ADL San Diego Presents Its First Teacher Institute

Date: October 16, 2009

On September 29th and 30th, 37 educators and principals from the Chula Vista Elementary School District participated in the ADL San Diego Regional Office’s first Teacher Institute, which grew out of the district-wide effort to create inclusive school environments through the No Place for Hate® initiative. This multi-day program was designed to assist educators in expanding their understanding of the benefits and methods of teaching through an anti-bias lens. Participants received state-of-the-art, anti-bias curricular materials that are classroom-ready and aligned to national education standards.

The Teacher Institute began with identity and examining bias activities. By exploring the ways that identity acts as “filters” that influence interactions with others, participants can better understand the ways identity shapes assumptions about other people. Participants had the opportunity to broaden their understanding of the dynamics of name-calling and bullying and explored the effects of these behaviors on students’ educational experience while examining the different roles people take in incidents of bias and to identify the characteristics of an ally. One participant reflected, “Almost everything we do affects who we are as educators; we have to be responsible for our own inquiry.”

The training emphasized the importance of integrating anti-bias and multi-cultural concepts into classroom lessons. It stressed the importance of welcoming and incorporating the variety of a student’s identity into the classroom. Resources, including the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute’s Anti-Bias Study Guild and ADL’s online Curriculum Connections, were reviewed.

The educators left inspired to make a difference. “This was a life changing experience for myself, and, as a consequence, my students and community.” “The variety of activities, opportunities to share ideas and differing learning modalities addressed, were all strengths of the training. “Each of us can make a difference in creating an educational community that isn’t comfortable with bias. Educators in particular, have a responsibility to encourage students to build relationships without bias.”