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Welcome to Cultural Connections Lab. I'm your host Dr. Kelly Forbes. We are here to talk with educational professionals around the world to impact and influence the education system as we focus on cultural connections and the education of multilingual diverse students.

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We're excited to have you join us today. We sincerely hope you enjoy the show.

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Hello. Hello. I'm so excited to have you here. I feel like we're just like in front of cameras and being recorded but it's no different than all the conversations that I feel like we have all the time.

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I'm excited to have it with you here like, oficialmente. Do you want to, well, I'll let you introduce yourself but before you do I'll brag about you. So I just, I have to say thank you so much for all of the amazing things that you've already taught me.

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You've given me so much insight into just the new stories that I've seen you out in that I wasn't even aware that was happening within your district. Different ways to engage leadership and learners at the same time.

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You're always such a big advocate, always such a big supporter, really promotes bilingualism, by literacy, multilingualism at that. I know just a little bit about your, your family and home life I know that there's a lot of culture that's there, but I have never in my life met

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another person that is working specifically in the field of secondary education that is more of an ally and an advocate for our multicultural and diverse students than you. Thank you. So I think a lot of people need to listen to the amazing things that Salidillas

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really teaches a lot of us, and I'm just really honored. I mean it so much. I just, because I get to learn from you at the same time. It's hard for me to take, it's hard for me to take compliments but I accept it. Thank you so much. Well, just shower yourself in them, because it's just really, it's really true.

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There's not a lot of you out there and so I'm thankful that you're really here and live and living color doing this. Yes, and everyone gets to hear about it. So who are you? Who is Salidillas? What does she do? How wonderful is she?

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Goodness, okay so I guess on a professional level my name, you know I said, Sally I've been in education for 26 years now. This is my 26 year. I know it's that long. I know I'm still 29. Yeah, it's weird how the math doesn't add up. It doesn't but I'm 29 in education for 26 years.

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I have been working with emergent bilinguals and multilingual learners for the last 20 years. I've currently, I've been in Putman City Public Schools for 20 years. I've done a pretty much, I've worn so many hats in my educational career. I have been a classroom teacher.

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I have been an EL teacher. I've been a Title I teacher and now currently I am the secondary educational or instructional facilitator for Putman City Schools. Okay, excellent, excellent. So I, and here you are presenting also at the conference. I had to pull it up real quickly.

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The name of the session is integrating cultural competence into the classroom to support multilingual learners. I guess this was a good practice round. So first of all, thank you for sharing that information here at OWABE but you're going to be presenting that at NABE, the National Association for Bilingual Education, correct?

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Yes, we are and I'm super excited about that. It was such an honor that we were accepted to be presented at a national level. I presented several times, you know, locally within my district or in other districts or within the state of Oklahoma but to be able to do it at a national level is really exciting.

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And I couldn't do it without my, she's sitting over, she's standing over there but I have my counterpart, my best, one of my best, best peeps in the world, Iriana Sanchez, and I couldn't do it without her. You can always come over here and just wave if you would like. Just come on over, Iriana.

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I love you talking as she comes but I get to, you know, see her in action as well at places like OWABE and NABE. And so that's exciting. And here she is, but really, it's fantastic what you two do. I know that you really are a tight team.

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We are a tight team. She's my confidant, she's my, my complaining session but also my, my, my successes that

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My mental health advocate.

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And, but also we I know we are always on the same page when it comes to what our kids need.

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And so we really really she's a great advocate as well for our multilingual learners in our district.

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I think that's the perfect segue then into what do we, what, what do they need. How do we know that they need that, and then, what do I do as an educator, or even because sometimes people aren't in education that listen to the podcast right.

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So what if there's somebody that's just in the world. Like what is our role, let's start with the education side right.

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But what do our students need and how do we know that they need that. And what therefore do we need and how do we know that we need that.

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You know, that's a good question but I really really think here's my, my whole.

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The way I see myself in education the way I see it myself in life is I'm a servant.

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First, when I serve when I serve my, my students when I serve my leaders when I serve other people in the building when I serve my community when I serve my family when I, when I serve is what I get the reward from and, you know, a lot of times sometimes we think.

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And it does take a toll, but it's worth it. You know there are days that you. It's hard emotionally, but then there's days that it's so rewarding in the end. And the best days is when you're at a store and a kid comes up to you and is like Mrs.

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Diaz. Do you remember I didn't speak English and look at me now.

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And I'm like, I just had you one year but they knew that I was part of that. You cared. Yes, you obviously shared something that made them feel connected to you. Yes. I remember the first time I had one of my students which I felt like, am I old enough to have a student that I

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taught in middle school in college already. And then now they have kids, all of a sudden, but she called me and she got into Harvard. Oh my gosh, you know newcomer student coming in I believe it was seventh or eighth grade, and then was able to work with them and then

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I was like, okay, so those are those are the best moments of the most rewarding moments for sure.

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You and I have a lot of really good conversations about many things but most specifically about culture and the role that that plays in everything that we do and so a lot of times in academics.

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We can move this beyond just academics but on the academic side, of course we're looking at testing we're looking at grades we're looking at the widow or language assessment tell pass, or whatever that that might be for your local area.

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And it's that that that cultural piece, and I, I've, I still continue growing in all of this myself all the time and I feel like in our conversations that we get to share a lot of that about about about each other like our own journeys, our own exciting

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funny moments or frustration sometimes.

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I think that's like that cultural piece that I feel like missing, but then you have people that are coming back to you, saying you know thank you miss DS for helping me, even though you might have had him for one year, but I think it's because you're making a special

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connection, and because of who you are and because of your experiences I feel like that's what clues you in on some cultural responsiveness. Is there anything to that that you could speak of that would be beneficial for anyone to know when it comes to

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dealing with diverse populations and just being culturally responsive and how that impacted you.

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You know, I will say being you know culture.

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I think it all. I mean honestly I think you know it all kind of drive from.

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I used to study math okay I know I'm a nerd. Okay, so when I was like in fourth grade. I like in fourth grade I memorize like all the countries of the world.

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And for whatever reason that was just something that was so fascinating me to understand the world. And I think I've just grown up with that inside of me I've always wanted to know about different countries about different cultures about different languages

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where are you from, you know why you know and I always ask the why questions and the hard questions and I think getting to know people and building relationships with them and then I'm able to ask them like, well, so how do you make your rice in your country,

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you know, or why do you do this and you know and there are there have been times I mean even being in, you know, I've been married to my husband, we've been together for over 30 years and we've been married for, oh my gosh, 26 years.

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I know. Thank you.

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But we're in a multicultural relationship and a multicultural marriage and we have a multicultural home and there are times that are difficult because I don't understand because I'm coming from my perspective.

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And sometimes there are things that are frustrating or even on his side you know like, why are you doing this and really when you, but then when we sit down and talk about what the real problem is it's sometimes it's just a difference of perspective of where we come from

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because we didn't have that, or he didn't have that or I didn't have that but I think it's just connecting with people, asking people, getting to know people, and just building good relations, I mean, just talking to people.

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Yeah, I think it's really stopping like you said to like you had to stop and talk and you had that conversation. Right. Many times like we're so busy we have so much to do. We have to cover during our plan period, because someone else is gone.

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We know about those situations also.

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So, like, how do we do that or like, is like, I mean, not to have it be like a question that we can't answer but is there like an act like a real action stuff that we can do or recommendation that would really be conceivable for us to do as educational

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people to be able to engage in this conversation, because we are busy we are running around. And that's why we are having this conference for example on a Saturday, which we also talked about like how do we maybe switch that up but we're trying to give space for people to be

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able to come and not have any other obligation, because our time is so limited, and even during the day, but we also have leaders, teachers, and students in a building that we need to be able to have some of these conversations I would think.

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What do you what do you think you see that might be a plausible step I guess to have those conversations.

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It's a good question. I mean, I don't know, like I keep thinking like what what do I do or what do I see that people are doing and I think it's just

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a really good question. Okay, well good. I don't really thinking like I don't know I can't, I can't pinpoint a specific thing that I actually do or what I've seen. I think it's just

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I know it's cliche but I mean really, you know, loving your neighbor.

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I guess not cliche, and it needs to be said more but loving your neighbor and loving your neighbor doesn't mean that I have to be your BFF but loving your neighbor which means accepting who you are, and saying you know what, it's okay I mean it's okay and just

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moving on instead of fixating on certain things and saying did you know that she did that or did you know you know, there's so many.

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Yeah, and I don't know I can get into specifics but I mean, I think just loving each other and just accepting people know that I think that's so cool though because like so now as you're saying that I'm

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thinking okay so maybe it really has nothing to do with time, it has everything to do with our own behavior. So if my behavior were to be more in alignment with loving my neighbor as myself right and then making sure that we have that through line of respect

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that even though I may not understand. I may not have ever experienced that, and or I may or may not even agree or disagree, it's still having that level of respect, and I think mutual care for each other so I think it's about behavior,

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behavior, more than so maybe time, maybe what we're coming to the conclusion and maybe time is a factor but it's not as big as one of the we think maybe it's behavior during that time. Right. Yeah, I think, I think it's, yes, does that sound like muddy water or does it clear.

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No, I make sense I think it's just about disrespecting people and just saying we all come from different backgrounds and different experiences and that just taking those things and learning from each other and just going on, I gotta tell you that I've never, I've always like I always feel like

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time is such a big obstacle but now I'm like, it's just, it's behavior, it's your behavior. Yes, because I can, like, I don't have to understand you 100% right now to start off with care and respect.

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Correct. Okay. And like when the kid walks, when you have a new kid you know how many times that we have these new newcomers that come into our classroom and I don't know what to do.

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I know I look I mean even as me as the person that is supposed to be the expert in bilingual education or multilingual learners and the ESL. It's still when you have that kid that walks in that doesn't speak a language, especially I mean I'm, I can, I communicate with

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bilingual in Spanish but when I have the kid that walks in that is from China that speaks Chinese, I still go oh my gosh what do I do, but it's all about me, making myself ready and saying you know what, I'm going to love him, I'm going to hug him and he's going to come in and we're going to have a great day.

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And so we've had some conversations about that, even earlier today with some other people and it's that that one thing is about like, I have to make sure that I'm taking responsibility of what I need to be understanding and learning based on those that are in my school,

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in my community, and not just have everyone just assume that everyone's going to just understand me.

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Right.

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I want to understand everyone else. And I think that you, I mean you invited me earlier this summer to be able to come with my salsa partner, Marty, and to be able to talk to the newcomer students and so just the fact that you all create that newcomer.

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What is it called I don't want to misspeak, is it Newcomer Summer Academy? Yeah we just have a Newcomer Summer Academy for our secondary, specifically for our high school students.

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And they just come and we just, we just do a lot of fun great activities during the summer but we also invite many different community members to come in and talk to them and get to know just a little bit of that cultural acquisition that's happening and getting to understand how do we,

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like I know you came and you talked about, oh my gosh, what did you come and talk about?

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It was really impactful. Oh my gosh, what did you talk about?

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I think you were just talking about, what were you talking about? When is it just the other day?

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No, back in the summer. Oh back in the summer. So Marty and I were there.

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And so we talked with, so we talked with a group of Spanish speaking students and then we talked with the group that were not Spanish speaking students so we could do what was Marty from Colombia and maybe bilingual in Spanish.

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And so just talking about like, what's it like to be coming from another country, another culture, and then not losing your culture, but building upon that with the other culture because my goal is for people not to lose who they are.

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I mean, I want you to do you and you do you however you want to do you, but I don't want to be the reason that I'm taking away part of you to force you into another hole.

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And that was kind of like the theme of what we were talking about. Yeah. Yes, exactly. Now I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't remember sometimes.

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Where have I been? But just providing opportunities for kids and providing opportunities kids to, and actually, you know, I think people in our community want to come into our schools and talk with our kids.

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They want to reach out. But sometimes we to on the inside of the education, you know, we have our little wall around our little buildings and sometimes we also don't step out, you know, and ask people to come in.

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So we've had people come in and talk about insurance insurance because people that come from a lot of these kids that come from different countries don't understand the process of health insurance.

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I mean, and when you're high schoolers, these types of conversations and these things are important and relevant to their life.

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And so I think it's like how, oh, you mean I have to have health insurance so I can, you know, if I go get sick. Yeah. What does that look like? What does that mean?

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Because in some other countries where even I've been visiting, you have an issue that happens and anybody can go. Yeah, anybody. You just go.

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Everyone, everybody goes to the doctor. Everyone has the health care and some people don't. It's not the same here. Right. It's not the same.

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And we had a big thing with them about when do you go to the doctor? When do you go to urgent care? When do you go to ER?

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And it was like activity game that they had to do and they had to decide they had these images of all the things that you could do.

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Like, OK, you're having a baby. Where would you go? The doctor, urgent care or the emergency room.

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I've seen some billboards that speak to this too. And they're really funny.

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But it's very. And it's for people that are from here also. So I can only imagine if you're not.

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If you're not from here, how confusing that can be. Right. Truly, truly. But that is a real situation.

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The window I go to urgent care versus the emergency room. Right. And so those are different conversations.

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But back to the newcomers that that there's there's so many newcomers that we have, which that's how I started teaching.

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I mean, it was with Spanish, but then there was a quick turnover into like I feel like my official first education position was that newcomer teacher.

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And I think that was the best job I've ever had in my entire life.

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And people would say, oh, we have a newcomer. They get so scared.

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And I'm like, yes, I have like, yes, this is going to be so much fun.

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And I will learn so much. I mean, it's just the most enriching experience.

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I can't say enough. So if you don't know what you want to do in your life, be a newcomer teacher.

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But I know that last week or maybe earlier this week, my days are all mixed up.

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And I was talking to a teacher about a conversation about some of the newcomer students that don't necessarily have literacy skills, but they do have speaking and listening skills.

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And do you would you like to share? I mean, I have stuff I can say, but this is for you.

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Can you speak to that? Because there's cultural things to that.

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But I think a lot of schools are seeing across the country the amount of newcomers that are coming in from across the world.

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And they're all coming in from the southern border.

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But then we again, they come into our school and I'm the servant and I'm the one that's going to take them and say, OK, how can I serve you?

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How can I serve you in educational way, in emotional way? How can I serve your family and what can we do?

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But unfortunately, a lot of these kids didn't have the opportunity to attend school regularly because of the circumstances of their country.

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And then now they're here. I'm 16, I'm 17 years old.

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And the last time I went to school was in third grade.

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And so but when I go to high school, I'm going to have all these credits now and I need to have 24, 25 credits to graduate.

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I need to take take U.S. history, American history, you know, American government, all these classes that and then it's not even hard enough because I don't speak the language, but I'm struggling with reading.

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Yeah. And I'm struggling with literacy. I'm struggling with I don't even know my multiplication facts.

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And I'm in Algebra one class. And what do I do?

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And so this is something that we are currently working through a process of like, what are we going to how are we going to best support these kids?

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I don't have the answers yet. I don't have it all.

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But I do know that we have a lot of things that are in the process and in the works.

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We've we've we've started implementing a life reading program.

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OK. And so that's being started up in a couple of our sites.

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It's not I mean, I don't want to sit here and say we have this all together and we know exactly what we're doing, but we are working and we're working hard to get this thing off the ground and get kids and to serve kids and get them to what they need so they can be successful.

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Yes. And Slife, just for anyone who's listening, our students with limited or interrupted formal education.

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Uh huh. And we do have many of those students. I remember I had a student that went to school up to second grade and then he came to me and he was in sixth grade.

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And I think he could have been in seventh grade. But then they put him in sixth grade because because he didn't have the education, which that's another podcast.

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It's another podcast session with that right there.

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But the truth is, though, is that that is a reality that a lot of our educators do experience.

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So there's it's going to be deeper than what we would ever get to just right now because they are the credits.

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There are the requirements that that don't take into consideration backgrounds of some of our students.

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So we can do our best. And I think that's what I know it's what you and I do every single day, honestly. And I believe you are so inspirational to me. You are just be like you and I grow up.

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You're so good. But we try to do our best every single day. Right.

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But what do you what do you recommend to be what like if the one thing that we have to focus on, considering to love thy neighbor as thyself.

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All right. I really like that you brought that back into the forefront of all of our minds and because of our behaviors. Right. And so if I know that I have a student and I'm not ignorant to the fact that they're going to have a hard and arduous road ahead because of something that is not even their fault of not being given access to literacy skills.

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What can I do? What is the one thing?

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What if I'm working on a bank and someone comes in and they don't have literacy skills but they do have the they have speaking and listening again.

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I mean because they're not empty. They're not worthless. Right. We all. So what we all bring something to the table.

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You know I think everybody brings something to the table and I think it's just as a teacher.

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You know I sometimes I put myself like you know I imagine myself being a 10th grade teacher and I'm in a class and then I have a kid who's a literate or hasn't had you know doesn't have access to education doesn't have what does it limited in English.

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Sorry I'm getting my words all mumbled here.

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But and it's hard. It's hard.

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But I think it all gets back you know when you know even our session today we were talking about the main core is is I need to recognize what I know and how I can grow.

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And then I have to recognize how can I help the students and what is my relationship with the students.

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Boom. Why their relationship and it's really relationship because here's here's what I know about kids.

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If I build a relationship with them they want to their kids I mean I think about all the kids that come to my classroom. And when I have this they want to work for me.

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They want to make me proud. They want to turn their work and even though it's not 100% and where I want them to be.

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Maybe they're still working on a third grade reading level or third grade passages but in we're in 10th grade.

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But they want to do their best and they want to they want to make me proud. They want to say Ms. Diaz here. This is my best. Yeah.

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And they want to turn it in. And so I think when you build solid relationships with kids and relationships that are filled with love and kindness and you know joking around and doing all those things that we do to have positive relationships.

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Kids want to do they want to prove to you that they're worthy for you. Yeah. You know. And so I think it just stems from relationships. I think everything we do.

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It's true. It's true. And of course they want to make you proud. Right. Like I remember that's how I got into Spanish because I wanted to make I mean it was French Latin or Spanish and I like Mexican food.

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So what like like just skin surface level I was just like I had to choose one right. And I took German in middle school and they didn't have to. I was like OK.

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The teacher though she is the one I wanted to make her proud. I wanted to mix in your Atkinsville. She was such a great teacher. And then the more I got into it I was like OK I really like this.

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And so I think that helps with with motivation. But to the point of the question I just think it's so wonderful how you really elevate everyone to show that they have so much worth and so much value.

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And you're always so positive in the way that you speak about children and about their backgrounds and their homes. And I am thankful because we don't always have those voices.

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There are so many that sometimes as multilingual educators and multicultural educators were siloed often or kind of pushed aside maybe you're like oh you're the one more thing.

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And I'm like it's kind of the thing like there are children with one culture and one linguistic repertoire that are still not succeeding.

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And there are other ones that are coming in with these rich backgrounds and have so much experience that we don't have.

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But just because they may not have a literacy skill we're not going to put them way over here.

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And I just think you know if we really flip the script on this and start looking at everyone from that asset based lens and really celebrating who they are.

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I think it would be so much better in our conversations and our class setups and our master scheduling and everything else. But it's because of your conversations of being so positive about who they are and what they bring as very full vessels of information knowledge and belonging as well.

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Like I think it like it really makes me question like every behavior that I have you know because now I go back to this thing about everyone says like there's not enough time.

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And I'm just like no it's really about the behavior now like I'm really stuck on that. It's been. Yeah. But I think that you promote those those conversations and you are right now.

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So I'm so glad that people are going to hear this. But I'm but I know that you do that in your schools because I've witnessed them even whenever you speak with leadership.

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So thank you. Thank you. Is there anything that you would like to share like some some final words or thoughts or celebrations or recommendations or anything to anyone who might be listening about.

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How awesome it really is just to embrace the diversity around us and learn more and grow.

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I think. Yes. I you know and just continue working and working hard. I think we're you know I know education is a hard it's a hard career and it's a hard job every day.

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But and I know picking from you know from my perspective I think working with our students are multilingual students it's even harder.

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And don't give up. Yeah. I think we're in this fast food you know we're in this drive through fast food mindset all the time and we think that kids are supposed to come in from Cuba on Monday and by Friday they're supposed to speak English.

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And it doesn't work that way. We are in that. So if just keep keep doing keep working keep working and you will see the fruit later. It doesn't happen over time but you got to plant the seeds and it takes sometimes it takes years for it to produce fruit but it's going to

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produce fruit. Well you planted a lot of seeds with me in our friendship that began as a just professional relationship and now I consider you one of my dearest friends I really respect you.

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Thank you for being here today and for planting a lot of seeds with all of us. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. All right. Well hey signing off from the Oklahoma Association for bilingual education 2023 here in Westmore High School and more public

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schools Oklahoma City Oklahoma. Thank you for joining us for our cultural connections lab and we hope that you have a very awesome day. We love you and

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Thank you for joining us today. Don't forget to like follow and subscribe. Adios.

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Thank you.