Relevant Framework Standards Being Addressed

InTASC Standard #3: Learning Environments
The teacher works with others to create environments that support
individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive
social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self motivation

Danielson Framework Domain 2a: Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport
​Patterns of classroom interactions, both between the teacher and students and among students, are friendly and demonstrate caring and respect. Interactions among students are generally polite and respectful. Interactions are sensitive and appropriate to the ages and development of the students, and to the context of the class. The net result of the interactions has a positive impact on students emotionally and academically.

My Goal:

I want to be able to more confidently address students' casual use of derogatory language in my classroom, in order to create a safer and more welcoming learning environment for all students but particularly LGBTQ students and Diverse Learners.
Among both students and staff at my school, the phrase "that's r*tarded" is frequently used as a synonym for something that's stupid or ridiculous. Similarly, students can often be heard using the phrase "that's so gay" or calling each other f*gs in jest. This behavior is pervasive throughout the school culture, and that carries over into my classroom. Previously, I have found myself unable or unwilling to address these comments when they come up in class; it's far easier to ignore them, redirect the conversation, and hope they don't happen again.

Studies have overwhelmingly shown that students who are bullied are more likely to feel unsafe at school, more likely to skip school, and that teachers do not intervene when this bullying occurs nearly as frequently as they should. Students cannot learn effectively in a classroom environment that is hostile or mocking of them or their identities and abilities.

I hypothesize that my actions can make students aware of the harm that can be caused by their casual use of derogatory language.

​It is easy to slip into a pattern of speech without thinking about the impact it might have on others, especially when the people impacted are being oppressed because of "invisible" identities, or identities that aren't easy to see just by looking at a person. Students aren't aware of who in their class has an IEP or 504, who lives with an invisible illness or physical disability, or who has a sexual orientation other than straight. Because they aren't aware that these students are in the room, they're probably not aware that their use of derogatory language is actually oppressive to their peers. That kind of language is widely accepted in the school culture, so they don't think twice about it.

In social-emotional learning activities, we have addressed general ideas of perseverance, diversity of ideas, and empathy, but  have not specifically looked at identities like sexuality or ability status. This is partially because of the culture of the school making me nervous to bring up such topics.

Strategies I Can Implement

1. Using my position in the classroom to make evident the impact that words have on other peoples' feelings.

In high school, marginalized students often aren't afforded a safe environment or don't have the confidence to stand up for themselves. Since no one objects to derogatory language being used in the classroom, the students using it don't have an opportunity to see how their words are hurting others.
I, the teacher, can make myself the first to say "That comment you just said made me feel..." when negative or derogatory language is used in the classroom.
Building this habit in my teaching practice could 
  1. Help students who are using derogatory language begin to realize that their words can have negative impacts on other people
  2. Model a safe and clear way of expressing discomfort, so that students who are being marginalized by the use of derogatory language might be able to use it as an example of how to intervene in those behaviors in the future

2. Purposefully engage students in learning to self-regulate when their language has the potential to do harm to another person

Something I plan to do in the future is to, at the beginning of the year, identify language that is acceptable in the classroom and language that is not, and to invest time in classroom activities that teach students to examine the implications of their words and to anticipate the impact that those words could have on others. By explicitly addressing the use of words such as r*tarded, gay, f*g, etc. I can bring awareness to the harmfulness of derogatory language that students may not have considered before.

The Runners Up

I also hypothesized that I have not intervened in students' use of derogatory language because the dialect of power in the school environment makes frequent use of those words.
Language use is one of the most significant markers of in groups and out groups in a culture; the school house is no exception. If the students who hold power in the school (popular, smart, tough reputations, etc.) use derogatory language in their everyday conversations, other students may also adopt the use of that language in order to identify themselves as "in" with the group holding power.

​This is also true for the adults; when staff members and teachers who hold power in the building routinely make use of derogatory language, it makes it difficult for someone without power (like myself, the unpaid intern) to flag themselves as an "outsider" by opposing those behaviors.

Language only holds power when a group decides that the language holds power. If students' and teachers' behavior can be changed or the culture shifted so that the use of derogatory language is no longer acceptable to or used by the majority, that language loses its power.
My final hypothesis was that social-emotional learning activities in my classroom sufficiently address students' growing capacity for empathy, but fail to give them the tools necessary to break the habit of using derogatory language.
This hypothesis might is one of the most actionable, as there are concrete strategies, alternative words, and bystander intervention techniques that can be taught to students during social-emotional learning time.

Strategies that would accompany this hypothesis would be activities in class that put a focus on communication, particularly listening to the thoughts and feelings of others. Specific activities to target empathy and ability to identify feelings and emotions, practicing anticipating the consequences of various actions, and looking at statistics about bullied youth could also be helpful.

Additionally, I could display posters in my classroom such as the one pictured below. These could serve as a consistent visual reminder to students about the consequences of their habitual language, as well as offer alternative words that they could use to express the same frustrations without contributing to an oppressive environment.

Plans for Improvement

Collaborate with an experienced colleague
Wherever I end up teaching, there should be others in the school building who share my goal of making classrooms an inclusive environment for all students. I could gain some ground in this endeavor by seeking out a member of the Diverse Learners department, the sponsor of a GSA or similarly inclusive club, openly gay teachers, the Dean of Students or someone in charge of discipline, or any teacher in the school who I've observed cultivating a healthy and respectful environment in their classroom. Hopefully whoever I chose to seek out would be able to advise me in how to begin addressing derogatory language use in my classroom and that particular school.
In addition to colleagues, the internet is a great place to find tips and strategies that teachers can use to make their classrooms more inclusive. By referencing online resources such as the ASSIST Beginning Teachers website, I can implement new best practices in my classroom at my own pace. 

If I need additional resources to help me lead lessons that intentionally bring attention to derogatory language and the experiences of LGBTQ+ and differently-abled people, I could also utilize some of the lessons available at Teaching Tolerance.

Make use of online resources

Seek out opportunities for professional development

Picture
There are lots of opportunities for increased training in issues of diversity and inclusion, especially with progress made toward equality in recent years and schools' desire to reflect that push. If Chicago Public Schools offers development opportunities focused on the inclusion of diverse learners, LGBTQ+ students, and other oppressed identities, I will make it a priority to attend those events. Otherwise, I have the option to advocate to bring resources like the Human Rights Campaign's Welcoming Schools Training to my district or school building.
There also exist several virtual conferences, such as the ASCD Whole Child Conference archives, the Discovery Education virtual conference, the Global Education Conference, or a host of others that offer professional development opportunities virtually. Most of these conferences archive their sessions, so professional development can be accessed on-demand from anywhere with an internet connection. By digging though these resources, I would hope to find some educational sessions based around diversity and inclusion that could help me learn to better address students' use of derogatory language.

Measuring my Progress

Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so
Galileo Galilae
A goal is no good if it is not measurable, and any good plan needs a mechanism in place to determine whether it is effective or needs to be revised.

Field Notes on Students' Language Use
The primary tool I plan to measure my progress with is the use of field notes. By making note of the frequency with which my students employ derogatory language in the beginning of the semester, immediately after initial interventions are put in place, and periodically throughout the rest of the year, I will be able to quantitatively observe whether students have adjusted their behavior as a result of my strategies, and whether that change is sustainable over time. This approach is imperfect as it can only measure student behavior within the walls of my classroom and not in the lunch room, other classes, or outside of the building. But it would still provide me with valuable information about whether my approach was causing a change, even if only while students are in my classroom.
While it would be great if my preventative interventions such as social-emotional learning activities and classroom signage could eliminate derogatory language use entirely, this will likely not be the case. In addition to documenting students' language use at intermittent times, I plan to document each time that I successfully intervene in a students' use of derogatory language. By keeping notes on what a student said, what I said in response, how the student and the class reacted and how I felt during and after the interaction, I can track my own ability and comfort level when I intervene in behaviors. The more comfortable I become intervening in students' use of derogatory language, the more frequent and effective these interventions should become.

Field Notes on My Interventions in Students' Language Use

Climate Surveys
Creating a change in students' language use means nothing if it does not also impact the school culture, particularly whether or not students in marginalized groups feel safer and more included in the classroom. In addition to school-wide climate surveys, I plan to measure my impact on school culture by conducting my own Classroom Climate Survey anonymously with my students in the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. These climate surveys will anonymously ask for demographic information such as
  • Whether the student identifies as LGBTQ+ or as someone with a mental or physical disability
  • How safe the student feels in my classroom, and the school in general
  • How often they hear their peers using derogatory language
  • Whether they see their teachers intervening in the use of derogatory language 
  • Whether they see their peers intervening in the use of derogatory language
And other questions that could help me to determine the impact of derogatory language use on students, and whether the reduction of the use of that language leads to students feeling safer in my classroom or in school.