October 19, 2016 · curriculum
The newly opened National Museum of African-American History & Culture ! What an AMAZING museum. Our minds are still reeling with personal thoughts and our own identity politics, along with the incessant thinking that teachers do about every single one of their students and their learning. Our brains are on museum-fire! Here are few things we are thinking about post-trip. As adults -- we were reminded yet again the beauty, pain, and necessity of education. We especially loved the quote above. We also felt immensely grateful to be teaching at a (progressive and independent) school where we have autonomy over our curriculum and discussion topics. We feel even more well-equipped (even just taking photos at the museum has given us so many resources and jumping off points). In addition, we feel even more charged to continue educating, re-educating, and unlearning with our students this year!
field tripsracecivil rightsprotestsNMAAHC
October 12, 2016 · curriculum
We must be the luckiest humans in the world! (Well, that and Nina spent a good 7+ hours on the phone listening to Wade in the Water ). Can you guess where we are going with our students? We are going to the NMAAHC ! After this elated moment of realization, it hits us.. Wow. We are going to the NMAAHC. That is phenomenal AND… How in the world do we prepare fifth graders for such a monumental moment, challenging and remarkable history, and then of course, logistically how many hours can we stretch with 26 ten and eleven year olds in a museum?! The questions, concerns, and backwards planning gears all began cranking at terrifying speeds. So here we are. Sharing with you some of the first pieces of preparation before we head to the museum on Tuesday (!!). 1. We think together as a class about: why do we learn about history? Why does it matter? We did this before we studied Indigenous
social justice educationfield trips