria! We are fighting for ⬆️ funding for our neighborhood #schools & for 5 million+ TX students, like Sophia. Every kid deserves access to the best quality #education regardless of the zip code in which she lives. #HD107#txlege
Good evening y’all. Elyse, special ed teacher in Katy, checking in on Spring break at my folks in dfw. Hmmm...my superpower would be encouraging & celebrating others. #txeduchat
A1. This is my favorite graphic about this topic as it adds the 3rd picture where the culture of inequity was addressed and the systematic barrier was removed. #txeduchat
A1: Equity can be defined as giving students what they need to be successful and being fair. Equality: is basically treating everyone the same #txeduchat
A1. From the article you shared - "a great example of deficit thinking" as it would appear that all short individuals would need crates which may or may not be true. #txeduchat
A2: It's just too simple to say "all groups" are affected by inequity, but it's true. We need to be able to put faces with the "all" so that it matters whether we can bridge the gaps. #txeduchat
When I first began studying equity in education, I must admit my view was limited to the U.S.A. I’m working on expanding my knowledge to a worldwide understanding. Equity in education crosses all borders and boundaries. Great info from UNICEF: https://t.co/ZIwja9S4TL#txeduchat
#txeduchat A2 Children with learning disabilities ( 504 and SPED ) are impacted the most with equity. The accommodations are produced to help the child become successful with their peers. Great Trs realize this and naturally help those who are struggling become successful
A2 Groups affected by inequity include those that learn differently & not limited to the gifted, ESL, Special Ed, and beyond the status quo recognized. #txeduchat
A2: This has recently been a discussion in my class and I believe that groups affected by inequity are children with learning disabilities. I recently learned ways to use technology to help Special Ed students receive more equity in the classroom. #txeduchat
A2: My wife has always reminded me that I am sometimes tougher on boys than I am girls in the classroom (we have four daughters and 2 sons). That is an equity issue. #txeduchat
A1 Equity is about the child. Each learner has access to tools/environment that allows growth and learning to happen. When I think of equality, I think of one size fits all...doesn’t work. #txeduchat
Don't even get me started with how GT students are treated in some schools/districts. They deserve a decent education just like all other kids. #txeduchat
A3. Having a classroom of 30 students and trying your best to get them all what they need in order to be successful. Better yet - guiding them so they reach themselves for what they need. #txeduchat
A2 It's can also be geographic. Our district will spend $$ to provide tech resources/broadband for our students,but there are no robust ISP's on the "poor side of town" #txeduchat
A3 Obstacles in equity include letting go of what we’ve always done, funding for the ideas we have to change the constant, and mindsets of others to meet all needs. #txeduchat
Agreed - we have a very long road to travel on this journey .... but conversations like this one and amazing educators like @nnekamcgee who moderate and raise questions for us to thrash over helps #txeduchat
#txeduchat A3 I think I represent ALL Trs when I say that it is our goal is to make sure each St IMPROVES in our classes, however, we can't control what the kid goes home too. If you have a St that goes through a parental divorce during your year, it will impact their learning.
A3 Systemic barriers -Less resources in "poor" areas; Social Stereotypes "girls can't do that", "boys don't do that", lack of cultural understanding and communication #txeduchat
A3 I think lack of understanding can be a huge obstacle to equity. It can be so easy to blame that which we do not understand. That’s one reason why relationships are so important...not just with kids, but with families. #txeduchat
@DrHarrisonMcCoy brings up an excellent point that I often had long discussions with students about. It was such a challenging issue for them to wrap their minds around. #txeduchat
A4: I think the "elephant in the room" on this question is standardized testing. Hard to always achieve equity when so many decisions are based on standardized achievement results. #txeduchat
A4. Practices that originated long ago during the industrialized revolution when rows of desks were very straight and children were to be seen and not heard. #txeduchat
#txeduchat A4 Treating ALL Ss the SAME and not following the accommodations or not differentiating for the low AND HIGH Ss. A great Tr will challenge the high Ss and give a hand to the lower Ss on the same topic.
Or, when questions have no relevance to students lives...I remember a math question about golf stumped a lot of students one year. Also, a question about snow in deep south TX...let's fix this! #txeduchat
A4 - Parent/School events - if we really want to understand and receive support from the families we serve, these events need to meet their schedule, not ours. We make P's take off work to meet us on our own time, and wonder why they enter the meeting defensive...#txeduchat
A4: Sometimes admin and teachers have different perspectives on equity in the classroom and there needs to be better communication between the two. #txeduchat
I love the opportunities that technology has opened up for our learners, but I think technology can also contribute to inequity...access varies from school to school, district to district...even within the same classroom. #txeduchat
A4. Times have changed greatly from when my grandmother used this bell to call students from age 5 to 16 in from recess into the one room school house. Just think of how quickly we have advanced! #txeduchat
A5: Like many things, technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, greater access and opportunity can help level the playing field. On the other, advantages of race and class can become magnified and lead to greater inequity. #txeduchat
A5: With the use of technology increasing in education, I think it promotes and prevents equity depending on the schools accessibility and funding for technology #txeduchat
A5 Technology can promote equity when the purpose is defined and carried out. Everything doesn’t have to be tech based to allow the Ss to be successful. #txeduchat
A5. I remember 20 years ago when we use to ask this same question about the tech divide of the "haves and have-nots" - we didn't know what we didn't know about cell phones then - what else don't we know now about 20 yrs from now? #txeduchat
I would add the school's "priority" - In a multi-campus district, we saw the inequity reflect the Princ beliefs - we had to add dist guidelines to help with Tech equity. #txeduchat
I think just like anything else, it depends in part, on our mindset...and mindfulness...as educators. We must be aware of the potential barriers our learners face and be ready find ways to remove those barriers. #txeduchat
A5: I don’t believe technology is helping because there are so many students who have no access. Requiring tech for those students is like tying their hands behind their backs. #txeduchat
A6 This is the first step in ensuring equity? How can we authentically meet the needs of each learner if they do not have voice/choice in their learning. I truly believe equity is not possible without it. #txeduchat
A6 Choice/Voice allow students to be in the drivers seat for their education. We must equip them to advocate for themselves in the further. Ss know what works for them! #txeduchat
A5 - It's important to define the purpose-It doesn't help if we expect all Ss to have the same tech used the same way at the same time. Like the short kid who can't stand on the crate. Tech is a swiss army knife-we need teach Ss how to use it to support their need #txeduchat
A8: Let’s consider approaching public education through more project based learning with a myriad of ways to show mastery. Less rigid grade level definitions so there is fluid movement for students to extend learning to meet their varied needs. #txeduchat
A8. Years of experience taught me it begins with conversations about building a community school. Consistent, ongoing conversations, year after year where all stakeholders truly hold goal paramount are a good beginning. #txeduchat
A6: student voice helps support equity because as teachers we need to ask students what they need and how to accommodate them to where they will succeed #txeduchat
A9: Piggy-backing off the words from @AngelaMaiers from last week. I will never stop telling students They Matter and I will always seek out opportunities for them to shine. #txeduchat
A9 There are some awesome educators out there working hard for equity in their classrooms everyday. Recognize/support/celebrate those moments. #txeduchat
Under the new federal education law, states will for the first time be required to report SCHOOL level spending (it’s been district level to date). Will be interesting to see what light this sheds on what we’ve been discussing tonight regarding equity. #txeduchat
