Margin Notes

BEING THE CHANGE: LESSONS AND STRATEGIES TO TEACH SOCIAL COMPREHENSION BY SARA K. AHMED

Mar
31

Last spring, literacy coach Sonja Wright and I participated in a virtual book study with several teachers in ASD-W on Being the Change by Sara K. Ahmed.

While this book focuses primarily on building personal identity, awareness, and classroom community, it does so through a wide variety of literacy activities that span all strands our English Language Arts curriculum.

Ahmed organizes the text through a collection of 6 chapters beginning first with personal identity and then moving outward to understand the acts of listening, being candid, informed, as well as personal responsibility. The book ends with the process of working together. Each chapter provides real world classroom activities curated by Ahmed illustrating possible discussions, teacher samples (anchor charts), student work, and recommended literacy “stacks” to engage students with each big idea.

Lessons and activities allow for multiple literacy connections; from the implementation of a writer’s notebook, and personal reflections through quick writes, use of mentor texts for poetry writing, opportunities for speaking and listening with think-pair-share activities and multiple inquiry activities . This list does not begin to scratch the surface of the possible literacy learnings that could arise when implementing Ahmed’s strategies.

In conclusion, I can not recall a professional resource that I have read recently that offers more meaningful and authentic classroom learning connections for students and teachers. To find out more about Sara K. Ahmed and Being the Change click here.

 

 

 

 

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Being the Change Week 3

Jul
16

This is the third week of #CyberPD and the focus is on Chapters 5 and 6 of Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension by Sara K. Ahmed.  You can read my previous #CyberPD reflections here and here.

Chapter 5 is about Finding Humanity in Ourselves and Others.  We are reminded that it is critical to recognize that “the social constructs under which we live can lead us to classify, label with symbols, and eventually dehumanize individuals and groups (p. 101).”  Sara suggests two important steps to counteract the resultant othering:

  • We fight these destructive forces by finding and examining our humanity first.
  • While we are working to build kids’ capacity for empathy, we can honor how they see the world.

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Being the Change Week 2

Jul
09

This is Week 2 of #CyberPD and we are reading and sharing our thinking about Chapters 3 and 4 of Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension by Sara K. Ahmed.  You can read last week’s post here.

Chapter 3 focuses on Being Candid and we are reminded that “candor requires a self-awareness and sincerity that isn’t always easy and doesn’t always feel good in the moment (p. 42).”  As in the previous chapters, the lessons, Seeing Our Own Bias, Understanding Microaggressions, and Refusing to Let Others’ Biases Define Us, set the stage for honest dialogue and reflection.  Because this can be emotional and challenging work, Sara offers strategies from her own experiences:

  • Share personal stories.
  • Pause and be present.
  • Honor each student’s identity.
  • Unpack terms in context.
  • Try this work yourself first.

I’ve been reflecting on the inquiry-based nature of this work.  When we start with the lived experiences of participants, both teacher and students, we are able to identify, name, and understand our experiences as a community of learners.  When Sara begins a lesson by asking, “Has anyone heard or seen this word before?” she is sending the message that the audience has important ideas to share and that she values their contributions to the learning.  This is a small but powerful shift away from centering the voice of an “expert” in the dialogue by defining the term for the group. (more…)

Literacy Reflections , , 2 Comments

Being the Change

Jul
04

This summer I am participating in #CyberPD, a community of learners who are gathering virtually to read Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension by Sara K. Ahmed.  Many thanks to Cathy Mere (@CathyMere) and Michelle Nero (@litlearningzone) for organizing this learning opportunity.

In the Introduction to Being the Change, Sara Ahmed provides this context:

“This book is based on the idea that we can develop skills and habits to help us comprehend social issues and participate in relevant, transparent conversations.  Social comprehension, like academic comprehension, is how we make meaning from and mediate our relationship with the world.  We understand that the meaning making, or socialization, is learned, not inherited (p. xxv).”

She offers a few guiding principles for creating safe spaces where this kind of work can happen:

  • Do the Work Yourself First—and Often
  • Keep the Focus on the Kids, Not on You
  • Consider How You See Your Kids
  • Be OK with Silence and Discomfort (aka, Don’t “Save” Every Moment)
  • Decenter Your Normal
  • Enter with Humility
  • Remember that Progress Takes Time Effort, and Heart Work

I’ve been reflecting on these guiding principles and identifying the ones that come easily to me versus those that require more intention. Many of these principles challenge me to be more aware of the language I use and recognize that my language derives from the lens through which I see the world.  Does my language reveal my inherent biases and beliefs? Am I unintentionally centering my world view and marginalizing those whose experiences are different?

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Literacy Reflections , , 2 Comments