Shaping Stories

This morning my fellow #ASCD13 attendees and I had the opportunity to hear Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Maya Angelou. Both were spirited, frank women with amazing experiences and accomplishments in their lifetimes. As Maya Angelou was speaking, I got a text from my 9-year-old daughter saying she missed me and hoping I was having fun. In response, I told her I loved her and missed her, too. I told her that I was listening to a famous author (and so much more) named Maya Angelou, and that I would have to tell her about her when I got home. Sending her that simple message was a powerful moment for me. How do I support my daughters growing into strong, funny, confident women like the ladies I had the privilege of learning from this morning? What are a couple of quick themes I'll take from the morning conversations as an educator and a mom?

Every person has a history.

Both women were intentional in sharing their their history. O'Connor as a cowgirl on a ranch and Angelou as a toddler taking the train near cross country have evolved into some of the most influential women we'll ever know. We need children to know and be proud of their history as they grow. As a mom, I have two Ethiopian-bon children and two biological children all with their own unique experiences. In our schools, every one of our children has an evolving story impacted by factors that impact their own perceptions and actions. As adults we model the value that history by sharing our own stories, including both successes and times of challenge.

As educators we have a responsibility to honor & respect that history.

My friends and I also discussed what might have happened if these women were consistently told they couldn't do what they aspired to along the way or didn't have anyone that gave them an opportunity. What might we all have missed if these women had been totally stifled? Transferring to our current context, what might happen to our students if their stories are not honored and respected? Often we are asked to make decisions about children that simply don't take these stories into account. Other times our decisions are challenged by those who don't know a child's whole story or philosophically believe in one-size-fits all approach with regard to discipline and student learning. Regardless of our role, we simply can't ascribe to that; we need to shape consciousness of those around us (Fowler) to move this mindset forward.

How have you found ways to honor student stories? How have your tried or seen others worked to promote a philosophical shift to consider those stories as we support our students? Maya Angelou talked about being rainbows in the clouds for each other. Let's do that for our kids and consider it a great privilege to be part of who they become.

Celebrating creative superheroes

 The figures above were created by Mark, my very own 5th grade superhero, 
and evolved into puppets.

With a 5th grader, two 3rd graders, & a 1st grader all under my roof, I have enjoyed (understatement) seeing how my own children's learning has developed within and beyond the walls of their schools. Further, from an academic programming standpoint, two of my daughters are English Language Learners, having joined our family three years ago from Ethiopia. Three of my children have participated in reading intervention, two in speech and language support, and one in academically talented services. As an educator and a mom, I understand how varied the needs of children can be and how much of a challenge it can be to both enrich and support.

I also know the incredible gift of seeing creative energy unfold in my own children aside from any of the ways we might describe their academic path; I believe all children have this within. In recent weeks, I read and commented on Day 5: Dreaming About Education by@stumpteacher #12DOD on Brett Clark's blog. Josh Stumpenhorst's post mentioned engaging children at school at the level they are engaged at home and the need for parents and teachers to come together, among many other points you I recommend you take time to read and consider. I considered these words as a mom rather than simply a school principal and shared this:

So many items here that I agree with as an educator and a mom, Josh. Wondering if I could do better as a mom to share out the engaged learning that happens in my home. Recently our basement has been transformed into 'Hogwarts' where my kids and their cousins created a class to teach one another. My son and his friends also took sidewalk chalk to the unfinished basement floor a different day to draw bases for their Star Wars ships as they mapped out what my son calls a figure battle. How do we share what happens unprompted in our homes with a larger community to demonstrate what can happen? I know as an educator, I've considered and reconsidered a lot from observing this in my own home coupled with my conversations with educator/parents like you.

So as educators and parents, how DO we harness this creative energy? How do we make that super power a way of being and not just a fleeting moment when they are very young? How do we know that the spirit we see in kindergarten can continue to shape them as learners beyond? While this can indeed lead into some complex conversations from homework to developmentally appropriate practice and beyond, start by thinking what you can do in your role whether it be parent, teacher, administrator, or teacher of teachers to promote and value student creativity; it is probably more than you realize.

I think back to visiting a class the last week before winter break that was being led by a substitute teacher. As the children prepared to color seals, the substitute talked about what color seals should be and what colors or patterns they are simply not. I couldn't help but smile as I watched twenty-four little kindergarten heads shake back and forth in disagreement. One girl stated, “It is okay for my seal to have stripes if I want. My teacher said.”

Let’s pledge to encourage that creativity where we can, celebrate it when we see it, and be outspoken about “permission”. If you feel the same and are a teacher, do your students know you’re inspired by their creativity and want them to use that gift? If you’re an administrator and you agree, do your teachers know where you stand? Do they know creative sometimes trumps “right”? And back to the initial question I posed to Josh, how do we showcase that creativity so that its difference-making power shines through?

This post was originally written for Kinderchat, as part of NaPoBloMo, and published there this 3rd day of January.