Urban Teachers Lounge G. Funmilayo Tyson-Devoe

G. Funmilayo speaks about Dr. Bettina Love’s new book highlighting; 1) mattering & abolitionist teaching, 2) education justice, 3) educational survival complex.

Folks to Know
1. Bettina Love
2. Barbara Sizemore
3. Gloria Ladson-Billings
4. Derrick Bell

What to Read
1. Anderson, C. (2016). White rage: The unspoken truth of our racial divide. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
2. Coates, T. N. (2015). Between the world and me. Text publishing.
3. Dumas, M. J. (2016). Against the dark: Antiblackness in education policy and discourse. Theory into Practice, 55(1), 11-19.
4. Green III, P. C., Baker, B. D., Oluwole, J. O., & Mead, J. F. (2015). Are We Heading toward a Charter School Bubble: Lessons from the Subprime Mortgage Crisis. U. Rich. L. Rev., 50, 783.
5. Horn, J. (2016). Work hard, be hard: Journeys through" No Excuses" teaching. Rowman & Littlefield.
6. Love, B. L. (2019). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon Press.
7. Williams, P. (1987). Spirit-murdering the messenger: The discourse of fingerpointing as the law's response to racism. U. Miami L. Rev., 42, 127.
Get Involved
1.Go to the school board meeting
2.Go to town hall meeting around housing injustice, immigration injustice, etc.
3. Become an abolitionist teaching

G. Funmilayo speaks with Geovonia Bailey, educator for more than 25 years, about the impact of mental illness on the Black communtiy and public schools.


Folks to Know
1) Taraji P. Henson and her foundation

What to Read

1) The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (Taraji P. Henson) https://borislhensonfoundation.org
2) Teen Mental Health http://teenmentalhealth.org/
3) Mental Health First Aid https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org
4) Project 375 https://project375.org
5) Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper

Get Involved
1) Educate the WHOLE Child- Mind, Body, & Spirit
2) Consider conferences and training for Trauma Informed Care, Restorative Practices, Social Emotional Learning

G. Funmilayo speaks to Nikki Rose about the emotional toll of teaching.

Folks to Know
1. Peter Smagorinsky & Stacia L. Long at Univesity of Georgia

What to Read
1. No One Prepares You for the Emotional Toll of Teaching by Whitney Ballard
https://www.boredteachers.com/inspiring/no-one-prepares-you-for-the-emotional-toll-of-teaching
2. Is Anyone Considering the Social and Emotional Needs of Teachers? by Maureen Downey https://www.ajc.com/blog/get-schooled/anyone-considering-the-social-and-emotional-needs-teachers/AW8tCy3T7nlbIPmqpCVY0I/
3. 7 Simple Ways to Sneak Mindfulness into Your Teaching Day by Elizabeth Mulvahill https://www.weareteachers.com/mindfulness-for-teachers-guide/
4. Newell, J. M., & MacNeil, G. A. (2010). Professional burnout, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue. Best Practices in Mental Health, 6(2), 57-68.

Get Involved
1. Take care of YOUR health; Mindfulness
2. Use your EAP (Employee Assistance Program) Benefits

“School life will not become any easier until people make themselves accountable for the weight that teachers carry as they try to do what they came into the profession for”~ Smagorinsky & Long

G. Funmilayo speaks to William White about the importance of social emotional learning in classroom.

Folks to Know
1. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
2. William White, SEL Specialist Instagram:@dearmrwhite4

What to read & watch
1. TED Talk – Dr. Nadine Burke Harris https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime?language=en
2. Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., ... & Marks, J. S. (2019). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American journal of preventive medicine, 56(6), 774-786.
3. Restorative Practices
https://www.iirp.edu/restorative-practices/what-is-restorative-practices

4. CASEL https://casel.org


Get Involved
1. Make safe space for students to express feelings
2. Know Thyself
3. Address your own trauma

G. Funmilayo speaks about readiness for the new school year.
Folks to Know
1. Know Thyself & Your Bias
2. Know Your students as Humans not test scores

What to Read
1. Mindfulness in K-12 http://www.mindfuleducation.org
2. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta L. Hammond
3. When They Call You A Terriorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele

Get Involved:
1. Be Reflective about your practice as an educator
2. Fight for the kids

Additional Note:
Gleicher’s Formular for Change- Change is possible if the product is greater the resistance.
DxVxF>R
DISSATISFACTION with AS IS state x VISION of possible TO BE state x FIRST STEPS of THE PLAN > RESISTANCE TO CHANGE