After just lurking last year, I’m
back to participating in #CyberPD. This
year’s selections is Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies for Teach Social
Comprehension by Sara Ahmed. If you are interested in joining the study, check out our amazing facilitators, Cathy's post here or Michelle's post here. Here is the
information for the rest of the book study:
Throughout the first chapters, Sara
Ahmed emphasized making connections – between teachers and students and
students amongst themselves. These connections erase the boundaries between “us”
and “them”. I almost immediately found
many connections to Sara Ahmed. Like
her, I’ve taught in public, private, and international classrooms. My international experiences highlighted the
importance of student identity work and finding common ground to work through
differences.
As I was reading, I was taken back
to my classrooms in Brazil, Lithuania, and Aruba where we completed “Where I’m
From” poems, found poems of personal culture on top of cornmeal painted flags
of students’ home countries, and Personal Identity and Culture collage. For my third-culture kids (TCK), exploring language,
identity, and culture was personally relevant and important as many of them
were born in one country, lived in another, and had parents from two other
countries.
Yet, as I was reading, I was
reminded of how important this identity work is for students in the
States. Each student comes to the
classroom with their own story, and too often I’ve assumed I knew their story
from looking at them. As I’ve moved into
teaching at the higher ed level, I used some of the same techniques with my
undergraduate students – the identity web that Sara Ahmed suggested and a
collage. But, that was in the multicultural
class, where is seemed to fit. I would
like to see how I can weave this into my literacy classes, as our identities
influence how and what we read and write and how we teach literacy.
Dr. Roberts, in the Forward,
highlights Sara’s suggestion of “muddling through these [instruments] with your
peers before you engage with your students.”
Identity work is risky work.
Right now I’m at a stage of life where I’ve lost many of my former
identities and I’m struggling to redefine myself.
Who we are truly does influence how we interact with literature! I’ve seen that over and over with picture books in my primary classes. Usually by mid-year I can predict pretty accurately who will connect with certain books in certain ways. However, there are ALWAYS surprises.
ReplyDeleteLiterature is such an amazing way to enter these conversations. With my graduate students, we are talking about wordless picture books and how each viewer "sees" differently things and stories!
DeleteThanks, Lisa, for making that connection.
I agree that this work is important and we can't assume anyone's story. I love the lessons' Sara includes in the book to spark conversations about identity. I think they are perfect for helping students to realize that we are all unique and all have our own stories, yet their our connections between us.
ReplyDeleteSo many teachers I know, myself included, showed their identities through the "stuff" they brought into the classroom - the posters, pictures, diplomas etc. How much richer is this identity work!?! It will impact instruction!
DeleteGood to hear from you again, Suz. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is Carol van D. from Madison, btw.
DeleteHey Carol! Good to hear you and especially that you are joining in #CyberPD! Hope you are enjoying!
DeleteI love that word MUDDLE so so so much!!
ReplyDeleteMuddling together is truly the work we are doing here! I think being open and honest and raw can be difficult in public spaces and the work shared here may look different that what we share privately in our classrooms ... it's all apart of the muddle and trying to figure out who we are today! You make a very valid point! But the identity work we do together allows us to make connections and then go deeper into who we really are, what our stories mean, and what we can do next to make a difference in this world. We are headed in the right direction!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in and sharing your thoughts, Suz!
~Michelle
I just thought of another metaphor of muddling. Being from Wisconsin, we muddle cherries to make the best Old Fashions. Muddling presses the ingredients to release the flavors. Isn't that an interesting thought?
DeleteAnd thanks for facilitating, Michelle. I look forward to #CyberPD each summer!
Across the chapters, I've been struck by the importance of weaving this identity work through the year. I appreciate the way it begins with our identity, but then always moves us back to community.
ReplyDelete