Responsive Practices For All Students: Learning Pathway for Educators

[Applause] [Music] [Music] having survived the covet 19 pandemic and being confronted with unfinished learning loss and the need to refocus the purpose of our schools and reach deeply into student identity and really personhood building and trying to put back some of that security that was lost because of the pandemic we knew we had to do this school year differently we had to reach the child rebuild the relationship make sure that maslow’s hierarchy of three basic needs was met to the best ability that we could as a school system and then focus on the learning very quickly i went to the culture and language teachers and aspects it’s like you know here’s our chance to grow this and this is a perfect opportunity to support them with very meaningful professional development we can’t even begin to scratch the surface of meaningful culture and language instruction and development in the school if we don’t have this foundation of conversation and relationship with the people who are going to be doing that work we need to actually know who you are what do you think what do you support and how does this very important topic of historical trauma and recovery from that help us do our culture and language job better and trying to understand the importance of relationship and trust and understanding history and experience before trying to push into a very delicate space that is and should be protected and maintained without being disrespectful without being overly zealous or demanding when people and environment were not quite ready yet and i think that’s what the beauty of the pathway did for us it helped us create that environment where people are now ready to engage in the difficult work of determining what needs to be taught what needs to be focused on who’s going to do it what resources do we have [Music] the get-togethers the face-to-face learning the small groups the book was very good it just opens your opens your mind to other people’s thinkings and how they interpret stuff the idi assessment i think it truly gave me a picture of who i am and why i do the things i do learning about trauma and how it’s a bodily response and how it relates on a personal level to my family um because there’s some there’s some trauma care going on with my family right now and in addition to that just how i’ve seen our students impacted how their responses are classic with what we read in the book for trauma and how important it is that we know as educators that our students are going through these things i think more or less the small group discussions but even as we got into our class discussions you know those were critical for me um the small group discussions that the group that i was in there were there were two that really opened up i mean and shared some really personal things and it got me to think wow you know if they can share those type of experiences with me with the group then you know maybe i should open up a little bit too i’m a gatherer of information and i like being surrounded by everybody’s point of view different points of view because i think if i’m going to be a better person i do better if i know what other people are thinking or feeling as you look at you know your students and just seeing them as human beings and and not just working towards human doings in the classroom it’s going to help you to feel more connected to your student students to their parents i could start the shin demon away massanagan by talking about this book or ninjin it’s called my grandma’s hand it really helped me a lot benefited from this now it helped it helped me to look at the americans different because i’ve learned gay we know also gay take because i learned that they have trauma also he talked about what happened to the non-indigenous the europeans you know over there in europe before they came over here to turtle island national north america what we call north america now it’s been difficult to have good relations you know nishana indigenous and non-indigenous uh misogy became docile and so this knowledge enki which is helped the first part was standing back and taking the idi test and at first you’re like oh i got this and i know you know i really know i’m this open person but at the same time looking at the results it really teaches you to have the body and there’s a win humility that part really kind of made me stand back and really take a good look at myself as a person as an educator a mother a grandmother and how am i going to use that to teach my own children my students our future and we could create a cohort of folks who are now thinking and dreaming and believing in a similar fashion like this is actually possible and we can continue to do more this is just the springboard to something greater in the future getting those people in a place where they can discuss and debate and dialogue and disagree and continue to learn all along that way in so many of our school improvement documents we’ve made reference to social emotional learning or we’ve made reference to positive behavior interventions and supports we’ve talked about and are starting a multi-tiered system of support and we’ve often included culture and language as a part of that work but then didn’t dedicate time resources or influence to it this pathways changed all of that because now my culture and language teachers are in the room with their principal all day for five sessions it’s never happened before it’s about change so that we make things better for our students that has to be our why but it also made me realize okay even though we’re so different uh we see ourselves as so different from all these other races and other cultures and people from different areas you know thinking about the name of the books like okay we’re not all that i would do it all over again in a heartbeat and i’ve been really busy but i would honest i’ve got no regrets and i’d highly recommend it and i would do it again in a heartbeat auntie tuna king this is going to change the world oh can dawson this knowledge and because we’ve gone through this process of learning about each other and understanding what makes each other tick and what also challenges us i think it puts us in a better position for everything else that schools need you send your kids we’ve got it we have the skills we’ve got the tools we have the practices we have the strategies but more importantly we have the people that are willing ready and able to meet the students that show up i would much rather do that work with the people that i have been through team of champions with then try and do it alone i just want to say it’s just been an awesome experience and it will change your thinking and probably your life um professionally and personally and the sky’s the limit with it hmm [Music]

[Applause] [Music] [Music] having survived the covet 19 pandemic and being confronted with unfinished learning loss and the need to refocus the purpose of our schools and reach deeply into student identity and really personhood building and trying to put back some of that security that was lost because of the pandemic we knew we had to do this school year differently we had to reach the child rebuild the relationship make sure that maslow’s hierarchy of three basic needs was met to the best ability that we could as a school system and then focus on the learning very quickly i went to the culture and language teachers and aspects it’s like you know here’s our chance to grow this and this is a perfect opportunity to support them with very meaningful professional development we can’t even begin to scratch the surface of meaningful culture and language instruction and development in the school if we don’t have this foundation of conversation and relationship with the people who are going to be doing that work we need to actually know who you are what do you think what do you support and how does this very important topic of historical trauma and recovery from that help us do our culture and language job better and trying to understand the importance of relationship and trust and understanding history and experience before trying to push into a very delicate space that is and should be protected and maintained without being disrespectful without being overly zealous or demanding when people and environment we’re not quite ready yet and i think that’s what the beauty of the pathway did for us it helped us create that environment where people are now ready to engage in the difficult work of determining what needs to be taught what needs to be focused on who’s going to do it what resources do we have [Music] the get-togethers the face-to-face learning the small groups the book was very good it just opens your opens your mind to other people’s thinkings and how they interpret stuff the idi assessment i think it truly gave me a picture of who i am and why i do the things i do when i first got the results i was kind of like defensive about them like it kind of shocked me but when i got into realization and really looked at myself it was the true image of me it made a huge difference and just looking at myself and who i am as a person and accepting it allowed me to accept it took me a little bit but when i was truthful with myself i was able to accept who i am how to become a better communicator with other people learning about trauma um and how it’s a bodily response and how it relates on a personal level to my family because there’s some there’s some trauma care going on with my family right now and in addition to that just how i’ve seen our students impacted how the responses are classic with what we read in the book for trauma and how important it is that we know as educators that our students are going through these things truly they can’t help the responses that they’re giving until we help them to go through them i think more or less the small group discussions but even as we got into our class discussions you know those were critical for me um the small group discussions that the group that i was in there were there were two that really opened up i mean and shared some really personal things and it got me to think wow you know if they can share those type of experiences with me with the group then you know maybe i should open up a little bit too i’m a gatherer of information and i like being surrounded by everybody’s point of view different points of view because i think if i’m going to be a better person i do better if i know what other people are thinking or feeling as you look at you know your students and just seeing them as human beings and uh and not just working towards human doings in the classroom it’s going to help you to feel more connected to your student students to their parents but if you connect with other educators and connect with that book with that sharing the sharing circle you know that’s been useful so a better connection with the students is what i feel is you get out of this i could start the shin demon away massanagan by talking about this book or ninjin it’s called my grandma’s hand it really helped me a lot benefited from this now it helped it helped me to look at the americans different because i’ve learned gay we know also because i learned that they have trauma also he talked about what happened to the non-indigenous the europeans you know over there in europe yeah peter before they came over here to turtle island ishnakadamang north america what we call north america now it’s been difficult to have good relations you know nishina bake indigenous and non-indigenous uh misogy became docile and so this knowledge engi it helped me navigate and that they could they’ll say to understand more than you know the first part was standing back and taking the idi test and at first you’re like oh i got this and i know you know i really know i’m this open person but at the same time looking at the results it really teaches you to have the body and there’s a win humility that part really kind of made me stand back and really take a good look at myself as a person as an educator a mother a grandmother and how am i going to use that to teach my own children my students our future and getting the multiple perspectives of other people and then using that to kind of adjust mine relating to the circle of trust listening with every fiber and being present that was another component that was important and then the readings being able to relate to other cultures other uh backgrounds that have struggled throughout history as well i never really looked at it and valued the importance of a circle of trust until we’ve went through the pandemic you need somebody you need a circle of trust and not only just developing one but making sure you have people in there like that you can trust that could keep things confidential that aren’t going to judge you and things like that um but to let that let those emotions out instead of keep letting them build up i think it’s valuable in life even let’s say the pandemic never happened it’s still a valuable part of life you should still have that circle of trust and we could create a cohort of folks who are now thinking and dreaming and believing in a similar fashion like this is actually possible and we can continue to do more this is just the springboard to something greater in the future getting those people in a place where they can discuss and debate and dialogue and disagree and continue to learn all along that way in so many of our school improvement documents we’ve made reference to social emotional learning or we’ve made reference to positive behavior interventions and supports we’ve talked about and are starting a multi-tiered system of support and we’ve often included culture and language as a part of that work but then didn’t dedicate time resources or influence to it this pathways changed all of that because now my culture and language teachers are in the room with their principal all day for five sessions it’s never happened before [Music] there’s so there’s so much i’ve learned from it that you know i’m excited for my staff to be a part of it if our adults our educators aren’t dealing with their traumas you know then they can’t help some of the things they do you know we have to make sure our students know who they are you know where they’re where they’re coming from and a lot of times in our community people say that’s that’s a family issue and i agree with that you know i’m not going to disagree with that point but i think our role as educators too because i hear i’ve actually heard this i’ve heard this from an employee in my system that you know when she went away to college and she brought you know her children with her to go to college and her son came home from school and said you know mom you know did you know i’m indian or did you know i’m native our children coming from all different parts of our community but do they know that they’re they’re a native person do they know and do they know what that means you know so how do i impress that upon our staff to get that get that knowledge base out there even more so than i already have there’s been you know just so much that has been put upon our people but yet how we can rise from that and knowing that you know we have a place at the table just as well as anybody else does so that i think the students have seen as far as talking with them i think that they have seen that there’s a place for them you know at any place that they want to go and i think they’ve enjoyed the sharing circles and i you know they’re caught you know they’re a little shy but also at the same time they’re glad to be able to speak their thoughts you know and uh sharing themselves and uh just feeling connected more to uh myself and to each other so into the school as well you know knowing that what they’re going to say what they’re going to do is you know is going to be appreciated so i’m learning and not to be judging you know it’s getting i am learning that so uh now asia do the money as i do that i find i can have be gentler or be have more respect for my fellow human being that’s what i’ve been learning in here you know marco seeing as we were taught it tonight to fix each other yeah you know go away and apne i used to do that all the time yeah i’ll be going and going still today sometimes but now i’ve learned that’s not good really um the pathway has taught me to be more mindful more respectful for the different beliefs and perspectives that are out there we tend to assume that because we’re from the same community or same religious group or traditional or whatever it may be that we all think alike and we don’t we all come from different backgrounds even if we’re from the same there’s still some difference there and so just being able to appreciate where they’re coming from and allowing them to be themselves and to have trust that i am going to be open-minded and i am going to listen to them if i’m modeling it they can start picking it up and maybe they’ll be doing the same down the road when they’re interacting with their peers or other teachers just to see a different point of view you know i think about the circle of trust the listening you know listening at those deep levels you know and build it building that community of trust how important that is in working with school improvement teams i mean when you’re starting to look at data and you’re starting to look at you know how are our schools doing it can get very personal and you know so we have to have that level of trust where we say we’re not focusing on how you’re teaching we’re focusing on you know each kid by kid and skill by skill if we focus on that student and what they’re doing and not on us then we’re going to get better you know having those tough conversations with school improvement teams it’s very hard but if we don’t know our why we are here and what our purpose is then um we have to keep that focus because if we’re going to go in there and we’re going to ask teachers to do all of this and to give all of this you know they really have to know their why it’s about change so that we make things better for our students that has to be our why and i’m hoping that it helps our culture and language teachers and even our principals see the power they have and hold to create and i know that teams cannot be effective if there is no trust sometimes the work we have to do is not fun sometimes it’s not entertaining sometimes it’s not easy sometimes it brings up things that we’d rather not discuss or re-experience but this team of champions work helped build those kind of connections we can get so caught up in our work responsibilities that we forget the person who’s behind the office the person who’s inside the classroom and it’s important in our work to remember that our principals and our teachers are also people [Music] get ready to have your mind blown because you you think that you know like i said you think that you know everything you know yourself and um honestly we really don’t until it’s put in front of us and we’re tested there’s room to learn and to grow and as an educator it’s a lifetime and it’s not only improving ourselves for ourselves but for our students as well and i saw basically you know grandmother’s hands and then just automatically thought okay you know it’s going to be about a native grandmother working with her grandkids and whatever you know and i start reading the story and i was like okay i was way off where the name actually comes from and the grandmother working in the cotton fields and you know those things but it also made me realize okay even though we’re so different or we see ourselves as so different from all these other races and other cultures and people from different areas you know thinking about the name of the books like okay we’re not all that different well we understand better i hope now some of the uh historical traumas or the other influences in their life and how they view the world through that lens i would do it all over again in a heartbeat and i’ve been really busy but i would honest i’ve got no regrets and i’d highly recommend it and i would do it again in a heartbeat i know a lot of other schools are looking for this also you know they’re you know with that sb 2304 that’s out there you know they’re looking they’re searching they want to know you know if what they’re doing is you know right or not we’re all looking we’re all searching and i think that it’s so important to do things you know other than what you’ve been doing because you’re the students deserve it this is going to change the world oh kendall and this knowledge i knew this was a big thing important and uh i couldn’t wait to get to the end and you know keep practicing ani um all the rest of my life the practice got pika kendall so young emma what i learned in here so me gretch getting them so i thank you so much i’m going to say it’s awesome charlotte and scott yourself and scott have been very supportive and constructive in a good way from the beginning of this journey and to the end if there was something that wasn’t explained you took the time to explain it in a mindful and respectful way to where we could relate and understand where you were coming from but also to help us be great humans but professional as well towards our peers and towards our students so having that in mind building um a community you know among our students among our peers among our own community and networking out to other people and kind of breaking down the barriers so that we’re able to relate and maybe start to heal and learn more and not be so judgmental because everybody has their struggles it just looks a little bit different if i had one final thought to share about the team of champions pathway it would be that we need more time to do this five sessions is not enough you know six sessions eight sessions i know i have one principal who’s thinking about an all year long experience which i think would be great the work that we do in indian country is not easy in regards to education and it takes a special group of people who are willing to stand up accept responsibility for that call of duty and then begin to do something about it we are definitely more confident in our abilities to even encounter that challenge we definitely move forward out of the team of champions pathways understanding that we have the ability and because we’ve gone through this process of learning about each other and understanding what makes each other tick and what also challenges us i think it puts us in a better position for everything else that schools need you send your kids we’ve got it we have the skills we’ve got the tools we have the practices we have the strategies but more importantly we have the people that are willing ready and able to meet the students that show up i would much rather do that work with the people that i have been through team of champions with then try and do it alone i just want to say it’s just been an awesome experience and it will change your thinking and probably your life um professionally and personally and the sky’s the limit with it so jima glitch [Music] [Music] you