What’s Next? Intentionally Spreading Hope: Connections, Meaningful Learning and Becoming Anti-Racist
“It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”
Nelson Mandela
This morning I revisited this blog post which I wrote two months ago. We were just at the beginning of ‘Distance Learning’ and I wanted to highlight some of the positive moments that had occurred. I also spoke about the importance of giving children hope.
After I wrote that blog post I was determined to continue to focus on the successes and the little happy moments and do my best to be a kind of ‘ambassador’ of hope for my students and their families.
So much has happened. As we all have tried to find our way everyday, working so hard to make a difference for our students, we have been challenged with not only the coronavirus, but also the horrible continued acts of racism in today’s world.
We have to do better with being intentional about our actions right now if lasting change is going to occur.
I still have hope. Today I’m choosing to believe that things are going to get better and we are going to be stronger. I still want to be that guiding force and I’m committed to focusing on the connections that matter and on providing meaningful learning experiences.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to present on the topic of “Making Meaningful Connections” last Thursday.
Mitch Weisburgh from Edchat Interactive approached me a while ago about leading one of their webinars and I was excited about being able to connect and learn with others on their exciting platform.
Edchat Interactive is live video peer-to-peer sharing of best practices in education. What I like best about it is that it’s always a discussion, not a lecture.
And what I loved most about the actual webinar is the people that were there and the energy and positivity they brought to the topic. You can watch a recording of the webinar here and if you are interested in the complete slideshow presentation, go ahead and click this link.
However, there is so much more that you can’t get from the recorded version or even on the very long (146 slides) slide show presentation.
And what that so much more is is what went on in the breakout sessions.
Let me explain.
Throughout the webinar I spoke about how we can inspire hope and empowerment when we are intentional about how we communicate and the opportunities we provide for students and families.
As a group, we had four considerations to make:
Connecting with Families Around Safety and Well-Being
Ongoing Communication with Families
Ongoing Communication with Students
Meaningful Learning
For each of the four considerations I shared suggestions of ways to be intentional about each of these things and then we had breakout discussions to collaborate and build on each other’s experiences and learning.
Because you won’t see these breakout discussions on the video or within the slides I really wanted to share some of the awesome insight and ideas here:
People are reaching out to families on a variety of platforms with the realization that this contact, and this mission to make families feel better is essential during these unprecedented times.
SEL check-ins are happening as a priority and many people are providing safe spaces for families and their students. The idea of a wellness plan as described in the presentation was one strategy people felt was practical and very much needed.
Motivation Monday has been a successful way for some to check in. Pam Quevedo uses a google slide that asks families to check in and set a weekly goal.
Feedback is key, and there was much agreement that everything we ask our families to do should have a reflective piece so we can be sure authentic learning is happening.
Online play dates, storytelling with props, live science lava lamp labs, pet day zoom sessions, and engaging the whole family in cooking together are more great ideas that the participants discussed.
Teachers are using Tik Tok and are letting students win challenges. One teacher had to dye her hair rainbow!
Inviting authors to read and share their love of books has been a very easy and successful way to bring a school community together for some special moments. Authors mentioned were Jeff Kubiak, Maggie Fay, and Lisa Caprelli.
There was a lot of discussion centered around ways to make learning interactive and meaningful during zoom sessions. Teachers are having breakout sessions and allowing students to collaborate on google docs as much as possible.
Padlet was discussed with much enthusiasm and Matthew X. Joseph was recommended as a great resource for this application and other remote learning tools. He offers weekly remote learning PD.
I’m so grateful for all the people who were there and for all the active participation. I truly enjoyed interacting with everyone and learned so much.
If we had more time during the webinar I would have liked to speak more about how to be intentional about addressing racism and promoting anti-racist behavior. So many of us want to do better.
Last Thursday was #BlackOutTuesday and so many of us paused our social media activity and posted a black square.
As pointed out by @lakotasuper via this tweet-
There needs to be something more happening.
So what’s next?
At the end of the webinar I did mention one activity I’m encouraging my whole school to do next week. It’s something I saw on Instagram from @thetututeacher and I really love it because it shows students that their voice matters and encourages them to use their voice to create better tomorrows.
Our quote of the week for next week is “Your voice can change the world.” -from the book Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds.
The students and teachers will read or watch a recording of Say Something.
They will then answer the question: If you could help change the world, what would you say?
Everyone is going to be asked to draw a speech bubble, write their answer inside and take a picture of it. They could also do this on a google slide but they have the freedom to be as creative as possible. Everyone will be asked to focus on action words that will bring about a positive change and I’m hoping to put everyone’s responses together in some sort of presentation for all of us similar to this virtual rock garden I created back in April.
So that’s just one activity.
But what’s next? Seriously.
That’s what has been on my mind. Yesterday I was scheduled to host a twitter chat with @crazypln, a group I deeply respect and am proud to be associated with. I had a whole other topic planned ( because we plan them so far ahead) but really felt like I needed to change it to this.
Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable Holding Thoughtful Conversations
Part of the “What’s Next” has to be exactly this. And many people feel the same way according to the incredible engagement we had yesterday.
This was question four on yesterday’s chat.
So many educators expressed their willingness to take action and also offered insight to the things they think will make an impact. The chat is now archived and the wakelet can be accessed here.
I have been searching for ways to take action as a teacher and as a human being. I’ve found the following resources to be helpful right now:
Performative Allyship is Deadly ( Here’s What to do Instead )
30 Books to Help You Talk to Your Kids About Racism
Black Lives Matter Instructional Library
A Call to Action for White Educators Who Seek to be Anti-Racist
I know there is so much we can accomplish by being intentional about our actions and learning. We all have so much to learn. Once we grow in our understanding, we can make important decisions that will bring about lasting change.
Thank you so much for visiting the blog today. I hope you found this post worthwhile. I truly appreciate your time and attention.
If you would like to connect further, feel free to leave a comment, message, or reach out via any of my social media channels. I’d love to hear from you.
Yours truly,
Jennifer
