Department of Education Monday Minutes

Here are your Monday Minutes for June 29 – July 3, 2020

From the Department Head

Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty, 

I hope that you are having a good summer and have taken the time to rest and recharge. For relaxation, I have been watching the Explore Live Nature Cams. If you can’t get out and about, this is a great way to connect with nature from your device (The Katmai National Park (AK) bear cams are my favorite!)

This summer I am learning about how to be an anti-racist. I am currently learning about land acknowledgement, a practice I began in Fall 2019. One way to recognize Indigenous experiences is to do a land acknowledgement as you begin a school year, event, or unit—but go beyond superficial connections. Resources are available here (American Indians in Children's Literature) and here (Native Land - Territory Acknowledgement). Additionally, my email signature now contains the following statement:

Many Indigenous peoples, including the Apsáalooke (Crow), Niimiipuu (Nez Perce), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Lakota), Piikani (Blackfeet), Seliš (Salish), Shoshone, and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Northern Cheyenne), have traditional claims to the lands upon which Montana State University (MSU) physically sits. Indigenous histories and perspectives inform my work.*

To move toward an anti-racist stance, learning and cultural humility are important. We must examine all of our assumptions and thinking. This begins with taking responsibility. I hope you will take some time to reflect on your own journey this summer.

Take good care,

Ann Dutton Ewbank's signature

Ann Ewbank

* Thank you to Dr. Christine Rogers Stanton for the land acknowledgement statement and resources.

From Micki's Desk

  • For those who submitted their Application for Graduation for Summer Semester, please take a moment to visit your DegreeWorks through MyInfo for any discrepancies written in the notes section by the Graduate School.
  • The Fall Schedule is still in the process of revision.  We will notify Graduate Students as soon as the schedule is finalized and ready for you to register.  If you will be enrolling in EDU 690, EDCI/EDLD 592 Independent Study or EDCI/EDLD 598 Internship, you may complete and submit your form at any time to [email protected] and I will register you. Department forms are found at:  https://www.montana.edu/education/grad/forms.html
  • Graduate Assistantships provide an opportunity to apply graduate course learning in research, teaching, and learning environments that support faculty research and/or the Teacher Education undergraduate program. Students employed in a graduate assistantship work on average 19 hours per week from August 1 – December 31 and January 1 – May 31. To seek more information regarding Graduate Assistantship opportunities please visit our department web site at: https://www.montana.edu/education/grad/ga/index.html

News and Announcements

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

  • MSU Department of Education alum Terry Bradley has been working on anti-racism initiatives in our community. Thank you Terry for helping Bozeman to become a more just and equitable community! 

Professional Development & Engagement Opportunities

  • Call for Articles: Expanding the Conversation: Rural Education Research—A special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education. Manuscripts are due 10/15/2020.
  • Call for Proposals: The Department of Education is a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. This year’s October convening is a virtual event. Proposals are due 8/1/2020.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources

  • Implicit Bias and Microaggressions from Edutopia provides a definition as well as what microaggressions look and sound like in a school setting with resources to begin the conversation. 
  • Black Lives Matter at School Coalition’s curriculum committee has lessons for every grade level. The2020 Curriculum Resource Guide contains free, downloadable lessons to challenge racism, oppression, and to help build happy and healthy classrooms. 
  • The Montana Historical Society has put together aMontana’s African American Heritage resource site including oral histories of black Montanans.

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Micki MacGregor, Grad Program Coordinator and Data Research Analyst
Office of Graduate Programs, Department of Education, Reid Hall Rm 215
Montana State University, PO Box 172880, Bozeman, MT 59717-2880
[email protected]  [email protected]
phone: 406-994-6786  fax: 406-994-1854