Thrive in Action Blog Series: Student Voice, GPS 5 - Critical Consciousness
The Thrive In Action blog series highlights practical applications for Great Pedagogy Strategies (GPS) within the EdConnective Thrive Framework, summarized here. The EdConnective Thrive Framework is unique in that it can be applied to teaching actions seamlessly whether learning is in-person or remote. This week we get more familiar with:
Student Voice, GPS 5 - Critical Consciousness: Teacher invests in increasing their own understanding of the historical & social context of students, their culture, and education through reading, reflection, and discussion with colleagues and students.
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Scroll through your newsfeed, turn on your TV or glance at your phone and you will inevitably see examples of the racial, religious, and gender oppression that continue to remain prevalent in our society. As students internalize the events of the world around them and grapple with their own place in society, it is imperative that teachers use Critical Consciousness to equip themselves and their students with the historical context, mindsets and skills to act against systems of inequality. By crafting learning experiences through the lens of Critical Consciousness, you can ensure that students recognize that oppression is created by people, that it can be changed and most importantly, that they can be a part of making that change. Facilitating conversations among adults and with students reinforces our collective responsibility to acknowledge and work to dismantle systems of oppression.
Before we can be prepared to effectively support the exploration of oppression for students, we must first engage in the process ourselves. One way to invest in increasing your understanding of the historical and social context of your school communities is through reading, reflection, and discussion. Pick a book from this antiracist teaching book list and prioritize self-care (and screen-free!) time for yourself to read every week. Start a journal where you can reflect on questions like:
What are my key takeaways from the reading?
What examples from my personal and professional life experiences make the key takeaways real and meaningful?
What are the implications of my learning on students, teaching, relationships with families, and other applications in the school and classroom?
In your work with students, first be intentional about creating a safe space for dialogue and reflection. Co-construct norms with students and facilitate reflection activities that mirror your own like journaling and small-group discussions. During these learning activities, explicitly teach the language of inequality. By identifying forms of oppression with labels and language, students are better able to recognize and challenge constructs of oppression. Finally, educate students on how to take action. Present them with examples of injustice that are relevant to their lives and allow them to explore the concept of active and strategic resistance. For example, you may choose a specific incident or system of oppression, and challenge students to plan to do something about it. While taking the steps to help bring students’ ideas to fruition would be incredibly impactful, what’s most important is that students have the ongoing opportunity to identify the active role that they can play in creating a better tomorrow.
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Download a summary of the EdConnective Thrive Framework here. EdConnective provides 1:1, personalized non-evaluative coaching to teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators, as well as small group coaching and large group training.