Alyson Kaneshiro, EdD’s Post

Social justice, makana, mākeke, settler education, reclaiming academic spaces, sites of Indigenous learning and practices, history, impact, reframing western approaches to better serve Indigneous students. Day 2 CPED Recap: Panel Discussion: Moderated by Dr. Cathy Ikeda alongside my EdD family was a definite highlight. Mana'o abound, what an honor to hear transformation stories from the these scholarly change agents who are doing work in schools and in organizations to advance social justice and equity. Keynote: Dr. Heather Shotton (Wichita/Kowa/Cheyenne) discussed the history and impact of settler education with Indigenous people and challenged us to consider ways to reclaim academic spaces as sites of Indigenous learning and practice. makana: pa'akai. A reminder to the audience that our gifts, makana, are meant to be treasured. It is an offering. And if you don't want it, be sure to still thank the giver, and ask permission to pass it on to someone who wants it, or return it. Do not trash our gifts, ignore them, or leave them behind. It's not a transaction for us. It is an intentional act of care and sharing, an invitation to experience a part of our culture or a part of our lived experience that we want to share with you. I closed the day feeling so incredibly lucky that I had the privilege of growing up in Hawai'i. There is more reflection and learning to do, about how I benefit from settler colonialism, as someone who was able to reside with my family for generations on the islands. And this grappling, reckoning, is part of the process of showing up fully for social justice issues. How we benefit from and are harmed by systems of oppression is a reality we must face, especially as academics with access to power and spaces where top down decisions are made. "We must ask ourselves where we hold privilege and power so we can leverage it to advance equitable change in our spheres of influence. And if you or I are in the greatest position of power in a particular educational space, our responsibility to our people is even greater. We have to do more than just talk. More than intellectualize. Go beyond the bare minimum and actually use the tools and knowledge we learned in the EdD - critical thinking, deep reflection, data analysis, ethical practice, social justice leadership. Our transformation is seen in our actions - where we connect theory and practice, and align our words to our behaviors as we listen to our communities, collaborate, and work together toward a vision of an equitable educational system for all" Proud to be an EdD. The Phd is to understand the world. The EdD is to CHANGE it. Day 3 preview: ʻāina-based education huaka'i lo'i

"HULIAU - Turning point, time for change, to learn from the past, to change the present, and improve the future. With a greeting of Aloha (reciprocal love, affection, kindness, grace, salutation, compassion, fondness for), our Hawaiian colleagues graciously invite member faculty, administrators, EdD students, and graduates to join them on the beautiful island of Oʻahu for the 2024 CPED convening."  It is not lost on me, that today is Indigenous Peoples Day, and I have returned to the islands that raised me, surrounded by many of the indigenous Native Hawaiian educational leaders, practitioners, and scholars who have inspired me and nurtured me. Seeing their names as keynote speakers and hosts of educational events at The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Convening, fills my heart with so much joy and deep appreciation for the opportunity to learn from them once again. I have lived outside of the islands the majority of my days for almost 10 years. For 10 years, I have lived the "POC in the PWI" experience, California edition. Predominantly White Institutions is not just an abstract concept in an article for me, it was and is a part of my lived experience for nearly a decade as an educator now. Lucky for me, I had 30 years of belonging to lean on; belonging to a place, a people, and a community where reciprocity, warm eye-contact, taking care of one another, cleaning up your own opala, being accountable to yourself and your community, and friendly shakas on the road, are the norm, not the exception. Returning to the islands puts me at ease in a way I cannot experience in the places where I live and work in California. People move different. Walk fast, drive fast, talk fast, react fast. Quickness over quality. You're only accountable to yourself. "Someone else will clean that up, I've got my own thing to do" This is the culture - the dominant mindsets that are considered "normal". A chapter of the colonizers success story. This is why these visits back to my real home, where erasure is not as deep, mean so much to me. It's beyond what it means for me, though, especially on this Indigenous Peoples Day. Putting indigenous knowledge, practitioners, and ways of knowing and being at the center of The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Convening, is something I know I will remember for the rest of my days. To envision a future where equity-minded educational professionals lead lasting and positive change for the learning and benefit of everyone is a goal worthy of pursuing. What an honor to be here today and learn in the place that taught me how to be educator. “Huliau, for one to change and improve, both today and tomorrow, we must also look to the past, to the history. Huliau. Learn from the past, change the present, and improve the future." Dr. Walter Kahumoku.

Very proud of my cousin - winning the Best Paper Prize 👏🏽#WomenInStem

Excited to join Cathy Ikeda Mary Therese Hattori David Gaudi Sylvia Hussey Ed H. Noh, Ed.D. at 2024 CPED Convening Hosted by the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Please check out our talk if you're attending the event! #CPED2024 - via #Whova event app

Join us for our FREE Educational Event in recognition of ADHD Awareness Month on Oct 10th at 5pm PST. This 45 minute online interview with Dr. Amany Hararah (psychologist and co-founder of the ADHD Assessment Clinic in Corte Madera) is designed to deepen our understanding of ADHD, anxiety, and depression in students. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN #1 The impact of ADHD on mental processes Learn about 6 ways ADHD affects the way our brain processes information and why this matters. #2 How to differentiate between ADHD, anxiety, and depression Hear Dr. Hararah explain how psychologists evaluate for these different conditions and ways we can collaborate between school and clinic to yield more accurate results. #3 Tips for schools Dr. Hararah will answer some of Dr. Kaneshiro's questions about what schools can learn from psychologists who conduct learning evaluations and how we can use the information presented to better support students with ADHD. SIGN UP HERE -> https://lnkd.in/gM7V7D9N

"I want to start talking to students one-on-one about their accommodations plan. I have found that students don't even know their accommodations. And we're trying to change that. This seems like a great way to do it." 💡🗣️ -- Workshop Attendee It was an honor to present my workshop "short" titled Learning Toolkit: Demystifying Accommodations & Advancing Advocacy; a student-friendly approach to communicating accommodations over the weekend at the Challenge Success Conference. 🎓🌟 With over 30 educators in attendance, here were some of their takeaways: 🔹 I like the way you simplified the process for students and created student-friendly language in order for the process to feel more inclusive for students 👍 🔹 Incorporate a student-friendly version of their accommodations. 📝 🔹 This was wonderful! I'm excited to bring students into their ASPs and make their accommodations clear to both students and teachers. 🙌 🔹 As a counselor I oversee my students' 504 plans. They are always included in the meetings but we don't have a student-friendly version of the plans. I would like to look into that. 🤔 🔹 I will pass this on to SpEd teachers. I will also remember to talk WITH students when looking at accommodations. 🗨️ 🔹 Students need to be involved in the accommodation plans. I'd like to explore getting students more involved. 🤝 I'm transitioning from the conference weekend grateful for the opportunity to share space with such a dedicated, engaged, and genuinely kind group of educators. The enthusiasm and insights shared by attendees reinforce the importance of empowering students to understand and advocate for their own accommodations. I'm excited to see how educators will implement these strategies and adapt them in their settings. 🌟 For those who want to take a look at the workbook - follow the link in the comments and let me know what you think! #education #teaching #students #ProfessionalDevelopment #ChallengeSuccess

Shoutout to Jonathan Dumas, M.S, ACC A multi-talented coach, consultant, and podcast host. A pro communicator - his warmth and heart are on full display in his conversations. It was a joy to talk about our passions and I felt right at home talking about big topics like equity in education and why entrepreneurship is freeing, but also inherently difficult for those of us with marginalized identities. Thank you, Jonathan Dumas, M.S, ACC for the opportunity to share our conversation on YouTube and all other streaming platforms!

Celebrating friendship, critical thinking, and natures beauty with Crystal Menzies, PhD 🌱Our connection started at a SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Facilitator training in 2019, which led to many more conversations about the importance of reflection/self-awareness, applying research to practice, and finding good spots to co-work while pursuing our small business dreams. 🪄Dr. Crystal is not only a treasured friend, but a genius level talent. She is always schooling me on the latest research in her field and encourages me to think deeper and wider about how we can disrupt harmful deficit narratives (rooted in bias and systemic -isms) and cultivate a focus on cultural wealth in our educational communities. 👏🏽I am so grateful I got the opportunity to hear her hot take on their recent article, “Cultivating and leveraging the community cultural wealth of black students in high cognitive demand elementary mathematics classrooms.” It left me with two key takeaways I will be integrating in my practice this upcoming school year. 1. Centering Asset-based pedagogies - these focus on recognizing and cultivating student strengths, and serve as one kind of powerful countermeasure to deficit-based narratives (López, 2017). 2. Solving the theory to practice problem - Research highlights the challenges of implementing asset-based pedagogies within classrooms due to non-recognition of students’ strengths and lack of educator skill in translating theory to practice (Brown et al., 2022; Yosso, 2005). I’m also grateful Crystal Menzies, PhD is still here in the Bay Area, so we can “nerd out” on hikes and find ways to share and implement the excellent research she is doing to make education more equitable. 🙌🏽Through her research and consultation offerings, she is really doing the most in the best way! ⏬More from her article (linked below): 💡What is high cognitive demand in math? “High cognitive demand tasks involve making connections, analyzing information, and drawing conclusions.” (Smith & Stein, 1998) 💡What is community cultural wealth? Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) is one asset-based conceptual framework that critiques deficit thinking. 💡CCW is an interdisciplinary framework that identifies specific forms of cultural wealth within Communities of Color (Yosso, 2005). 💡The forms of cultural wealth identified that encompass CCW are: aspirational, familial, linguistic, navigational, social, and resistant.