No Shhing Here

One of our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals is to increase students' exposure to diverse voices. Although we strive to do this all year long, history and heritage months are good opportunities for a special focus.  Black History Month, celebrated in February each year, recognizes and honors the contributions and accomplishments of African Americans throughout history. It also serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for civil rights and racial equality, and it provides an opportunity for education and reflection on the ways in which black history has shaped and continues to shape the United States. Additionally, it helps to combat the lack of representation of black history and achievements in mainstream education and media. My go-to method for history and heritage months is to create a slide deck celebrating noteworthy individuals. I share the slides with my teachers, who then can utilize them at the start of every class period. Black History month's slides are avai...

I co-chair the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee for my building (but don't confuse me for an expert—I still have so much to learn). As a school librarian, this work feels like a natural fit, as so many tenets of our profession parallel traditional D.E.I. goals.  In my building, one of our current goals is to increase the diversity and range of viewpoints and voices in classrooms and curriculum, especially those that are historically marginalized. We've done some big work in this area—for example, we overhauled the novels and some short stories students read in 9th grade ELA.  Sometimes, though, we move towards our D.E.I. goals with baby steps—small changes that send us in the right direction, but on a smaller scale. An example? We're using daily agenda slides to highlight Hispanic voices during National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15th—October 15th.  Almost every teacher in my junior high starts class with an agenda slide. Agenda slides ar...