workshop 
co-designer, co-facilitator, co-producer
sponsored by Santa Fe Opera, conducted online
2021

Teaching as a Creative and Culturally Responsive Practice (CCRP) was a series of three workshops that supported K-12 educators who were looking to connect their inherent creativity as teachers with culturally responsive practice. Participants worked in large and small groups to explore topics of belonging/not belonging in educational contexts, teacher- and student- voice, and teaching practice as a form of creative practice. All topics were considered through a lens of—and centered in—principles and practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

These workshops were delivered via zoom, totaling 12 hours and serving approximately 70 teachers, across three public school districts, in northern New Mexico.  Teaching as CCRP included three sessions, over three consecutive weeks on following topics:  Session 1:  Relationship Building:  What is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and why does it matter?  Session 2:  Sacred Circle:  Including Your Whole Self  Session 3:  Workshopping Y(Our) Questions.  Activities included guiding teachers through making altars, land acknowledgment, and a variety of creative exercises that included drawing, poetry, movement, and storytelling. Materials were assembled and distributed by mail in advance. 

The workshops were fully collaborative in design and delivery by Mezcla collective members: Edie Tsong, Sydney Cooper and myself. In facilitating the workshops, we worked hard to create a safe space for difficult topics to arise. We grounded the whole process in creative practice, ritual, voice, and love.