Thanks for a great conversation yesterday – or probably better if i say, thanks for listening to me lol…. so we spent a little over a week having some important conversations and learning about #InclusiveDesign and our work as it is tied to #Equity, #AntiOppression, #Decolonization & #AntiRacism. But far too often, people spent time “learning”, attending conferences and having woke chats that leads no where. The act of being in a book club- somehow subsumes the responsibility tied to the work that needs to be done.

So I want us today to individually reflect on so, “Ive been doing this learning, now what am i going to DO differently moving forward?”

I took the liberty of copying this list from Day 4 of things you talked about that helped you to make a shift, I had listed them on that day and tried to quote those who did reply. Some have since replied so if you dont see your name, pls dont take it personally 🙂 Or ping me and I will add your name.  But take a look at what I have done  – go back to Day 4 and you’ll see the exact list.

Building Leadership Capacity

• Critical Friends – Mentors – Femtors (thanks Julius :)) Racialized friends and people we learn from (DrawntoIntellect, Amit, Sumir, Kevin, Stephen4Equity (your prof), Mrs. T, Jordan,
• Critical self-reflective practice (Deb, Antonella, Pamela, Lisa P,  Paolo (moving from teaching rooted in fear), Ms Dhillon, Dawn, Beverly, Ms. Fernando & Tracy (building on past/personal experiences)
• Knowing ourselves in relation to the students we serve (Lisa, Michelle, addressing our own egos and learning to be vulnerable (Naya M)
• Struggling with how and knowing we have to interrupt, lead, feeling like we have to “pretend” (Sayema), dealing with “impostor syndrome” (Ms Rodrigues- I felt you on this one and I could sense your struggle as you engaged; been there, been through it- Hiren & Danielle, I also know it all too well!)
• Rooting ourselves in our purpose (J.Efthymiadis)

Responding to Student Voice and Agency

• Listening to our Students – Listening authentically and thinking about who students are and what they need to be successful (Chi, Sangeeta -your story almost had me in tears; kidsconnect – really anchoring yourselves in the perspectives of children, Derik, MadameRT, Cary, N.Faroogh, D.Grant )

Analysing Data

• Looking at the data differently and asking the right questions (Krista, Teralyn,

Designing Instruction

• Rethinking “curriculum” and what/how we teach
• Utilizing CRRP as an to support students (ALL students) (Lisa,)

Engaging Parents, Families and Elders

• Learning from our students AND families (Redknine, Nyma)

Establishing Environment as the Third Teacher

• Relationships with students and environments that allow students to flourish (Vulam)

Yes – what you did connected to the shifts you made was to actually identify the 6 Threads of Inclusive Design – EXCEPT, as we spoke about in our Zoom convo – you applied critical analysis/theory as well as the other pedagogies we spoke about (Critical, AntiRacist, Decolonizing, AntiOppression) to those things. Now imagine when all 6 threads operate what that might look like in your classroom, school, cluster of schools or system.

When you begin with – WHO ARE MY STUDENTS? & WHO AM I, in relation to those students?   How might you begin to use an #InclusiveDesign approach to better support ALL the students you serve. I have linked an article I wrote there to give you some ideas and perhaps stretch thinking.

In our conversation, I mentioned one of my blogs for Huffingtonpost Canada – you will find some of them here.