I was recently talking to a friend about how I should probably start posting more technology focused posts on my blog. I promise I will! Technology and instruction go hand-in-hand. I see it as instruction AND technology. You can’t really talk about technology without talking about instructional strategies. It's not about JUST integrating technology. It's always about good teaching. With that said, a lot of good teaching is even beyond just good instructional strategies. It really starts with the core of who you are and how you connect with the core of who your students are. Many of these posts are just thoughts that gripped me during the week: Lessons I learned. Things I noticed. Thoughts I had. Connections I made. Things I want to work on. Things I have been working on. General musings. I've been reflecting a lot about topics that relate directly or indirectly to instruction- how we engage, empower and connect with students. As I sat in Jay Mark's second session of Culturally Responsive Teaching it became very clear that the act of being more open and vulnerable with students isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it's quite hard. Honestly, it's something that I have always felt I was good at, but lately I've noticed that I'm only open to a small degree. I believe I have strong relationships with students. However, after talking to a colleague on my drive home from the workshop I thought, "What if I could help a student simply by talking about my cultural background?" I don't normally discuss my background. It's not that I'm ashamed of it in any way. I just don't seem to talk about it and I'm not really practiced in talking about it. I wonder if one of my teachers in high school was more open about their cultural background if I would have been less shy about mine. It seems to be coming up more and more and I noticed that as I started talking about it more with students, they have started sharing with me more. The other day I was talking with a student and in conversation she mentioned, "Well you probably don't know this about me, but I'm adopted..." She was right, I didn't. However, I immediately said, "No way, me too!" And I've noticed after this one conversation she openly talks about it. The next time we spoke, another student overheard us and jumped into our conversation because he was too. It was really a neat conversation and one that I probably wouldn't have been open to having previously. Jay had us do a homework assignment called "My Racial History". It was a ten minute write. So, in my effort to be more open, here it is...
So, as I share this 10 minute quick write, I realize that it's a bit jumbled. It's not perfect (but nothing is). I also realize that it's more personal than I would normally put out into the world. However, the lesson learned for me this week is: telling your story can have an impact on someone else. Letting students tell their story can also impact you. Let me challenge you to give students space to tell their story, whether that be in a ten minute write or a conversation. You may be surprised at what you'll find out. :)
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