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Professional Development: Reflecting Within: Pedagogy, Literacy, and Biases
By Sophie Degener, Adelfio Garcia, Ryan McCarty, and Ivy Sitkoski
Document: Column
Introductory Paragraph: We are closing another challenging school year due to the Coronavirus global pandemic. Regardless of the current circumstances, teachers remain resilient, and they still look forward to ensuring each student learns and grows academically. It is Spring! Summer is just around the corner. It is time to reflect on the instructional and operational hurdles we learned from remote and hybrid learning. Keep in mind that regardless of what classroom instruction may look like next school year, professional learning should be adjacent to a refreshing summer drink. Teachers and the authors of this column witness the disparities and inequities our students, families, and communities face throughout these difficult times. In response to these observable challenges, the authors provide excellent book choices to reflect on ways to minimize those disparities. Each book choice addresses our most vulnerable students and their limitations (their schools’ curricular choices). At this time, teachers must continue being resilient. We are being vaccinated and are still following state and federal guidelines. We should continue working together, virtually or in person, to address students’ social, emotional, and academic challenges. Summer is the time to rest, relax, and reflect. What better time to look within and find ways to acknowledge personal hurdles. It is a time to consider any changes we need to make to enhance teaching and learning; a time to reflect on the students, families, and communities we teach; and a time to ensure our school’s curriculum choices, instructional delivery, text selection, and assessment practices meet students’ cultural, linguistic, and unique needs. The books reviewed will help you to do just that. Regardless of the work ahead, we encourage that you do not do this alone! Meet with a friend or two to discuss ideas presented in these book choices—perhaps while sipping on a nice refreshing summer drink.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.49.3.2021.44
Page Numbers: 44-48
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