Article: “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete”
Author: Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade
In the article “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete,” Duncan-Andrade argues that there needs to be a change in how we teach that will allow for more roses to make it through the crack. Teachers need more time to discuss things that really matter. Having these conversations at faculty meetings or Professional Development days would be a great start. Listening to one of Duncan-Andrade’s TED talks or reading portions of this article together would make for a great conversation. I am moved by this speaker and his words, I think other teachers would feel the same way.
Talking points:
The significance of teacher-student relationship that “prioritizes the humanization of students above all else” (p.188). Giving students opportunities to hear each other’s stories sends a message that everyone matters and we can support one another in a classroom based on love, trust, and respect. Giving the floor to students and allowing them to learn from one another and feel each other’s hurt creates a sense of unity and willingness to fight the fight together.
How can we better educate teachers on how to support our students who carry a wealth of social toxins? Going to school is suppose to give you a wealth of knowledge but in the lives of urban youth, the wealth of toxins interferes with the ability to always access that knowledge. Students coming from financially stable homes have less social toxins so they are already at an advantage of soaking up the knowledge. Just like how our education professors teach us how to write up lesson plans for content areas, teachers need more education on how to respond to students who have the burden of carrying around social toxins.
“Students don’t care what you know until they know you care”(p.191). I think this statement is true at every grade level. When students know that we as teachers and human beings care about them, that is when they can begin to take in our teaching. I think of this quote as teachers are human beings first and teachers second. My school works very hard at community building during the first six weeks of school to build relationships and set the tone for the school year. We also use the Responsive Classroom model which begins the day with a morning meeting and ends the day with closing circle. Often times new guidelines about how many minutes each content area is suppose to be tries to get in the way of these significant community times. We often need to remind administration that these times spent together discussing the day are just as important or even more essential for academic learning to be successful.
Article: “Hope and Healing in Urban Education: How Urban Activists and Teachers are Reclaiming Matters of the Heart”
Author: S. Ginwright
In “Hope and Healing in Urban Education: How Urban Activists and Teachers are Reclaiming Matters of the Heart” Ginwright argues that there is hope for a change in urban education through educating teachers on how to build respectful relationships with students that requires honesty, trust, and vulnerability.
Talking Points:
“...having conversation is sort of healing for all of us” (p.111).
Conversations build trust, empathy, understanding, and ultimately healing. Some conversations are difficult to have, but usually those are the ones that have the most impact. There is an example of an incident between a Latino student and two Chinese students in regards to using their native language. The Latino boy thought the Chinese boys were talking about him because they started speaking in Chinese. When the teacher intervened it allowed for a conversation to happen in which the two parties were able to discuss the problem and how it made people feel. The teacher explained that the conversation “lasted twenty minutes and the rest of the class cheered the conversation. It was really honest and healing for everyone to hear.” Not only was this conversation helpful for those involved, but it was a learning opportunity for others too who may have also encountered this same feeling. One might say, that’s 20 minutes out of instructional time. However, I hope most would realize that was probably the most worthwhile 20 minutes of learning real life ways to solve problems through conversation as opposed to violence.
“I learned that by being vulnerable, the young people could support my by listening just as I had listened to them. My vulnerability actually deepened their respect for me because I was honest with them about something as important as my own life”(91). In this section Ginwright talks about the “unspoken rule that you should separate your personal life from professional activities.” Being vulnerable and allowing yourself to open up to students that shows your flaws and weaknesses is a really hard thing to do. However, I also think it is the most powerful thing because these flaws show that you are human. We are suppose to be models for our students, but how would we be models if we didn’t share our own insecurities and use those conversations as learning tools. “Hey man, you got problems just like me” sends the message that yes, I am human too and in what ways can we lift each other up and support one another. I have witnessed other teachers put down their guard and be open and honest with students about their background or other dilemmas they have faced in life. What a positive shift this makes in understanding one another.
“We are here to help you brotha, but you have to pay us back brotha, for the wongs you did. How can we help you to restore your life? When I said that, he broke down and started crying in right in front of all of us” (p.95) This is such an important question that we all need to remember when our students struggle. Instead of punishing the crime, offer help and support instead. Of course this person did have to pay for his wrongdoings but at the same time he as asked “how can we help?” So often we get caught up in making students have consequences for their actions but very little do we help them from making the same mistake again. A simple phrase such as “how can we help?” can be life changing for the person who was finally given the chance to make things better instead of just being punished for his/her actions.
Author: Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade
In the article “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete,” Duncan-Andrade argues that there needs to be a change in how we teach that will allow for more roses to make it through the crack. Teachers need more time to discuss things that really matter. Having these conversations at faculty meetings or Professional Development days would be a great start. Listening to one of Duncan-Andrade’s TED talks or reading portions of this article together would make for a great conversation. I am moved by this speaker and his words, I think other teachers would feel the same way.
Talking points:
The significance of teacher-student relationship that “prioritizes the humanization of students above all else” (p.188). Giving students opportunities to hear each other’s stories sends a message that everyone matters and we can support one another in a classroom based on love, trust, and respect. Giving the floor to students and allowing them to learn from one another and feel each other’s hurt creates a sense of unity and willingness to fight the fight together.
How can we better educate teachers on how to support our students who carry a wealth of social toxins? Going to school is suppose to give you a wealth of knowledge but in the lives of urban youth, the wealth of toxins interferes with the ability to always access that knowledge. Students coming from financially stable homes have less social toxins so they are already at an advantage of soaking up the knowledge. Just like how our education professors teach us how to write up lesson plans for content areas, teachers need more education on how to respond to students who have the burden of carrying around social toxins.
“Students don’t care what you know until they know you care”(p.191). I think this statement is true at every grade level. When students know that we as teachers and human beings care about them, that is when they can begin to take in our teaching. I think of this quote as teachers are human beings first and teachers second. My school works very hard at community building during the first six weeks of school to build relationships and set the tone for the school year. We also use the Responsive Classroom model which begins the day with a morning meeting and ends the day with closing circle. Often times new guidelines about how many minutes each content area is suppose to be tries to get in the way of these significant community times. We often need to remind administration that these times spent together discussing the day are just as important or even more essential for academic learning to be successful.
Article: “Hope and Healing in Urban Education: How Urban Activists and Teachers are Reclaiming Matters of the Heart”
Author: S. Ginwright
In “Hope and Healing in Urban Education: How Urban Activists and Teachers are Reclaiming Matters of the Heart” Ginwright argues that there is hope for a change in urban education through educating teachers on how to build respectful relationships with students that requires honesty, trust, and vulnerability.
Talking Points:
“...having conversation is sort of healing for all of us” (p.111).
Conversations build trust, empathy, understanding, and ultimately healing. Some conversations are difficult to have, but usually those are the ones that have the most impact. There is an example of an incident between a Latino student and two Chinese students in regards to using their native language. The Latino boy thought the Chinese boys were talking about him because they started speaking in Chinese. When the teacher intervened it allowed for a conversation to happen in which the two parties were able to discuss the problem and how it made people feel. The teacher explained that the conversation “lasted twenty minutes and the rest of the class cheered the conversation. It was really honest and healing for everyone to hear.” Not only was this conversation helpful for those involved, but it was a learning opportunity for others too who may have also encountered this same feeling. One might say, that’s 20 minutes out of instructional time. However, I hope most would realize that was probably the most worthwhile 20 minutes of learning real life ways to solve problems through conversation as opposed to violence.
“I learned that by being vulnerable, the young people could support my by listening just as I had listened to them. My vulnerability actually deepened their respect for me because I was honest with them about something as important as my own life”(91). In this section Ginwright talks about the “unspoken rule that you should separate your personal life from professional activities.” Being vulnerable and allowing yourself to open up to students that shows your flaws and weaknesses is a really hard thing to do. However, I also think it is the most powerful thing because these flaws show that you are human. We are suppose to be models for our students, but how would we be models if we didn’t share our own insecurities and use those conversations as learning tools. “Hey man, you got problems just like me” sends the message that yes, I am human too and in what ways can we lift each other up and support one another. I have witnessed other teachers put down their guard and be open and honest with students about their background or other dilemmas they have faced in life. What a positive shift this makes in understanding one another.
“We are here to help you brotha, but you have to pay us back brotha, for the wongs you did. How can we help you to restore your life? When I said that, he broke down and started crying in right in front of all of us” (p.95) This is such an important question that we all need to remember when our students struggle. Instead of punishing the crime, offer help and support instead. Of course this person did have to pay for his wrongdoings but at the same time he as asked “how can we help?” So often we get caught up in making students have consequences for their actions but very little do we help them from making the same mistake again. A simple phrase such as “how can we help?” can be life changing for the person who was finally given the chance to make things better instead of just being punished for his/her actions.
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