Teacher Talks

       In my school, we have started to engage in professional development about societal norms and how that shapes the dominant culture in our society (and our schools). Societal norms are the informal and (mostly) unspoken expectations of what is acceptable in a certain community. The dominant culture decides the norms that are widely accepted across a community, even if it conflicts with those norms of a marginalized group. We are all a part of a dominant culture in one way or another, and may or may not be a part of a marginalized group at times as well. While there is still so much for me to learn, I’ve had this Vlog sitting in the top of my mind since I watched it.      Students come to school with many norms that have been set for themselves through their different contexts (home, family, friends, extra-curricular activities, church, etc.). Their norms are shaped by the people they love, their culture and their lived experiences. In school, we a...

     Today I was talking on the phone with my brother who is about to attend his first Back to School Night as a parent. We joked about him asking all the “hard-ball” questions to his son's teacher… but then it hit me. What is it that parents hope to get from back to school at night? How can we make the most of our little time together?      Shortly after our conversation, I saw this tweet that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about…   “Listening to the voices of students will help you understand the needs of your learners & families--& transform school improvement from something done to students & families to something done with them.”        In Street Data (2021) by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan, we learn about the indigenaous and village mentality which shows how family and individual cultural experiences work together to help guide our learners into what they are meant to be (p. 9-10). Yet, so many of our families...

     In the book “Street Data” by Shane Shafir & Jamala Dugan talk in detail about the importance of fostering agency in students in order to instill the skills they need to be successful in our ever-changing world. They define agency as “the idea that people have the capacity to take action, craft and carry out plans, and make informed decisions based on a growing base of knowledge.”        A pedagogical approach to allowing agency is Project Based Learning (PBL). This is the idea that students can explore and research a problem and work together to determine a possible solution to that problem. Through this active, adaptive, and collaborative process, students are able to learn how to think critically about the world around them while also understanding their class content on a deeper level. Learn more about PBL here.      I’ll admit, the open-ended and constantly changing nature of PBL was intimidating at first (especially as...

     Tonight I was reading chapter two of Eric Sheninger’s (2019) book, “Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times.” In this chapter, Sheninger highlights the intense change our social system has undergone since the industrial revolution, but emphasizes how little our education system has changed. He asks the important question, “Are schools preparing learners for their future or for a world that no longer exists?” (2019, p. 22). He also recognizes the vicious cycle of “TTWWADI - That’s the way we’ve always done it,” (2019, p. 21).           As our society continues to move toward one of fast innovation, collaboration and technology, what must we teachers do to prepare our learners for it? Students need to be given the opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and use creative problem solving techniques in order to constantly adapt to our changing society. Project based learning is being constantly referred to as a step in the rig...

    It is no argument that the culture and climate of a school can impact the success of students. Across the world, teachers and administrators strive to create an environment where students feel like they belong. Matthew Younghans reflects on this in his blog post “The Steps to Creating a Positive School Culture.” Younghans says, “a positive school climate… is directly correlated to school success. When students feel safe, supported, respected, and valued in their environment, the foundation is set for them to learn and achieve their best.” His thoughtful ideas got me thinking - how can we improve our school climate?       In the blog post, Matthew Younghans says, “relationships are perhaps the most important part of establishing a school culture that is perceived as and breeds caring.” It is our responsibility to provide students the opportunity to build positive connections with their teachers and peers. School clubs and activities are a wonderful...