Week 1: Journal Entry…..Accessibility, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Prompt:  Take a few moments to think about what you already know related to Accessibility, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI). What do these terms mean (in your own words)? How do these terms relate to your courses? What is your prior experience with ADEI - positive or negative? Can you connect these terms to student success? Finally, what are some concepts related to ADEI that you want to learn more about and explore? 

(Image above from the St Louis Arts Council…but one that resonated with me as I sat down to reflect)

When I think about Accessibility, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion I think about the following questions….

• Accessibility:  Can every student in my class access information so that they can read/listen/watch/interact with it in the way I intended during or for class?  Are they able to attend virtually in some capacity if they are not attending in person (and have they tested that method so they know it works)?  And not only is my course accessible, but have I made sure that they know how to find or reach me so that I am accessible?  
• Diversity:  How a student learns, the background they bring to the classroom, the beliefs they have, their experiences that can be influenced by topics being discussed, their voice (interpret that in whatever way you want….there are many ways and they all apply), and their stance on the world.  
• Equity:  Am I ensuring that content is well rounded, represents different perspectives or shows differing viewpoints (when appropriate)?  Am I making sure that, if able, I have worked to identify diversity issues within my class into course materials to make content relatable in different ways…which ultimately could open someone else’s eyes to something they may have been unacquainted with in the past?  
• Inclusion:  Am I making sure that if the topic warrants multiple sides being shown I am showing that?  Am I making sure that my classroom is a comfortable environment so that any student, regardless of their modality, feels comfortable engaging in material and feels safe to express opinions or ideas?  Am I open to concepts and ideas presented to me around material by students involved in the course?  Am I willing to slow or quicken the pace of the course should that be dictated by the students in it and their grasp of materials?  

Because I teach journalism and media courses, these terms can sometimes take on multiple meanings for multiple students…talking about different voices in a story, access to technology and media types for viewers/listeners/and even students, or simply how a student has to use technology to get work accomplished.  Additionally, courses that don’t use technology can sometimes be even more complex because I am always striving to be inclusive of ideas and perspectives…especially when it comes to how students interact with media and journalism on a personal level, because that sometimes has a direct impact on how they approach a story, a paper, a conversation, or a task.  

When it comes to my prior experience, I guess you could say I came to Lyndon/NVU with a bit of a blank slate with all of this…but have quickly learned how to navigate so many different pieces and components of all of these things.  From having students visit each year on a Chinese exchange program with vastly different perspectives and expectations of journalism and what that job is, to working with students with physical, mental and emotional challenges, and even needing to “flip the script” by asking a student to explain things to me through their eyes and perspective so that I could make things work for them in a way that suited both of us….I have never been one to box these things into singular molds.  They are changing and evolving constantly.  I have definitely had my fair share of missteps and bad experiences.  But I don’t look at them as bad experiences…I look at them as opportunities to learn from the mistake and make it better for the next time.  And the successes I’ve had I make sure I make note of so that I can look back on those successes and learn from them.

When it comes to student successes, most of the time I can connect when I’ve done something right because the student re-engages, is able to articulate what they need more clearly, or the class is feeding off of the change in the course through coursework and discussion.  There’s almost an air shift when things are going right.  

And lastly, as for what I want to learn more about….I will leave this wide open and say, ALL OF IT.  I’m a firm believer that even the things you didn’t think you needed to know, you do.  It all comes back around sometime….and it’s better to have learned something to help later on than to be scrambling when you do need to figure things out.  But I am also the first to say there’s never enough to learn about any of these topics and things are constantly evolving and changing, that I think everyone could use constant professional development on all of them.  So here’s to learning more!