March 04, 2019

We Got This with Cornelius Minor

54 minutes

Connect with Cornelius Minor

Website: kassandcorn.com | Twitter: @MisterMinor | Book: We Got This

Connect with Vrain Waves

Twitter: @VrainWaves | Becky Twitter: @BeckyEPeters | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb

Links & Show Notes

Cornelius’ Introduction & Background (02:05)

Working through and reflecting on failure; teacher imagination (03:45)

We Got This, the book, and the Teacher-as-Hero Narrative (05:59)

Jamal Eigel, illustrator

Why is the Teacher-as-hero narrative problematic? (07:40)

People as humans not heroes; allies, not saviors

Heinemann Podcast w/ Mr. Minor - Building Better Heroes

We all want better (09:52)

Teaching in the contemporary political moment

We are pro-kid - to help them create opportunities for themselves

“Anything that abridges opportunity is my enemy.”

Challenge: How do we actualize ‘better’

How do we navigate the contemporary political moment? (12:05)

Everything is iterative

Story about Cornelius & his soccer team

Bringing it back to the classroom - what it means to be a member of a community - advocacy & activism (16:10)

The world hands you a curriculum - if you’re observant & you listen, you can do really powerful things

How can we all help surface and solve those stories? (17:55)

Racism, ableism, classism - Who should be working to solve it?

Empathy is a really powerful tool

Decolonize school by trying to understand each other

Get to know our students better by listening - “Where is the poetry in this person?” (21:04)

Spend our time observing (22:35)

Labels are necessary shorthand but we have to avoid getting trapped in those (23:08)

Disability spread - the spread effect (23:57)

Hip Hop Ed (24:31)

#hiphoped

Art vs. product (25:08)

At the heart of hip hop is innovation / engineering / iterative design

Fearless around the act of creation

Hip hop came out of the Bronx

Can’t teach without the crowd

How can we be more fearless in our creation? (28:36)

What is school?

True creation is messy & noisy - where are we leaving space for that during the school day?

Embrace approximation (instead of perfection) (30:12)

How do we create space for learning from each other? (31:45)

Be deliberate about it

Ms. Disbrow as Cornelius’ mentor

Watching specific teaching moves, going into each other’s classrooms at least once a week - specific, scheduled time to watch, then specific, scheduled time to practice the learning

Practices in literacy instruction (35:49)

Students and book selection - craft independence

“We’re here to create book culture.”

Independent reading time in class (37:51)

Agency for students (39:05)

Modeling in writing (39:52)

Lucy Calkins / Reading & Writing Project

Readers Workshop / Writers Workshop

Writing essays - “Essay is a journey of thought.” (39:50)

Is our own ability a ceiling on our kids’ progress?

Letting go of power without letting go of control (44:27)

Physics of human relationships

Create multiple points of investment / sharing power

“How can I raise a kid’s status in front of their peers?”

How to teach with deep community engagement (48:18)

Parents & teachers need to see each other as experts

How can I labor to understand each student in order to give them the best possible experience?

To learn more from Cornelius Minor:

Kassandcorn.com

Heinemann.com - We Got This

Loads of Free Resources from the Book!! Graphic organizers for your own Action Research to support your reflection & iteration

@MisterMinor on Twitter

@CorneliusMinor on Instagram

Wrap Ups & Take Aways (52:21)

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