Ep. 177: Raising Little Justice Leaders One Step At A Time

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In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Shelby Kretz, founder Little Justice Leaders, a platform dedicated to teaching elementary-aged children about social justice in an empowering and age-appropriate way. This organization stands as a beacon of empowerment and education. Through their subscription boxes and resources, Little Justice Leaders tackles complex issues with a sensitivity that is both inclusive and intentional. By emphasizing intersectionality and diversity, they not only educate but also inspire young activists. Furthermore, their collaboration with like-minded organizations and individuals amplifies their impact, showcasing the power of collective action in the fight for social justice. This episode serves as a reminder of the importance of nurturing activism from a young age and the role each of us can play in creating a more just and equitable world.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 172: These Conditions Are Not Working For Us

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EQ:  "In navigating the challenges posed by increasingly restrictive policies in the U.S. education system, how can educators strategically and actively build alliances to foster a more inclusive and just society?"

Guests: Candra McKenzie and Elana Eisen-Markowitz

In this episode, we discuss what it means for teachers to build alliances with peers and the community. Both Candra and EM have a wealth of knowledge as educators, activists, and organizers in their schools and respective communities. We discuss how schools have changed in the last 15 years and how the system continues to perpetuate inequalities and marginalized the traditionally marginalized. We touch on union involvement, teacher recruitment and retention, and the need to support educators of color and queer educators. 

Related Resources:


Reading Recommendations:

Do Your Fudging HW:

  • Hope: Black History Month–grab a book and get your read on

  • Candra: find something new to do & do it!

  • EM: Examine our policies for who is at the center (let’s challenge the conditions that exist that put people in these positions).

Ep. 163: College Success is a Community Affair

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EQ: How can we enhance college readiness for Latinx students and bridge the educational opportunity gap to ensure their success in higher education?

Guest: Jael Rodas is a Mount Tahoma graduate and current  junior at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.

Thanks to Channel 253 members Craig and Veronica Craker, we were introduced to Jael. In this episode we define what it means to be “college ready”, what this looks like specifically for Latinx students, what programs exist in the high school to support students’ success in higher ed, and what challenges are facing these students in degree completion. 

Programs Referenced:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Hispanic Heritage Month book rec (Sept 15-Oct 15 but you can read all year)–anything with Elizabeth Alcevedo “Clap When You Land” “With Fire on High”

  • Megan: check out these programs and find a way to support them!

  • Jael: support these program (financial or even volunteer)

Ep. 160: New Lunch Bag, Who Dis?

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EQ: How can we navigate the evolving landscape of education to ensure a successful and fulfilling return to school for students, educators, and families?

We are baaaack to school. Full disclosure, this is an educator centered episode so those of you who want to skip to the next episode, we don’t blame you! In this episode we discuss various feelings about the return to school. Megan opens up about her current state of affairs and Hope is already back in the classroom! This year she is focused on the role of psychological safety in collegial relationships. 

Related Links:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: approach this year with openness to others–how can you improve the psychological safety of your students and colleagues by your behaviors, interactions, etc? 

  • Megan:

Ep. 159: Troll, Troll, Troll Your Boat

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EQ: To what extent does the audacity of mediocre white, male opinions forced upon women cause us to NGAF about their opinions rather than convince us to listen to them?

In this episode we engage in a “critical reading” of a letter a former Tacoma Public School educator sent to Megan in response to her recent op-ed published in the Tacoma News Tribune. We break down the writer’s argument, offering counterclaims, different evidence and perspective on the issues at hand.

Related Links:

Ep. 153: The DEIJ Collaborative--Working Towards Justice In International Schools

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EQ: What does social justice and education work look like in international spaces?

We jumped back overseas with today’s conversations, meeting with international educators Meredith Klein and Sherri Spelic. This is a very education centered conversation but we hope there’s a gem of thought for every listener. Throughout the episode we unpack various education acronyms such as CEESA and AEILOC. We hear the origin story of the Diversity Collaborative they started and the ways they hope it will impact teaching and learning across Europe. 

Lastly, if you are interested in reaching out you can connect with Meredith via LinkedIn, follow Sheri  @edifiedlistener, sign up for her newsletter Bending The Arc, or snag a copy of her book of essays  Care At The Core 

Champagne & Real Pain

🥂Action Aid International

🥂 AEILOC & Kevin Simpson

🥂Angeline Aow and her book Becoming a Totally Inclusive School

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Sign up for Bending The Arc

  • Megan: Connect to others that can help you be accountable to the work

  • Sherri: Worry less about knowing and get into learning (where can I learn about that? With whom can I learn about that?)

  • Meredith: DEI Deconstructed by Lily Zheng

Ep. 134: Back to Life, Back to Reality

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EQ: What concerns, questions, ideas, or fears do you have for the upcoming school year?

In this episode of IWL, Hope and Megan recount the last few years in education. From ”we think the pandemic is over but wait, surprise it’s not” to ”we’re back to normal” to ”Pandemic is over now…maybe, we think.” They’ both excited and nervous about the return to school this year. There are a wide range of contextual factors shaping the upcoming school year. Their discussion centered on how teachers might “protect your peace” this school year. 

Previous Back to School Episodes:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 110: Back to School-- Love It Or Leave It Edition

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EQ: What did you LOVE from the 20-21 school year you’re going to keep doing this year? What are you happy to LEAVE behind?

In this episode, Hope and Megan continue the conversation that they started in Ep. 109. This time focusing on what lessons do they want to take with them from the last 18 months of pandemic teaching, and what do they want to leave behind in the past? Once again the ladies use listeners’ thoughts, ideas, and opinions to help shape the conversation in this episode. The conversation covers topics such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in the classroom, creative approaches to teaching content, what the benefits were of being forced to use technology, and the relationships that are built within the walls of a school building. Throughout the episode they also discuss the idea of not wanting to “go back to normal” and rather re-define what a post pandemic education could look like.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Reach out for support/help/ideas. Find the experts that are doing this well and use them to help, especially in times of stress and anxiety.

  • Megan: Make your own love it/leave it list for yourself and with your fam. Reflect and be intentional with what you don’t want to carry with you anymore, and what lessons you have learned from this that you want to take forward.

Ep. 93: IWL Crossing: Tacoma School Schedules and Teacher Respect; WTF TPS?!

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Over the last week Tacoma social media has been abuzz with concerns about a “new” classroom schedule for Tacoma Public Schools that is to go into effect on February 8. The schedule shows “in person” teaching in the afternoons and remote learning in the morning.

Why? Our COVID 19 numbers are far worse now than they were last March, and there are new variants that are even more contagious. Yes, everyone, especially teachers, students and parents, wants to get back to normal. But we need to do that safely. Can we safely return students to the classroom now?

Well, it turns out that the schedule showing “in person” class periods really means “eventually, when we return to in person teaching, it will be on this schedule, so let’s try this schedule out now even if it is disruptive and results in less actual class time with students.” In response, many teachers and parents are saying “WTF TPS?!!!”

In this joint episode of Crossing Division, Tacoma’s Talk Show, and Interchangeable White Ladies (IWL), Tacoma’s premier teaching and equity podcast, IWLs Hope Teague-Bowling and Megan Holyoke join Evelyn Lopez to talk about what’s going on in Tacoma School World. Why a schedule change now? Has the teachers’ union sold out its members? And what we can do about it? Listen and let us know what you think, and what should happen next!

To understand this better, check out the following links:

Ep. 86: Raising STEMinists

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EQ: What does equity in science education in the Corona Era look like and how might teachers continue to evolve their practices to engage students in a virtual space?

Guest: Chanel Johnson, science educator. Check her bio and interview from  Leading Equity and Interview with Teachers on Fire. 

Of course we had to ask Chanel a little bit about the historic role Georgia is playing in the 2020 elections. However, our main conversation focuses on figuring out what it means to be a STEMinist and how to encourage students of color to see themselves as scientists. Chanel also gives us insight into how importance Science education is in the middle of a pandemic. Lastly, she shares resources and ideas to help teachers intentionally embed culturally responsive teaching practices in a virtual context?

We’re excited to announce a collab with The Nerd Farmer podcast. We’re both going to be reading and recording episodes on the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. Tweet about the book with either #nerdfarmreads or #readlessbasic

Champagne & Real Pain:

🥂 YO, BIDEN IS PRESIDENT-ELECT!!!!!!!

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 85: Confronting Barriers to Equity In Our Communities w/ Consultant Taniesha Lyons

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EQ: How has the work of diversity, equity and inclusion changed over time and why is this something organizations are still getting wrong in 2020?

Guest: Taniesha Lyons, community advocate, founder & executive director  of Taniesha Cares LLC whose mission is to empower people and businesses through consulting, resources, advocacy, and diversity equity, and inclusion (DEI) training. 

In this episode Hope and Megan are joined by Taniesha Lyons. They start the episode by talking about the importance of representation in all spaces, especially in education. By having spaces that are run by all white leaders, Cultural Imperialism is more evident and prevalent in that space. The conversation focuses on how organizations can and should include more voices in their organizations in order to create more equitable opportunities and representation or all. During the conversation they discuss cultural imperialism, social services and Covid, feelings around the new term BIPOC, and the trauma of code switching and the negative ramifications of school being a white space on students of color. 

Could you or someone you know benefit from some of the services discussed in the Podcast? You can find more information here:

Champagne and Real Pain:

🥂 Ron Banner - Clover Park Superintendent

🥂 Melanie Morgan - Representative for the 29th District  in the WA State Legislature

🥂 Marcus Young - Bethel School District School Board Member

🥂Larry Seaquist - Running for Pierce County Executive

🥂 T’wina Nobles - Running for 28th District 

🥂 Karen Dhaliwal - Bates Apprenticeship Navigator

🥂 Ben Feldbush - TCC Retention Specialist

🥂 Pastor C. Ivan Johnson - Pastor at Greater Destiny Church

🥂 Grant Twyman - Racial Equity Officer for Clover Park School District

🥂 All those writing personal letters to voters encouraging them to vote

🥂 Those having hard conversations w/ family & loved ones to ensure 45 is gone

🥂 Bea Lumpkin - the 102 year old women who essentially wore a hazmat suit to turn in her ballot

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • If you would like to hire Taniesha Lyons or learn more about what she does  you can reach her at her email: Tanieshacares@gmail.com

Ep. 80: Back To School Coronavirus Edition

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EQ:  How can educators continue to do their own racial literacy, while managing COVID trauma and teaching remotely?

In this episode, Megan and Hope discuss a range of topics including  how we’re feeling about the start of the new year and the Wild West of the Covid Era, what’s the difference between emergency remote teaching and actual online learning, how to manage the unknown knowns and known unknowns, AND how to continue to intentional grow our own capacity to be anti-racists and design curriculum accordingly. We also touch on how to create meaningful virtual communities, what are the best practices for student engagement and how do we support students, families, teachers and our communities in this environment.

Resources referenced:

Champagne & Real Pain:

🥂All the teachers who ARE working hard prepping for the school year

👎🏻Districts who are ignoring COVID reopening guidelines and opening their campuses (such as Georgia Reverses Suspension)

👎🏻 The politicians who’ve shifted to blaming and vilifying teachers when they were praising us back in the Spring.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope & Megan: Read some of the links above, learn about the challenges of reopening schools, and support our communities (families, students, parents, teachers, ERBODY) in this stressful time

Ep. 64: Why We ALL Need an Equity Literacy Framework

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Today’s episode is extra special to us as we get to chat with two incredible educators who are shaping the profession through their interrogation of the personal and professional ways educators perpetuate white cultural norms in schools.

Our essential question is: How can we “learn to be a threat to inequity in our spheres of influence” in 2020?

Guests: Katy Swalwell, Associate Professor of Social & Cultural Studies in the School of Education at Iowa State University, and Paul Gorski, founder of Equity Literacy Institute and  EdChange. 

We first heard about the equity literacy framework from our guest Marquita Prinzing in Ep 46: Don’t be a Passive Progressive Educator and were incredibly excited when Katy reached out to us to share how she was using the podcast with her pre-service teachers. We are incredibly grateful she and Paul were able to come on the show.

In this episode Katy and Paul describe how they came to this work, specifically unpacking the idea of equity literacy which “moves us beyond cultural competency.”  They share how schools and districts are approaching this differently than a simple list of strategies and emphasize that this work is a mindset shift. We highly recommend that listeners spend some time with the Equity Literacy Institute directly. 

Finally, we ask Paul to share the story behind his controversial tweet that calls out white liberalism. 

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Follow us on Twitter @IWL_Podcast or Facebook: Interchangeable White Ladies Podcast

Ep. 58: Equity in Science Education

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EQ: Why is equity an issue in science education and what can be done to promote access and opportunity for women, students of color, and young people living in poverty?

Guests: Natalie Reszka and Jen Holm, Masters in Science Education both educators at Lincoln High School in Tacoma. 

Natalie and Jen share their journey into the sciences, including barriers they face as women in this field. They unpack systemic issues current facing low-income high schools and the lack of funding to support well-rounded science programs. They elaborate on concrete ways they help students see themselves as scientists, and why we need to speak up and advocate for our students, calling out disparities in science education.

Related Links:

Donate to Jen and Natalie’s classrooms!

  • For a tax-deductible donation send a check to Lincoln High School addressed to Patrick Eriwn with a note for Natalie Reszka (nreszka@tacoma.k12.wa.us) or Jen Holm (jholm@tacoma.k12.wa.us)

  • Contribute via Venmo @Natalie-Reszka

Champagne & Real Pain:

  • Champagne: first all female space walk!

  • Real Pain: For the DB who think that only men can be scientists or enter scientific fields; those denying climate change

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: How Islamic Scientists changed the world 

  • Annie: read the research about gatekeeping in science and continue to educate yourself about educational disparities. There’s a ton of great research and we need to revive science education to literally save the planet. 

  • Natalie: Watch Before the Flood

Ep. 53: Be A Visible Ally

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EQ: With the start of the new -  school year, how can educators be better allies to LGBTQ+ students and colleagues?

Guest: Caroline Kyle Menzia is an elementary school counselor at Geiger Montessori who helps facilitate Tacoma Public School's LGBTQ PLC (professional learning community). Here's their SWAY site for reference and resources you can use. 

Caroline explains how she became passionate about working as an ally for children, especially LGBTQ students. She shares why it’s essential for schools to ensure that “Everyone is welcome” at school. Caroline makes the case that adults need to be visible allies who are flexible and not afraid to be uncomfortable. 

Some tips she shares:

    • Be open to feedback from parents and community to help you be better

    • Normalize talking about pronouns

    • Put your pronouns in your email signature

    • Use your bulletin boards and bookshelves to create welcoming and safe spaces

Resources to support your work:

Do Your Fudging Homework: