Watched
When They See Us | Netflix | Ava DuVernay
This mini series on Netflix is hard to watch. It tells the story of the Central Park 5, young black and latinx teens who were arrested, interrogated and forced to confess to raping a white woman. They were convicted and sent to prison and were later exonerated and freed. This brings light to many of the injustices our society and our system is set up to continue, as well as the differences in how pepole of varied class and race are treated by the system. The episodes are hard to watch. I don’t recommend binge watching all of this at once. Watch an episode and process what you’ve seen and heard before watching the next.
Read
Principal Hamish Brewer wrote this book about how he has led two schools through turnaround, loved students unapologetically and made a difference for students and staff alike. It’s equal parts inspiration, guidance and true life story that will get you thinking about how you can best serve the teachers and students you work with.
So You Want To Talk About Race
An important read from Ijeoma Oluo for all educators who are ready to talk about race and do the work, but need to understand the experiences and perspectives of the lives you haven’t lived. This book provides that perspective, questions to consider and actions to take to combat racism, which is not the question of someone being a good or a bad person or acting in a racist way. She is addressing systemic inequities and helping us all realize how we might talk and DO something about them. If you’re interested in reading, Katie Eustis is hosting a virtual book club this summer!
Sarah Thomas, Nicol Howard and Regina Schaffer wrote this book as part of a series to examine and provide strategies for closing the digital equity gap. This gap is about much more than access and devices, but about opportunity and the learning activities students engage in throughout their K12 experience.
Attended
In June I also attended the ISTE conference which filled my brain with so much to think about! You can read a series of posts about the conference here:
EduTechnicallySpeaking 