Episode 062: Back to School

Passing Notes » Education

For this episode of Passing Notes, I decided to do something a little different… I’ve been wanting to do a Back to School episode for awhile now (well since the beginning of last year) where I could talk through the things I’m most excited about for the school year, resources, and books teachers should look into to start the year. Well, there is no time like the present and let’s be honest there is going to be no year like this year!

To start out, I’m going to do introductions like I always do because I realize I may have never introduced myself. I’m Stephanie Hinton, I’m the Director of Early Childhood for Oklahoma City Public Schools and the Passing Notes with Stephanie Hinton Podcaster. I started my teaching career in Tulsa Public Schools but spent most of my career in Putnam City Schools at Tulakes Elementary. I have taught kindergarten, 2nd grade, was an assistant principal, and a curriculum coordinator. The 2020-2021 school year will mark my 13th year in public education. You can connect with me here at Passing Notes with Stephanie Hinton, Twitter @thestephhinton or Facebook.

Here are the resources and books I recommend you checking out for the 2020-2021 school year:

• Shane Safir’s The Listening Leader
• Procedures for using Zoom or Google Hangout:

• Audit your classroom library with tools from EduTopia or Embracing Equity
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
• “Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”: A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Anti-Racism Resources for White People — Document Compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein
• Anti-Racism Videos for Kids — Complied by We Are Teachers’ Jeannne Croteau
• Black Lives Matter at School Teaching Materials
• 10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race by Angela Watson’s Truth for Teachers
• How Schools Can Help Teachers Understand and Address Racial Biases by Amadou Diallo, posted on Mindshift
• Teaching Tolerance

We are going into the 2020-2021 school year with so much possibility for change and growth, this can be overwhelming so it’s important to start by mapping out and committing to your own growth as an educator. What steps do you want to take to more effectively and efficiently use the new resources and technology in your classroom? How will you consciously identify your biases and be proactively anti-racists? What are your next steps?

I think it’s also important to acknowledge the fear and stress going into this next school year, it will be unlike any we have had to date, This year will not be easy but I do think we can learn from the task that is ahead of us (whatever that looks like) and forge a better tomorrow for our amazing students!