Annotated Bibliography

Green Spaces at School

It often occurs me just how weird it is that western culture makes such a deliberate, harsh division between what is Natural and what is Human. Of course, we have a bunch of dead white guys to thank for this (Descartes, Hobbes and Aquinas to name a few). [Hu]man's supremacy over the natural world went more or less uncontested by the western hegemony for a significant amount of time. Placing the natural (the garden) into an intellectual space is therefore a revolutionary counter-cultural practice. Beyond all of the physiological benefits we know green spaces provide, gardens in schools represent a paradigm shift in the way we think about our world. I personally believe that this is a critical movement towards environmental responsibility that we must continue. One of the things that struck me about the reading was the number of times students listed "slowing down" as a benefit to the gardening space. The students we will teach have all grown up in a world where time is ...

Teaching is a Lifestyle

The idea of wholeheartedness in this article really speaks to me. Living in a society so caught up in effectiveness and time-management, it can be difficult to see the value of taking extra time to meet the needs of our students at the margins . Societal values of getting the most reward from the least effort run seem contrary to these extra steps. This balancing act of limited time, resources and energy is ubiquitous and eternal. We will never be able to reach every student or accomplish every goal. But, in my experience, the practice of reflection makes me better prepared not only to make these tough choices but also to intuit and predict the possible outcomes . The more I make observations, think critically about myself and my practice, and implement changes, the better I become at observing, thinking critically and implementing change. On a more fundamental level, being wholehearted resonates with my personal values and my identity. I am the kind of person who becomes e...

Why Can't Students Say No?

6 Weeks Ago Understanding and respecting consent is one of the fundamental necessities for human interaction. And yet, we have a societal tendency to undermine or ignore children's boundaries both inside and outside the classroom. Sometimes, when the child's safety is a concern, an adult must intervene. But how much do we ignore student consent in order to accomplish our goals? My interest in this area is finding out how these actions impact students' ability to learn. Moreover, how to we healthily and helpfully incorporate non-coercive practice into the classroom? How do we balance student comfort and the learning goals? Of the three topics I've been considering, the role of consent in our lives is something I return to again and again. It seems bizarre to me that something so fundamentally expected in adulthood is so frequently ignored in our interactions with children. My mind buzzes with questions and contradictions. How do we teach our students about consent in a...

Stefanie Asks Questions

Search This Blog