#FLedchat is a virtual meeting place using Twitter. Educators across the state of Florida come together on Wednesdays at 8pm EST to discuss the topics of the week.
Hello all. Dene here from Orlando, FL serving as moderator tonight. I will be using the @FLedChat to push questions, but I will RT and such from my own account. Thanks for being here! #FLEdChat
A1. A tricky one. As an independent school diversity has to be addressed. But our demographic is really reflective of our area. There is an international program, but the students don’t really integrate! Although our student president is an overseas student this year! #FLedChat
Yes. I wonder if they subconsciously know that they can learn from others? Overheard students today expressing how one was always jealous of another because they always got things "right" #fledchat Was interesting to hear.
I totally understand that. I suppose leaning on those virtual opportunities would be a way to integrate diversity in learning. The student president could def be an asset! #FLEdChat
So glad you shared this Caitlin. I think our bookshelves do need some transformation inasmuch as varied reading will help focus on these two important ideas ongoing. #FLedchat
#FLedchat a2: stop treating diversity/community as separate entities. Listen more to our students. Recognizing implicit bias and how that affects our school policies and discipline. And then working to change it.
A2: We need to take time for team and class building lessons. It is so nice when students truly become a family and are comfortable enough to take risks. #FLedChat
A2. I'm working on our shelves in the media center. Getting more books to reflect our diverse school community. Building after school clubs that encourage the same. #FLEdChat
Q3: The Power to Understand: “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” How does quote gel with your perceptions of diversity and community? #FLEdChat
A2: There are so many ways to go beyond the four walls. Currently using @LevelUpVillage, @GoogleET - presenting and networking @fetc, and @iborganization - so many ways to bring the world to our students inside the four walls. #fledchat
A3: I've heard several people say that we are better together. I also think about the restaurant called The Melting Pot. And Captain Planet, "by your power combined, I am Captain Planet." What can we not do when we come together? #FLedchat
A1: Diversity is one of those words that gets thrown around because it makes people in leadership positions feel better about themselves but sometimes I struggle to see true diversity simply because the faces around me look different. #FLEdChat
A3. We all have things we are good at. Why not join together to identify & solve problems in our schools & communities? If I am good at organization, and someone else is good at gardening, why not work together to build a community garden? #FLEdChat
I hear you completely. Initiatives that are temporary "fixes." We know they don't work. Oh but if we began to include this as part of what we do daily, imagine the ongoing impact! #FLedchat
Q3: I love that my job literally allows me to create new things and learning - every day! Today, I worked with a science teacher to teach about solar power and will demo how the students can design a flashlight on Friday #howSESlearns@LevelUpVillage#fledchat
A3. We all have things we are good at. Why not join together to identify & solve problems in our schools & communities? If I am good at organization, and someone else is good at gardening, why not work together to build a community garden? #FLEdChat
Q3: I love that my job literally allows me to create new things and learning - every day! Today, I worked with a science teacher to teach about solar power and will demo how the students can design a flashlight on Friday #howSESlearns@LevelUpVillage#fledchat
Q3: ...and being @NorthernIreland in a very American school makes me diverse (yes...the accent is real (although I've been accused of it being fake...true story!) - but get to work with diverse thinkers that go beyond the four walls! #fledchat
Q4: The Power to Perpetuate: An unknown author stated: “Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.” How do you celebrate your diversity? How can make room for this in the classroom or school, ongoing? #FLEdChat
Q3: ...and being @NorthernIreland in a very American school makes me diverse (yes...the accent is real (although I've been accused of it being fake...true story!) - but get to work with diverse thinkers that go beyond the four walls! #fledchat
A4: I bring all my talents into the classroom. I talk about where I've come from and try to get the students talking too. Listening and Speaking. #FLEdChat
Q3: I love that my job literally allows me to create new things and learning - every day! Today, I worked with a science teacher to teach about solar power and will demo how the students can design a flashlight on Friday #howSESlearns@LevelUpVillage#fledchat
Q4: Helping students understand how they learn and that one size does not fit all is how I help many of them realize that even in that classroom, there is only one of them in thoughts, mind, and spirit! #fledchat#howSESlearns.
A4. Let your Ss get to know you as a real person. Share personal stories, especially your failures & how you came back from them. It's another way to let the babies know that you are human & that you care about them. #FLEdChat#teachthebabies
Q5: The Power to Choose: Dr. King said “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” Would love to hear your thoughts here. #FLEdChat
A5: I think MLK was a great example of one who was selfless rather than selfish. He didn't want it just for himself, but for others, and others "first." We can be better if we follow that lead. #FLedchat
A5. I think that applies to teaching our Ss about the #GlobalGoals. There are things going on right around them that they may not be aware of, but once they are, they want to learn more & help solve problems they learn about. #FLEdChat
YESSSSSSS #FLEdChat I love how you state that we have to be a light that shines so they can see what may be "dark" to them right this moment. #FLedchat
A5: Great quote. I think it is more than helping others, but looking at other perspectives and seeing why someone is the way they are, say what they say/do, etc. #FLedChat
A5: Great quote. I think it is more than helping others, but looking at other perspectives and seeing why someone is the way they are, say what they say/do, etc. #FLedChat
Q6: The Power to Be: Cesar Chavez coined “We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation.” How do we preserve ethnic and cultural diversity? #FLEdChat
A6: I think about preserving peaches. Mason jars can be seen through but yet the peaches are protected. I think we preserve by protecting our diversity (acknowledge its great value) and taking time to make it visible - sharing it with others. #FLedchat
A6. I think it begins with empathy & understanding. We can educate ourselves & our children about other cultures & ethnicities so that we can appreciate the rich differences that others bring to the table. #FLEdChat
Q6: Preserve the power of a single story! Our librarian is organizing a student conference around this and uses our Breaking Barriers club in the community! Everyone has a story. Spend time. Listen. Reflect. Learn. #FLEdChat
A6: Stories are a great way, and the arts. Classical Indian dances are thousands of years old, and they are preserved by keeping traditions such as hand movements that are so specific it's to the millimeter! #FLedChat
Hey Chris thank you for your kind words and for joining us tonight. So incredible to hear about all of your great happenings. I will see you at FETC and #EdCampOrange I suppose! #FLedchat
#fledchat a6 buy texts by #ownvoices authors. Fill our rooms with stories that dont only look like our story. Encourage every student to share their culture. Be sensitive to when “the way you always do it” is called into question for being culturally insensitive.
#Fledchat TKAM is a beautiful story. It’s not a story about racism. Too many teachers hold on to texts that are familiar insteaD of finding better stories to teach their concepts/themes. Teach tkam as a book about empathy and coming of age not one about social justice
#FLEdChat “nerds and geeks” dress up day isn’t okay when we only celebrate nerd culture one day a year and the kids go back to being outsides the next day.
