Confessions of a PYP Teacher Lu Gerlach

Welcome back my friends to another episode of Confessions of a PYP Teacher.  This episode speaks directly to my heart and I hope it will resonate with you too.  Zaretta Hammond focuses on building deep alliances with our learners in chapter 6 of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain.  We will uncover some parts, but it’s not possible to unpack all of the ideas.  Have fun reading and finding your own nuggets of wisdom.  
The chapter begins with a quote by Rita Pierson, “Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be.”

This sets the stage for ways to support our learners by building a strong alliance, so learners can build an academic mindset over learned helplessness. 
For a written blog post and other resources, visit:   https://thinkchat2020.weebly.com


Thanks for listening! Please find us on X @thinkchat2020, LinkedIn @lugerlach, and Instagram @thinkchat2020.

Join our Confessions of a PYP Teacher Facebook Group! We are going to launch some webinars and extra challenges in early 2024. Let's have some fun!

Something I’ve been thinking about has been learner relationships and why they are not the primary focus in many elementary classrooms.  Usually within the first month of school, teachers are building systems and routines of how the classroom will operate, but do they really take the time to get to know their learners personally?  Zaretta Hammond points out, “Too often though, we ignore the quality of our interactions with students and instead focus primarily on the curriculum.” 

In this episode, we will explore how to build more authentic relationships that help us to affirm and validate our learners.

For a written blog post and other resources, visit:   https://thinkchat2020.weebly.com
Thanks for listening! Please find us on X @thinkchat2020, LinkedIn @lugerlach, and Instagram @thinkchat2020.

Join our Confessions of a PYP Teacher Facebook Group! We are going to launch some webinars and extra challenges in early 2024. Let's have some fun!

In the past episode, we discussed our own role as a culturally responsive teacher and how it shapes our frame of reference when teaching a classroom full of learners from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, let alone language acquisition, disabilities, and gender identity needs.  This was compared to our understanding of surface, shallow, and deep cultural beliefs and ways we may trigger amygdala hijack without knowing it.

I don’t know about you, but my brain exploded.  This is completely normal, when we peel back the layers of our own cultural frames of reference and compare them with our learners.  Zaretta Hammond references a three part process for widening our own lens called description, interpretation, and evaluation.

I introduced it in the last episode to get you thinking, but this time, we are unpacking it to the fullest.  Are you ready for description, interpretation and evaluation?  I’m ready to get vulnerable and make changes in my practice.

For a written blog post and other resources, visit:   https://thinkchat2020.weebly.com



Thanks for listening! Please find us on X @thinkchat2020, LinkedIn @lugerlach, and Instagram @thinkchat2020.

Join our Confessions of a PYP Teacher Facebook Group! We are going to launch some webinars and extra challenges in early 2024. Let's have some fun!

Welcome to another deep dive into the fabulous book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond.  This week will be full of insights about ourselves.  Are you ready to go deep into your practice?  To be honest, this chapter left me with a feeling of being exposed, but that is the process of recognizing how our beliefs and behaviors shape cultural responsiveness or not.  Yikes, we went there already, but this is all part of our growth into becoming more aware educators while honoring the things we are doing well.

This episode will explore how culture has shaped our view of our learners.  Hammond asks some deep questions that have sparked my reflection and hopefully yours.  

For a written blog post and other resources, visit:   https://thinkchat2020.weebly.com
Thanks for listening! Please find us on X @thinkchat2020, LinkedIn @lugerlach, and Instagram @thinkchat2020.

Join our Confessions of a PYP Teacher Facebook Group! We are going to launch some webinars and extra challenges in early 2024. Let's have some fun!

Welcome back to another episode of Confessions of a PYP Teacher and our exploration of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brian by Zaretta Hammond.

I’m not going to lie, this next part of the book makes me feel like a numpty.  Zaretta Hammond begins the chapter by stating, “If we want to use culturally responsive teaching to support the cognitive development of dependent learners, we have to know how the brain uses culture to make sense of the world.  When we know this, we can easily piggyback on the brain’s natural systems to activate its unique ability to grow itself.”  I don’t know about you, but this sounds really beyond my pay grade, but I’m going to do my best.

Join me as I attempt to unpack the connection of culture on the brain. 

 For a written blog post and other resources, visit:   https://thinkchat2020.weebly.com
Thanks for listening! Please find us on X @thinkchat2020, LinkedIn @lugerlach, and Instagram @thinkchat2020.

Join our Confessions of a PYP Teacher Facebook Group! We are going to launch some webinars and extra challenges in early 2024. Let's have some fun!

Welcome back to another episode of Confessions of a PYP Teacher.  We are continuing our exploration of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond.  This week, we will examine the influence of culture and shine light on our need for awareness.
Zaretta Hammond states, “Building background knowledge begins with becoming knowledgeable about the dimensions of culture as well as knowledgeable about the larger social, political, and economic conditions that create inequitable education outcomes…teachers also have to be aware of their beliefs regarding equity and culture.”

What are some of the ideas that pop to your mind?  Listen to this episode to find out more. 

 For a written blog post and other resources, visit:   https://thinkchat2020.weebly.com



Thanks for listening! Please find us on X @thinkchat2020, LinkedIn @lugerlach, and Instagram @thinkchat2020.

Join our Confessions of a PYP Teacher Facebook Group! We are going to launch some webinars and extra challenges in early 2024. Let's have some fun!