Monthly Give and Take

November - American Indian Heritage Month  ( To listen to this blog, click here ) National American Indian Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes the accomplishments of the peoples who were the original inhabitants, explorers, and settlers of the United States. For what is estimated to be about 10,000 years, the Takelma Indian Nation has lived in and around the Rogue River area, and in particular, right here in Grants Pass. 10,000 years! I am having a hard time comprehending that amount of time. Europeans settled the Rogue Valley in about the mid-1800s and it was not without bloodshed. Eventually, the predominantly white settlers took over the land and it is now what it is today. There is much to be sad about, but there is also much to admire and celebrate. As we focus on our original settlers to our region this month, I have a couple reflections and some, "did you know?" trivia that I thought was just remarkable. Many years ago, I received a most thoughtful gift from a...

Each month, we will share out ideas and resources for that month's equity focus which is aligned with the national monthly designations. September 15 through October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. I will include a few items that you may be able to use in your classroom, but there are so many great ideas and lessons that you all are doing. So, I have set this up as a "Give & Take" forum. I will get the conversation started, but if you have an activity or lesson that fits with the month's theme, please feel free to add it to this blog.  In each monthly celebration resource, I will include the background of the monthly national designation and some ideas for elementary, middle, and high school levels. Please feel free to use any of it, be inspired to create something better, and then share an idea for your colleagues to think about--even just sharing a link to a site that has some great ideas is really helpful. If we all do a little bit to teach our students about th...