Olivia Wahl
12 January 2026
In Part One of my S5E20 @schoolutionspodcast conversation, Dr. Michelle Chanda Singh shares how inclusive teaching can profoundly impact the student experience and foster a sense of belonging for all students, emphasizing that education for all hinges on deeply connected learning. She discusses how a Spanish teacher's innovative language learning approach helped her overcome feelings of invisibility in the classroom. In this part one deeply personal conversation, Michelle reveals: ✨ Why 54% of students feel culturally unseen in classrooms ✨ How invisibility shows up as "silence in the curriculum" ✨ The difference between learning for compliance vs. connection ✨ Gloria Ladson-Billings's culturally responsive pedagogy framework ✨ Why humanizing ourselves as teachers unlocks classroom belonging Stay tuned for Part Two (on Friday), where Michelle offers digital storytelling tools. Some resources mentioned: ➡️Storytelling Can Bridge Cultural Gaps 🎤How Cultural Representation Improves Education ➡️ Gloria Ladson-Billings ➡️ StoryCorps ➡️ Smithsonian Learning Resources ➡️ Zinn Education Project ➡️ PBS LearningMedia Chapters: 0:00 Introduction: What Does Invisibility in the Classroom Look Like? 1:00 Meet Dr. Michelle Chanda Singh: A Year in the Making 1:46 Today's Focus: Storytelling Can Bridge Cultural Gaps 2:13The Research Foundation: Gloria Ladson-Billings & Culturally Responsive Pedagogy 2:53 Taking Us Back: 9 Years Old, Newly Arrived from Jamaica 3:14 Education as Priority: Coming to America for Better Opportunities 4:00 The Adult Lens: Looking Back as an Educator and Researcher 4:44 Invisibility Wasn't Loud—It Was Silence in the Curriculum 5:31 Learning for Compliance, Not Connection 6:04 Succeeding Without Being Fully Seen 6:42 The Shock: When Friends Met Her Indian Family 7:00 The Statistics: 54% Students of Color, 82% White Teachers 7:24 The Representation Gap in Education Today 8:00 Enter Ms. Fernandez: Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Spanish Teacher 8:51 Education Beyond Performance and Perfection 9:17 Prioritizing Connection Over Transaction 9:42 The Learning That Stuck: Songs, Café con Leche, and Las Tiendas 10:34 Standing Up Out of Respect: A Cultural Moment 11:42 Permission to Be Different While Honoring Culture 12:17 Reflecting on Teaching Refugees in California 13:00 The Equal Playing Field: Learning Spanish Together 13:42 Lightning Round Begins! 14:00 Top Resource for Storytelling: Start with Listening 15:00 Storytelling Requirement: Beyond Textbooks and into Lives 16:00 "When You Share Your Story, You Become Human" 16:42 What Would Ms. Fernandez Say? A Look of Pride 17:00 Wrapping Part I: The Spanish Spelling Bee Memory 17:33 Preview of Part II: Getting Practical with Digital Tools 18:00 Closing: Your Homework—Share When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.
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