What does it mean to stand up right now? - Center for Inspired Teaching

Posted June 5, 2020

Dear Friends,

At Inspired Teaching, we stand with our Black and brown friends and colleagues – teachers, school leaders, students, and community members – in acknowledging the systemic racism that persists in our country and insisting that we must dismantle the systems that enable it to persist. As an education organization, we believe that schools should be places where students and their teachers are seen, heard, and safe, where conversations around race and racism regularly occur, and where an anti-racist community is nurtured through ongoing professional learning for all staff.

At the core of that vision are our students, who so often teach us in ways we cannot teach ourselves.

Last night a group of high school students from public, public charter, and private schools around the DC region gathered online for our Speak Truth discussion. The topic they had chosen was “Has the Constitutional right to bear arms outlived its usefulness?” building on a discussion they’d started two weeks ago in which they examined the question, “Should a Constitutional Convention be held to amend the Constitution?”

Before the official conversation began, students shared their experiences over the past few days with the protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd. Some students had attended protests; some had posted signs; one student had assembled kits to support protestors – with hand sanitizer, water, and food – and provided her email address to the group so they could contact her if they needed these supplies.

The young people posed questions to one another, expressing the urgent concerns on their minds: How do we keep building the momentum that’s happening now? What happens when protesting in support of Black and brown people is no longer trendy? Will things go back to the way they were before? Will we get complacent again until another Black or brown person is murdered by police? What does it mean to stand up right now?

Last night’s student-facilitated discussion was attended by more than a dozen teachers who spent the first hour silently listening to what the students had to say. Students were quick to connect observations from the Black Lives Matter movement with their discussion topic, highlighting the role race plays in debates around gun violence. In particular they dove deep into the question of who should and shouldn’t be able to own a gun and how using mental health as criteria can be fraught and exacerbate existing stigmas. Their observations were informed by things they had read and things they had experienced. And when the debate came to a close and teachers were invited to weigh in, they were struck by the seriousness the students brought to the conversation.

A fourth grade teacher remarked that she was so inspired by the discussion she wanted to try and find ways to hold Speak Truth conversations with her much younger students. She welcomed ideas from the student-facilitators themselves for how to accomplish this. Other teachers wanted to know how the discussion was set up, and how the facilitators were prepared to lead.

The teachers were surprised by the student leadership they observed, but after running this program for many years, we are not. When you provide students with opportunities for meaningful work exploring ideas that are relevant to their lives, they excel. That’s the kind of learning experience all students deserve.

At the close of the session, students shared the details of a rally organized by the Black Student Union of the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC; and they expressed admiration for the work their peers are putting forth to organize and engage in this moment. For the adults last night, it was a reminder that our young people are doing critical work.

And so, we know, are so many of you. Thank you to our colleagues who are teachers, who are teaching now, who’ve been teaching all along (including parents!), who partner with and listen to students and nurture their ability to think and act as changemakers. Know that we remain committed to supporting you in that effort.

We are sharing resources via our social media channels to support teachers and parents in speaking with students about equity, bias, and racism. And we want to help amplify the work you are doing, so if you have resources you’d like to share with the Inspired Teaching community, please send them to resources@inspiredteaching.org and we’ll get them out there.

In solidarity and peace,

Aleta Margolis, Founder and President, Center for Inspired Teaching

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.