Week 1& 2

Well it's been an awesome first week in Equity & Social Justice. I have an incredible group of students to work with and am excited to embark on this inquiry journey together. I am looking forward to learning more about using tech to support my classroom as well as seeing what social justice projects we undertake. I am learning to take risks and relinquish control in my classroom - so here we go!

I'm curious to know what your first impressions of the course/class are? What topics and issues are you looking forward to learning more about?

We looked at a series of graphics that help us define 'equity' & 'equality' - how are these concepts different from one another; how are they connected; why are both integral to exploring social justice? Would you change any of them (the graphics)? Is there anything missing? Think about what you would create if you had to come up with your own graphic representation of equity (we'll come back to this later)

Through the Airplane Game, we explored the notion of bias; and confirmed that we all in fact have them. Verna Myers speaks passionately about bias; what was your takeaway from her lecture. I am curious as to what personal connections you can make to her advice?

 

We also explored the notion of power & privilege through the 'Power Flower'; what questions does this raise for you about your own access to power & privilege; as well as that of others? We will explore this further in the coming weeks.

   

IAT (Implicit Association Test) - Over 5 million people have taken it.... in what ways is this a useful tool for uncovering unconscious bias? What criticisms do you have of it? What questions does it raise? And what answers (if any) did you find?

We worked in groups to identify some of the challenges that various Equity seeking groups have faced through history.  For your group of interest, identify and 'unpack' a victory or challenge that has been overcome. (this doesn't mean that your group is no longer facing any challenges or barriers, just that they have gained ground in a particular area)

We explored several 'isms' as they relate to discrimination forms, you were asked to identify and contemporary news story that illustrates and connects explicitly to one of these. Share your article and explain how it connects to the concepts studied so far in the course? This can included, equality vs equity, notions of power & privilege, unconscious bias, effects of stereotypes, systems of oppression or marginalization for example.