Two Hashtags: #tdsbPineapple and #31DaysIBPOC

Usually, this blog reflects on events that have happened in school during the previous week. Today's blog will be a reflection on what's coming up. That's not to say that last week was boring - in fact, it was quite busy with our Forest of Reading voting, continued yearbook preparations, and the Grade 1-8 school Spring Concert. The reason for the "looking ahead" instead of "looking back" is due to my need to process the information and I tend to make sense of things when I write them down.

This coming week, in the spirit of collaboration and the idea that we can learn from our fellow educators in the buildings we share, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is encouraging participation in Pineapple Week.

Our wonderful Special Needs Assistant (SNA), Stephanie Paterson and the Program Coordinator for Teachers Learning and Leading Department in TDSB, Jennifer Watt, are encouraging educators to open their doors to share what they are doing and learn from each other. I admire both Stephanie and Jennifer, so I thought I'd give it a try. According to an image tweeted by Julie Liu (@_julieliu_tdsb) and confirmed via https://www.southernliving.com/culture/pineapple-hospitality and https://www.thespruceeats.com/pineapple-symbol-of-friendship-and-luxury-4047011, the rationale for using pineapples as the image is due to their "representation of hospitality".

I don't want this visit to be a "look at the awesome things I'm doing; aren't I wonderful?" moment. I want this to be a "look at the newer things I'm trying; is this helpful? experience. That's why I'm paying a little closer attention to what I'm teaching - not because I want to impress anyone, but because I want to do it "right".

My current media unit focus is on hair, and the various social, political, ideological and value messages that are part of them. We've done quite a bit on stereotypes as part of this lesson, which has been challenging but worthwhile. I'm still considering the reminder that B gave me at the TDSB Equity Conference to focus on the positive portrayals instead of dwelling on the oppressive examples and reminding myself to respond to corrections with gratitude instead of defensiveness as I continue to read White Fragility: Why it's so hard for White People to talk about Racism in preparation for my next book club meeting. A great resource (in addition to the books by Sharee Miller like Princess Hair and Don't Touch My Hair!) has been the non-fiction book What Are You Gonna Do with that Hair? by Ndija Anderson-Yantha. Jen Apgar's tweet as she attends The FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity) contained some powerful words of encouragement for me. (If you can't read the image, part of it says "reflecting on how to bring diverse voice and perspectives into learning spaces while not culturally appropriating. As a good Ally I am trying to help others not use fear of getting it wrong to be the reason they disengage from this work".)

Currently at @TheFOLD_ and reflecting on how to bring diverse voice & perspectives into learning spaces while NOT culturally appropriating. As a good Ally I am trying to help others not use fear of getting it wrong be the reason they disengage from this work... @clclyne

— Jen Apgar (@JenApgar) May 4, 2019

I confess - the fear is real. I felt like I "got it wrong" at the TDSB Equity Conference and I want to do better, but the onus should be on me to fix it instead of enlisting others to "do the heavy lifting".

My hair unit has not yet addressed those who cover their hair. It's about time I do, but I want to do it sensitively and respectfully. I'm using the TDSB Virtual Library for sources as well as a page from a picture book (whose name escapes me at the moment). I've found an age-appropriate article for hijabs and for turbans/dastars/daasters (this was an informative Google search one but is for adults) but none for dupattas/chunnis (for Sikh women), patkas (for Sikh boys), kippahs/yarmulkes (for Jewish boys) or haubes/veils/mantillas (for Christian women). I'd really prefer not to have to go to Wikipedia for the information, as part of my lesson is meant to encourage the use of the TDSB paid databases among our students. Munazzah Shirwani, excellent educator, founder of the VoicEd Radio podcast program Faith in the System, and one of my Twitter friends, has kindly offered to take a look at my task and give advice.

This leads me to some tweets I recently added to my "likes" list and then to the second hashtag from my blog title. (Speaking of which, I tend to use my Twitter "like" button as a way to save tweets for reference later - Lisa Noble told me at SuperConference 2019 about how to curate this more effectively, but Lisa, I need help - I don't want to have to unlike these tweets, then add Diigo, then re-like these tweets! What's another way to save them and keep them organized?)

@MrKitMath had a good thread about how whiteness asks as the norm and default position with regards to hair.

I looked at the 4 Black girls with braids & said, "obviously, this is only for certain hairstyles: with braids, you have different things to do to take care of your hair." One of the girls said, "Even without braids..." I nodded, agreeing, "also true: it depends on hair texture"

— Kit 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrKitMath) April 30, 2019

@teachkate shared an excellent document about improving equity and inclusion in conferences.

Recently, a group discussed what we could do to improve equity and inclusion in conferences. We know that many are doing this work up front and behind the scenes As we do this important work, it became clear that it is time i to also make a public statement #EducatorEquity pic.twitter.com/qjBiulBDzZ

— Kate Roberts (@teachkate) March 20, 2019

Several educators have shared the link to this site: https://31daysibpoc.wordpress.com/ where educators who are IBPOC (Indigenous, Black, People of Colour) will write, one featured contributor per day, about their experiences.

This is going to be my reading for the month of May. I couldn't read all of Dr. Laura Jimenez' post - and I appreciate that she provided a warning for the content beforehand (I find I cannot read about certain topics because they haunt my thoughts in unhealthy ways). Having said that, it's important to be more attuned to understanding others and that means listening and reading. There are too many instances of people abusing others and treating them as "less" because of their skin or heritage. So, in a way, I'm hoping that these two hashtags will intersect a bit more and that white women educators, as they open their classrooms for Pineapple Week, will consider the views and experiences of IBPOCs so that we can indeed create more equitable and inclusive classrooms. Keep learning.