Zach Diamond 0:03 Welcome to the Modern Classrooms Project podcast. Each week, we bring you discussions with educators on how they use blended, self paced and mastery based learning to better serve their students. We believe teachers learn best from each other. So this is our way of lifting up the voices of leaders and innovators in our community. This is the Modern Classrooms Project podcast. Toni Rose Deanon 0:28 Hello, and welcome to episode 178 of the Modern Classrooms Project podcast. My name is Toni Rose Deanon, they/them pronouns, the designated hype person here at MCP, and I am so so so so, so excited because we have guests from Learning for Justice. So we have Skyla who's a middle school teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Learning for Justice trainer fellow, as well as Jaci she/her pronouns, who is the professional learning facilitator with Learning for Justice, and D'Aisha an elementary school teacher and a trainer fellow as well. So, welcome D'Aisha, Skyla. And Jaci, so excited for you all to be here. So before we get started, thank you for saying yes to the podcast to share your expertise and your experiences. What is bringing you joy currently? Jaci Jones 1:14 Abbott Elementary is back. Like my favorite show. And I'm not gonna lie. I've been trying to figure out some time today between meetings to watch it and I have not so that's like I'm looking for be like a thing to look forward to this evening is to watch the new season. Toni Rose Deanon 1:33 Yeah, so you gotta have something to look forward to every day right. And Abbott Elementary is definitely the show to watch. So thank you for reminding me that I have to catch up about you Skyla and D'Aisha. D'Aisha Smith 1:46 I know for me right now I have a soul playlist. I have a very old soul. So I'm very heavy, 70 soul at soul heavy right now. And that is just bringing me a little bit of joy, especially in the mornings as I'm trying to get to work. So it's been it's been nice to rediscover some old playlists. So I'd say that's where where my joy is right now. Toni Rose Deanon 2:10 I feel like music always brings joy to a lot of people and it's so it's so nice to have so many different options to write. Skyla What about you? Skyla Hudson 2:20 Um, for me, it's probably that tomorrow's Friday today's like, you know, Friday Eve makes me feel like there's something to look forward to. And I like got coffee this morning. I didn't make it at home. I like went and bought coffee. And that always brings me joy. Toni Rose Deanon 2:36 Yes, I love that it is almost Friday, which is always exciting. I feel like this week was like the longest week for me. So thank you all for sharing what is bringing you joy currently. So let's go ahead and get started. Tell us more about who you are and how you started your education journey. We'll start with D'Aisha, if you don't mind. D'Aisha Smith 2:54 Yeah, no, that's awesome. Um, so essentially, my name is D'Aisha Smith. I am a social studies teacher in New Jersey. I am an elementary fifth grade teacher at a middle school. So I'm in a bit of a unique situation right now. But I started my journey actually teaching preschool and running a summer camp. So I was in a really weird spot where I was seeing older kids, but only in a fun capacity. The education part was not there. And then when I was teaching, it was very much learning color shapes and numbers. But I think what really got me on my education journey that I'm on now is some of the things that I was able to do with the the students at that age to introduce them to different cultures and people around the world. That, you know, they were able to understand concepts of certain kids their age, not having access to certain things that they may, and vice versa, certain things that they don't have. And I was so amazed and so empowered at how preschoolers were able to get it. And I began to love hanging out with the older kids at my summer camp, that it led me to the path that I'm in now, which is just teaching social studies and in that sweet spot of the middle grades from like, fourth grade to like seven. I haven't gone higher yet. So we'll see. We'll see where that calls. But, you know, that's kind of where it started and where I am journeying now. Toni Rose Deanon 4:26 Yeah, I feel like we can all stop at seventh grade seventh grade is the best. D'Aisha Smith 4:32 Hold the paper drum. Toni Rose Deanon 4:34 Yes, exactly. We have like the the babies and then the big babies. That's kind of how I separate them. And so thank you, D'Aisha for sharing a little bit about us, Skyla, what about you? Skyla Hudson 4:45 So right now I'm a middle school teacher. Seventh grade is the highest I've gotten. But I've done everything from third grade to seventh, special education, general education, all the subjects in between, but right now I'm on English language arts, and I kind of like fell into that role here. But I think for me when I was in college and like choosing a major and figuring it all out, I wanted to be able to influence students. And like, in my mind, I said influence kids at that point, because I know for me, I needed like role models and support, like outside my family structure. And for me, school was that place. So I toyed with social work for a little bit, and like all these other kind of helping professions, but I landed on education, because I feel like it can be proactive, where sometimes social work and all of those other systems are very reactive. So it can be proactive, and it can like show students kind of like what Diego was saying that there's other things out there to explore and look into and think about. And when you see them kind of have that, oh, or like a ha moment. So yes, this is why. Jaci Jones 5:59 So I'm Jaci, my pronouns are she and her. I'm a learning personal learning facilitator with learning for justice. And really, my background and education started, like super young, I feel like, as corny as it might sound was like, I just like had always wanted to be teacher, I was like, that kid who like, was helping the teacher with everything I was playing school at home with my friends, you know, like all those things. You know, loved that double sided pen that had like red on one end and blue on the other, I remember those silver pins. But I really just kind of like grew up, really knowing that that's what I wanted to do. But I think I didn't really know what that meant, I don't think until I got to college and started thinking about the general impact that would have and really this, like, I'm struggling to find the word, but it's like really just such an important profession, knowing that you are shaping the youth, and really the future of this country. And so my background is in social studies, and it's in secondary ed with those big babies. They're my, you know, my favorite, they really, were able to engage in really great conversations, and really figuring out how to have those difficult conversations with them. Because, you know, like DHS said, preschoolers know about inequity and injustice, like, by the time they get to high school, they are very aware and really living it, and want to talk about it. And so it was when I really stepped into the classroom, I taught at a high school in New Jersey, as well. And those first two years, I was having these conversations and didn't really know like, what I was doing, like a first year teacher in the classroom, like trying to navigate all of the school things and talking about real world issues with students. And so when I was thinking about my graduate degree, I was like, what do I really, what do I want to do, and I wanted something in kind of like the human rights, civil rights space, and there was a program for Holocaust and genocide studies. And that's eventually kind of the path that I went on. And through there, I really learned that education can happen and does happen in a lot of spaces outside of the traditional K 12. Classroom. So I started getting connected with organizations like Facing History and Ourselves and started adjunct ng for the university, to help other educators teach about the Holocaust and broader just like ways to embed social justice in their classroom. And that's where I got connected to then teaching tolerance. And really just like, fortunately, when I was thinking about stepping outside the classroom and into a different education space, there happened to be an opening. And so I've been here for a little over two years, and just like really grateful to have found to have found this space and really be immersed in social justice education, specifically, and really reaching our educators nationwide with a big focus on our southern states. Toni Rose Deanon 9:06 So big focus on the southern states. Let's talk about it. Right, let's talk about it. So this episode is really about learning for justice, because it is it's a resource that I implemented and used a lot when I was back in the classroom. And this is something that I always always try and have conversations with educators as well, like, Hey, this is something that's already provided something that's already curated for you, like here are all the things that you can put in front of our in front of our students, right. And so for our listeners who have no idea what learning for justice is about, can you tell us a little bit of just learning button for justice, what it stands for, and I know that before it was known as teaching tolerance, and I was actually part of the advisory board when they had the teacher advisory board because I just utilized the resources so much and then I applied for it and I just like loved it. And I was connected to so many dope human beings who are doing the same work. And so, you know, tell us more about learning for justice. And then how can educators and school leaders utilize the resources and learning opportunities by learning for justice? Jaci Jones 10:14 Yeah, well, thank you also for being part of then TTAB, you know, Skyla and D'Aisha are here, because it's sort of have has morphed when we change to learning for justice. We wanted to keep staying connected with educators, we feel like it's so important to get that like, real time feedback about what's happening on the ground, right, we can make all of these resources and things but we need to know how they're landing in the schools and the communities that we are hoping to create this systemic change within. And so, you know, just kind of letting the audience know that that's the role really, of Skyla and D'Aisha, our trainer fellows and our trainer fellowship now is being able to stay connected to, to both classroom teachers, administrators, and we do have some other community leaders as part of this fellowship, too, as a way to keep kind of that feedback loop going, and help facilitate some of our other professional development work. So a little bit of an aside, but I think important to, to name that here. What is learning for justice, who is learning for justice, we are a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, we really seek to uphold their mission, specifically around racial justice in the South, as mentioned, and beyond nationwide, we work in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy to strengthen intersectional movements, and really advance the human rights of all people. And we really support this mission with focusing our work primarily with students, but also with educators, caregivers, and broader community members. In four main areas, we do a lot of work around culture and climate do a lot of work around curriculum and instruction around leadership, both student leadership, teacher leadership and community leadership, and then also family and community engagement. And so really getting educators to think about how they can be more intentional about embedding social justice education in their practice, like, what is social justice education? And how can we use it to really kind of root out hate and create a more just and equitable world? D'Aisha Smith 12:31 I know, for me, there was kind of this aha moment I had mentioned, it's a little bit easier when you're just introducing pupil children to the world, rather than to the words like intersectionality, and injustice and equity, the things that once you learn about the world start to, you know, pop up. And I think that a lot of people I hear have the same story of coming to learn for learning for justice, where they're just kind of like, Man, I wish something like this existed, or what if I just googled and then magically, one day they happen upon the website, or someone suggests it, and then you realize everything you've ever wondered, everything you've ever needed, in terms of how can I get this to my kids are, what resource can I add to this, or I have no idea where to start? I just know what I want to do all of a sudden is available to you. And I think that that's what learning for justice has been for me. It's just it has been a grounding to things that were already on my heart and that were already being seen in the community of how can I consistent consistently and effectively bring this to my classroom? You know, and I think that's what I love most about them that they the things that they have said that they are going to do and been intentional about doing. No matter where you go on the site, no matter who you speak to, for these resources. They're very much focused around the classroom and the community and equipping us with those tools. Skyla Hudson 14:01 Yeah, for me, I would say the same, I think I got introduced to learning for justice through resources, like I needed a resource for something. And I had known about teaching tolerance through my teacher prep program, as a suggested Social Studies content resource. And so that was my like, intro, but then I signed up for the newsletter or the magazine, something in there. And I began like reading educator stories as long as well as like, their discussions around the educational system, and like how we're functioning as like the United States, or as public education around the country. And that got me more intrigued because I think, to provide resources is one thing but to provide resources and acknowledge the system they need to be used in is something that learning for justice does really well. And then I relocated to the south. So I'm in Georgia right now. And I think the on the deepest level what learning for justice has provided for me He now is solidarity and community with other people who are like minded trying to further Social Justice Education in spaces that is actively trying to restrict that same movement. And so I think like as an educator, you can be involved at like various spectrums whether it be a resource, or be completely entrenched in like the fellowship, and the zooms, and oh yeas that go on, like the open enrollments. But I think that's the beauty of it is like, there's a spectrum and you can take what you need from that spectrum. Toni Rose Deanon 15:34 Yeah, and I also just wanted to add to like, as an adult, these resources were super helpful for me, I just realized, like, I have to learn and unlearn so much, right. And as I was going through these resources, I know that, you know, I was trying to provide like lessons and curriculum that were very much centered around our kids. I, you know, and the histories, and I was just flabbergasted at the fact that like, or maybe not so shocking, that I didn't learn any of that when I was in school. And I grew up in South Georgia. So it makes sense, right? Like, it makes a lot of sense. And so I think for me, it was a wake up call, when I was going through teaching tolerance and learning for justice resources that I'm like, Oh, I have so much more to learn as an adult, and this is so much more accessible, because I don't have to read a 150 page something on a topic, I could just get these resources, acknowledged, you know, and and do my research, and then create a lesson out of it, and have that like really fruitful conversations with students with stakeholders, honestly. So thank you all for sharing that. And you know, we've talked about social justice. What what is social justice? Yeah. And and you have you also have social justice standards, which are phenomenal. So tell us more a little bit about that maybe provide, you know, kind of a definition for what is social justice? And then what are the social justice standards? And how did that come about? D'Aisha Smith 17:04 So essentially, the social justice standards were created and are a tool to kind of ground those four areas that in our mission, we talked about culture, and climate, curriculum and instruction, leadership, and all the different ways that looks and then family and engagement, community engagement. And to pretty much like you said, give that inventory check. What do we look like currently? What does our organization our hallways, our classrooms, who do they represent? Who do they uplift, whose voices are absent? And then to not only from that lens, see what we need to do to fill in those gaps. But also, if we want to actively have students join in, in a social justice effort, whether that be from their own perspective, looking at themselves, their own identity, or looking at someone else's reality, which would, you know, kind of gets into the diversity part and realistically into action, which would be justice, justice, and action, which is a part of the standards, but I kind of worked my way through those letters. But, you know, realistically, it really does, it shows you and it gives you a base as teachers, we're used to objectives, we're used to standards, so it gives you clear cut goals and instructions on. It's not just, oh, let's show up to the March, let's figure out what to put on a sign. Let's say we disagree with this, or we want more of that. How can we get more eyes open? How can we get more voices to give an opinion on that? How can we work that into our curriculum? How can we connect that to math and social studies in science? So the social justice standards really work to do all those things in so many different ways, you know, whether that's a micro level of just a classroom, or on a larger scale of how can we bring this to a community to make sure our community leaders are looking at how to serve as best through this lens, how we can hold those people accountable, you know, and, and all the steps in between there. So it really does give that educational piece to again, something that many people try and do and organize outside of the education world when you bring it into the classroom. And you are required to meet standards and connect curriculum and have those cross curricular connections. The standards allow you to do that in a very teacher focused, community focused student based way. Toni Rose Deanon 19:42 I'd love to also just asked, a question popped up for me, what kind of resistance Do y'all get when folks hear social justice standards? And do you ever hear a educator or just a stakeholder just say, Oh, that I can't do that in math or I can't do that in science. Absolutely. Jaci Jones 20:02 But I think for like the vocal people who are resistant to the term social justice, or to social justice standards, there are so many more educators and people who want the language who want to be able to like understand how to navigate social justice spaces, how to be able to implement social justice education in their classrooms. And that's really what, like the standards are one of our foundational publications. And they're really rooted in Early Childhood Research. They're developed from scholars, Louise Derman, Sparks, and Julie Olson Edwards, they wrote a book anti bias education for young children and ourselves. And when we were teaching tolerance back in the day, we worked very closely with them to develop these standards, not just and not just develop the standards, there's 20, Anchor Standards, five in identity five and diversity, five injustice and five and action, like Aisha was kind of explaining before, but also to show how they can have different grade level outcomes that are developmentally appropriate for kids in those grades. So we have like a k two, outcome three, five outcomes, six, eight outcome and 9 12 outcome, which they all go back to those anchor standards, knowing that, like, that's what we would want to see or hope to see and adjust an equitable society. But we also know that there are developmentally appropriate milestones, you know, for for each grade level, so giving language, you know, not introducing the term intersectionality, for example, until like middle grades, once younger children have the understanding of like, oh, I have multiple identities, and these identities, you know, can combine to make me who I am, but not, they don't, each divine me individually, right. And so getting kids and young people to really work through a lot of those concepts. So that when they do start interacting with other people who might not share those identities, they're able to have, you know, better conversations, more inclusive conversations, and kind of learning to like, navigate and point out, like, like you just said, where they might see injustice, and kind of work to take action, you know, to fight against it right? And to, and to try to create justice, in whatever capacity that looks like, you know, whatever issue they might be focusing on? Toni Rose Deanon 22:43 Do you update the standards at all? And how often do you update that? Jaci Jones 22:47 Yeah, so really, these 20 anchor standards have been the same. Since we created it, what we have updated, each grade level outcome has a scenario associated with it so that an educator or caregiver, whoever it gets their hands on knees, can kind of see what that might look like in inaction. And so we've updated those scenarios most recently to be, you know, more inclusive and provide a couple other scenarios that are more relevant to issues and 20. I think we just did it last year 2023. Skyla Hudson 23:25 And we also have the I think, I think of them as complimentary, like the critical practices guide for social justice education, or like the strategies on how to achieve the standards. So like, I feel like the standards are great. This is my like, data set objective in a developmentally appropriate way with language, like Jackie said, and but then it's like, how do I do that? Like, how do I get myself there, and the critical practices guide for social justice education are divided into the four pillars, just like the definition of social justice, Ed, so curriculum instruction, family and community engagement, leadership, and culture and climate, and then their strategies that go through each one of those pillars. And thinking about, like, if you're a science teacher or a math teacher, in the beginning of the year, you still need to build a classroom community that falls under culture and climate that's still a tenant of social justice education. So there's ways to work through even just equity of thinking routines and how to make space for different learners. So to say that, like, Oh, um, science, social justice, education, like doesn't fit into my space is just like not true. And it's in for people who have trouble seeing it. I feel like the social justice, the critical practices guide for social justice education does a great job of laying out how you can actually incorporate equitable strategies into every learning environment. Jaci Jones 24:56 To add on to that. We've had you know, our social justice just standard, one of our workshops. One of the strategies that we use is asking the essential questions, right? Because you can really ask essential questions through the lens of identity, diversity, justice and action. And that's really where we see a lot of interdisciplinary kind of brainstorming and where it can be implemented. D'Aisha I don't know if you remember what, what our educators used at our at our last workshop, but I know like we've done everything. When we do these workshops, like Roman Baths was a topic for central questions. Newton's laws of gravity were a topic for essential questions. And so like, there is room to embed these standards, as well as you know, other critical practices in your context, regardless of your discipline, or your grade level, right? There's ways to scaffold it. And I think that's really what the standards do really well is like they are that roadmap, right? Like standards can get a little teacher jargony. But like, if you think of them more as like a roadmap for your ability to embed social justice into your practice. That's kind of like where it starts. And then like Scott said, building in other critical practices to really like build out your toolkit is really what we kind of hope educators walk away with from these resources. Toni Rose Deanon 26:30 Yeah. And Jaci, I was, I was just gonna say, when it comes to planning, right, like, what I've seen happen with educators is that they add the standards after they've already planned the lesson. And it's like, no, no, it's not like a Oh, oh, shoot, like, I have to add this thing, right? Like, no, it's not the last thing you think of, it's really the first thing you think of. And so when you're creating a lesson plan, look at the standards, alright, I mean, just backwards planning, right, like backwards planning, and really looking at those standards to see what works for the specific skills that we're teaching. And so one thing that I would really push for our listeners to is that when you do get a chance to look at the social justice standards, that you're looking at it as a way to plan your lessons and not like, Oh, snap, like, I think this one goes with the identity one or oh, wait, this one goes to the leader, you know, whatever it is, but like, definitely do it before and not after, we're not an afterthought. It's something that I always like to say to. Okay, well, those are all great, I know that we'll definitely link in the show notes to social justice standards. So our listeners can just kind of click on it and kind of peruse it and you know, just explore it. So I would like to kind of just shift on, like, how how do you address the challenges that's associated with all the things that's happening in 2024? Right, like, there are words that teachers can't say there are, you know, families who are very much concerned about what students are learning in classes. And so how do you navigate this? I mean, Jackie, also mentioned like, there's specific, like, there's a focus in the south, right, like the southern states, like how do you navigate conversations like that, being Skyla Hudson 28:16 in the south, I have to, I'm gonna qualify my statement, I am in Atlanta, right. So I understand the blue bubble that I am in. But I also think that could be a great case for like your social, I mean, your local elections, being mattering just as much as the state and national ones, because our local is so open to taking a stand against our state, that we do have some more protections being in Atlanta than being in some of the more rural Georgia communities. But with that being said, we are still the State Department of Education is still our umbrella or overseer. And it to me, it's going back to what's best for students. And like equipping yourself with the language beforehand and the research to backup what you're doing. So like I work in an International Baccalaureate school, and the mission statement is like being able to be a worldly citizen, and knowing how to interact with other people. So if a parent administrator community member questions, why we're talking about identity and how to interact with others, well, it goes back to our International Baccalaureate mission statement, like we need we're being world learners. And I feel like every school has that kind of language somewhere in their mission statement to back it up. And then I think, when you truly are tied with what you can say and do, getting students just to question the world around them, is a great way to help them navigate without jeopardizing yourself or your certification, because you're not giving them ideas. You're not indoctrinating, I'm using air quotes, as I say that, because they're coming up with these questions or ideas on their own, and you're just kind of facilitating that research process. So that's a great way for educators who are working in really restrictive environments, to start thinking about how they can actively resist without putting your paycheck on the line. Because I know like, this is our livelihood. This is how I pay my bills. I'm not trying to lose that. But at the same time, my students, especially in such a diverse city as Atlanta, they need to know how to interact in that city, and how to navigate the world around them. And I feel like that's my responsibility as an educator. So like the strategies of getting them to question and think for themselves, as well as having that. That like building block of this goes back to my mission statement, this goes back to my schools, like international baccalaureate, or whatever your designation is, kind of helps me have like, security when I'm teaching. Toni Rose Deanon 31:17 Yeah, I really love that. Right, like, tying it back in to what the school stands for, what the mission, what the values are, so that there's lots of conversations happening, right, like and, and I always say to, like, I welcome resistance, because I know now you're paying attention, which is great. So let's pay attention, let's have conversations and then also just being receptive to whatever anyone has to say, right? Because I feel like sometimes when folks have concerns, they just want to be heard. And that's okay, right? Like, that's okay. There's room and space for that, too. Okay, so listen to us. We're gonna take a quick break for an announcement. And when we come back, we'll talk a little bit more about learning for justice and all the good things that it has for us. Zach Diamond 32:01 Hey, listeners, this is Zach dropping in with some learning experiences and announcements for you for the upcoming week. Do you want to connect with other educators of color who are creating a more student centered learning environment? Join our monthly shades of excellence meet up on Monday, February 26 at 7pm. Eastern. Are you interested in learning more about the virtual mentorship program? Join us for a 30 minute info session on Wednesday, the 28th at 5pm Eastern. And finally, you can join us for a learner series with Screencastify on Thursday, February 29, Leap Day at 6pm. Eastern, we're focusing on teachers as creators for our first session together. And all of these will have links and registration details in the show notes. Avery Balasbas 32:47 Calling all Los Angeles educators. My name is Avery, your West Coast partnerships manager here at MCP. And do we have an exciting opportunity for you? Modern classrooms project is thrilled to announce the launch of our second fully funded regional scholarship here in California, the Los Angeles educator scholarship if you've been looking to transform your classroom into an equitable student centered space, enroll in our again fully funded virtual mentorship program plus a $500 stipend through MCPS, Los Angeles educators scholarship, just go to modern classrooms.org forward slash Los Angeles to apply today. If you have any questions or want to connect, you can reach me at blas bus at Avery dot veloce bus at modern classrooms.org. That's a v's and Victor E ry dot B isn't boy, a l a s b is boy as at modern classrooms.org. We look forward to seeing your application. Toni Rose Deanon 33:44 All right now we're back with Jaci, D'Aisha and Skyla. So here at modern classrooms, we are trying to disrupt the notion of traditional teaching, right, like the whole lecturing part where like we're just talking at students, we really want our students to engage in practice and application. And so when we think about, you know, with with pandemic happening, there's a lot of technology, right, that's been in introduced or like, you know, just kind of showed, like that tech gap that we had in education. And so how do you see the intersection of technology and education influencing the accessibility of like, justice education on a global scale? Like this is a huge question. So like, you know, after answer you an entirety, there's like, not a fix all but like, how do you how do you see this moving forward? Like how can we utilize technology to enhance education? Honestly, D'Aisha Smith 34:42 I would say the two things that I'm seeing and that I'm really excited about. One would be the connectivity that's happening. And the other would just be the instantaneous access to knowledge that we have, you know, whether that be the right resources that you can get from learning for justice, like a teaching art history guide words giving you concepts and very clear cut phrases to go into or, or if it is, I think of my classroom and asking students tell me any and everything you know about Black History Month. And for someone to say, oh, yeah, that reminds me, and then they can google and find something and they have answers right in front of them. It's not giving them answers to a test is really just enhancing our conversation. Wow, you, you saw that on TV? I don't I don't know the answer to that, oh, this was the first, you know, black Olympic gold medalist in the Winter Olympics. I wonder who won in the summer, who did this first in the summer, and all of a sudden, the entire room is typing and searching, Oh, Miss Smith, and this person did this. And you know, now they're pulling in all these other facts that before, I would have had to print out a paper and presented to you, and we would have went one at a time. And now in a 15 minute period, we've talked about 20 people that we don't necessarily have to box away, but we've already established, you know, something about them, let's find someone new, you know, and I mean, so I think even just in these last few days, that's been amazing to see where it's like, I don't consider that cheating. You don't remember their name fully. But you know what they did? Google that, because that shows me that if you're having this conversation at home or out in the world, you're gonna do that same thing, oh, man, I can't remember their name. But this is what they did. Or I know their name, I need to know more about them. And, you know, Google is going to tell you other people that they're connected to AI is going to, you know, if you're putting that into a, you know, something that builds it out, they've included three others, you know, so it really, it just, it expands the access that our kids have the same way that, you know, us having access to all these quick reference guides and standards and things that in the 80s and 90s. This may have happened at a small, you know, roundtable discussion, but it wasn't printed materials, easily digitally accessible to the world, you know, you think of when we go through the applications for these cohorts, we have seen applications or people who are not in the, you know, in the borders of the United States, there, there are not always from those areas, even at our drop in, you know, one off trainings and sessions. So it's beautiful to see that as an educator, that we are reaching people in museums, we are reaching people in different continents, I want to share this, but on a much smaller scale, just seeing kids get excited, be curious and instantly seek an answer the way they would a gaming code or whatever else they're doing. You know, with that same energy and excitement, I, I'm so grateful to have technology in the classroom and see it be used in those spaces instead of just to watch a video or to type in an answer to a math problem or, you know, wherever it had taken us previously. Skyla Hudson 38:02 Do I think that you bring up such a great point of like this power of like the internet and like inter connectivity, connectivity, like maybe it's because I'm Middle School, we're like also talking about the responsibility of that. And I think that it's brought up some interesting conversations around like equity, and justice, like, not just access, but then once you have access, what do you do with that access? And like, how are you using? We talked about like, using our words for good, but how are you using like the internet and this interconnectivity for good. And like respecting other identities, respecting what you find, and also being able to call out the misinformation when you see it? Because media literacy is it needs to be something that we're infusing with English language arts with different research skills, because I find that students who don't have media literacy are like really, really, like primed for believing just almost anything they see. And so we're having class discussions. I'm like, Why did you hear that tic toc? s like, and what sorts Did they say? I don't know. But to others reposted it. So it had to be true. And like, just, I think that's a whole nother area of justice. Right? Because then we see it on a national scale in our elections. We see it being used to sway different types of media for like government and like politics. So I think that like we need to rethink how we approach using it. So it can be this power, as well as like using it correctly, if that makes sense. Toni Rose Deanon 39:52 Yes. And I feel like those are all skills that need to be taught, right? Like this is something that I was having conversation with school leader about is that every teacher was like, Oh, they learned it, you know, they learned it in that grade, I don't have to teach it. And it's like, no, you have to conscious, like, consistently constantly remind students how to use technology in the most effective and like you said, like, a good way, right? Like, how do we share the information that we're learning? But also, how do we analyze? That's critical thinking skills here, right? Like, anyone can really put whatever they want on the internet. Now, how do we as like the consumers, right? How do we analyze and and question what's being put out there in the universe. And so I think the embracing of technology is really important. And also really having those conversations of like, you're also like, quote, unquote, the bad ways to use it. And then especially like putting an AI to write like, there's a lot of resistance with AI, when AI could be used efficiently and effectively, right. And at the same time, when we think about AI, too, it's like, well, who, who, like you're thinking about access, right? Like when we think about oh, AI is gaining, you know, like, putting all the information, but where is that information coming from? Are they written by majority white men? You know, so like, again, which voices are missing? And so we get to have access to all of this, we get to question it, we get to. And one of the things that I really love with technology that shifted because I you know, I was in the classroom, I started teaching in 2010. And, you know, technology was there, but it wasn't like the thing that we used all the time. And so there was just kind of a shift of like, I'm no longer the only person that knows everything in the classroom. Here's Google, that knows a lot more for me. So it's like that acceptance of it as a teacher of knowing that I am not the only person that knows everything, like it is okay, that I don't know everything. And I think sometimes teachers forget that, that it's like, oh, no, but I have to be the one that knows everything. Right. And so I really liked that shift, too. So thank you for sharing that. And, and so Okay, so what is what do you all hope to see in the future? As an educator as part of learning for justice, like, what do you what do you hope? Because I love to think about just like our hopes, because it makes me so happy that maybe one day, Jaci Jones 42:08 yeah, I think like, my, my brain is going in a million different directions. I feel like there's so many connections between a lot of the questions that we've already been talking about, and this response, where it's just like, focusing on the people who do want to see equity in our schools and our communities focusing on empowering our young people to really keep questioning, asking the questions, asking a lot of difficult questions and be able to, like equip them with tools, not just like for media literacy, but also like to have civil dialogue, right. And they really engage in conversation, in conversations, like across lines of difference and a lot of their communities. And I don't know, I think it's really like putting that focus on student learning. You know, I think one of the questions you asked before, around, like, how we're trying to help our educators in the south, and a lot of it is around like, you know, what Skyla mentioned? Like, making, like having the students come up with the questions do like, inquiry design models, you know, a lot of students entered engagement, asking those essential questions, you know, either through the lens of the social justice standards, or otherwise, and really just getting them to think critically about the world around them. And I think it's my hope that like, maybe the quiet majority will win out in the long run. And just really trying to figure out how we can echo one another in a way that allows that majority to be heard in a way that the very vocal minority is being heard right now. And so I guess it's my hope that we empower the young people. It sounds so like, I don't know, cliche, but like, really, it is just empowering them with with the tools to, to pave the way for a more equitable future. Because I read, it's part of the reason I got into education to write that, that that belief that that young people are our future. And so that's the hope. Skyla Hudson 44:22 Mine is so connected to Jaci. So I feel like I'll, I'll jump in. I feel like my hope for learning for justice and education in general. In one of the learning for justice magazines, a quote from W. Ed EB Dubois said, as the South goes, so goes the nation. And I really hope that learning for justice can bring community to educators to start to win those little battles, and that the nation can see that like this is not going to work here. And that active resistance in the south kind of spreads in a positive way, since the south seems to be the place where we plant seeds to see if they'll grow both positive and negative, I hope that learning for justice, and the community that it builds can give power to that, that, that seed and we can plant it in a very positive way. D'Aisha Smith 45:22 I'm right there, along with Skyla. And Jaci, Greatest Love of All soundtracks, you know, is definitely playing under, you know, all of these inspirational things. But, you know, I really just think that the loudest voice is not always the most correct, or the right way. And I feel that, because we have taken the methodical each one teach one support, who needs it route, that sometimes we are not the loudest voice in the room. And so I hope that what is being said, what is being taught, just echoes, and can cast down some of the other thoughts and other, you know, misconceptions about education and teaching, just awareness and truths that are out there, and that more teachers are empowered to do it through our resources through the communities they build, you know, I really, that's my hope that, you know, it's really each one teach one that, that this can grow into something so much larger, and that those who are seeking that community can connect with us, you know, so we can quiet some of the warranted and unwarranted fears, you know, that often get the airwaves and the attention of others so that our students, our children, our communities, can benefit from that. Toni Rose Deanon 46:48 And, you know, I'm sitting with all of that, because all of that sounds amazing. And I and I want to add into, like, I, I also hope, that pride and ego, that they go away, because I feel like a lot of the times a lot of decisions that are being made for our students are because of pride and ego. And I also think shame is a lot as well, right? Like, oh, I don't want to admit that. I don't know something, because you know, I'm supposed to be this person. And so I think if we can find some way to have conversations about our pride or ego and our shame, I think then we will have we will have, quote unquote, better conversations. I think, you know, and so, hmm, man, yeah, this is such a great conversation. listeners. Toni Rose Deanon 47:45 Remember, you can always email us at podcasts at modern classrooms dot org and you can find the show notes for this episode of podcast that modern classrooms at org slash 178. We'll have this episode's transcript uploaded by Friday, so be sure to check back to access those. Also, we are asking our listeners to leave a review of this podcast has been helpful in supporting you to create a human centered learning environment through a blended self paced, mastery based model. It does help other folks find it. Thank you all for listening. Have a great week. And we will be back next Sunday. Skyla D'Aisha and Jaci, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time, your energy, your experiences and your expertise. I appreciate you all. Skyla Hudson 48:24 Thanks so much for having us. D'Aisha Smith 48:26 Thank you. Jaci Jones 48:27 Thank you. Zach Diamond 48:33 Thank you so much for listening. You can find links to topics and tools we discussed in our show notes for this episode. And remember, you can learn more about our work at www dot modern classrooms.org. And you can learn the essentials of our model through our free course at Learn dot modern classrooms.org. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @modernclassproj. That's p r o j we are so appreciative of all you do for students in schools. Have a great week and we'll be back next Sunday with another episode of the Modern Classrooms Project podcast.