Ep. 71: Where's the Discourse on My Students? An Interview on Special Education with Monise Seward

EQ: How do we create  systems that support ALL learners with a specific focus on supporting students with disabilities? 

Guest: Monise Seward is a 6th grade math and science special education teacher in Georgia, a student advocate, an IEP consultant, and the author of the blog (re)Birth of a Teacher. 

Monise begins by sharing her story of what brought her into education and why she chose to work in the world of special education. Even in 2020, special education is viewed as a “place” rather than services.  Misconceptions of the purpose of the services has led to few changes in the system over the years. The structure of our schools is stagnant---teachers aren’t receiving the supports and ongoing training they need to provide fully services to their students. Simultaneously, parents and students need to be trained on advocacy. Monise calls out K-12 education as a system which is ignoring elements of the law and refusing to provide the services students need and deserve. As an IEP consultant, Monise developed a resource “A Parents’ Guide to Being in the Driver’s Seat”. Additionally, listeners should read her ideas on her blog including, Supporting Students With Learning Disabilities During a School Shut down and Virtual Learning Cannot Support the Needs of Students with IEPs 

If you want to learn more about Special Education:

• Student Support Team Guidelines

• RTI (Response to Intervention) Action Network

• Response to Intervention Resources for Educators

• A Time to Address Teach Bias Against Special Education Students

Sources for Understanding Impact of COVID-19:

• The Pandemic is a Crisis for Students with Special Needs

• Washington Office of Public Instruction Special Education Guidance for COVID-19

• Minnesota Dept of Special Education COVID-19 Resources

• 6 Ways to Support Students with Disabilities during COVID-19 School Closures

Champagne & Real Pain:

🥂 Special education teachers working under impossible conditions to renew their IEPs this year. For those who don’t know, IEPs have to be renewed yearly and involve families in meetings, which has been made exceptionally difficult by the pandemic. Special education is a right and this work is not optional. 

🥂Gen Ed teachers who reach out to Monise asking specific questions so they can be a better teacher  to their students!

🥂Karen Pelander (at Clover Park HS) and Roberta Whitesell (Lincoln HS)

👎🏻 All the educators who claim to want social justice classrooms but don’t actively pursue ways to make their curriculum/instruction better for special education students

👎🏻 Don’t ring a bell every time you are doing something you’re supposed to do. Just do it.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

• Hope: No homework! 

• Monise: Reach out ot SpEd co-teachers. Ask your partner, “what are we going to do different next year?” Consider them your colleague and partner together.

• Annie: Educate yourself on issues in special education

Find Monise on Twitter @MoniseLSeward

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

Lastly, don’t forget to pick up your copy of The Body is Not an Apology for #readlessbasic book club

Ep. 38: Racial Equity in AP, IB, and Honors Courses Matters

EQ: Why is educational access and access to rigorous, transformative educational experiences important?

Guest: Kim Thomas, Partnership Director for Equal Opportunity Schools and total badass. “Kimberly is deeply committed to educational access, equity and transformation and to the challenging, but critical work of ensuring that marginalized students have access to rigorous, transformative educational experiences.”

This episode takes a deep dive into equity issues in schools with the incisive, brilliant, and hilarious Kim Thomas. Topics include:

• Kim’s experience growing up on the south and, later, eastside of Tacoma and her enrollment in Lincoln High School’s one and only AP course in the mid-90s.

• Gatekeeping among school staff and within school systems that limits access to rigorous coursework for historically undeserved populations.

  • The Race Gap in High School Honors Classes—The Atlantic

  • The Two Faces of AP —NY Times

  • When i Comes to Advanced Coursework, Equity Matters—Nate Bowling

  • When Educators Act Like Gateways—Art Worrell

  • When You’re the Only Black Kid in a Sea of White Faces—Anjanique Barber

• Defining rigor in the context of AP and IB courses (HINT: it’s not just a ton of work of a fast pace)

• Committing to the work of racial equity in high-rigor coursework by both getting students in the door and supporting them in their context to be successful.

Guilty Favesies (accidental food theme):

• Kim: all manner of delightfully junky food

• Annie: Giant American tortillas

• Hope: late night Taco Bell quesadillas with green sauce

Do Your Fudging Homework:

• Kim: Scene on Radio “Seeing White” series

• Annie: for educators - examine academic gatekeeping in your building

• Hope: look at your own workplace and practice with the goal of being more equitable