#SmallBites

Almost half of the educators I polled on Twitter this weekend said they don't use randomizers. A randomizer is a name picker. Teachers use it to call on students, randomly put together project and discussion groups or even to assign class jobs. What about rubrics? How consistent are you in using a written rubric All. The. Time? Chances are, if these two practices are not your norms, your favoritism is adversely affecting your students. We all play favorites: There is that one student you send on errands because you know she can get the job done. There is the student who gets a little extra love when you grade because he's having a hard time with his parent's divorce. There is also the student who is likely to walk the circle during recess more often than any other student because once she's on your radar, she's locked in. Randomizers and rubrics do not solve for x=favoritism every time. But chances are, if you know it is your tendency to call on the kid who will know the answer so you can move your lesson along, using those kinds of tools means you are aware of the effects of playing favorites and actively working against doing it in your classroom. Listen to episode 38 for more strategies you can implement TODAY.

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As an edtech/design teacher in an IB MYP setting, I anchor my year with strong digital citizen and media literacy lessons. Those are my gifts to the world. When students know how to be good citizens online, when they understand that it's necessary to use critical thinking to sort through the various sources of information and not just 'eat whatever is served', they become better citizens. This year, there's COVID, trauma, shortened instructional time, needed intervention, blah blah blah. "What had happened was..." right? Yes, there are many, many things happening that have influenced this unprecedented year. None of them minimize the need for people to learn to be informed media consumers. That goes for our students and us as well. Make sure you are using non-partisan resources like AllSidesMedia or the Annenberg Public Policy Center's Factcheck.org, to check what you read and hear for validity and source reliability.

Visit Hedreich.com for resources mentioned in the podcast and more vignettes and educational strategies.

With all the talk of Dr. Seuss and cancel culture, we are in a quandary about what we book under tradition and what is too inappropriate to keep. Who decides? Based on what criteria? How to we decide? And how do we make the hard decisions when our precious memories all seem to be tainted with some kind of -ism or offense to someone? Those very personal decisions should tie you to your humanity and the humanity of those you teach, interact with, even those you love. It is not easy, but it is a journey we all have to take. Since, as we learned last episode, no one is all good, no one is all bad, let's refrain from throwing everything out. Instead, let's critically examine things and carefully consider how we can use them as examples and non-examples. Maybe instead of throwing everything out, we use them as important tools of growth, adapting the narrative around them to better represent who we are as a community. Listen, reflect. 

Visit Hedreich.com for resources mentioned in the podcast and more vignettes and educational strategies.

#SmallBites episode 37 explains the pitfalls of the halo effect. If you've ever been guilty of pretty prejudice or giving the student you like a slight edge, you've experienced the halo effect. If you thought Obama could do no wrong and Trump could do no right, or vice versa, that's the halo effect. So how do you get around it? How do you teach your students and even personal kids to circumvent it to become more just and fair humans? Listen and find out.

Visit Hedreich.com for resources mentioned in the podcast and more vignettes and educational strategies.

This episode is a reminder that all the isms, phobes and phobia accusations cannot win over supporters. If you want to do the best for your campus, classroom and community, remember the one thing that connects us all, humanity. As we do our best for our students, our own families and the communities around us, we need to reduce all of the concepts to one no one can disagree with--humanity.

Teach citizenship, teach respect, teach empathy, model humanity.

Visit Hedreich.com for resources mentioned in the podcast and more vignettes and educational strategies.

This episode dives into the connection of communication and civics standards to every K-12 grade level and content area. We can't be afraid to teach respect, empathy and citizenship because we might get push back. Good citizenship is based on humanity and respect. Behaviors that do not exemplify those tenets can be discussed so that our students can be better. We cannot teach our students that bad behavior is ok if it comes from someone we like. We can't villainize those we don't like.

Teach citizenship, teach respect, teach empathy, model humanity.

From Part 1:

As educators, teaching the next generation of citizens is a big part of what we do. We give students mottos and mission statement like be ready, responsible and respectful. We give schools mottos like Pro Scientia Atque Sapientia (for knowledge and wisdom) and Empowering all Students, Celebrating our Community, Inspiring Lifelong Growth and yet, when it's time to teach civic responsibility, we allow ourselves to be bullied into not teaching our students the art of civil disagreement. If you want a better world, be the change and help your students to do the same. This episode provides scaffolded resources for helping classes to actively listen and respect differences.

Visit Hedreich.com/e35 for the links mentioned in the podcast, as well as more vignettes and educational strategies. 

As educators, teaching the next generation of citizens is a big part of what we do. We give students mottos and mission statement like be ready, responsible and respectful. We give schools mottos like Pro Scientia Atque Sapientia (for knowledge and wisdom) and Empowering all Students, Celebrating our Community, Inspiring Lifelong Growth and yet, when it's time to teach civic responsibility, we allow ourselves to be bullied into not teaching our students the art of civil disagreement. If you want a better world, be the change and help your students to do the same. This episode provides scaffolded resources for helping classes to actively listen and respect differences.

Visit Hedreich.com for more vignettes and educational strategies.

They say you cannot judge a man unless you've walked a mile in his shoes. Well, I would like to know what it's like to send my son out without having him come home and say he was followed around the store. I would like to drive to Arkansas and not have to explain to my child why there is a cross burning on the land next to the highway. I would like to not have to pretend that I am fine while I choke down the terror; I haven't driven that stretch since. While I would not like to trade who I am and my Black Joy for the absence of the Melanin Burden, I would like to walk even a half mile in those White people shoes. A vignette on hair, Mexico and the justice system.

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How will you keep your ideologically mixed classes from emotional arguments grounded in hearsay and conjecture? This prequel to Friday's episode will give you an overview. Visit Hedreich.com for resources. 

Proud member of the Teach Better Podcast Network.

Is Bias a real thing or do people just like to throw around terms like White fragility and racist? Does offense at one negate the other? Listen, learn and share.

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