Redesigning curriculum through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens | #NEASCforum
If you are trying to move forward DEIJ work in your school, you no doubt wrestle with questions (from others) such as:
- Why does curriculum need to be evaluated?
- What is the importance of curriculum change?
- What is the hidden or covert curriculum?
- What is the role of a teacher in curriculum?
- What is a DEI curriculum?
- How do you incorporate DEI into curriculum?
- What is a diverse curriculum?
- What does diversity, equity, and inclusion look like in education?
I’m always looking for ways to address these questions and be as informed as possible myself. Thanks to Dominique Dalais, who runs the International Teachers of Colour Facebook group, I had the chance to learn more recently. In this recorded webinar from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), I was scribbling notes like a demon. The panelists offered a ton of practical tips for moving DEIJ work forward in schools. Topics touched upon included:
- how to manage parent pushback
- self-education
- curriculum resources
- DEI curriculum checklists
- DEI lesson plans
- DEI handbooks on how to broach sensitive or controversial topics in the classroom
…and a lot more. What I really appreciated is that people were from different places with various experiences. It wan’t focused on any one geographic region. As a result, you can explore and develop the concepts regardless of your context. Remember that our friend (and one of the featured speakers), Dom, works for an organisation that has a school in the Middle East. He and his organisation prove that location is no excuse for inaction on DEI work in schools.
Check out the webinar for advice on a DEI curriculum and if you’re short on time, you can always speed up the playback. I promise you – it’ll be worth it.
DEI Work & Learning Together
You can, of course, watch the webinar alone. Alternatively, you could:
- organise a watch party with colleagues within or between schools
- set up a Padlet (or other curation tools) for departments (or individuals) to extract usable tips for your context
- request protected PD time for people to view the webinar together
- organise a reflection session once you’ve shared the webinar with your colleagues
Whatever you do, keep learning.
Access to quality DEI learning opportunities – we’ve got this.
