I want to preface my take-aways and reactions to the webinars by first saying that I really enjoyed and feel like I sincerely got a lot of value out of watching these webinars. I was able to take a lot of notes of these webinars, and I feel as though watching them was very useful-- and I can see myself employing a lot of what I learned in future classroom spaces.
Trauma Responsive Education- Supporting Students and Yourself:
Simplistically, this webinar broke-down how to be a trauma responsive educator, and what that looks like via online, in the classroom, or through a hybrid space.
First off, the panel offered definition to prominent terms, and I thought it was so beneficial that they discussed the difference between trauma and stress-- I think there can be times where these terms can be related, however they do not amount to the same thing. Trauma was defined as an exceptional experience in which powerful and dangerous events overwhelm one's capacity to cope. Stress on the other hand was defined as a bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existing equilibrium. A trigger or trauma can inflict a response of stress, however stress does not define the exceptional experience that an individual has gone through.
I really thought it was meaningful that the panel discussed being a trauma responsive educator among the different classroom structures we have in place, post the pandemic-- now we have classes that are online synchronous, online asynchronous, in person, and/or hybrid. Therefore with all these different educational spaces involved, it is vital that teachers have an idea as to how to create a trauma responsive and supportive space.
Despite whether the class is online or in person to an extent, is is vital that RELATIONSHIPS remain at the forefront, and HUMANITY remain at the heart of education-- as stressed in the webinar, this is the only way to promote a trauma-responsive space where students can feel supported and comfortable confiding in the teacher, sharing in class, asking for support, etc.
-The panelists indicated that having a predictable routine is significant to keeping students on track in a time where the world is unstable and unpredictable. It makes sense that students need a level of stability to support them and it is something for them to lean on, and know is certain.
-Having strong communication with students is also key to maintaining relationships with students. When you think about it, when students are online there is no-- greeting them as they walk into class, saying hello to them as they walk by in the hallway, students coming in their spare time to ask a question, walking over to students to check in, etc. Therefore, online and in person, it is essential that no matter what, students feel VALUED, SEEN, and CONNECTED. This was a huge take-away from this webinar-- how can I help my future students to feel valued, seen, and connected. I learned that one thing to focus on is being intentional about centering and nurturing connections with students, in addition to integrating students voices and experience in the classroom. Taking the time to affirm and value the students for who they are and what they bring to the classroom can make all the difference.
When it comes to identifying trauma, my take-away was to note and be familiar with the symptoms and triggers to look for in students, however NEVER ASSUME anything or push students. This may seem basic, but I think that sometimes educators care so much that they can sometimes assume or push students to sharing something that they are not necessarily comfortable with-- and sometimes their assumptions are not always correct! However, it is important for educators to be aware and engaged with the lives of their students and to keep track of what they notice for further supportive actions.
One big, BIG takeaway here for me was that in order to create a trauma sensitive classroom and address trauma in the classroom, the educator must first ASSESS THEMSELVES. This was really interesting to me and I am really a fan of engaging in self-reflection. However, I was not entirely considering this before entering this webinar. In order to help our students, we must first help and identify aspects of ourselves that may influence how we act and respond in certain situations. Educators must first know their own triggers and must cultivate self-awareness.
Student Mental Health Matters:
I believe that all educators and future educators should really educate themselves on ways they can support students who may be struggling with mental health difficulties, especially students of color. Mental health should be something we as teachers work to de-stigmatize and normalize in the classroom. We should engage in practices of self-reflection to monitor our biases and are careful not to diagnose or generalize any students. Students may carry trauma with them associated with race, identity, socio-economic factors, abuse, etc. and it is important that we know how to uplift and empower our students.
The statistics brought up within this webinar are heartbreaking-->
-1 out of 5 children between the ages of 3 and 17 have a mental, emotional, or behavioral difficulty (that may or may not be diagnosed by a professional).
- when not diagnosed or unnoticed, students may take matters into their own hands and may self-diagnose and/or self-medicate themselves to 'help themselves feel better'.
- Black children between the ages of 5 and 12 had a suicide rate 2x as high as their white counter parts.
I want to focus on the idea of Black Minds Matter brought up in the webinar:
From "Black Minds Matter" by Coshandra Dillard-- “Unless teachers understand that it is our responsibility to do the work to make sure our classrooms and school communities are safe and inviting and supportive of and reflective of all of the parts of all of our students. … If we can’t do that, then we’re not doing enough" (Dillard).
As said by the panelists, it is important that we talk about black students specifically and their mental health because of stigmas, systemic racism, a lack of representation in our curriculum and literature, curriculum violence, etc. As an antiracist educator, it is vital to consider your own story and own identity (which aligns with Hammond's Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain), decolonize your curriculum (representation matters), be mindful, be a first responder, and see all of your students (affirm all students and their identities). Teachers can engage in mental health training and learn about frameworks that gives students language to use associated with mental health, so that way it is more normalized in the classroom. Overall, educators have to be intentional in supporting students. There should be a preventative approach taken (which requires educators to be aware and engaging in mental health awareness) rather than responsive.
I feel as though one can make a lot of connections between this webinar and readings from our class, that focuses on antiracist teaching, and developing an antiracist, critically and culturally responsive pedagogy. One reading that I immediately thought of while watching this webinar was Ladson-Billings & Tate's Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education-- which both discuss systemic racism as it is present in education. This is why it is so vital for educators/future-educators to educate themselves on antiracist practices, culturally responsive teaching, critical race theory, etc. so that we can support our students by empowering them and uplifting them, and can look at different resources that may support and guide our thoughts and approach. As said in the webinar, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, and educating ourselves is a way we can respond to the system we are operating under. In other words, it is a way to tackle systemic racism in the curriculum, culture, and policies. We need to use our voices advocate for our students.
Latinx History is Black History
"Latinx is a really powerful political term and an identifier that we use in the US.
I disagree that it’s main purpose is to unify people and it is a term that perhaps unintentionally allows
non-black Latinx people to proximity to whiteness. But at the same time, it requires us to distance
ourselves from blackness. So when we celebrate black history month in February or when we celebrate
Latinx history month in September in our classrooms, it’s so imperative that we acknowledge and uplift
and center the people whose identities and stories are often invisibilized" (20:03)
This webinar did an absolutely phenomenal job in clarifying and breaking down the terms race and ethnicity, and describing how Latinx identities are so layered and diverse, it is an injustice to force people to identify as one identity and erase all the rest-- Latinx people are complex and the umbrella term generalizes people and does not reflect the individuals experience.
First and foremost, the two panelists established that race and ethnicity are both social constructs. Ethnicity has to do with cultural aspects, traditions, geography, and nationality, while race has to do more with phenotype and how a person is perceived. These terms were both broken down in defining the term: Latinx. Latinx is defined as an ethnic identity, not a race, although it is a term that is radicalized in the US.
Knowing the difference between ethnicity and race is significant, and as this webinar pointed out, this understanding can expand our world-view and better understand the function of terms like Latinx that is often used to encapsulate a diverse group of people.
Now, I learned that of the 10.7 million Africans of the transatlantic slave trade, only 388,000 Africans made it to North America; 96% of them went to Latin America. Here we see where the title Latinx History is Black History come into focus. The Afro-Latinx population is vast, diverse, and layered-- and it is not just to subscribe these individuals to Latinx, when Latinx is not a race but ethnic identity.
I think this part of the webinar was very telling and eye-opening-- approx. 30 minutes in.
In an interview, Cardi-B said:
"...one thing that always bothers me is that people know so little
about my culture. We are Caribbean people and a lot of people been attacking me because they feel like
I don’t be saying that I’m black. Some people want to decide if you’re black or not
depending on your skin complexion because they don’t understand Caribbean people or our culture. I don’t got to tell you that I’m black. I expect you to know it.”
Cardi-B is a famous Afro-Latina, however, she has a lot of layers to her identity that are not often acknowledged. Instead, she is characterized by umbrella terms, which as shown, is offensive.
Another thing mentioned within the webinar was the Haitian Revolution, which is a rich history of resistance. The panelists both noted that they were never taught about this in their public school career. Likewise, I was never taught this history in my public education as well. Heck, I was never taught anything in relation to social justice, thinking critically, and other world histories. I had only heard about the Haitian Revolution prior to this webinar through a general education history course I took my sophomore year of college entitled something around the lines of 'Latin America History' or 'Voices of Latin America'. However, we never really dug into this sort of conversation that acknowledges the intersection of race and ethnicity.
Reframing Classroom Management: The Classroom Consensus
As quoted in the webinar:
“If the child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.
If
the child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.
If the child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.
If
the child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.
If the child doesn’t know how to behave, we punish?” (6:54)
-- This was powerful and is so crucial!!
At the beginning of the webinar, I agreed with the panelists-- I really do not like the way a professional development worded something along the lines of 'to equip teachers with how to handle obnoxious students who ask embarrassing questions to the class'-- this is so wrong to me in so many ways and is actually frustrating. Who are we to call kids obnoxious and how are we to judge their questions, deeming them not worthy. Plainly, teachers must value, see, and connect with students in their classroom. If teachers take the time to build trust with their students, acknowledge students and their cultivated identity, and listen to them and their needs, than it would be obvious that there is no such thing as a student being obnoxious or asking an 'embarrassing' question. I think that is completely insensitive.
Moving on, I was in awe at the statistics gathered from the Participatory Action Research that the panelists conducted, that surveyed 1,200 educators, and interviewed 25+ teachers. Through their study, they found that approximately 72% of teachers felt as though their teacher preparation program did not actually prepare them to manage classroom behaviors that they may come across. I do not know myself how to feel about this-- however, it does make a lot of sense. When teachers do not know how to handle students who may not be behaving as expected, they get impatient-- they do not know what else to possibly do. Therefore, it is vital that they learn how to better support their students and their needs. This makes me grateful for the program that I am in that I feel as though is preparing me to work with all students and to be a patient and culturally responsive educator to the best of my abilities.
The next statistic was even more shocking-- approximately 70% of teachers felt that the professional development within their district was ineffective. WHAT! I mean, with the example of the professional development that said students can be obnoxious and ask embarrassing questions-- I think that is the perfect example of an inadequate professional development. However, that is a really discomforting evaluation. 45% of teachers said they wanted to leave the profession because of it, and I can understand frustration, however I almost feel bad that they could not get their hands on the right resources. This is why it is webinars like this that shed light on these matters that make a difference in people's careers.
Considerations of 6-12 that I want to highlight:
-As said by a panelist-- "most students need a lot of structure, and that doesn't mean being oppressive" YES!! There is such a huge difference between having structure, creating routine, and a safe space, and being just restrictive of students in all shapes and forms. We want to push boundaries and challenge students, however this does not mean we do not have a structure set in place for students to follow.
-Students at this age are establishing their identities, so it is important to have patience and build that trusting relationships with students. This way they express themselves and test their boundaries in an appropriate manner. Again, relationships and humanity are key in my opinion!!
Reframing Classroom Management Process was described by 4 pillars-->
1. Understanding and distinguishing behavior
2. Rethinking control and power dynamics
3. Being proactive instead of reactive
4. Responding to the child instead of the behavior
Some takeaways:
-All behavior is a communication of a need of the student. This is super important!!!! We must be inquiring and deciphering why a student is acting a sort of way and look at the function of the behavior. I think that this really requires teachers to have patience and not get stuck up in the 'heat of the moment', but really consider why the student is behaving in the manner that they are-- something is causing it. This can then guide how we handle the situation by helping and supporting the student as need be to fulfill their needs.
-Humanizing yourself is an important part in building relationships with students. This allows for empathy to be a two-way street in the classroom. This goes back to educators like Duncan-Andrade and Christensen who advocate the importance of building trusting relationships with students and having a humanizing pedagogy. It also relates to people like Hammond who discuss the importance of leading with vulnerability-- how can you expect students to be vulnerable if you have not opened up the space and have modeled it.
-Educators should consider how to collaborate with students over how to control students. We want to empower students, yet still be able to lead the class.
-It is important to talk with students one-on-one to redirect them if necessary. It does no benefit to engage in public dialogue in front of the classroom.
Reading Diversity: A Tool For Selecting Diverse Texts
I really enjoyed this PD, for they were discussing something that all teachers need to consider-- how should we select books for students to academically read yet personally indulge in and connect with? There needs to be a balance between student engagement in literature scaled with instruction and lessons, so it was great that this webinar discussed meaningful ways to expose and select literature for students.
In the webinar, the panelists discussed their method through the means of the "Reading Diversity" tool. According to them, the tool considers complexity, diversity, representation, critical literacy, along with other relevant considerations. What really stands out to me is the acknowledgement of the many layers to consider when discussing what literature to expose to students-- and I think this is a big responsibility of educators that sometimes gets thrown under the rug! What we show students as an effect on their minds and on their engagement, and it is our responsibility to make sure they are being challenged, while also actively taking part in their learning.
A part that most caught my interest was the discussion about considering the voices of texts, and questioning-- “Which elements of this text, if any, provide an authentic account or reflection
of people’s lived experiences?” and “Do you have any concerns about generalizations,
stereotypes or misrepresentations in this text?” As the panelists said, there is diversity within diversity and voices that are not often heard. This is vital to note and acknowledge in a classroom space with students of different background, cultural values, and identities. Students might see texts within different contexts due to their experiences, and this makes a difference when students interpret and analyze text.
In connection to this, I really liked where they discussed how authors are tensional and choose where to leave gaps, and how to format their narrative or thoughts in a tensional way. (23:53) It also discusses situations where there is a silence that is not necessarily intended, but it is immensely suffocating-- topics maybe that are purposely suppressed or voices not meant to be recognized. It all has to do with the way the author has positioned their voice or the voices of characters in their narratives. In looking at literature with a critical eye means noticing these silences and these representations, and sometimes giving these silences a voice in a critical fashion. This is something that could be done for teachers that have to follow a strict curriculum in the classroom. There are ways to consider how to talk about the silence and lack of diversity represented within the novel, and is just as important as pointing out a diverse text.
- Side note: I connected this to my own education, where I feel as though the curriculum and literature was not tailored to students, and did not have a diverse mission nor representation. I also feel as though teachers discussed what was interesting to them opposed to what really engaged the students. As an educator, I want to hold my students interest and help them become critical readers and thinkers, while also sharpening their academic skills.
I really thought more deeply into the idea of intertextuality and the role it plays both in and out of the classroom. First off, it is common and a useful method to group texts together and compare the ideas posed to one another-- connecting the dots and so on. However, it is important to also note that students see other forms of text and literacy on a daily basis, such as through social media platforms, through their music playlists, and with what they watch on TV. It would be wise to consider how we can use these forms of media in the classroom to help our students view and interpret the world around them through a critical lens. In leaving out these daily vehicles of text, educators may be doing an injustice. Likewise, it is important to acknowledge that these platforms and current events effect our students, whether it be mentally, emotionally, physically, etc., so it is a great idea for educators acknowledge it and find a way to bring that information into the classroom to connect with other texts.
