2017 - 2018 Speak Truth Seminars - Center for Inspired Teaching

2017-2018 Speak Truth Seminars

May 23, 2018 at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School (Capitol Hill Campus)

Discussion Topics & Readings:

Immigration – Gabriela Hernandez & What the Difference is Between Refugees and Asylum Seekers & I Sold All I Had To Go To Europe
Allyship – Tips on Being an Ally & Six Steps to Trans Allyship & White Accomplices
Abortion Debate in Black Communities – Anti-Abortion Crusaders: Inside the African American Abortion Battle & Abortion is Black Genocide & Pro-Choice or Pro-Life: 39% of Americans Don’t Pick a Side & What Happens to Women Who are Denied Abortions
Dress Codes – DC Girls Claim Discrimination in School Dress Codes & When Black Hair Violates the Dress Code & When School Dress Codes Ban Students Bodies & “Tank Tops Are Ok But I Don’t Want to See Her Thong”: Girls’ Engagements with Secondary School Dress Codes
Kanye West and the Rules of Black Celebrity Politics – I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye

April 18, 2018 at McKinley Technology High School

Discussion Topics & Readings:

Urban Students Punished For Suburban Student Violence – Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies Won’t Fix School Shootings & Zero Tolerance, School Shootings and the Post-Brown Quest for Equity in Discipline Policy: An examination of How Urban Minorities Are Punished for White Suburban Violence
Guns and Domestic Violence – To Stop Violence, Start at Home & The Boyfriend Loophole
Mark(er) Your Spot In History: Student Activism and Gun Violence – What Will Nationwide School Walkouts Accomplish? & Schools That Silence, And Schools That Collaborate, Can Hurt Student Activism
Gun Violence Abroad – US Gun Policy: Global Comparisons & How to Buy a Gun in 15 Countries & Australia’s Gun Laws are Not a Model for America
Never Again, For Who? Gun Violence in Communities of Color – How the #NeverAgain Movement is Disrupting Gun Politics & We Need to Talk About Black Lives Matter and Gun Violence After the Florida Shooting

April 5, 2018 at Georgetown Day School

Discussion Topics & Readings:

Interracial Relationships – How Interracial Love is Saving America & As Get Out Shows, Love Isn’t All You Need in Interracial Relationships
Intersectionality – The Urgency of Intersectionality & Age, Race, Class and Sex Redefining Differences
Political Gaslighting – What is Gaslighting? & Sean Hannity Cranks Up The Gaslight

February 21, 2018 at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School

Discussion Topics & Readings:

Aziz Ansari, Sexual Assault & Cultural Norms – I Went on a Date With Aziz Ansari. It Turned Into the Worse Night of My Life & Aziz Ansari is Guilty. Of Not Being a Mind Reader & The Aziz Ansari Story is Ordinary. That’s Why We Have to Talk About It & The Female Price of Male Pleasure
Gentrification in the District – Old Confronts New in a Gentrifying DC Neighborhood
Black Toxic Masculinity – Reconstructing Black Masculinity & Boundless Black Masculinity
Scientific Racism – Racism is Creeping Back into Mainstream Science
Black Diaspora in the US – Too Black, But Not Black Enough & Amara La Negra Responds to Blackface Rumors & Amara la Negra Deserves Better
Sex Trafficking – Victims of Human Trafficking Must Be Treated As Victims & Why are police still arresting children for ‘prostitution’? & What Cyntoia Brown’s Story Can Teach Us About Juveniles And Justice

February 8, 2018 at Edmund Burke School

Discussion Topics & Readings:

Half a Century Later: Housing Discrimination in DC? – Gentrification in DC Raises Property Values, But Does It Also Push People Out? & Old Confronts New in a Gentrifying DC Neighborhood & Black Branding – How a DC Neighborhood Was Marketed to White Millenials
Mental Illness & Race In the US – Why Mental Health Organizations Should Endorse The Movement for Black Lives & A Movement Against Racism Should Be a Movement for Mental Health
What’s Now & What’s Next for BLM? – BLM Is Democracy in Action & Can Black Lives Matter Win in the Age of Trump
The War on Drugs – Want to See Proof of Institutional Racism? Let Weed Open Your Eyes & A Billion-Dollar Industry, A Racist Legacy: Being Black and Growing Pot In America
The Intersection of Race & Gender – Women and Black Lives Matter: An Interview with Marcia Chatelain & Black Lives Matter Organizers Hold a Rally in DC for Black Trans Women
#BlackLivesMatter: Social Media & The Movement – #BlackTwitter After #Ferguson & Social Media Helps BLM Fight the Power

December 14, 2017 at Georgetown Day School

Discussion Topics & Readings:

The N Word – Coates on the N Word & The N Word
Confederate Memorials – Mayor Landrieu Speech
Protesting for Rights – Civil Rights Protests Have Never Been Popular
Black History Month – Coates on BHM & the History of BHM
Interracial Friendships – Can My Children Be Friends With White People

October 18th, 2017 at The SEED School of Washington, D.C.

Discussion Topics & Readings:

Orange is the New Barack – The First White President
AP Classes – Who Benefits From the Expansion of A.P. Classes
The Past, Present, and Future of the DACA program – A Nation of Immigrants, ‘A Nation Of Laws’
Mass Incarceration – “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration”
Confederate Memorials – Four Perspectives on Removing Confederate Monuments & Confederate Monuments Are Coming Down Across the United States…

This is much better by far than other learning opportunities! The freedom to explore and learn through authentic conversations is really engaging and pushes both reflection and action.

— Adult Visitor, Speak Truth

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.