Summer 2019 Advisor

TRAINING

SUMMER 2019 CEA ADVISOR 9

TEACHING SOCIAL JUSTICE Third grade teacher shares tips and tools

When Tracey-Ann Lafayette enters her classroom, she sees not only students but also citizens and activists. The third grade teacher at East Harford Public Schools’ O’Brien STEM Academy, who just finished her third year of teaching, is spending part of her summer in South Africa learning new ways of empowering children in grades three through five. “I am going to Cape Town and Johannesburg as part of a Fund for Teachers trip and will bring back lessons that help my students find their own voice and use it for causes they believe in,” she says. One of the causes near and dear to Lafayette is ensuring that students of color see themselves reflected in their teachers, a major initiative of CEA . “Teachers of color represent about eight percent of the teaching force in Connecticut,” she says, “and that’s far smaller than the percentage of students. Often, teachers of color are the only ones in their schools.” In a workshop she presented at the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council’s Empowered to Lead Symposium this spring, Lafayette noted that when it comes to teaching about the contributions of ethnic and racial minorities, “We often get stuck in Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month. We talk about Rosa Parks, we talk about Martin Luther King and Ruby

learning about apartheid and the leaders who fought back against it. Our goal is that when we return from our trip, we will use what we learned to create lessons with a social justice focus that can be integrated into the third through fifth grade literacy curriculum at our school.” She adds, “I will be working double time when it comes to posting, using my teacher Instagram account, @learningwithlafayette, to share information with fellow educators about my adventures. My blog, dearlafayetteleaders.wordpress. com , is going to be written to my students past and future to tell them about the things I am learning during our trip.”

Bridges. Instead of integrating lessons into what we are teaching throughout the year, we focus on a few key people over a few weeks.” Lafayette’s workshop, Empowering Students as Activists for Social Justice, focuses on literacy, weaving activism into the curriculum, and strategies for classroom conversations that motivate and prepare students to work for equity and justice. Clearing the hurdles “So, what gets in the way of our teaching about social justice and activism?” she asked workshop participants. Some responded that it can be uncomfortable, they fear blowback from parents or administrators, testing leaves little time, resources are lacking, and there is often uncertainty about how to include something that is not part of the curriculum. Lafayette shared some strategies for empowering students as social justice advocates: • Provide good literature. Some of Lafayette’s go-to reads are short, impactful books such as Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights , by Rob Sanders, or Martina Freeman’s If You’re Going to a March . • Define activism. Discuss different forms of activism and the idea that young people can be activists. You don’t have to wait until college or adulthood. Share with your students stories about

various activists and the specific causes they have advanced. • Ask kids what their causes are. Ask them what makes them sad or what they want to change. • Have students research the topics that interest them and educate themselves and others; encourage them to articulate their positions and share their opinions. Lafayette’s trip to South Africa with fellow O’Brien teacher Nicole Campbell will include visits to various schools to learn more about restorative practices, she says, “in order to bring some of that knowledge back to our school community.” Additionally, she says, “Our trip will have a heavy focus on

East Hartford teacher Tracey-Ann Lafayette shares tips with colleagues on how to empower their students to be social activists.

TEACHING IN THE PRESENT TENSE: USING MUSIC TO ENGAGE STUDENTS ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES Connecticut’s two teachers unions, CEA and AFT CT, joined forces to cosponsor a professional learning workshop, TeachRock: Music Across the Disciplines. Thirty teachers from around the state, representing nearly every grade level and subject area—from physics to culinary arts— attended the free training. TeachRock is an arts integration curriculum created by the Rock ‘n Roll Forever Foundation, founded by Steven Van Zandt, better known as Little Steven of Bruce Springstein’s E Street Band. Van Zandt is a strong supporter of both unions and teachers, whom he describes as “underappreciated and underpaid.” As a child, Van Zandt did poorly in school until a teacher helped him realize that music—his passion—often connects different school subjects into a coherent whole. With that realization, Van Zandt became far more engaged in school and began to look at learning through the lens of music. It was this experience that eventually led him to found the Rock ‘n Roll Forever Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower teachers to infuse music into the curriculum to better engage students and build their cultural competency. It’s what Van Zandt calls “teaching for the present moment” rather than “learn this now, because you’ll need it later.” The TeachRock curriculum consists of over 140 interactive lessons, curated by subject and theme and aligned with Common Core State Standards and/or Next Generation Science Standards. Many different genres of music—from rap and hip hop to rock, reggaeton, and more—are included. This extensive resource is free for teachers and contains lessons for all grade levels and subjects. Bill Carbone, an ethnomusicologist who grew up in Connecticut and attended Wesleyan University, facilitated the workshop, providing an overview of the curriculum and engaging participants in several TeachRock activities, including an environmental lesson, a social- emotional learning lesson, and a history lesson. Lessons required collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, as well as singing, dancing, and a sense of fun. To access free lesson plans and activities, register at teachrock.org . Teachers who register can also attend any of Steven Van Zandt’s concerts for free.

Educators learn how to use popular music to promote cultural competence and student engagement across the disciplines.

Teachers work together to create

a playlist that gives clues to

the identity of a famous historical figure.