Bessie Coleman, first Black and first Native American female pilot born (1892-1926). Locked out of all flight schools in the US, Bessie completed her training…
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Eye On Equity
Welcome to Eye on Equity, a resource designed, populated, and inspired by the passionate commitment of OEA members to center equity and transform our practice, learning environments, union, and communities. It will serve as a landing pad for resources and reflection that center equity and unpack all beliefs, behaviors, narratives, and systems that perpetuate marginalization, oppression, and supremacy. We seek to embrace the true history and pluralism that has always been in front of us and to nurture and provide a space that has a powerful impact on your work and life.
Today We Honor
Anniversary of the effective date of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which makes it illegal to discriminate against any person with disabilities. It is…
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“I am convinced that the world I envision and want to inhabit is possible. I believe that it exists already in fragments. This is a core belief and perhaps this is why I don’t despair.”
Spotlight
Ethelyn Tumalad
District: North Clackamas School District
Job Assignment: Clackamas High School, Certified Teacher, English Language Arts 10th and 12th Grade, AVID 12th Grade
Local Association: North Clackamas Education Association
Years of Educator Experience: Five Years
What are three ways you have actively elevated and pushed for equity? Advisor for Clackamas High’s Asian Pacific Islander Student Union, Co-Leader of CHS BIPOC Affinity Group, Co-create intentionally
What is your equity stance? Equity is more than just a word. It means abolitionist education and creating the rigor for ALL students in your classroom. As an educator who always wants to ensure that students become change agents in the classroom, I’ve led my students with empathy and truly believe that modeling is the best form of education. To be an educator of color, an immigrant educator, bilingual educator, and to be yourself while being intentional about decentering Whiteness and decolonizing has anchored my teaching practices. I always go back to the quote of a dinner table as an educator. An amazing teacher mentor once asked me, if there was a metaphor for your classroom, what would it be? I answered, a dining table. I told her, “there should always be a seat at the table and whatever my student is hungry for, that’s what they will get.” True equity comes with having a seat at the table. True equity comes with joy and love, building bridges together as we guide students towards liberation.
What is your favorite social justice quote? “When you exist in spaces that weren’t built for you, sometimes just being you is the revolution.” -Elaine Welteroth, More Than Enough
Can you share one equity focused resource or student read that you recommend? This feels fitting, but the first book that I fell in love with when I was
Featured Content
In this section we share articles, books, videos, and other resources with an eye on equity. Have ideas for content to share? Email teresa.ferrer@oregoned.org
View a Compelling Video
Introducing 2021 National Youth Poet Laureate Alexandra Huynh
Read a Recommended Article
The Power of Teaching Poetry: A Conversation Between Renée Watson and Linda Christensen, published by Rethinking Schools
Engage with Social Justice Literature for Youth
These are our favorite books for children and youth this month! Please share how used these books or share your own personal favorites and how you use them by sending an email to teresa.ferrer@oregoned.org
Elementary
Kiyoshi’s Walk by Mark Karlin
Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer
Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer
Middle
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Hispanic in the United States by Lori Marie Carlson
Upcoming and New Opportunities:
- Oregon Collective Summit: Celebrating Oregon's Educators of Color -Feb. 21 (Registration closes Jan. 31). Meyer Memorial Trust invites you to the this Summit from 9 AM to 4 PM, February 21, 2022. Schools will be closed, so let's claim President's Day to come together as a collective of educators of color to support and celebrate one another. The day will focus on Justice, Healing, and Moving Forward with the incredible Dr. Dena Simmons, engaging breakout sessions, and a closing panel of Oregon's Teachers of the Year: Ethelyn Tumalad, Nicole Butler-Hooton, Mercedes Muñoz, Kerri Pilgrim Ricker, and Gloria Pereyra-Robertson. This event was developed for and by educators of color living through the pandemic and its effects on schools. It was designed to support, honor, and lift you up as you do the same for the students, families and the communities you serve. Registration is free, but will close on January 31. Feel free to share this invitation with other Oregon-based public school educators of color in your network. Register here.
- Organized by the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, the Minoru Yasui Student Contest is an essay contest open to high school and middle school students and offers them the timely opportunity to explore how people can stand up to racism and discrimination. In the process, they will learn about the life and legacy of Minoru Yasui, the only Oregonian to have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Submission deadline is March 1, 2022. This year, we are pleased to offer a $1000 grand prize for the Senior Division and a $500 grand prize for the Junior Division. For the full criteria, requirements, resources, and awards, please visit the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project’s Student Contest website. https://www.minoruyasuilegacy.org/student-contest
- Black Teacher Project Membership Platform - a new online Membership Platform for Black teachers. Our goal is to co-create a space of joyful and meaningful community for Black teachers throughout the world. Share resources, jobs and other opportunities, and support your fellow Black teachers to thrive! Our goal for this platform is to increase Black teachers’ capacity to network and share information amongst themselves. The application is open.