ROOTED Weekly: 22 August 2020

A pitch from Stephen...

This week marked the first public posts here on ROOTED. Jared and I are super excited to put this thing out there. We've been talking about it for months, and, as Jared noted in our inaugural post, we have pivoted our original ideas for the site because of the new challenges that teachers are facing across the country and across the globe. We have so much to share, but we also have so much to learn.

So we need your voice!

While we are excited to see our names attached to the first posts here, we are even more excited for you to get involved. We believe that teaching requires relationships and community. We hope that ROOTED can become a community of forward-thinking educators sharing their ideas. Therefore, we need you and your voice.

Please consider submitting your ideas and articles, interacting with us via the comments on posts, sharing articles and ideas on Twitter, and (if you haven't already) subscribing to the weekly newsletter.

This Week on ROOTED

Remaining Rooted When It All Seems Up in the Air: Some Reflections on Teaching during COVID (and an Invitation)

2020 is a strange and unsettling year to be starting a blog about the practice of teaching. But here we are, inviting you to write about new learning landscapes, culturally responsive pedagogy, and self-care.

ROOTEDJared Colley

The Courage to Begin Again

We feel displaced, even in our own homes and classrooms. But our terrain has changed. (And it’s not going to change back anytime soon.) Where do we start?

ROOTEDStephen Hebert

From Around the Web

• Kelly Treleaven, the author of Love, Teach, mused about potential teacher shortages as we resume classes: "…[E]ven if I teach in person this year, I may not continue doing so if teachers’ perspectives continue to be minimized or dismissed."
• Back in September, Elena Aguilar offered advice for "How to Address Tough Topics in Staff Meetings." Seems more relevant now than ever!
• Kara Newhouse published a story about the importance of student voice as we look at online classrooms and new in-school procedures. Listen up!
• Teaching Tolerance has put out a list of resources for "Supporting Students Through Coronavirus." Perhaps an article there will speak to your needs this week.
• Eric Hoover examines a report that calls on college admissions to rethink their standardized testing policies. It's all about equity and access, y'all.
• Lucas Ames of the Global Online Academy posted a helpful article about what students want from online learning. Key takeaways: flexibility, choice, asynchronous experiences, and connections. But you knew that already, didn't you?!