LGBT Speakers Panel:
We began our UNITE-week last Wednesday, when three Illinois students from the LGBT Panel Speakers Program met us at the College of Education to talk to us about their personal experiences in pre-college school settings. The three agreed that being an open, available, and respectful instructor will give students the best opportunities to approach us with any issues, concerns, or general ideas they want to talk about, whether LGBT related or not. We also talked about bullying in general, and came to the conclusion that if possible, we need to be listening and present in a few of the “lawless” places of schools: hallways, lunchrooms, locker bays, and school buses. As a group, we came to the conclusion that promoting an inclusive and positive environment extends past our classrooms and jobs as teachers: we need to be people who expect respect for everyone all the time.
We began our UNITE-week last Wednesday, when three Illinois students from the LGBT Panel Speakers Program met us at the College of Education to talk to us about their personal experiences in pre-college school settings. The three agreed that being an open, available, and respectful instructor will give students the best opportunities to approach us with any issues, concerns, or general ideas they want to talk about, whether LGBT related or not. We also talked about bullying in general, and came to the conclusion that if possible, we need to be listening and present in a few of the “lawless” places of schools: hallways, lunchrooms, locker bays, and school buses. As a group, we came to the conclusion that promoting an inclusive and positive environment extends past our classrooms and jobs as teachers: we need to be people who expect respect for everyone all the time.
Our speakers also told us about the LGBT Ally program hosted by the Resource Center. A bunch of us are hoping to extend the conversations we started with our panelists, and attend the workshops this fall! Participants can receive an ally sticker to post in the classroom, which can signal to students that we are inclusive and supportive, allowing anyone who wants to talk to approach us first. Interested or want to come along? Sign-up dates and more info can be found here: http://studentaffairs.illinois.edu/diversity/lgbt/index.html (Scroll to the bottom)
Grant-Writing Workshop:
Just three days later, eight of us found ourselves again at the Union Circle Drive for another workshop! This time, though, we had less coffee and more daylight since departure time stood at 7:30 am. Forty-five minutes of central Illinois cornfields later, we arrived at ISU and checked in for a Grant Writing Workshop hosted entirely by their chapter.
Just three days later, eight of us found ourselves again at the Union Circle Drive for another workshop! This time, though, we had less coffee and more daylight since departure time stood at 7:30 am. Forty-five minutes of central Illinois cornfields later, we arrived at ISU and checked in for a Grant Writing Workshop hosted entirely by their chapter.
After a couple ice breakers, we moved right into a basic intro to grant writing called “Show Me the Money.” We talked about what grants are, where you can find them, and how they can help fund classrooms, schools, service trips, and more. Probably the most exciting thing we got hands-on experience with was DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose matches certified public school teachers with anyone hoping to donate to schools in need. The teacher creates a grant proposal and ‘shops’ for specific items his or her class needs, posting all on DonorsChoose.org. Next, anyone with access to a computer can donate until the grant is filled – two weeks later, a white box arrives in the teacher’s classroom filled with what students need to learn and succeed!
Kira Hamann, a doctoral student and former CPS-Ravenswood elementary teacher, told us about the 7 mini-grants she and her classroom received in just a few years. Kira used her DonorsChoose profile to show us the inner workings and requirements of the site not available for public usage viewing. After we had a better understanding of DonorsChoose’s requirements and processes, she helped us draft our own “grants” for things we may need in our very first year of teaching: paper and pencils, a classroom Flip camera, a class-set of poetry books, protractors and compasses, the works! Our focus was to highlight our students’ strengths and material needs in order to reach out to others who are able to donate. Special thanks to the ISU UNITE chapter for hosting us.
If you’d like to learn more about DonorsChoose.org, and how you could receive grants in your career, check out their website: http://www.donorschoose.org/
If you’d like to further discuss any of these topics, or check out UNITE, join us in room 210A! Meetings for the next month are:
Monday, Oct 10th @ 7:00 pm
Wednesday, Oct 19th @ 5:30 pm
Monday, Oct 24th @ 7:00 pm
Wednesday, Nov 2nd @ 5:30 pm
