Last weekend, I had the unique opportunity to facilitate a discussion about equity in your brand with other educators who are also content creators.
I enjoyed the unconference format Sarah & I presented in. Basically, we had a few discussion questions prepared and folks who were interested in discussing equity came through to talk with us.
Interestingly enough, we’ve been having these conversations with people for years in public and private, but we’ve found it difficult to have these conversations with teachers who are also content creators.
A lot of the pushback tends to be that many teachers who have a public platform are concerned about talking ‘politics’ with teachers that use or share their content. In the season that we are in both professionally and politically, the time is now to put the needs of our students above our own insecurities and meet kids where they are so that we can do what’s best for them.
The teachers that came to our session were eager to talk about ways that they could acclimate teachers to the idea that we MUST be having these conversations if we are willing to grow. It was exciting to be in a room full of teachers who ‘got it’. Equity is not a buzzword. It is the cornerstone component of teaching. We view all resources and methods through an equity lens. We evaluate whether or not paradigms need to be shifted in order to make learning more accessible to all learners.
With the influx of social media there’s a lot out there for teachers to look at. There’s far too much foolishness out there these days for teachers to look at. If you’re still establishing your understanding of best practice, it can be difficult to determine what is sound teaching practice and what is just a gimmick. Evaluate your social media intake based on which educators are actually calling you into learning new things about teaching. Surely there is a time for fun and cute…but if your whole social media is based on cute products and flair pens, will there be enough time to also follow teachers that challenge your thinking and make you better? So here are a few tips on what you need to look for when you’re looking for a teacher who is interested in sound teaching practice.
