7 minute read
New Faculty
Reading to Generate Conversation and Change
How can a group of individuals intentionally discuss and reflect upon important topics, such as racism, discrimination, and historical oppression? More than 20 members of the School of Education (SOE) answered that question through regular meetings via Zoom to discuss Beverly Daniel Tatum’s work, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in The Cafeteria?” In her work, Tatum shows educators that conversations and a critical analysis centered around race and cultural considerations are essential and urgently needed to build communication that will allow us to better serve others. This sentiment is echoed in her book: “Learning how to have these conversations is a necessary art of moving forward as a healthy society. You can’t fix what you can’t talk about.” Rob McKinney, Ph.D., assistant professor in counselor education facilitated the book review, and was proud that SOE members took up Tatum’s challenge. Individuals discussed Tatum’s work from the lens of their own personal lives and found points of application for who they are as people. Moments of personal transparency occurred in the book groups that semester, and they were as rich and as multifaceted as the landscape Tatum lays out in her book. As a result of reading this book and meeting in small groups, one group member reported, “I thrive to learn more. I spend evenings searching the web and trying to take in information that I was not aware of.” Another individual said, “I am noting how infused systemic racism is in my environment.” Others remarked how they are more aware of their own biases, words, and actions.
Throughout this semester, individuals reflected on how this book has been transforming the work they are doing in the SOE.
Clearly, this book and the discussions around it have impacted SOE individuals in personal and professional ways. At the conclusion of these groups, and in reflection of these salient outcomes from individuals, McKinney said, “I believe it is safe to say that this book has also been an agent that has brought forth change for SOE faculty and staff who participated in the book club.” Who knows just how far-reaching this dialogue will be and how many people it will impact.
Supporting Undocumented Families
Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands / La Frontera
In November, Becky Clark, doctoral candidate in the Educational Leadership program and graduate assistant for the Office of a Pedagogy of Hope through Research and Practice (PoH), organized a panel to present best practices to the School of Education to support inclusivity in the educational space. Attendees were challenged to rethink their prior understanding of what it means to support all families. Conversation included what Gloria Anzaldúa, Chicana Feminist Scholar and teacher, writes about in her work Borderlands / La Frontera. She describes the experience of being caught in the struggle between the dominant culture and her own. She started teaching high school English in 1971 and worked to support her Chicano students by sharing literature from Chicano writers. When the school claimed this literature was not “American” or English literature, Anzaldúa defied school policy and continued to teach secretly Chicano writing. Anzaldúa challenged the status quo and advocated for her students’ culture to be included in their education.
“Students in this situation have always been in our schools, but they have not always been served appropriately.” As seen in Anzaldúa’s writing, students coming from cultures overshadowed by the dominant culture can feel isolated and invisible. Clark hopes attendees from the talk understand that, “Students who have undocumented status deserve to be treated with equity and respect and grow to be active global citizens.” Often these students and families will be reserved or cautious, but educators must listen and provide support when needed. Incorporating Anzaldúa’s framework into the learning environment means highlighting cultures in the margins and honoring and respecting each individual and their lived experiences.
Alumni Spotlights
- St. Therese of Lisieux
A Heart for Students
Naomi Kerns (’06), who majored in English and holds secondary certification in English and German, is a fourth-grade teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School in the Diocese of Boise. Her efforts and belief in Catholic education were recognized by the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) with a “Lead. Learn. Proclaim. Award” in 2021. The award celebrates outstanding efforts, contributions, and achievements in Catholic education.
Kerns began teaching fourth grade at Sacred Heart in 2014, after seven years at a local public school. She explains that she inherited the fourth-grade job from a “talented and beloved veteran teacher.” While looking through that teacher’s files, Kerns was surprised to find a fourth-grade assignment belonging to her husband when he had been a student at Sacred Heart 30 years prior. “It was the sign I needed to know I had made the best professional decision of my life,” she says. Among her greatest challenges, Kerns said, it is witnessing a student deal with real emotional hardship. “I pour myself into helping them feel their worth and the love we have and God has for them,” she explains. When the pain lingers for the student, Kerns can feel defeated. “I think about, pray for, and even cry over these students long after they leave my classroom.” Kerns finds the most rewarding part of her job is when students get excited about learning. She explains, “I love the feeling when a student gets hooked on a book or finds renewed enthusiasm about school.” She said that is more important than any content she can teach. “I have the best colleagues in the world.” I am so blessed to work alongside such strong teachers and wonderful people. They inspire me to be a better teacher and person. I learn from them every day.” Kerns believes in St. Therese of Lisieux’s “Little Way” of trying to make small differences in the world. It reminds Kerns of the power of simple kindness: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kind word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” “I love being a Catholic school educator. In the Catholic community, I am reminded daily to see each of my students in the likeness of God; it is a powerful and unique feeling to work at a place that helps me so clearly see them in that light. The work we do is bigger than ourselves and our school.”
The article can be found on the National Catholic Education Association website. www.ncea.org/NCEA/NCEA/How_We_ Serve/Awards/Lead._Learn._Proclaim._Awards_Winners.aspx
Meeting Students Where They Are
“Sometimes you just have to get out of bed a little earlier.” This quote from Dan Shay’s (’13) high school wrestling coach is what motivated him as he met students in the parking lot at 6 a.m. to escort them into lab. Shay graduated from the School of Education’s Masters of Initial Teaching program in 2013 and now serves as a as Biotechnology teacher at North Central High School. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shay adapted his curriculum to face the challenges students feel with remote and hybrid learning. This dedication won him the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair’s Teacher of the Year award. “It’s a big trophy but honestly, for me it was the students who nominated me – that’s what means the most,” said Shay. Shay delivered materials to his students’ homes for at-home experiments and advocated for small in-person lab sessions with face shields, masks, and gloves. Leading his students through the book, “Hacking Darwin,” by Jamie Metzl, which deals with genetic engineering, he carefully crafted a model that works both synchronously and asynchronously. Students were grateful for the commitment from Shay to meet them where they were and his support in their research endeavors. Shay’s creativity during the pandemic reflects the resilience of teachers across the Spokane Public School District, and across the nation. Teachers like Shay are passionate about their students and will fight to give them the highest quality education even in the most dangerous times.
Article Adapted from “Meet the
North Central High School science teacher whose dedication nabbed him a statewide award” by Jim
Allen, The Spokesman-Review
Photo By: Tyler Tjomsland,
The Spokesman-Review spokesman.com
