Search

December 02, 2014 The Kids Beat

Pin It
Reddit
Email
Print
Favorite
Share

Vermont's 2015 Teacher of the Year Talks Cultural Competency 

By
click to enlarge kidsbeat3-1.jpg

Vermont's 2015 Teacher of the Year, Rebecca Haslam, wants to talk about teachers' "cultural competency" — the ability to interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds "in a way that's respectful and inclusive, and that considers the perspectives and experiences of those around you who are different from you," she says. The Champlain Elementary School first-grade teacher is helping to develop the "equity conversations" the Burlington district requires for professional development. Topics include white privilege; gender identity and expression; and teachers' personal biases and how they affect student achievement. Collectively, the Queen City's students are 35 percent non-white and speak 47 different languages at home. They represent various economic backgrounds and gender identities. Their best shot to experience equal opportunity is in school, Haslam says. "Public education really is the foundation of democracy."

2015 Teacher of the Year: Learn more at education.vermont.gov

More The Kids Beat »

Tags:

Comments

Subscribe to this thread:
By Email
With RSS

Add a comment

Keep commenting classy! Read our guidelines....

Readers also liked…

More by Mary Ann Lickteig

camps central

Audubon Vermont

Audubon Vermont

Huntington, VT

Audubon Vermont offers two summer day-camps: Preschool Nature Camp (ages 3-5), Ecology Day Camp (ages 6-12). Audubon invites children to explore the nature around them, use all their senses, and connect with plants and animals of the Green Mountains. Each day there are moments of magic: around the campfire, on…(more)

other camps » learn more »

The Kids Beat

Top Viewed Stories

Contact Us

Submissions

The Magazine

PO Box 1184
Burlington, VT 05402
802-985-5482