Tag Archives: #bemore

Culturally Responsive Teaching & Living

Uncategorized, , , ,

 

BLOG CRT
Created with Wordle

As we get ready to go back to school this fall, we are energized from the summer. The fall-like air the last few days is just the right timing to make it official.  Love the summer, but love the fall so much too!  My boys may not be as excited as I am for school supply shopping, but I am! It goes with the territory of being a teacher regardless how much I love summer.

Watching the Olympics this past two weeks has taught us a number of things – including:

*Help each other up.  We are all humans (well – all of us except those of us impersonating humans) and just need a hand once in a while. You may have fallen, but you don’t need to stay there.

*We are different, and that is wonderful.  As the Olympic athletes pour out their blood, sweat, and tears, they are the same in that way, representing their countries and their dreams.

*Be humble and kind.  Winning isn’t everything, but when you do, share the glory.  No one is an island – at least not forever.  Eventually you need a ship for supplies or other life to keep living.

Work Hard – Play Hard!  Repeat!
*Work hard, play hard.  One of my favorites…  and so true.  Both lose their purpose without the other.  Live each day this way. It is a simple recipe for success.

Thinking about these Olympic stories – remember the takeaways as you head to school this fall.  Whether welcoming a student at the door or sending your own student out the door on his or her way to kindergarten, middle school, high school, or beyond – be responsive.

Culturally Responsive Teaching is not a new concept by any means.  It is common sense and incredibly valuable; it just needs revisiting from time to time.  We need to be reminded what we know and what we know is right and just.

What is culturally responsive teaching?  “A pedagogy that crosses disciplines and cultures to engage learners while respecting their cultural integrity.  It accommodates the dynamic mix of race, ethnicity, class, gender, region, religion, and family that contributes to every student’s cultural identity.  The foundation for this approach lies in theories of intrinsic motivation” (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 1995).

Resources to consider and share when preparing for a culturally responsive classroom or workplace – aka respectful zone where everyone is valued for who they are and what they bring to the space.  We can all learn more and grow more from each other starting today.
Strategies & tools:

Have you seen the Ron Clark story yet?  Watch the film – great motivation to be the best teacher possible starting today.

 

English Language Learners: Culture, Equity, and Language NEA Priority Schools Campaign 2012

 

 

SIOP Model overview

 

 

SIOP Model for Teaching English Learners

 

 

SIOP Model & WIDA Standards

 

Check out The SIOP Model resource library

 

Want more? This is the tip of the iceberg folks.  It starts here.  There is so much more out there.  So for today, be more.

Stay Calm & Be Responsive!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V.

 

 

Lessons Learned at the Feet of Wisdom

Uncategorized, , ,

One of our favorite quotes from Andy Rooney is,
“The best classroom in the world is at the feet of the elderly.”

Not that we are considered elderly quite yet (well, maybe Wendy is 🙂 ), but we know that WISDOM is a gift that comes with age. The older we get, hopefully, the wiser we become. At the feet of WISDOM, we have learned a lesson or two this past year:

  • Jump in the pool and swim every morning, or go for a walk – it gets out our kinks.
  • Make important decisions together as a team, then move on and don’t dwell over them.
  • Visit places you have never been – like California for the NAESP Conference and South Carolina for the Scholastic Research Conference.
    BLOG wisdom 1
  • Sit at the bedside of a loved one who is dying. Pray with, sing to, read scriptures to, and hold their hand – saying goodbye to a young adult seems to be so unfair.BLOG wisdom 2
  • Spell love with a capital T:I.M.E. – put down our cell phones and give away our time generously to those we treasure most like our family members and/or friends while visiting over a cup of coffee.
  • Celebrate reunions – reunite with classmates and family that we haven’t seen in years.
    BLOG wisdom
  • Share a smile – it is a cheap way to improve our looks & it turns our dreary-wearies into cheery-cheeries (from the children’s book The Pout Pout Fish). 🙂

    BLOG wisdom 5
    Smile!
  • Embrace technology – Facebook, Facetime, Skype, Twitter…all great ways to stay connected with those we care about.
  • Become a ‘2nd-to-the-last-word’ person – silence is a source of great strength so shhhh.
  • Thank others often – special people have taught us this lesson and it does make a big difference!

Now it’s our turn…thank you for taking the time to check out our blog each week. We wish you a week full of wisdom.

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.

 

 

We Are Made To Be More

Uncategorized, , , , , ,

BLOG Whitney Burmeister
As we strive to do more each day in our careers and lives, we were recently reminded, what we really need to do – is to be more. We can allow our days to fly by with schedules full, but what does it mean if the days mean nothing at all but items to check off the list?

This past week the NSIC – Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference met for the summer annual meetings. We gather together to consider what has passed – to celebrate successes and to move forward together to strategically plan for future successes. We are an optimistic group! 🙂 By the way, it happens to be the best NCAA Division II conference…not that I am biased!

At the Honors banquet, we celebrated the Willis R. Kelly Award recipient, who is the top female scholar-athlete in the 16-school conference. This award is based on a combination of academic and athletic accomplishments. But really, it is so much more. The faculty athletics representatives in the conference highly consider leadership and community service attributes in this decision. Whitney Burmeister, who will be a senior at Southwest Minnesota State University this fall, was selected as this year’s Kelly award winner. When I asked Whitney to share about herself, one of the highlights for her was being a class notetaker for other students on campus. She shared “it may seem minimal to others, but I love that I can help someone by taking notes for them if they need assistance.” She is also actively involved in the “It’s A Slam Dunk, Don’t Drive Drunk” campaign on campus as well as serving as the SAAC – Student-Athletes Advisory Committee serving as the secretary and working for the IFO – Interfaculty Organization office. (Working with faculty across campus is no small undertaking!) Whitney excels in the classroom as an Exercise Science major and on the court as a key volleyball player. She grew up on the farm milking cows and knowing what work ethic truly is in life, sport, and school.

She truly is an outstanding student and outstanding athlete. Moreover, she is so much more. We share this today because our goal for all of us – is to be so much more. We aren’t “just” this or that. Collectively, when we care for others, we are more.

With the recent death of my nephew, Carter, we learned as tough as days can be, the road would be so much more challenging if we didn’t have “more” from others. The outpouring of community support from family, friends, and strangers has been overwhelming. People truly are so much more. ~SV

Our goal is that we continue to move forward and pay it forward. Let us consider this example and Whitney’s example of how we can be more for others. It isn’t who you are or what you do… but what more you do that counts. As teachers, leaders, citizens, it is our responsibility to be more.

Be more.

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.