DEI+Ntalks
What are DEI+N talks: A bi-monthly virtual series that aims to affirm, discuss and understand how neurodiversity can be recognized, supported and advanced.
What are the DEIN Talks:
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Neurodivergence (DEI+N) Talks is a panel discussion series that addresses a range of topics relevant to diverse thinkers and learners. We bring together education adjacent professionals to gain insights that seek to inform a series of learning supplements and applications to infuse in learning environments and to further inform educators with progressive methodologies.
Dec 16th
Broke ain't Dumb
(Socio-Economics/ Wealth Gap / Poverty)
“Over the past half-century, America’s per-pupil spending on K–12 education has nearly tripled” but that hasn’t meant academic achievement’ For example in 2019 California spent $13,686 per student with a 39.73% math proficiency rate, today they spend 10k more with a 5% dip. In Baltimore the spend was $17,493 in 2021 with a math proficiency rate of 7% which was relatively unchanged despite a $4k increase the following yeae. Are we ready to admit spending more hasn’t always meant better results? It would mean Removing from your mind the thought that people in poverty would by default be receiving a lower quality of education, Removing the image that public schools are bare bones given that based on the spend per student they should have more resources than the typical charter school. It would mean feeding a narrative that families in poverty as a monolith don’t value education. And shattering the wealth ego that assumes a link between household income and educational potential. This is the faith needed to bring about a different result and like Santa, that potentiality runs off belief.
Past Talks
Feb 25th | The Defintion of Trauma
(PTSD/School to Prison Pipeline)
We’re going to talk about how to recognize trauma without stigmatizing it, and how to create trauma informed environments whether it be in a learning environment, at home or in a workplace. We’ll discuss frameworks for trauma such as Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Scores and trauma responses such as fight or flight, freeze, or fawn. The discussion will cover Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and some unexpected places you might find it, like in a child or in a returning citizen.
April 22nd | "He's Got Lead"
(Lead/Climate Change/Water)
Many of our modern cities have a common problem. Inhaled, ingested or eaten (Pica) lurks lead poisoning, a pervasive problem that causes developmental delays, learning difficulties, irritability and fatigue. As well, incidents like the Flint Water Crisis, the Ohio train derailment, and recent Delaware River chemical spill have unknown impacts to water and food quality. We’re asking what are the effects of environmental factors on our brain and mental health? Further, how does COVID brain, pregnancy brain and Chemo brain show up as neurodivergence? How does that extend to what we consume, apply to our skin, breathe in and even take as medicine and what to do about exposure. Join us for an informative discussion.
June 24th | Nuthin' but a Number
(Ageism/Historical Context "unique"/Age Wage Gap)
Aching knees and the necessary pair of readers aren't the only effects of age that most of us over 35 have concerned ourselves with. Educating on the value of deep knowledge, keeping the pace of perpetual learning, awareness of diversity acronyms, securing jobs in a digital only, or gen z focused workplace and combating the mental fog known as cognitive aging, literally keeps us up night. What is cognitive stimulation therapy? Should we ask for age accommodations in learning environments? What affordances are there for aged individuals? Should we assume cognitive aging in individuals of a certain age and is that discrimination? What roles/jobs are a good match for quinquagenarians or better? Is America, or the world, growing more or less tolerant of the aging mind.
Lily Liu
Ryan Backer
Kyrie S. Carpenter
Rebecca Wellner
Aug 26th | Born to Wander
(Immigrants/ Second Generation/ Gentrification and Transplants)
America is built off principles of diversity and cultural texture. You may know first or second generation immigrants who code switch for safety or for expediency. If it weren’t for the nationalism that pervades many aspects of our social norms, more of us would openly celebrate the rich culture texture we have, due in large part to those immigrants. With a Department of Education that classifies language barriers as special needs and in many cases does not recognize cultural differences and the resulting neurodivergence, one might feel perpetually misunderstood. If it is human nature to migrate, how can we better support the immigrant and transplant? How is Familiarity Branding building an “in-crowd” culture? How is gentrification creating unwitting and unwilling transplants.
Oct 28th | For the Culture
(Culturalization/ Race + Gender)
When data analytics collapse income and race, achievement and gender, drop-out rates and cultural identity, we are left with misguided, short sighted, and half hearted assumptions. When these assumptions influence budgets and resource allocation the results are catastrophic to the point of genocidal.
We generally lack measures for all forms of intelligence which undervalues traits on which our social engine relies. When we have a drastically lower number of black governors, an anemic number of women high school principals and a low college entry rate among BIPOCs, aren’t we counting how we as a society have failed to be democratic throughout the complete fabric of our constitution? How does our silence feed this mis-alignment of values. How will the non-binary and cultural diversity movements affect how we calculate our progress? Can we awaken at a rate faster than those with adverse interest can rock us to sleep? Join us for the discussion, and chime in.
