October 2022 Newsletter
Diverse learners in Christian Education
by Amy Kelly
October is both Dyslexia Awareness Month and ADHD Awareness Month. Read on for some insights and ideas about how to support diverse learners in your Christian Education programs.
How does disability awareness related to authentic diversity and justice work?
Disability is another area where we can be othered, even within our own racial identities. We also acknowledge that there are privileges that white males have in the support they receive over those who identify as female, a different ethnicity, or different race. For instance, Hispanic and Black boys with learning differences are more likely to be labeled as troublemakers and end up incarcerated versus white boys who are more likely to receive interventions and supports.
We acknowledge also how historic redlining still affects our public school systems, as underfunded districts are less likely to be able afford additional supports and interventions beyond the meeting requirements of providing a free appropriate public education, and that students with disabilities can be turned away from private education opportunities nor are private schools required to meet their needs.
How can we incorporate the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into our Christian Education programs?
Universal Design is based on an architectural principle of the same name, with the most common example being curb cuts in sidewalks. While curb cuts were added to make the sidewalks more accessible for people with mobility disabilities, they have also benefited society as a whole, for example they make sidewalks more accessible for strollers and delivery drivers as well. So when we apply UDL to our Christian Education programs, we are looking at what adaptations we could make that certainly benefits one type of learner, but could potentially help all of our learners. Here's information about lesson planning with UDL.
Dyslexia is an unexpected learning disability involving reading. For instance, students may struggle with decoding, putting sounds together, or understanding the letters on the page. In general, their brains process visual information differently. Check out this "What is Dyslexia" video.
Some accommodations to implement:
Avoid "popcorn"-styled or group read alouds (where every member is required to read.)
Look at how you format text. Sans serif fonts like Arial and Comic Sans can be easier to read. You can also use different colored highlighters to help emphasize important information.
Include verbal instructions in addition to printed ones, try to repeat them to reinforce understanding.
Look into audiobooks that would complement the lesson at home.
Be honest about the fact that some biblical names, places, and theological terms are difficult to read/pronounce, and find fun games and verbal competitions to help everyone learn them.
Resources:
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which is actually a misleading name. ADHDers struggle with attention regulation and executive functioning skills. Attention regulation can be both an inability to focus on one thing or to be so focused on a task that they can forget to eat, lose track of time, and not notice what’s going on around them. Executive functioning is your ability to figure out how to accomplish a task. Some people may struggle with understanding how we get from Point A to Point B. Others may need to do the task right now, or they lose complete interest in it. There are 3 primary types of ADHD - Hyperactive (those who need to be moving all the time), Inattentive (formally known as ADD, these are your daydreamers), and Combined type (which has symptoms from both Hyperactive and Inattentive). Check out this video interview with a 2nd grader.
Some accommodations to implement:
People with ADHD are interest based learners - they will pay attention if they feel you are engaging them. When possible, use a mix of media, worksheets, kinesthetic movement, videos, etc.
Provide movement breaks.
Provide a variety of fidgets for all to use (check out acupuncture rings, squishies, sensory dough, and monkey/sensory noodles.)
Break your day or task into smaller chunks. Try to provide a schedule (time table or pictorial) to help learners track where they should be.
Prioritize relationship over task completion. Also ADHDers often struggle with social skills and can miss cues, help gently guide them when they do.
For quiet moments like prayer and meditation, look at adding additional sound components (nature sounds, pink noise).
Break up text into bullet points when possible, blocks of text can be overwhelming.
Resources:
Final Thoughts
First, remember that the person with the disability is the expert. While these are common accommodations, you may need to further adapt to your students’ specific needs. Secondly, both of these communities face a lot of negativity in their day to day life, from negative comments from others to wondering why they can’t do the things like everyone else does. They need spaces where they feel loved, safe, and supported, and this is our opportunity as the church to be that for them.
Comedy special "Latin History for Morons"
Review by Rev. Ryan Pusch
Some of us celebrated Columbus Day on October 10th, others of us celebrated Indigenous People’s Day. Perhaps you haven’t yet edified yourself about some of the failures of our school system to adequately teach about the history of indigenous peoples in what are now called north and south America, but lucky for you, Netflix has a comedy special to give you something to think about.
It may be irreverent, it may be crass, it may not even be particularly Lutheran, but John Leguizamo’s one man comedy show Latin History for Morons offers plenty of laughs and important corrections to the history that most of us were taught growing up in America.
The show begins with Leguizamo explaining the reason for his having to teach about Latin history: his young son has begun to experience racism and bullying in his school from a classmate, and so he wants to be able to inspire his son by teaching him (and us) about the many contributions of Latin peoples from prehistory, through colonialism, and onward. “Because if you don’t see yourself represented outside of yourself, you just feel [expletive] invisible.”
The show winds around Leguizamo’s own life story of learning white-washed history in New York City, and his struggles to guide his son while also trying to educate himself. He begins to read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. This is where some of the shear horror of colonialism begins to dawn on him, as he describes the great extermination of indigenous peoples that would kill almost 70 million, beginning with the Caribbean Holocaust: when Columbus and the Europeans commenced the enslavement, rape, and near annihilation of 3 million Taino people.
Leguizamo deepens his study of Latin history and shares his sources with the audience, referencing 16th century ethnographic research by a Franciscan friar named Bernardino de Sahagun as well as Open Veins of Latin America by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano. He uses these sources to push back against more recent popular history textbooks like Guns, Germs, and Steel. He tells the story of the conquest of the Aztec people by Cortes, punctuating the show with lots of hilarious asides and several dance sequences where he demonstrates various dance traditions from Latin America (and he’s got some pretty good moves).
He continues with describing his quest to learn how to be a better father through therapy and continues to educate himself. He reads Charles Mann’s book 1491, and then shares the story of the conquest of the Incan empire by Pizarro, which like the conquest of the Aztecs, was expedited by the European germs that eliminated more than half of the population. He then continues to describe some of the history of our own nation’s interactions with native peoples, from Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act of 1830 to Herbert Hoover’s repatriation act of the 1930s, when half a million Mexican Americans were forcibly removed over the course of the great depression.
Leguizamo rightfully corrects the racist narrative that Latin people aren’t “traditional Americans” by naming Latin people’s contributions to the revolutionary and civil wars, naming their essential role to play in our country’s history from the very beginning, naming their involvement in both WW1 and WW2, and continuing until the present day. He finishes his history lesson with the present status of “cultural apartheid” for Latin people in the United States- who’s presence, though ubiquitous in so many ways, is also too often denied or erased.
There is a movement in stand-up comedy to combine the power of comedy with the transforming power of education and the hard work of naming and dismantling oppression by challenging the audience. John Leguizamo’s show is another example of comedians doing more than just making us laugh.
Bethel AME reparations update
September 30, 2022 Communication from Rev. Snyder:
"We troubled heaven, worked our faith, and God answered our prayers. All praise to our God! Update on the historic meeting today with the mayor’s office Chief of Staff, Jake Wheatley, three members of the Pittsburgh Penguins staff, and two members of the Sports and Exhibition Authority staff, myself, and Dorse Carson Williams. All parties agreed to the list below. Thank you, Mayor Gainey, for stopping and checking on the agreements. Thanks to Jake Wheatley for your outstanding leadership in negotiating this agreement. Thanks to the Bethel AME Church family, all of our allies, and prayer partners."
Draft Agreement:
"We get our development rights and land back with the following understanding:
If the historic location of Old Big Bethel is under a current road that cannot be developed, the development will moved to a location in the Lower Hill Development. This location will be the same size as Old Big Bethel, including the footage of the three homes we owned in the Lower Hill.
Old Big Bethel's historic location will receive markers designating our history.
We have full development rights and ownership of the land.
In two weeks, Craig Dunham, Senior Vice President of Development for the Penguins will present the location for the development.
In one month, we will reconvene with the agreed development and the city agreed to help with resources."
Read this interview for background on Bethel's fight for reparations.
Training Opportunities
"Transforming White Privilege": Online, November 6, 13, 20. This free online training is available through the NJ Synod. It is designed to support leaders in better identifying, talking productively about, and addressing white privilege and its consequences in their many different spheres of influence. Learn more and register here.
Region 8 Racial Justice Training: Online, November 7. Region 8’s Racial Justice Training equips leaders to face the challenges of racism in a diverse, complex and changing world by providing tools and resources that foster healthy and holy conversations. Learn more and register here.
Western PA UMC Anti-Racism Summit: In person, virtual, and hybrid sessions, October 20-22. Learn more and register here.
MLK Jr. Event - Save the Date
Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 4pm for our second annual MLK Jr. Liturgy. The theme is "A Home for All: Housing and Dr. King's Vision of the Beloved Community." The Rev. Dr. Asa Lee from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary will serve as preacher. In addition to the worship service, the evening will include education and discussion opportunities for youth and adults - plan to bring your Confirmation class!