On Neurodiversity - Child Mind Institute

 The authors argue that...there should be an acceptance and openness of neurodiversity, which encompasses a wide range of natural yet atypical variations of how brain functions and processes work. They argue that there is no right way for a brain to work and that people who are neurodivergent are not at a deficit. 

Three Talking Points:

Beginning:  One of the main points is that neurodiverse people should be recognized for their strengths and not their deficits. Instead of thinking of the ways in which people with autism or ADHD need to be fixed, people should focus on the strengths that they bring to the table and the skills they are working on, as every human has their own unique strengths and areas of growth. Just because someone is neurodiverse doesn't mean they need fixing!!

Middle: One of the points that was made in the middle of the article was that neurodiversity is an identity that more and more children are comfortable with identifying with and that it does not always require a diagnosis. Children who struggle socially may feel comfortable identifying as neurodiverse because it gives them an explanation of how their brain works, and they can find likeminded people to talk about it with. I think it's interesting that neurodiversity doesn't necessarily need a diagnosis for the identification aspect, I feel like that decreases the stigma around having neurodiverse behaviors and conditions!

Ending: The final point though that I found was important was that a diagnosis from a medical perspective is necessary if they have a disorder that impacts how they show up at school and in their personal life. While the process of obtaining a diagnosis is extremely variable, it starts with an evaluation that could lead to a diagnosis based on the symptoms. However, what was really important to note was the fact that the doctor mentioned that not obtaining a diagnosis doesn't negate the child's struggles that they came to seek a diagnosis for. I think that is extremely important because for some children a diagnosis is quite necessary while for others it isn't but they could benefit from therapy or behavioral management strategies to help them succeed. 

Reflection/Connection: 

I think that from all of the information we have read in this class, I connected this article on neurodiversity to Renkly and Bertolini's "Shifting the Paradigm" piece as they advocate for schools to switch towards an asset approach rather than a deficit approach when discussing their students and how they view data. I think that this piece connected because the authors explicitly mention to not speak about neurodiverse students in a deficit manner, but rather recognize the strengths they can bring to the table. Focusing on creativity, hyperfocus to detail, and special interests are ways in which students who are neurodiverse can be celebrated for their skills. Recognizing the difference between differences and disorder can be a large way that adults celebrate neurodiverse students because it doesn't limit them to their diagnosis. If we as adults focus on their disorder in a deficit way, students can internalize this negatively and believe their future is not bright. 

Unfortunately, in the school I work at, the most disproportionate learning gap according to data is between students with IEPs and students without IEPs. I think this is because students are not receiving the special services that they deserve due to the lack of special educators present in the building, as well as resources and professional development that non-special educators need to support their neurodiverse students. Using Universal Design of Learning is a great way to ensure that ALL students can be engaged and access the material; however, I feel like the root cause of why my school's gap is so large is systemic. 

Finally, I really appreciated reading the part where the article mentions that being neurodiverse is an identity that you could claim without receiving a formal diagnosis. This made me feel seen because in the past few years I have pondered a lot about my social behavior and feel like I am neurodiverse. I have trouble making eye contact, have social anxiety (I hate small talk with a burning passion...), sensory issues, special interests, etc. However, this was never something I struggled with as a child and more-so have struggled with as an adult. I have felt like its too late to get a diagnosis and have felt comfortable with just dealing with the struggles I have. Because of the acceptance of neurodiversity I have been like "wait...is that me..." but I didn't really have a recognition of this until I was maybe 20 years old. 

 

Ice Out of Schools

 The authors argue that... ICE has no place infiltrating schools and making students live in instability and fear. Educators now have an extra important responsibility to resist against ICE advocate for students so that they are safe. 

Three Talking Points:

Beginning:

At the beginning of the "Now is the Time to Defend Our Students" article, it was admirable how teachers in LA were not just aware of ICE and their presence but actively organized with the community to resist it. Towards the end of the article, this really struck me "With the new school year in full swing, showing up is no easy task. Patrols start before dawn, and the work it takes to keep a community advocacy group up and running takes many evening hours we might otherwise spend planning, grading, and recharging." It is so true that teachers have a very busy schedule and many tasks to do but the fact that these teachers showed up for their community shows how much love they have poured into their community which is truly inspiring. 

Middle:

One of the themes of these articles that really spoke to me was the ways in which they explained resistance and how it can be used by the community against the system. During the "Recipes for Resistance" article, the author explains that resistance is like salsa, simple and spicy. Because of the fear that students have with ICE in their neighborhoods and the increased surveillance of it all, school has naturally been more difficult to make a priority. Thus, it is really important for teachers to make their resistance efforts embedded in relationships and understanding. By doing this, it allows the partnership between families and teachers to be more homely so that students can feel safer going to school. 

End:

The final point I felt like was worth mentioning is this idea of imagination not needing to be solitary but it can be collective. I think with all of the uncertainty and negativity around ICE, this has caused students to harbor their own struggles and feel like these cannot be discussed at school. However, imagination can be a powerful tool that educators can put in their classroom as a way for students to think about a positive future. Obviously, educators do not have all the answers and we cannot snap our fingers and make this terrible situation stop. However, the author argued to "create the space in your classroom to have that one thing be something your students can engage in with you on a regular basis. It starts small. Maybe it’s to incorporate circle practice into your classroom and have your students get used to that way of being able to communicate and to be able to talk with each other, to listen to each other deeply." Allowing students to imagine together creates a new generation of hopefuls and advocates. 

Connection/Reflection:

When I was reading these articles, it reminded me of the documentary "Precious Knowledge" that we watched in class because of the ways in which teachers really became active members in the students' lives and instilled ways for them to be advocates of their communities. It was clear that the teachers in Arizona who were filmed were very present in their students' lives and cared about their safety and emotional stability. Many of the teachers mentioned in these articles did the same and took time out of their busy lives to show up for their students in powerful ways. This connects to the idea that being a teacher is so much more than content instruction. 

One day this school year, a staff member in my school received a notification that there was an ICE person or vehicle spotted within the same zip code / few block radius of our school. Of course, I was the only classroom outside when this happened, as it was the kind of weather that was on the fence whether it should be an outside recess or inside recess day (and I am always the advocate for my students to run around outside). When I tell you the panic that was shown with the admin that came outside and rushed to make our class go inside...haunting. I had no idea what was going on because we went into an internal lockdown and there are no speakers outside and I received no information via my phone about this happening. The few admin that came out ordered us to come inside and all of my students were like what's going on what's going on and I didn't have the answers for them. When we got inside I learned 10 minutes later the situation and that it was a false alarm anyways. PHEW. However, I started to go down a cycle of thoughts of like "what if that was real" "What if they came behind the school and took one of my kids" All of these negative thoughts just made me feel so sad... It took a few days for these thoughts to not enter when I was at the workplace but then I started to (and still feel) concerned about like what I would do in that scenario if that ever happened to my school. It's something I think there should be more professional development on so that educators are as prepared as possible in the event that ICE shows up. GROSS. UGH.

"Why Do You Live Where You Live?" - Carl Faucher

 The author argues that... it is necessary to teach about the historic racist political processes like redlining to students so they have a better understanding that where they live now is still a result of an intentional design to exclude people of color. 

Three Talking Points:

Beginning: The author of this article, found in Volume 39, No. 1, "Teaching about Redining", opens up with saying that because schools have a lack of insight on the policies that shape them due to redlining that "especially white students, live with an incomplete and distorted history of their racialized experience." The fact of the matter is many racist policies across every metropolitan area in the US during the 1930's and 40's were designed to exclude nonwhite people from receiving loans from the bank to purchase property in areas of the city designated as "desirable", thus only restricted to live in "red zones." Although these policies are no longer in tact, I would agree with the author that if students are not educated on this history, they are not being challenged to think that segregation policies still permeate society. 

Middle: The author then explains the process of which he instructed his students on this topic. One thing to mention here that is super noteworthy was the usage of interactive maps to allow students to connect the historic makeup of their neighborhood to what it looks like now. They were able to use interactive map that allowed them to see racial demographics and where they settled a hundred years ago up to now. The discovery of the south of the city becoming a larger black population over the years whereas all other areas of the city became whiter allowed the teacher to explain the process of gentrification. The visualization of their communities through interactive maps allowed for a better understanding of the issue at hand and was a super good teacher tool in this case!

End: I really appreciated how the author of the article also taught his students how to use census trackers to look up the racial demographics in their neighborhoods. He live modeled to the class how to isolate the race feature to see racial demographics in the zip code of their school. I really think this lesson had every student learn more about their racial identity and geographic location are intertwined. White students in his class found their class to be diverse, since the proportion of students of color in the class was higher than what was representative of the zip code. However, students of color did not find the class to be diverse since they were still the minority and live in much larger neighborhoods. The lesson was very culturally relevant and allowed students to have a better understanding of their identity and community and did so through multiple modes of engagement. 

Connection/Reflection:

This article caught my attention because I studied geography in undergrad, and I especially did lots of research on how marginalized communities are negatively affected by urban planning. One of my largest projects I contributed to in undergrad was for my capstone project in geography where I researched the effect of gentrification on historic black churches in Washington, DC, as many of them in the past thirty years have had to close their doors due to urban policies that have prevented black people to attend the churches due to gentrification. As part of the research, I worked on an interactive map for the organization Mapping Segregation, which has lots of different interactive maps that depict aspects of racial segregation in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, it appears many of the maps are offline and unable to be viewed currently as they are being repaired by the organization. However, this was a super cool opportunity to learn more about how racist policies like redlining and gentrification still have long withstanding holds on marginalized communities today. 

As someone who really cares about geography and inspiring my students to care about their communities, this article really made me recognize that there are more creative ways I could make geography more interactive within the classroom so that my students gain understanding around the world around them. I feel like geography is not prioritized in the American education system, which is so unfortunate because I find it to be one of the discplines that can be super connective to student personal experience! This connects to the documentary we watched in class, Precious Knowledge, because the teachers explicitly teaching ethnic studies to the students had a huge impact on igniting passion on figuring out more about their identity. I find geography to be super similar in this manner.