Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

As the SOE continues our progress toward using diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to promote social justice, we want to share steps we can all take to be more intentional in this work. We recognize and honor the multi-faceted aspects of social identities, so in this newsletter, we present resources to support you in your journey toward bringing more equity and inclusivity into your classroom.

Celebrating Diversity

“At Cal Poly we believe that academic freedom, a cornerstone value, is exercised best when there is understanding and respect for our diversity of experiences, identities, and world views.” ~ Cal Poly Statement on Diversity

To recognize and celebrate diversity, here are some actionable steps you can take today!

Individual work:

Read books to increase your awareness of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. Here are some suggested reads:

Have conversations with friends and family to learn about and celebrate diverse social identities.
Reflect on our own biases. To begin, you can watch Valerie Alexander’s TedTalk, “How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias”.

Become a member of an association or grassroots organization that focuses on diversity. Here are some options to consider:

Attend events focused on diversity. Be intentional when choosing events and set a goal. As events are scheduled, the SOE will send out emails with registration information. In the meantime, please visit and bookmark the SOE Calendar of Events.

Incorporate diversity into your classroom:

Consider this question, “When your students walk into your classroom, do they see themselves reflected in the books, artwork, instructional materials, and posters?” If not, what can you do to bring aspects of all students’ home lives and community backgrounds into your classroom?
Use students’ real life experiences to connect what they are learning in school to their lives outside of school. When planning and facilitating classroom conversations, ask students to reflect upon and discuss the following:

“What events/situations occur in your family or neighborhood that require some knowledge of ___?”
How does knowing about ___ benefit your interactions in your family, neighborhood, or school?”

Visit the Learning for Justice website. Once there, you can familiarize yourself with the Social Justice Standards and sign up for a free account. (With their free account, you can use their Build a Learning Plan tool to “select meaningful student texts, choose how you'll teach them, and how you'll assess student learning.")

Striving for Equity

What is the difference between equity and equality? As a teacher, how can I create an equitable classroom environment?

Article: Equity vs Equality: 6 Steps toward Equity

Know every child
Become a warm demander
Practice lean-in assessment
Flex your routines
Make it safe to fail

Creating an Inclusive Environment

“By respecting cultural differences and using curricular and instructional practices related to the cultures of their students, schools and classrooms become inclusive” ~ Region X Equity Assistance Center.

To learn more about using inclusive classroom practices, you can read Culturally Responsive Teaching: A guide to evidence-based practices for teaching all students equitably.

You can also view this video on Increasing Engagement by Using Culturally Responsive Curriculum.

Additional Resources

Organizations:

Learning for Justice

Events:

Kennedy Library Events

You can also access Cal Poly Authors Podcasts.

SLO County Library Events
Cal Poly, School of Education Events Calendar

Videos:

TEDx Talks Video: No child left monolingual: Kim Potowski at TEDxUofIChicago Kim Potowski is Associate Professor of Spanish linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she directs the Spanish heritage language program. She earned her Ph.D. in Spanish linguistics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
What does the world lose when a language dies? PBS documentary explores at-risk world linguistic heritages and traditional cultures.

SOE Newsletters:

Emergent Bilinguals: Two focus areas in this newsletter are building connections with families and providing opportunities for emergent bilinguals to build academic English.
Identity & Asset-Based Thinking: In this newsletter, we offer resources and tools for identity work and asset-based thinking.

School of Education, Cal Poly

Email: soe@calpoly.edu

Website: https://soe.calpoly.edu/20202021-clinical-practice-website