Small Bites Friday Five 08-28-20:
History – Explore US history through first person narratives with this lesson plan from EdSitement.
Language Acquisition – Integrate this resource that teaches language proficiency beginning with the question, “Where does our food come from?”
STEM/Theater – Pull from this tolerance.org resource on how power determines access.
Art/Design – Explore and discuss art and artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
PE – In the wake of the brutal shooting of Jacob Blake, ask students why they believe players boycotted their games in major league sports.
This week as I settled into a new school year, I thought about my kids. I thought about the check-ins that I have done and how they have been brave in the face of so much upheaval. So many of them know someone who was sick or died from COVID related illnesses. Some of them were sick themselves. Some of their families have suffered financial or job loss.
And then, there is my own family to look after, and of course a job that, at the moment, takes and takes. All of those things should have been uppermost in my mind this week.
But what kept me up at night is the fact that with so much to think about and to do, my mind has kept coming back to George Floyd, and now to Jacob Blake.
My mind has gone back to my son’s new height and facial hair, and how that has caused him to suddenly be a target.
I thought about how many of my colleagues can think about school reopening and never consider the upside of COVID: In a year when my child is driving, I am thankful that he’s mostly home.
As you move toward school reopening, remember that equity practices are not something that you can put on the back burner until you get Schoology sorted out. You have to make them a priority every single day. You have to move forward with the same urgency that you did after George Floyd’s death.
You have to do it as if your child’s life depends on it–because my child’s does.