On Saturday, November 7, 2009, I participated in a session of the NYCoRE Saturday Series. The topic was overcoming the negative culture of public schools by staying positive and building allies. The workshop was held at TC and facilitated by Annie and Marissa who are both New York City teachers and members of NYCoRE.
New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) is a group of public school teachers committed to fighting for social justice in the school system and society at large, by organizing and mobilizing teachers, developing curriculum, and working with community, parent, and student organizations.
The first part of the workshop was classroom management lows and highs, conducted by Annie. She facilitated a discussion on building community. Some of the topics addressed were: empowering kids, positive language, staying positive within yourself and staying positive within the community. The point is to give students coping mechanisms they will be able to apply. For example, give them one thing they can do today that can make their day better, or show the student there is opportunity for growth by putting whatever happened yesterday or whenever behind us- don’t hold a grudge, and most importantly address the behavior not the student.
My favorite part was the reflection activity. We were to brainstorm things that effect students that are out of our control. The list was extensive- suicide, death, poverty, hunger, drugs, alcoholism, sexuality, lack of resources, body issues, overcrowding, foster care, absences, parents don’t speak English, status trends, gangs, learning disability, neglect, abandonment issues…the list goes on. This was named the “black hole” of positive thinking. I learned that spending time thinking about things I cannot control is a waste of time. I will be in control of my destiny as a teacher and focus on my planning and language and everything being positive.
The second part of the workshop was connected Freire to teaching. Freire believed that teachers engage students politically and then educate them in the process. Ways to connect are through critical dialogue, talk, and experience of living together. Existing knowledge must be questioned, thought provoking questions must be asked. Dialogue involves respect and the process is important and can be seen as enhancing community building. I am optimistic that it is possible to build a classroom environment that is like the world I want to live in.
Let me tell you- attending this workshop was special for me- and I say that because- after a year and a half of learning how to teach and practicing teaching in my placements, this is the first time I actually felt like a real teacher. Go and check it out for yourself. That’s all. Stela
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It sounds like this event can help all teachers and administrators to work with children in a positive manner, and be a counselor/mentor who can make students feel comfortable and at home. Schools are places for students to not only grow academically but also socially. It should not be some place where they feel overwhelmed and stressed out. In order for that to happen, teachers need to utilize methods that will help students open up and be optimistic.
ReplyDeleteThe strategies that you talk about here sound like they would be beneficial for people of all ages, not only students. I really liked your comment, "I learned that spending time thinking about things I cannot control is a waste of time." Sometimes it's hard to remember this. There is so much to be overwhelmed by and it is only harder when you are growing up. This sounds like it was a really powerful experience. Something that I could really see myself using in the classroom is giving students a strategy that will make their day better. I really like this idea and it makes me think of one of the students in my placement now. After reading your post, I plan to talk with the child in my classroom about this coping mechanism. So thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat sounded like such a wonderful event! I loved that you said "I learned that spending time thinking about things I cannot control is a waste of time. I will be in control of my destiny as a teacher and focus on my planning and language and everything being positive."
ReplyDeleteThis makes me excited to actually have a classroom of my own. It's also going to be scary to think about the teacher as being the one role model in the room that will eventually influence about 25 lives from that point on. I think that's why it's so important to stress that things such as building coping strategies or a positive classroom community is important for all educators. I hate it when teachers get down to the math concepts of adding and subtracting on the first day of school. They think that those things can wait. I feel that as long as students feel comfortable in their own skin, empowered, and embraced, they CAN achieve whatever they need to. It's possible. It's all about starting from day one to help your students develop a certain mindset about themselves and the world around them.
I can't believe I only learned these things now, way before I started learning about how to teach them how to decode a word!