(Re)Teach

Some very real reasons to write you own textbook:1) You will never think more about your teaching2) Imagine being in sync with your textbook3) Focuses on what you like4) It will be organized the way you like it5) You can put equity at the center!

This will be the last podcast for the foreseeable future.  I need to engage the work of ethnic studies in my work, at my college, and in my community.  It has truly been a blessing to serve you and I look forward to the next iteration of (Re)Teach!

Ethnic studies, at its heart, must be about intersectionality, tying current events to multiple disciplines for analysis, and making a positive social change.  If your class is not doing this, then it is not an ethnic studies class.  One of those changes is how classes are taught and that will be the focus of the last episode in this series.

I cover 2 of the 5 core competencies in this episode.  It is not enough to talk about culture or history to be considered an ethnic studies class.  You must focus your class on power and how people liberate themselves from oppressive structures, e.g. racism, colonialism, etc. 

Ethnic Studies is in high demand in California.  The California State University system has made it a requirement and this directly affects the community college system.  Ethnic Studies is even being offered at the high school level.  This episode will give a brief examination of what Ethnic Studies is and what social factors have brought us to this place in history.

What I talked about in this episode:1) Research some textbooks to get a feel for patterns2) Start with what you are good at3) Put your best stuff in the book!4) Keep equity at the center

I talk about my personal journey on pricing my textbook and how I went from zero cost to charging, back to zero cost.  I then talk about the pluses and minuses of using iBook author to create my textbook.  I finish by talking about how creating a textbook helped me rethink my teaching and how I use multiple-choice questions.  I will give you part two next time :)

Embracing being awkward means fighting against systematic racism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and heteronormativism.  However, we are not fighting against the center to become the center.  We are fighting to establish a world that accepts our authentic selves as central to who we are but resists creating new norms for authenticity.

Will you accept my late work?  Many of us do not take late work from students, but will you accept mine?   In this episode, I reflect on all of the emotions that I am going through right now in my life and how they have led me to forget about doing this recording on time.   I hope you accept my late work.

Three things helped me to understand that I was in the beginning phase of writing a textbook:1) I found out that textbooks matter2) I was spending a LOT of time developing my own examples because I did not like my textbook3) I was developing handouts to go with the reader for the class

Part 2: I focused on teaching others how to teach others:- Looked at the power dynamic involved in teaching teachers versus teaching students- The difference between teaching beginning versus experienced teachers- Consulting in a one-on-one setting may work better with experienced teachers- Talked about how former students of mine who became teachers have now learned how to teach teachers.

I use the old adage about giving someone a fish versus teaching them how to fish and relate it to how we teach students.  I talk about how our society undervalues giving people fish when that may be the thing that gets them interested in your discipline in the first place!

This episode focuses on teaching statistics using a lot of equity-minded practices:- Free Workbook- Grading that focuses on effort and/or process- Purposeful small groups- Interactive learning embedded throughout the course

This is the first episode in a three-part series regarding how I teach my Statistics for Sociology class.  The highlights for this episode are:1) Teaching statistics as a language2) Focus on mathematical thinking3) Using statistics to teach sociology4) Everything is a word problem5) Every step is written out 

In order to build relationships with your students and show them that you care, tell them your story!  Four things that you definitely want to talk to your students about:1) How did you chose your major?2) Who was the teacher that inspired you the most?3) What kind of student were you in high school?  What about college?4) Let them know that you are still growing as a person and as a professor

In part two, I focus on the following items of the order:E) an individual's moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sexF) an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sexG) any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sexh) meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race to oppress another race

The current administration issued an executive order that put major restrictions on diversity and equity training at federal institutions and places that receive federal funding, "in order to promote unity in the federal workforce, and to combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating."  However, this order is problematic and symptomatic of a greater discussion about race that our society needs to address.  In part one, I focus on the following items of the order:A) one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex B) an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously C) an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex D) members of one race or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex

This three-part podcast is a collaboration between S.A.F.E. Topics and (Re)Teach.  In this episode, we focus on what gives us hope as we all try to move MiraCosta College towards being anti-racist

This three-part podcast is a collaboration between S.A.F.E. Topics and (Re)Teach.  In this episode, we all focus on the work that needs to be done to create an anti-racist campus.

This three-part podcast is a collaboration between S.A.F.E. Topics and (Re)Teach.  Sean Davis, curry mitchell, and I co-host a discussion with Denise Stephenson (Director of the Writing Center), Chad Tsuzuki (Professor of English and Chair of the Tenure Review and Evaluation Committee), Oswaldo Ramirez (Counselor at the Community Learning Center) and Rachel Hastings (Communications Professor and Coordinator of North County Higher Education Alliance) about what anti-racist means to us.