feb-march_advisor

RISING

FEBRUARY–MARCH 2019 CEA ADVISOR 9

with their partners, who were directed to tear up all but one of the remaining cards. People were anxious about which parts of their identities would be destroyed. “This activity sometimes leaves people in tears,” Patterson said. “It was a struggle here to rip up each other’s cards, and that hit me,” said one Manchester teacher. Kamilah Francis was left with only the word strong . With her hand on her heart, she explained, “I am a mother of two boys. One of the cards that was torn up represented that.” Teachers discussed how certain habits or behaviors—for example, giving students nicknames instead of using their ethnic names—could inadvertently undermine their sense of self, and they brainstormed ways to celebrate and strengthen children’s identities instead. Laying the foundation Third- year elementary school teacher Amina Toor, of Stamford, says she owes her participation in ELI to a colleague’s mother who is highly involved in the Stamford Education Association. “I saw this as an opportunity for early-career educators like myself, and that was all I needed to hear. I wanted to meet like-minded teachers, be inspired by them, share our energy, get a sense of our strengths and challenges and a greater awareness of SEA, and know the issues inside and outside our local.” Toor, a first-generation American, said the ELI kickoff also provided some historical background on the National Education Association. “It was eye-opening for me, learning about the work that went into elevating teachers to where we are today.” Stamford teacher Bonita Maddox learned that certain new and long- standing teacher protections that she attributed to her district’s human resources department were actually the work of her union. “I had no idea,” she said. Over the two-day training, fellows discussed public education priorities, building-level challenges, and ways union members can get the message to those who set education policy. Bridgeport language arts teacher Jeffrey Brown said, “This is a good time to have these conversations, with a new governor in Connecticut.” This ELI cohort of Bridgeport, Manchester, Stamford, and Waterbury teachers will continue to meet over the next six months.

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ormed the unions, here were came up with:

egotiator pen ears eachable erves its embers trong upport here for you ransparent ited illing to take ction for embers

Teachers brainstorm words that capture the role and value of their union.

union leaders, such as building reps, are established in their careers, and they know the work that the union does. Younger teachers may not understand all of this, so I see it as my job to get my peers amped up, to show them that the union negotiates your contract, the union has your back, and they fight for you. My end goal is to improve instructional outcomes for students and to help teachers become better at what they do.” Bassick High School environmental science teacher Ricki Chiem says she wants to be “an informed and transformational leader who is visionary and creative— someone who gains the support of community leaders and holds them accountable for transforming our local community.” Fellow Bassick Spanish teacher Martin Rubin, adds, “I plan to use my platform and these new ELI resources to enhance professional development, social justice, and social/emotional learning in our district.” Rubin—a first-year teacher— notes that many early-career teachers are not sure what their union is, what it does, and what their rights are. As a result, they may not have the confidence to speak up and try to bring about change at a higher level. He hopes his training as an early-career leader will fill that void. “Our union leaders are looking out for the younger members of our profession,” says Bridgeport social studies teacher Andres Reyes. Cultural bag One of the most eye-opening—and emotional— activities of the ELI kickoff was one in which teachers designed a “cultural bag” representing who they

are as individuals and how they hope others see them. They decorated their bags with hand-drawn images of themselves and filled them with five index cards identifying, in a word or phrase, who they are as people. Cards included participants’ names and ethnicity as well as words such as teacher, father, sister, strong, or friend . Fellows paired off with teachers from other districts and introduced themselves to each other, using the cards to explain a little about themselves. After some brief conversation, teachers were directed to reach into their own bags and choose a card to tear up. Many struggled to get through this part. “It was hard for me to rip up ‘Vietnamese,’” said Chiem. “It’s so central to my identity, my sense of who I am.” Then, things got harder. Participants exchanged cultural bags INTERESTED IN BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER IN YOUR LOCAL ASSOCIATION? Talk to your CEA UniServ Representative. CEA’s Professional

HE LIST?

“I want members to feel comfortable knowing where to go with their concerns, and I believe a group effort can enact positive change. Strong involvement is critical to getting buy-in and raising awareness of important areas where more investment in public education needs to be made.” McClory said ELI is helping him get a clearer picture of teachers’ perspectives within his own diverse district, where teacher and student needs and challenges can vary greatly from one school to the next. Fifth-year Manchester High School physical education/health teacher and building representative Stefanie Grande wants to be the type of leader her colleagues can come to for help, “especially those in their first through fifth years, since we have a lot of new hires in our district. Younger teachers need a voice at the table. Whether it’s salary, student debt, working conditions, or workload, new teachers are up against all of it, and our goal as a union is to do whatever we can to lighten their load.” Fellow physical education/health Waterbury, is also focused on being someone his early-career colleagues can come and talk to. “They have so much on their plates, and they need to be heard. Having a fellow teacher teacher Ricardo Gibson, who teaches at the preK-8 level in

Learning Academy (PLA) offers project- based Teacher

Leadership workshops to help you on your path. Learn more by contacting 860-525-5641 or myprofession@cea.org .

to turn to can really build morale.” The two-way communication benefits everyone, Gibson says, explaining, “New teachers have fresh,

different ideas, and they bring new things to the

table, including a good grasp of

technology.”

Waterbury social studies teacher Kim Rock, in her sixth year as a teacher, says, “A lot of

More than 40 teachers from four districts convened in Norwalk with CEA staff and leaders to begin forging a path to educational leadership.