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    • Making Connections is an innovative, online learning tool designed to give mentors, teachers, counselors and volunteers the strategies and tools they need to build strong relationships with kids. For more information, click here.
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    • The Making Connections Blog is a place where mentors, teachers, counselors and volunteers who work with kids can come together to find support, resources and information that they can use to help them be even better at their jobs. It is a place to find answers, explore solutions, make connections, and share ideas, experiences, challenges and knowledge, all with the intent of finding more and better ways to build the kinds of relationships that help keep kids in school.
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    About Tobi Kibel Piatek

    Blogger, course developer, and instructor, Tobi Kibel Piatek, writes about education, designs curriculum, graphics and websites, and teaches teachers, online and in person. A long time mentor, parent and educator, her work combines a love for kids, learning and technology.
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    • Recommended Resources

    At the Minority Affairs Conference

    By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

    The Minority Affairs Conference was held this year on Aug 12 and 13 at KahNeeta. This conference is an annual event for educators (mostly teachers attended this year) who work with minority students. This summer, people came from all around the state to learn from one another and be inspired by experts in the field of equity, teaching and learning and social justice.  Click here to  learn more, and see a video about the conference

    I attended the conference, and presented there too,  with Patricia Martinez, former principal and Executive Director for the Oregon Council of Hispanic Advancement (OCHA). We offered two presentations of our talk, The Third R:  Strong Relationships Help Keep Kids in School and Achieving. These were a great opportunity for both Patricia and I to share stories about how building relationships can make a difference with kids at risk of dropping out of school, and ALSO with coworkers, parents and members of the community. The stories we told, and the stories shared in the workshops illustrated the power of connecting with the people in our community, and the positive difference that even something as simple as a smile can make.

    If you have stories about relationships – both good and bad – and how they affected your willingness to stay in school, your desire to teach or work with kids, or your sense of yourself, please share them on this blog.  Experience and research shows that, for many of us, it’s the stories that we hear and read that inspire us to work harder to help kids (and they help us to understand ourselves better too.)

    During our talks, Patricia listed several resources that teachers in the classroom, and mentors who work with culturally diverse kids can use to extend their learning about how to work with kids and families from diverse cultures. These are some of the suggestions.

    If you attended the conference, and/or, if you have ideas for resources (books, speakers, websites, etc.)  that teachers and mentors can use to learn more about subjects such as Cultural Competence, Social Justice and How to Bring Family and Community into the Schools and learning community, please add your ideas to the list by clicking the COMMENT button below.

    Building Culturally Responsive Classrooms: A Guide for K-6 Teachers
    By Concha Delgado-Gaitan
    Published by Corwin Press, 2006
    ISBN 141292619X, 9781412926195
    166 pages
    http://books.google.com/books?id=_aCWtZmBFSUC

    Con Respeto: Bridging the Distances Between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools: An Ethnographic Portrait (Paperback) by Guadalupe Valdes
    http://www.amazon.com/Con-Respeto-Distances-Culturally-Ethnographic/dp/0807735264

    Alma Flor Ada (San Francisco State Univ)
    http://www.almaflorada.com/
    This website shows the collection of work by the extremely talented and prolific writer. There are books, resources and learning opportunities on the site.

    Topics: Recommended Resources, Creating a Positive, Recommended reading | No Comments »

    Things to Do: OPB Kids and Family Resources

    By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

    http://www.opb.org/kidsfamily/

    There is something for teachers, something for mentors, something for parents and PLENTY for kids on the OPB Kids and Family site.  Parents and mentors looking for some good ways to enrich these summer days might want to check out some of these resources:

    Lewis & Clark Explorer Guides  If your are looking for some outdoor fun … plan your own Lewis & Clark adventure using these travel guides that are sure to bring the spirit of the Corps to life. (Note: I KNOW these are fun and interesting - because I wrote them!)

    Eco Smart  Tips, activities and resources to help you begin conversations with children about conservation and recycling. This site includes step-by-step instructions for activities families completed at OPB’s workshops with reused and recycled materials.

    We know kids watch TV in summer -to make the most of that time, and to keep in touch with what they are watching,  the OPB programming schedule in on this site, as well as some great ideas to connect learning and fun in summer days. Check out this collection of easy to use resources on Media Literacy:
    Activities to Build On What You’ve Watched
    Extend the Learning with Books :

    Stay up to date on the latest listing for things to do in The Family Events Calendar

    Teachers - look ahead to next year (while there is still time) check out the Lesson Plans from OPB

    Topics: Recommended Resources, Family Involvement, Resources for Teacher, Quality Time, Things to do | No Comments »

    Intercultural Communication Institute Research Library

    By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Monday, June 30th, 2008

    I spent some time this weekend helping to prepare for the upcoming Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication which will be held at Reed

    College in July. (For more information about SIIC 2008 

    click here)As many hands worked together to assemble the notebooks that 600 participants from around the world will receive, it was hard to ignore the fact that we were surrounded on all sides by the books and resources that make up the Intercultural Communication Institute Research Library. Its an amazing collection, and you can take advantage of it.

    What is the Intercultural Communication Institute Research Library:
    A collection of over 29,000 books, journals, articles and audio-visual materials entirely devoted to the subject of intercultural communication. Many of the items in this collection are called “fugitive” – difficult to locate, and perhaps, one of a kind.

    Topics include:

    Who is the library for?

    The library has a collection of over 300 video and DVD titles, training manuals, course syllabi, theses and dissertations, classic texts, archival materials, and donations from the collections of numerous researchers and educators.

    How to Use the Library: (NOTE: Library contents do not circulate)

    The library welcomes you to come and browse (or study, or learn) year round. Please contact the library for hours of operation (503 297 4622) and to schedule some time to take advantage of this unique resource.

    Topics: Recommended Resources, Resources for Teacher, Culturally Competent | No Comments »