There’s a song well known in German speaking parts of the world called Alles Hat Ein Ende, Nur Die Wurst Hat Zwei. Translated, that’s “everything has an end, only the sausage has 2”. After over 60 vlog episodes and as many Lagniappe podcast episodes, #SmallBites on YouTube is converting to an all podcast format. I hope you’re as excited about this as I am.
New Day Dawning
After celebrating with friends and family from almost every era of my life on last Friday, it’s time to move on to the next chapter. With Finding Your Blind Spots released to the edu-universe, I find myself busier with consulting and courses, and I want to have time to serve my clients well. Still, my audience is hugely important and you can still expect blogs, resources and answers to your pressing questions on race and identity through social media.
One thing about podcasts is that they usually accompany listeners who are driving. Because of that I will sometimes be extending just a couple of minutes beyond our 5-7m mark to give you even more #SmallBites to chew on. I hope that meets with your approval!
You Are Appreciated!
Beyond that, I would just like to thank you for coming back each week, for listening, for learning and for taking that knowledge back to your classrooms and learning communities. Join me next week for episode 65 when we’ll say our final goodbyes. In the meantime, see below for the 5 most important #SmallBites links and resources.
Small Bites All Time Favorite Friday Five:
When I started #SmallBites, Learning for Justice was still called Teaching Tolerance. This site is the definitive starting place for standards, lessons, articles and resources on race and identity. Whether you are just beginning your journey on classroom diversity and inclusivity, or are well on your way to helping others understand concepts that some find divisive, Learning for Justice is a site that constantly evolves to help you learn more and be better for your students.
The Harvard Implicit Bias tests help you recognize bias and blind spots. And Harvard GSE’s teaching resources provide tools to help you create more inclusive courses, syllabi and to better integrate conversations on race and identity into your daily lessons.
After reading statistics on disparities in school discipline, I can only recommend restorative justice practices as implemented in the San Francisco Unified School District. I have used their model in my own classrooms and watched discipline problems give way deeper relationships and better learning outcomes. Students just need to know we are invested, but it takes a whole team to make the kinds of disciplinary changes that come with consistent campus RJ implementation.
Of course, if you are going to miss #SmallBites Fridays after you’ve revisited the wealth of resources, keep learning with free courses taught by Yale and Harvard professors here. Or, you can read and use the 1619 curriculum (or information from it, if your district allows) in addition to other historical resources, to add multiperspectivity. Finally, with students, use PBS, the Smithsonian and NPS.gov to find a plethora of school resources on history and culture in the US and the world.
See You Soon
Finally, use the 65 episodes of SmallBites to find the above resources and many more that will guide you as you seek to better understand and teach all students.
It has been my honor to serve you with #SmallBites on Youtube. See you on Apple, Spotify and wherever fine podcasts are heard.