Branching Out in Our Classroom Environment and Pieces of a Puzzle
As we begin our look ahead to exploration C, what has resonated with me on innovative education and advocacy from the speakers of various BC school districts is where they spoke about their identity and the journey they have been on. Regarding innovation in education, it includes new and creative approaches to teaching and learning that each speaker demonstrates through their passions and authenticity in their identity in the classrooms. It is powerful how we position ourselves in our roles and responsibilities to take on this work to understand who we are as educators, the power that we have, and the power of our students as active change agents. When we open our classrooms to the diversity of our students, they can feel welcomed, heard, and seen for who they are. When we find our identities, we are lifted in pride, to feel belonging, and to a sense of community.
In the video of Annie Ohana, she welcomes and walks us into her classroom, where she presents all the artifacts, images, flags, and posters that line her classroom walls and create meaning for the students in her class. Her walls also showcase students’ work where their voices are presented and heard about current events on social justice that open students to diversity and lived experiences of different groups of people. Thus, Ohana’s walls not only show a privileged and one-sided story but also present the marginalization and the power of diverse voices. I am as much inspired as I imagine the students are by the classroom environment that opens up this idea where educators “have the powerbase, to open those doors, bring those other voices in… and bring those lived experiences to life in our classrooms” (Ohana Annie, 2022).
In my future practice, I hope to bring authenticity to the walls of my classroom and be proud of who I am to the students who walk into my classroom, aspiring to be mindful and intentional about what I put on my walls and what I present to students. Our classroom environment allows us to show pieces of ourselves and our students for endless possibilities of inclusion. If we were to lose this relational piece, our classrooms would be empty and bare, void of those possibilities. I want to avoid missing those pieces of inclusion and instead create a miraculous puzzle together with my students.
What stood out to me from Greg Miyanaga when he shared about the “three kinds of engagement with the hands-on, minds-on, and hearts-on” allows for a type of engagement that takes a hold on students for a more holistic learning experience that benefits all of our students, particularly our students with diverse needs and learning styles to include all forms of involvement. To foster this hearts-on engagement, I strive to create a positive and supportive classroom where we have love and respect for one another.
With this valuable learning approach, I recognize how students learn from their interests, emotions, and engagements. This type of learning is taken to heart and becomes more meaningful when we understand one another and create safe and positive learning spaces to be engaged and open to all types of learning.
Our role in education as a teacher includes being a stakeholder in children’s lives, where we prepare our students for the world and a better future. We must empower not only ourselves in our practice as future teachers. We must, in turn, empower our students to push the boundaries and become advocates for the future.
References:
Ohana, A. (Oct 12, 2022). The Audacity of Representation' (Empowering students to become advocates) [Video file]. https://stream.sfu.ca/Media/Channel/95653814065245fba7fa52e8225916da5f/watch/b7bf83f546e64641a2c346e4bef73ac51d