DEIB

Suggested Reflection Questions

1. Your role at Burke's

2. When did this opportunity take place?

3. Summary of workshop/ opportunity

4. Goals & Collaborations:

   - What were your big takeaways from your workshop or project?

I attended the Howard Zinn Book Fair– “an annual celebration of The People’s History, past present and future.” This year’s theme was “Fight Supremacy: Actions Against Authoritarianism,” and there were many engaging panels, workshops, and tables. I found the session “Empowering Kids: Social Justice Picture Books” to be most relevant to the work that I do as assistant to the school library. In particular, I can apply what I learned to my goal of incorporating DEIB practices into library displays/read-alouds/collection management. I would definitely recommend the book fair to any and all educators, as it provides bountiful opportunities to reflect on DEIB themes and how they can apply to our work with students. 

Four authors shared picture books that they wrote with various social justice themes (see list below), then went on to discuss why they focus on social justice, how to navigate the “age appropriate” parameters, ways to empower…

Maya McDougall and I had the pleasure of working together on a project centered on belonging and healing. Through the BTP Design Lab (a six week Zoom course) we explored the question "What can we design to support our students to move from coping to thriving?"

This training built our leadership identity and toolkit to reimagine classrooms and schools as liberated learning environments. We used a Liberatory Design framework to identify an equity challenge in our fourth grade Makery classroom. We used the design process to test a few prototypes on engaging our students with practices and projects related to healing.

We were excited to incorporate affirmations into our pinball machine projects. Students record affirmations on Scratch, and players get to hear their words of encouragement and belonging while playing pinball.

This was an exciting learning opportunity that informed my practice all around engaging with students and hearing their voices…

Your role at Burke's

When did this opportunity take place?

Dec 4-7 @ POCC

Summary of workshop/​opportunity

Presenter: John Igwebuike, Saint Ignatius College Prep (IL)

Do you wish the people around you listened better? Do you feel like your relationships with colleagues, coworkers, and community members could be enhanced if communicating parties listened more empathetically? Do you believe that perceived conflicts, polarization, and toxic divisions can be overcome by better active listening? Join an active listening activist who champions the positive power of effective listening to build bridges, cultivate care cultures, and foster wellness. Dive deep into the greatest skill rarely taught, exploring advanced listening topics. Discover what type of listener you are; identify barriers to listening; summarize chief characteristics of great listeners; analyze neuroscience around listening; and summarize activities that can improve intra-, inter-, and institutional listening skills.