#i hope i get socio emotional learning preparation too

[the-mind-of-a-teacher-to-be]

Martes 17 de Octubre, 2023

Day 9

I can’t believe it has passed 9 days of school observation already. Everything has happened so fast! and I’m still processing what I have been able to experience in the school.

about my day…

This Tuesday our head teacher came back from her medical leave, feeling better than ever.

In comparison to her previous lesson, this time she seemed very reluctant and energized to direct her class.

Before starting, she made sure to ask every student <one by one>, how they were feeling, to test the waters…

And well, as you can expect… inside the classroom we can find different type of students. Some can be very interest in the lesson, some others are not very focused, and some don’t even bother to show a bit of interest on the class; and I been able to observe each kind.

Although it’s still difficult for me to find a way to approach those so called “difficult students”, I’m interested in getting to know what’s behind their attitude. Perhaps, they just need someone to talk to or a space in which they can feel some peace - who knows? - I wish I could get to know more about their backgrounds, but that seems not possible since I’m not legally working for the school.

Agh! Sometimes I wish I could do more than what I’m able to. The most I’m allowed to do is to ask if they’re okay, and from that, see if they’re comfortable sharing their thoughts. If they’re not, I’ll just go, but if they are willing to express their concerns I’ll be very happy to listen. However, I know that that’s not an usual situation inside the classroom. From what I have seen, students often have an attitude whenever they don’t feel okay. They have a tendency to not be very expressive with their emotions and prefer to be quiet at the back of the classroom.

Sometimes I wonder what’s on their minds.

Maybe there’s a need of socio emotional learning.

Not only because of those situations, but because it could be a useful tool to cope with demanding situations that students might go through in their lives.

— (i just noticed I wondered too much that I lost my first idea, I’m sorry, reader) —

… after doing that, she started the lesson by asking her students if they remember what they saw on their last class (which was weeks ago though) and they clearly said no, so she started to recall the content seen in order to refresh their minds.

Then she showed a ppt and started to explain it.

What caught my attention the most was the selection of the vocabulary. She putted 20 new words for students’ to learn on it, that were connected with a video.

Then, the students had to do a vocabulary activity with the words they learned and, in here, we (our group) have to intervene in order to help the students who were a little bit confused by the amount and difficulty or the words selected.

Regarding this point, what I was able to evidence was that students get usually confused by non-cognates. However, I’m not stating that cognates are easy for them because that’s not true, but students were able to suppose what they meant in Spanish by guessing.

Now, in regards of the vocabulary selected I was very concerned, too because of the selection of words because there was no connection.

For example: there was the word

Hater - Work of art - Make feel - Own

(These were taken from a video of Lana Del Rey, but in my perspective, they were very difficult for students to understand because her level of English is obviously very high in comparison to the proficiency level of students)

I’m NOT saying they are not capable of learning them. What I’m trying to say it’s that the material selected might not be the most appropriate thing to apply in relation to the actual level of English of the students.

Learners feel unmotivated when they notice they don’t understand, and we don’t want that.

However, the class went by and we help the students finish their work.

Then we had our break and here, we asked the Math teacher if we could go to his classes and he said that he was going to make students work in a worksheet and he didn’t need help (I was a little bit upset about this), but at least we had some time to eat peacefully.

Then we went to the last class of the day, and then we went home.

That’s it for that day

[livinginlandmarketing]

Anxiety swept over Tameka Ragland the other day when she let her teenage daughter visit the mall for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic changed social habits.

“I felt I was letting her back out into the world,” the Highland mother said.

A similar feeling awaits Ragland Monday, Aug. 2, when her 15-year-old begins her sophomore year of high school in San Bernardino.

“I’ll be very honest,” she said, “my daughter is an only child, so releasing her out into the big wide world is kind of scary for me. As much as I wanted her to have a great introductory high school experience, this last year allowed me to guide her into high school. …

“But I think it’s necessary for kids to go back,” Ragland said. “It’s an accomplishment for her to be in high school and survive the pandemic. I’m very excited for her.”

Some school districts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties will resume in-person instruction in August for the first time in a year and a half. Schools closed March 13, 2020, and students went home to quarantine and later transition to distance learning. While some districts elected to return to campuses late in the 2020-21 school year with safety measures in place, others opted to stay virtual for the entire school year.

Over the summer, in anticipation of a landmark first day, school districts in Moreno Valley, Rialto and San Bernardino overhauled dozens of elementary, middle and high school campuses to provide safe environments for returning students, teachers, administrators and staff.

When the school year begins, all students and teachers will wear masks indoors, per state guidelines.

“As a caring community of educators,” Rialto Unified Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila said, “our district is ready to welcome our resilient students to safe and engaging learning environments.”

Beyond physical and aesthetic improvements, Inland school districts have gone to great lengths to help campus leaders identify and address behavioral or learning issues that arise with students making their return to the classroom after an unprecedented school year.

Vince Rice, a carpenter with the San Bernardino City Unified School District maintenance and operations department, moves a hand sanitation station and an industrial air purifier into a classroom at Holcomb Elementary in San Bernardino on Thursday, July 22, 2021, as the district prepare for students to return to campus for the first time in nearly 18 months. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

“There’s a part of me that’s excited and definitely happy to be back on campus for my final year,” said Aashish Palikhey, a senior-to-be at Vista Del Lago High School in Moreno Valley. “But there’s also a lot of uncertainty. How will people interact with each other after being apart for so long? What will the environment be?

“I’m hopeful, with things getting back to some kind of normal. I feel it’s going to be a great year.”

Easing back

While most students in San Bernardino and Moreno Valley will set foot on campus for the first time since March 2020, thousands of parents enrolled their children in summer school to recalibrate after more than a year away.

All 40 Moreno Valley Unified campuses offered a summer program, Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora said, drawing about 9,000 kids, or one-third of the district’s student population.

Related links

Here’s how cities in San Bernardino County are handling coronavirus

San Bernardino schools to continue distance learning amid coronavirus pandemic

Riverside County elementary schools cleared to reopen

“We’ve never had that big of a summer program before,” Kedziora said.

San Bernardino City Unified also offered an expansive summer program.

Jessica Ragland, an eighth-grader the last time she was in a classroom, went to Middle College High in San Bernardino five days a week this summer, and after spending her freshman year learning from home, said she found it easier to pay attention, participate in discussions and interact with teachers in person.

“It was way easier to understand the material, too,” she said.

Small class sizes in the summer provided Moreno Valley students an intimate setting to reacclimate with the classroom environment and reconnect with teachers, administrators, counselors and principals, Kedziora said.

Over the next several days, Moreno Valley Unified has a handful of social events planned for families to connect with one another and with district representatives ahead of the first day of school.

With a similar goal in mind, San Bernardino City Unified held a Back-to-School Extravaganza last week at San Manuel Stadium.

“We’re doing a lot to encourage and develop interest in returning, to show we care about people and to make sure we’re present and available to answer questions and support people,” Kedziora said. “These big initiatives, we hope, help students and parents feel comfortable coming back to campus.”

Important first weeks

As students return to once-familiar – or, in the case of incoming kindergarteners and first-graders, brand new – classroom settings, San Bernardino educators will focus on social and emotional learning during the first few weeks of the new school year, said Rachel Monárrez, the district’s deputy superintendent.

This fall, teachers are encouraged to check in on students as they adjust to being around others again. Classroom exercises such as community circles and group activities should help reestablish camaraderie and comfort among classmates, Monárrez said.

“We also have support for our teachers and all of our staff to make sure they’re in a good place, because they have their own families and their own challenges,” Monárrez added. “We’re all coming out of a very different time in society, in life, and we’re thinking about that.”

Across the region, myriad mental health and wellness services will be available to new and returning students.

Every Rialto Unified school site, for example, will implement a Social Emotional Learning program to support students as they return to social settings, Avila said. Furthermore, trainings on restorative- and trauma-informed practices are available for staff to provide children and families the socio-emotional support they need.

The district’s “Culture of Welcome,” Avila said, will offer students and campus staff a healthy and supportive environment.

Elsewhere, Moreno Valley Unified added dozens of new counselors over the summer, so every elementary school has one, every middle school has three and every high school has seven, Kedziora said. Additionally, the district will have two full-time social workers to address family concerns and social issues within the community.

San Bernardino school staffers have been trained on youth mental first aid, Monárrez said, which should help them identify behavior in students that indicate potential mental health needs.

An internal district team is available to provide deeper mental health therapy.

“The better the adults are,” Monárrez said, “then they can serve the children at an even higher level than what we already do.”

First day festivities

Traditionally, Moreno Valley educators and administrators dress up as superheroes and visit campuses on the first day of school.

Kedziora, in his fifth year as superintendent, plans to don Captain America garb when students return Aug. 11.

Festive and welcoming environments await new and returning students across the region, and parents have been encouraged to take as long as they need to make sure their children feel comfortable in them, Kedziora said.

The superintendent anticipates more parents walking children to class than in previous years.

“It’s going to take time and energy and thoughtfulness and caring,” Kedziora said, “because different people feel differently depending on the news that day or whatever is happening in the world at that time.”

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San Bernardino City Unified welcomes students back Monday, Aug. 2, a day long circled on the academic calendar.

“We’ve spent, truly, a year and a half getting ready for this day,” Monárrez said. “We’re very confident, not that things will go perfectly, that’s not possible, but that we will be ready to welcome our scholars back with open arms.

“Our staff is ready and we will make those necessary adjustment along the way so they and our scholars are safe and they’re learning.”

-on July 30, 2021 at 05:30AM by Brian Whitehead

[supertam87]

Ok guys, I think I can finally wrap my brain around this enough to give a coherent recap. I'm a processor, so I had to live it in the moment, and now that I'm on the plane leaving the experience behind, hopefully I can make sense of it. I posted pictures in order of event. Sorry I can't write in between each pic, but I'm on my iPhone and it won't let me add pics as I go. Anyway, to get on with it... I started my epic adventure with a 4 hour layover in San Francisco which isn't as bad as it might seem, because I've been married for 25 years and have 4 kids and rarely get to be alone! Let the adventure begin. I roomed with the amazing @sileas84 who is 100% responsible for me attending this con. She employed shameless peer pressure and I crumpled like a card tower in the hands of a toddler. I have no regrets. We arrived at the con at 6:30 am and immediately met up with a group of awesome women (in picture two - this is @myguiltyolpleasure's pic btw). We were determined to be up close. FIVE HOURS OF WAITING later, we sat on row 5 center and I was thrilled. I was really hoping for a good view. And boy did I get one! Sam twirled in that kilt and I didn't even try to look, his knickers presented themselves to me! Simple black boxer-briefs - always a classy choice 😂. For most of the panel I could see right up his thigh just because of the way he was sitting in relation to where I was sitting. It's not that I looked, it's just that it was thigh porn and I totally looked. At one point we were directed to take a selfie, so we did. (Pic 3) If there's one thing I can tell you about this particular con, it's that it was all about obedience. I have never been yelled at by adult strangers so many times in one day since I was a pre-teen. If you stepped out of line, and I mean that literally and figuratively, you heard about it. I won't talk about the panel because all y'all have seen it. It was fun, they were adorable and I love them. The hour flew by and I could have sat there and listened to them for the rest of the day. Sam's unintentional joke about reading about stuff on Tumblr cracked me up, mostly because he was mortified and blushed. After the panel the autograph session filled up immediately, so we went to get lunch. Ladies, I got up at 4:30am. It was 12:30. I was starving, parched, desperate to pee - cons are not for the weaklings of the herd. That Diet Coke was on par with meeting Sam. I'm just sayin'. Lunch was a tiny little respite in a sea of hurry up and wait. Following our brief lunch we did our photo ops. You need to understand, those two photos took 4 hours. Compare the photo with only Sam vs the photo with both and look at Sam's eyes. By the time we got to group photos, he was literally exhausted, yet he treated us exactly the same both times (as did Cait) - warm and welcoming, said hello, eye contact, a little squeeze of the hand on the shoulder (ded. I am ded) They were ultimately respectful of the fans and the time and money we put into this. Said thanks and goodbye as we left. I am so impressed with both their professionalism and their basic humanity. These are quality people. The solo photo op is where I had my hair/armpit incident. We walked up and Sam just throws his arms open to engulf you in his superior humanity. As he was putting his arm around me (did I REALLY just type that!) he caught my very long hair with his arm and I ended up being trapped right up against him with my head sort of forced to lay against his arm. I. Am. Not. Complaining. I'm stunned that I had the presence of mind to smile. All I could think of was that I was pressed up against Sam so tight that I could feel how soft the leather of his jacket was. I didn't even notice that he had changed from kilt to jeans until later. My first thought about Caitriona when she entered the panel stage is that no picture or video can ever prepare you for how tall and thin she really is. And how gorgeous and graceful she is. And how charming and funny and silly and well spoken and sincere and kind. Ok, I'll stop. Just look up all the positive adjectives. Next we went to the autograph line. I was there when the lights went out and Caitriona joked about that not being the way to get to Sam and also when he was jokey about being bored because he had no one at his station so he teased her about taking too long and went over to harass her at her table. They were funny and relaxed and enjoying themselves and it was great to see the spontaneous interaction. Every event was very rushed, but they again did their best to say hello, make eye contact, say a little something to you, and thank you for coming. I had them sign my original Outlander book that was given to me by a friend about twelve years ago, who said, "You might like this." Famous last words. As you can see, it's lived a good life. I've lent it out many times. I said at dinner last night that I was too nervous and hadn't really say anything to Caitriona, until I literally went oh my gosh! I did say something to Cait. I had totally blocked it in my nervous state. She commented on how well loved my book was, and I said 'yes, it's been read many times by many people and it opens right to the wedding scene' and then I proved it, by opening it right to that scene. So, yep. I did that. I blushed so hard my eyeballs turned red when I remembered that. Sam was equally adorable, but I just had 'do not say that to sam' on repeat so then I didn't really know what to say to him. He was so sweet. His handler was rushing him a little bit and he sort of looked at him and then apologized to me for being rushed along. He looked me right in the eyes. He winked at me and smiled. Ladies, the smolder is real. I was POSITIVE I was immune to the Sam effect and I am NOT. I literally went weak at the knees. My stomach churned. I started shaking. I giggled. I could not think. Well, I could. But the only thing I could think was 'Sam. Sam winked at me. Sam's eyes are so blue. Sam is so beautiful. Sam. Sam winked at me.' My brain sort of jammed. After dinner a huge group (like 17) of us went to dinner. It was awesome. It was amazing. These ladies are incredible. Our fandom is incredible. Last night we went to a smaller dinner and stayed for hours. I can't tell you how hard we laughed. It was so much fun. I seriously love this place for so much more than Tumblr. We are such a diverse group. Different cultures, different educational and socio-economic backgrounds, different personal and relationship statuses, and most importantly, different ages. We have so much to teach each other and so much to learn, and as a group, we are so generous with our time, talents, resources, emotional support and wisdom. I treasure this. I am so grateful I went. I loved meeting Sam and Caitriona. It was great fun. Meeting dear friends who will remain forever was life changing. I look forward to doing this again one day and meeting even more of you. Sorry I bombarded you with a DG length post, but thanks for making it through. All I can finish with is if you didn't leave with a Totes McGoat tote, then you didn't con right!!

[joneswilliam72]

What I learned at Eurosonic 2019

Once a year, a parallel universe that only exists ephemerally for three to four days sees the European music industry gathering in a seemingly unsuspicious Dutch town. That phenomenon is called Eurosonic.

Primarily seen as a networking battlefield for press, labels, PRs, managers, bookers, and every other weird creature attempting to feed off this demanding, sometimes even ungrateful lover that is the music business, the three-day festival is held in Groningen, a student city very close to Denmark — something you'll literally feel in your bones if you don't come properly equipped — that in mid-January is massively invaded by this strange yet adaptable fauna.

The format of the festival, which roughly consists of multiple showcases across an impressive number of venues, might be reminiscent of the likes of SXSW, but the secret weapon of Eurosonic (and what ultimately distinguishes it from similar events) is this amazing convergence of a multitude of languages, nationalities, and cultural references that inevitability make you reflect on what it means to be "European" — especially in this day and age of paradoxes that juxtapose hermetic nationalism with a growing transversal tolerance.

The focus is obviously the music, and with a massive number of bookers coming to do their shopping at Eurosonic, it also works as a preview of the upcoming festival season both act and trend-wise. As this was my first time at the event I tended to see the whole thing as a socio-anthropological study of sorts, and through a highly scientific method of (nearly) neutral observation, I seem to have reached a couple of primary conclusions about this fascinating ecosystem. Here's what I learned:

Pip Blom by Jorn Baars

- You can easily tell some of the stuff you'll be seeing a lot in the next festival line-ups: Fontaines D.C. are going to be huge and you'll hear about them everywhere. Boy Azooga are also part of The Next Big Hype™, as are Pip Blom and Black Midi.

- Some artists you were excited to see live will disappoint you and others you actually bumped into by accident will become instant crushes, which in spite of being a natural consequence of any live music festival is more deeply felt at Eurosonic.

- There will be sets whose music will hit a bit too close to home: I cried twice, at Michelle Davis & the Gospel Sessions and at Kompromat. I was sober(ish) on both occasions.

- Three pairs of socks is definitely the way to go. It's gonna get very cold and humid so prepare to feel like you're wet all the fucking time (not in a sexual or comfortable way).

- You'll inevitably end up missing some acts from your list due to physical needs alone: I had to give up on seeing Gurr (even if I caught a bit of their afternoon set at Martinikerk) because I desperately had to eat and was too far from the venue. No use crying over these decisions, you have to stand by them. So in a way Eurosonic is also a crash course on how to deal with music FOMO.

Gurr by Jorn Baars

- Ireland always seems to bring a group of incredibly eclectic, melody-driven acts weirdly non-proportional to the country's relatively bite-size area — no wonder they've won Eurovision so many times. My selection included a force of nature called Vulpynes, the feel-good Celtic-driven vocal harmonies of Pillow Queens, and of course Fontaines D.C. who I was unfortunately unable to see due to the ridiculously huge queue.

- Depending on your personal preferences and the way you craft your schedule, it can be both physically and mentally exhausting at times: you jump from bright, uplifting things directly to overwhelmingly downward-spiral ones, and the emotional rollercoaster can feel emotionally draining: going from Alessio Bondi's ray of sunshine vibe to Free Love's in-your-face energy was like temperature shock.

- You'll be checking stuff out due to their name alone: I kicked off day one with a band from Belarus called Weed & Dolphins who play a fun-paced Soviet stoner and regret nothing about my decision.

- Some acts will send you back in time for half an hour. That was the case of The Grand East, one of the many Dutch bands making a Eurosonic comeback, who built an ephemeral time machine to the 70s "I Am A Golden God" era, or personal favourite Juniore that brought massive 60s French surf vibes in their valise.

Juniore by Jorn Baars

- You might feel old at times when faced with some of the young performers' professionalism and maturity. Icelandic Kaelan Mikla look and sound like they've been doing this for twenty years and they're barely out of puberty. Seeing such a young band this tight and shit-serious about their métier definitely of gives you hope for the future.

- Afterparties have an organic way of imposing themselves on you: they will never happen the way you planned them to, and the best ones are those you suddenly find yourself at four in the morning, not quite remembering where you are or who brought you there. You must accept that it is so.

- Genuine fusion is replacing careless cultural appropriation throughout, with musicians respectfully recovering their own roots to reflect these uncannily global times we're living in: Portuguese Scúru Fitchádu mixes punk and metal with Cape Verdean funaná while Swiss duo Cyril Cyril delve deep into the singer's Lebanese ascent to bring an Eastern flavour to their psych melodies.

Cyril Cyril by Bart Heemskerk

- Some of the best acts are the least consensual ones: Le Villejuif Underground played the late night slot at the legendary Vera and dragged a very impressive crowd, but most of the people I talked to after the show either loved it or hated it. From my experience, it's always a good sign whenever a band is this divisive; I personally loved the Primal Scream's Screamadelica vibes and would be up for more in a second.

- But as every rule has its exception, the opposite also happens. Any Other's set at Vera was one of the festival highlights and a name everyone kept dropping throughout the evening (and over the following days). Although she has been frequently compared to Joni Mitchell and other folk singer-songwriters of the like, Adele Nigro is an artist in her own right and not a cheap wannabe pastiche. You'll be seeing her name everywhere soon enough as it's fairly obvious she'll be featured on major festival line-ups everywhere.

- You won't be sleeping much, so try to eat, stay hydrated, and rest whenever you can. The lack of sleep associated to the overwhelming number of concerts happening literally EVERYWHERE across town will contribute to the hallucination feeling you'll experience when you finally get home.

- Even if some things don't go according to plan (after all, does anything ever?) you'll be forever thankful for having taken part in such experience, and will vow to return the following year. With even warmer socks and possibly thermic underwear.

Yes, of course I gathered every artist I mention here in a single playlist so you don't have to. You can explore the full Eurosonic 2019 line-up over at esns.nl.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2RaWnWq

[integralshock]

Resilience is the new buzzword in education

Resilience is the new buzzword in education. Everywhere schools are being told to focus on building this character skill – and to value character skills – just as much as they would with academic skills. And of course this skill is monumentally important, particularly when you take into consideration the unstable time we’re living in.

For kids to thrive in a world where they’re not certain what’s going to happen due to climate instability, a lack of job security and a fast changing workforce, they’re going to need to have grit and resilience to cope. This will both help with their mental wellbeing in school and out in the world, but also will help them to persevere for the life and career they really want to achieve.

As Alistair Smith, director of Education at Frog, told us ‘Young people are going to have to be immensely resilient, what people describe as having grit, they’ll need to be positive in order to bounce back from setbacks. For example, I was speaking to the director of Les Misérables (...) They have 2000 applications each year for thirty-two places. They interviewed and auditioned 400 and they then take a handful of people. He was saying that the young people he comes across need to be prepared for a life of setbacks and be able to deal with it. So it is personal qualities and attributes that are going to be really important.’

A future of stark competition means that knowledge and ability aren’t the only judging factors in a tough workplace. Character traits are becoming increasingly important and realistically, you’re going to have to be resilient in order to not just cope but thrive in the future. Because not only are these skills vital for careers, they’re part of what it is to be a global citizen, as Allan Kjaer Andersen, Principal of Ørestad Gymnasium in Copenhagen, explains, ‘In order to be a global citizen you have to have empathy and believe in yourself, have resilience and things like that. So we think these skills are just as important as the traditional subject skills.’

But how do you teach skills like resiliency, which tend to come naturally through real-life events? Skills like empathy, resilience and compassion – character skills – are taught through social and emotional learning, something which happens naturally in our day-to-day lives. However you can make sure kids develop these skills and there are examples all over the world where schools and teachers have built their own socio-emotional learning curriculums.

A future of stark competition means that knowledge and ability aren’t the only judging factors in a tough workplace. Character traits are becoming increasingly important and realistically, you’re going to have to be resilient in order to not just cope but thrive in the future.

There are many different ways to include social and emotional learning in schools but one of the best ways is to tap into children’s already established interests. In the Mutt-i-grees project they make use of children’s natural interest in pets and animals, and use dogs to promote children’s social and emotional competence.

The Mutt-i-grees curriculum is focused on equipping children with the skills they need to face the stresses of life, to be self-aware and to understand the social world around them. Animals, particularly dogs, can be a great way to introduce these concepts to children and to help them start to establish the skills they need to thrive. Mutt-i-grees already have 4,000 schools using their programme which just goes to show how this simple idea can have a big effect.

The Forest School movement similarly focuses on building children’s characters and enables this to happen by handing over autonomy to the children and allowing them to explore and discover for themselves. Longworth Forest School in New Zealand, incorporates the forest school approach by holding three sessions a week. By focusing on allowing children a carefully considered amount of risk and challenge, to experience problem-solving and be enterprising at every child’s own pace means that Longworth Forest’s students get to build on their characters, including increasing their resiliency.

Not only does giving children a level of independence and an experience of risk allow them to grow up being resilient, but again being in nature (as with being with animals) allows them to explore relationships. In the forest school approach children build relationships with nature, learning to care for it, and in doing so learn to care for themselves and others. Longworth Forest School focuses their programme on encouraging children to be curious, self-sufficient and resilient – skills which will stand them in good stead at every juncture in life.

And then there are the educators who have designed their whole school to focus on social and emotional learning, such as Geelong Grammar School in Australia. Geelong Grammar puts wellbeing at the heart of their educational programme and believe it is a school’s responsibility to teach important skills such as resilience and positive emotions.

It’s not always that easy to implement these bigger ideas into school, so what can be done if you’re a lone teacher who’s trying to make sure your students are building resiliency skills or a parent who’d like to encourage these strengths in their children? By exposing young people to different types of stories you can help to encourage all kinds of character skills, including resiliency. The Global Oneness Project in particular focuses on exposing children to a chorus of voices, challenging stereotypes and helping children to build on their empathy, compassion and resilience.

The stories tackle the huge issues facing the world today from climate change to immigration to racist stereotyping. Their stories, accompanied by lesson plans, take on universal themes which highlight our common humanity including identity, diversity, hope, resilience, imagination, adversity, empathy, love, and responsibility, helping to inspire in students the same character traits.

By valuing a child’s community (especially if their community is often viewed negatively) we can help to motivate children who otherwise might not continue in education.

Of course not everyone needs to be taught these attributes. Some children, such as those who have had difficult upbringings or whose families are in unstable circumstances may have had exposure to situations that could develop resilience. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t include these children in the conversation – in fact it could do them the world of good to highlight how great it is that they already have these skills.

Dr Victor Rios, creator of GRIT (Generating Resilience to Inspire Transformation), gave an emotive TED talk discussing how educators need to re-frame ‘at-risk’ kids into ‘at-promise’ ones. He describes how his own teacher pointed out to him that he already had resilience, grit and a hard-work ethic, installed in him by his community and upbringing because he grew up in poverty, and that meant that he already had skills that would be vital to his educational career.

By valuing a child’s community (especially if their community is often viewed negatively) we can help to motivate children who otherwise might not continue in education. It is important to include these communities in education and show demotivated students that they are valued and important just as they are.

The Green Bronx Machine is an example of how a school initiative that works to increase resiliency skills can also benefit the socially disadvantaged community it serves. Green Bronx Machine is a whole school initiative set up by teacher Stephen Ritz, where students learn to grow, cook and eat vegetables in the indoor teaching garden – a converted formerly disused library. Other areas of education at the school are similarly hands-on, with a lot of classes taking place outside, creating a rich learning environment.

The school has shown that healthy students equals higher attainment, with students losing weight, consuming less sugar and building vital skills including resilience and positivity towards school. This empowerment isn’t limited to the students however but is extended to their families and communities too who get to benefit from the produce the students grow – helping to create a healthier community. This is particularly impressive as the Bronx is the least healthy county in New York State.

Resiliency isn’t a standard academic subject and as such can be dismissed as a ‘soft skill’ which cannot be taught, but this is entirely incorrect. These ‘soft skills’ – character, resilience, compassion, empathy – have big consequences on a child’s life. These skills not only help learners to do well in school, but can have lasting impacts on their careers and relationships too. Being resilient is no longer something that should be seen as a personal character trait that not everyone has, it needs to be on every school’s agenda and in every child’s locker so that they can call on it whenever they need to in the tumultuous times ahead.

Originally published in HundrED.org

Image by Davide Ragusa

[victoriareiscv]

The Key for Humanity

  by Victoria Reis 

Someone once told me “to get a better understanding of the world you must go out there. And have an insatiable desire to learn from new people. Just go travel around the globe. You must always explore new places and meet new cultures. Because the only way you can grow is exploring the unknown. By cultivating your roots and giving yourself the wings you’ll need to overcome whatever mountain you may find.” This is something that I strongly believe in, especially as I too craved to travel and I was lucky enough to have parents to help me do so. I still remember the day I left for my year abroad in the United States. Believe me, the cold air and the practical people of Michigan were almost the opposite of Rio de Janeiro’s chaotic and overhead urban life. It was hard at first, especially due to the language barrier, but it was more than just new words. The way in which people talked, the accent, the fashion, the diet, their gestures (which are so much different from home) and how they express themselves. This is what made me realize that language is much more than just words in a dictionary. I was also there to meet these people, explore the neighborhood and how everything works in their world. Having already been exposed to Western society; movies, music, junk food and stereotypical Americans, I thought I already knew a lot about ‘Uncle Sam’s’ culture. I wasn’t all wrong, but as time passed me by I realized that it had much more to it. I was living with an American family in my senior year, learning how life works in Michigan. It taught me what Americans think of the world and why they think that way. I tried my best to truly understand the United States view, their traditions and behavior. At least in Belding city that's slowly became my second home. Speaking English was just the first step. The experience changed my life, and made me grow as a person. It changed my view of the USA, its culture and made me respect their different opinions. Now imagine how great it would be if I had the chance to learn more about this country, to learn new languages and to expand my mind to appreciate other views of the world. Imagine how the world would be if at least half of the world thought like this. Imagine if more people had this curiosity and were open in that way. Learning a new language is the result of having the desire to know the places where it is spoken. When you are open to learn about other lifestyles and to understand why it is that way, you start to respect and value diversity. My point is: when you respect others in that way, they will respect you back. Also, you can show how your own culture works. This exchange is the most important part. Everybody wins. From this you will see that despite from all the diversity, people of the world actually have a lot in common. We feel love, and we are driven by this emotion. We care about others, even when we try not to. We hope for a better future not only for ourselves. We all desire world peace, it’s a cliché, but we do. We expect people to be good. We feel guilty about the bad things we do and we wish we could change some things from the past. We dream that humanity can do better. It doesn’t matter which country you are from, you are still one of us. Therefore, if we try to understand and respect each other and if we try to put ourselves in others people’s place, we’ll see that we have a lot in common. We must understand that no-one should be judged, because actually no-one is superior to do such a thing. Ethnocentrism should be considered old fashion and an outrage for human intelligence. Getting over this superficial emotion and point of view could help improve the global socio-environment. Not only could it help with regards to relationships between citizens, but also the relationship between nations. It’s no news that the world needs compassion and respect. Walls are being built to separate people. Nations are closing doors for families who are running away from war. Children are drowning by crossing an ocean to escape from the horrors and death of their land. People are dying for believing in other Gods. Religion continues to be an excuse for war. People are judged by the color of their skin. People earn less money for being of a certain gender. People are prohibited to get married because of who they love. People divert public money meant for public education and health to their own pocket while schools are being closed and people are dying in front of hospitals with no health insurance. Human trafficking still exists and happens more often than you could imagine. Even slavery exists and in some cases is permitted by law. While man is preparing to go to Mars and discover new planets in faraway galaxies, kids all over the globe are dying of hunger and thirst. Terrorist attacks are becoming regular news. In the 21st century people still don’t know the meaning of democracy and freedom. Women around the world are beaten by their own partner. Genital mutilation is happening to girls when they reach puberty. Arranged marriages between men of forty years old and girls of twelve years of age are still common in some cultures. Multinationals use slave labor whilst they become millionaires. The issue is that people sometimes prefer close their eyes to all these problems so that they can live in peace in their small and particular world. I haven’t even started to talk about the relationship between humans and nature. It’s a global mess. No one can argue about it. There is no right answer for all these problems. And it’s completely understandable for some people to say that it’s not their problem. However I’m the kind of person who believes this planet is our home and we should do something to improve the situation. Otherwise, who will? In some cases the answer is simpler than we could imagine. The truth is the world lacks empathy and fails to be sensitive to others. We are unable to put ourselves in other people’s place and try to imagine how they would feel. It’s what the world needs to experience more often. If people look for each other more often, if we forget about all the differences and focus on what makes us equal, we could see some improvement. Maybe if we try a bit harder to understand the views of other people and why they act the way they do. If we stop for minute to see that everyone needs some kind of help and no one won the true? If we are able to recognize that diversity is an extraordinary quality of human-kind, we could make this planet a better place for everyone. This is a utopian idea but there is something so beautiful about dreaming when you are awake, dreaming about a better present that could be possible. An idea is everything you need to change the world, if you have the courage and the perseverance to make it real. So here is my suggestion: focus on doing better. Be realistic now, as there is no way to change the world in just a few years. It’s a long and difficult process. Since knowledge has always been the key to progression it’s prudent to say that every investment for the future starts at education (public education to be more specific). When kids have ideas of uniting instead of dividing, and to be always tolerant and respectful, the next generation will be better and so on and so forth. This would create a virtuous cycle of peace-makers, which is exactly what the world needs right now. Education means to spread the seed of progress, respect and tolerance around the globe. It’s about giving the best of human compassion for young kids without bringing any prejudice to the table. Kids don’t see being different as a bad thing. They look it with curious eyes and sometimes the smallest seed could surprise us with the biggest tree. My grandma once told me, “Never underestimate little actions”. Furthermore, when I say to invest in education I mean to invest in a wide range of multi-language learning, not just English and Spanish. Children should learn languages from all over the world. The purpose of this learning is to respect all cultures and embrace diversity while the individual is young. This kind of education is ethically important, and nothing could improve this knowledge more than exchange programs. One year of studying abroad is the same as years of learning in a classroom. As Lev Vygotsky said “The knowledge that doesn’t come from experience isn’t truly knowledge”. The meaning of globalization is to break down barriers, providing an international integration. A united world population that respects diversity. Exchange programs are meant to be not only for academic purposes; it’s mainly to promote globalization itself. Person by person, these exchanges help make the world a more accessible place. It creates unbreakable bonds and invisible bridges, helping to changes the perspectives of all those involved. The importance of language is often underestimated. When you learn a new language you can understand how the natives think. Each language has its own structure and vocabulary, sometimes with words that don’t have any translation. Therefore, a lot is lost in translation and you cannot understand how others think if you can’t understand how their language works. In response to this, all governments should promote cultural exchange programs, offering scholarships as well as encouraging private programs during high school and college. With this financial support and advertisement, a state or nation will be doing its part in international integration by promoting the exchange of knowledge. As I can tell, a lot is already being done in many countries. However, it’s not enough. Exchange programs, besides being motivated by curiosity and courage, are a cultural habit. So marketing should be addressed not only for the students but also to the families of said students. Also, in the majority of cases the information and opportunity of a scholarship aren’t given to poorer communities. What is it that makes exchange programs about social class and status? Furthermore, there is a preference for destination: USA, some European countries and, in some cases, Australia. What should be an integration of all cultures is now starting to be an affirmation of a prevailing culture. Improving what has already been done is simple, and if done right it will let us achieve positive results worldwide. It will spark children’s curiosity and open the eyes of parents, teachers and governors. This would be the right recipe to spread mutual respect across the world. We must share these values with all cultures and remind them that diversity and empathy must be in the agenda of all nations (at least in the educational system). I'm that kind of person who wants to change what displease me and others. Conflicts, prejudice, discrimination, ethnocentrism, neglect, hate and intolerance. It’s our duty to improve our current situation for the benefit of future generations. It’s our duty to invest in a better future and to globalize the movement of education for a better world. Shall we?

*** article produced as part of the 2017 Many Languages One World international essay contest