I am proud to be an educator.
I feel privileged to work in the field of education on a daily basis. It's very challenging and demanding work. Yet it is often joyful, rewarding and, at times, positively miraculous.
Educators are profound cultural workers. We communicate, transmute and, if we have a critical and holistic vision, transform culture through our work. In formal educational settings, we teach the skills and concepts necessary to engage meaningfully in the world through literacy, numeracy, scientific inquiry, athletics and the arts. We assess, cajole, praise, and deliver consequences when necessary. In addition to this, our role is to create an emotionally secure environment so that learning can happen without fear, intimidation and threats to the integrity of our students.
This year, our school has committed to running a weekly whole school circle. Based on traditional ways of being in community, the circle is where we sit as equals. This initiative started in September, and we have all (teachers and students alike) noticed how our strong sense of community has been enhanced by this weekly one hour commitment. Passing around the talking piece and offering each person within the school a chance to express themselves and be heard has been profound. Tears, laughter, silence and wise-beyond-their-years insights have woven us closer together and made us all more real to one another. Bullying at our school is at a true low.
This circle, backed by a strong anti-bullying policy and commitment to emotional safety that has been in place since the school's inception, has become the place where we make authentic communication and respect a living, integrated reality. It is sacred time during the week because it is the space where we:
....are seen
....are heard
....are different
....are similar
....agree
....see things from diverse perspectives
Through the powerful simplicity of the circle, we remember that we are interconnected.
I feel privileged to work in the field of education on a daily basis. It's very challenging and demanding work. Yet it is often joyful, rewarding and, at times, positively miraculous.
Educators are profound cultural workers. We communicate, transmute and, if we have a critical and holistic vision, transform culture through our work. In formal educational settings, we teach the skills and concepts necessary to engage meaningfully in the world through literacy, numeracy, scientific inquiry, athletics and the arts. We assess, cajole, praise, and deliver consequences when necessary. In addition to this, our role is to create an emotionally secure environment so that learning can happen without fear, intimidation and threats to the integrity of our students.
This year, our school has committed to running a weekly whole school circle. Based on traditional ways of being in community, the circle is where we sit as equals. This initiative started in September, and we have all (teachers and students alike) noticed how our strong sense of community has been enhanced by this weekly one hour commitment. Passing around the talking piece and offering each person within the school a chance to express themselves and be heard has been profound. Tears, laughter, silence and wise-beyond-their-years insights have woven us closer together and made us all more real to one another. Bullying at our school is at a true low.
This circle, backed by a strong anti-bullying policy and commitment to emotional safety that has been in place since the school's inception, has become the place where we make authentic communication and respect a living, integrated reality. It is sacred time during the week because it is the space where we:
....are seen
....are heard
....are different
....are similar
....agree
....see things from diverse perspectives
Through the powerful simplicity of the circle, we remember that we are interconnected.
