Perceptual -
Our sense of place is based on our own personal and emotional experiences. I asked my students what they felt was their sense of place and they all had a sense of place that related to something that they were familiar with and had a personal connection to. Their sense of place all had to do with where they were from or where they spent a majority of their time. My "lifers" (students who began school at Kamehameha from Kindergarden) school sense of place were each of the teacher's classrooms that they had. While my students that came from multiple schools saw each school as a different experience that formed their overall school sense of place.
Sociological -
When I discussed this sociological piece with my students, it was one that took a while to figure out what they were thinking. When I asked them to give me an idea that they went into something without having a full understanding of it and how it was changed. It was an overwhelming response in how they were scared when they found out that their new math teacher had once been a police officer. They were convinced that my class would be a dictatorship type of class and since I was teaching math, a subject that they consider not fun or easy, that made them even more nervous. After six weeks of class, they are beginning to see that Mathematics can be fun and that I am not the scary hard teacher they were anticipating. They are also starting to understand their role within the classroom as they complete their classroom jobs. I have everything from paper passers, mailbox stuffer, pencil sharpener, mailman, door opener, line leaders, to desk wipers, chair wipers, and table wipers. They each know that we are trying to build a place that they are comfortable in and this can only be done by working together as a collaborative unit.
Ideological -
One thing that my team has tried to instill into our students this year, is that we are all coming from the same place in our teaching philosophy. We all want them to succeed, to grow individually as students while getting a deeper understanding of their own personal school sense of place. It amuses me when they ask me a question and when not liking the given answer will go to another core teacher and how surprised they are to get the same answer across the board. They are only figuring out that we hold the same standards within each of our classrooms.
Ecological -
My classroom is its own ecosystem. The students are the living organism that relate one to another on a daily basis. We are constatnly trying to figure each other out so that our classroom will be able to work like a well oiled machine. Needless to say, we are not there yet. We are still in the adaptive stages of getting used to each other and knowing how far we can push each other without having a verbal lashout.
Political -
The students say that within the walls of my classroom it is my way or the highway. I'm not sure where they came up with this and why they originally thought this. After six weeks of school, they now know that my classroom is an open and safe environment where we come up with class rules together and that every member has a voice and that each of these voices are important.
Why does it matter?
That is a loaded question, but it comes down to the fact that as life-long learners each of us has a sense of place and we can relate to others sense of place on a daily basis. We are all intertwined and this unites our various sense of place. My students now know that when they are in the classroom of one of their core teachers that we all have the same mindset and set of rules that pertain to our classroom. They know that when they go to their Hawaiian Language class that they will have to oli to enter and wait for their permission to enter. The students are starting to understand that sense of place is more than where you are from. It is more than just your own ideas and personal experiences. Sense of place is a constantly changing and adaptive idea that unites the students to each other. I look forward to this year, where we will continue to learn and grow from each other. It's not the destination that matters, but this year will be all about the journey.
Our sense of place is based on our own personal and emotional experiences. I asked my students what they felt was their sense of place and they all had a sense of place that related to something that they were familiar with and had a personal connection to. Their sense of place all had to do with where they were from or where they spent a majority of their time. My "lifers" (students who began school at Kamehameha from Kindergarden) school sense of place were each of the teacher's classrooms that they had. While my students that came from multiple schools saw each school as a different experience that formed their overall school sense of place.
Sociological -
When I discussed this sociological piece with my students, it was one that took a while to figure out what they were thinking. When I asked them to give me an idea that they went into something without having a full understanding of it and how it was changed. It was an overwhelming response in how they were scared when they found out that their new math teacher had once been a police officer. They were convinced that my class would be a dictatorship type of class and since I was teaching math, a subject that they consider not fun or easy, that made them even more nervous. After six weeks of class, they are beginning to see that Mathematics can be fun and that I am not the scary hard teacher they were anticipating. They are also starting to understand their role within the classroom as they complete their classroom jobs. I have everything from paper passers, mailbox stuffer, pencil sharpener, mailman, door opener, line leaders, to desk wipers, chair wipers, and table wipers. They each know that we are trying to build a place that they are comfortable in and this can only be done by working together as a collaborative unit.
Ideological -
One thing that my team has tried to instill into our students this year, is that we are all coming from the same place in our teaching philosophy. We all want them to succeed, to grow individually as students while getting a deeper understanding of their own personal school sense of place. It amuses me when they ask me a question and when not liking the given answer will go to another core teacher and how surprised they are to get the same answer across the board. They are only figuring out that we hold the same standards within each of our classrooms.
Ecological -
My classroom is its own ecosystem. The students are the living organism that relate one to another on a daily basis. We are constatnly trying to figure each other out so that our classroom will be able to work like a well oiled machine. Needless to say, we are not there yet. We are still in the adaptive stages of getting used to each other and knowing how far we can push each other without having a verbal lashout.
Political -
The students say that within the walls of my classroom it is my way or the highway. I'm not sure where they came up with this and why they originally thought this. After six weeks of school, they now know that my classroom is an open and safe environment where we come up with class rules together and that every member has a voice and that each of these voices are important.
Why does it matter?
That is a loaded question, but it comes down to the fact that as life-long learners each of us has a sense of place and we can relate to others sense of place on a daily basis. We are all intertwined and this unites our various sense of place. My students now know that when they are in the classroom of one of their core teachers that we all have the same mindset and set of rules that pertain to our classroom. They know that when they go to their Hawaiian Language class that they will have to oli to enter and wait for their permission to enter. The students are starting to understand that sense of place is more than where you are from. It is more than just your own ideas and personal experiences. Sense of place is a constantly changing and adaptive idea that unites the students to each other. I look forward to this year, where we will continue to learn and grow from each other. It's not the destination that matters, but this year will be all about the journey.
Aloha, Charisse!
ReplyDeleteMahalo for sharing your experience with your students. I enjoyed reading about their perceptions and understandings of the 5 dimensions, and how your "lifers" and "non-lifers" perceived you as the serious former HPD teacher. I bet I would have been a bit intimidated, too, at that age, if my new teacher was a trained police officer. Goes to show students' perception of cops, huh? Perhaps they watch TV shows or movies that portray cops as bad + tough and don't have any positive experiences with cops. I think after being in your class they'll broaden their perspective beyond this negative media-induced stereotype.
I love how you've built such a strong sense of community and place-building in these first six weeks of school. Your use of the words "collaborative unit" connected me to police lingo and perhaps your students could create a KS Task Force to move forward a class or group project idea.
May your keiki continue to thrive and grow in your ecosystem of learning and living and relearning as they journey forward in their lives.
Aloha!
Hope :o}