Understanding - 004 Dear Mammy and Daddy

Dear Mammy and Daddy, 
So another week has gone by. Can't believe we are in the last week of November. 

Mammy you had your birthday - Happy Birthday another year younger...

Hope you had a lovely week of celebrating. 

Love this photo of us celebrating with Tobacco onions last Christmas - these are one of the long list of foods I miss from home!!

This week was actually one of the better weeks I've had in a while and I think it is because I am starting to see some light in the areas I have been finding tricky. 

So let's see what learnings and noticings I have had this week...

Understanding.

Understanding I feel is the basis of everything that #Empathetic_Educators stands for. Which means in a way it is something that I strive to stand for everyday. 

My passion for empathy started way back in my first year of teaching because I thought I was needing others to understand me but it was actually me who was needing to understand myself. 

What does success look like for you? What does success look like for your learner? What does success look like for your child?

When coaching others or speaking with teachers about their learners or speaking to parents about their children. I feel understanding is the basis of everything. These questions help me to see what success looks like for the person and if the people around them have the same visions for success. 

In a recent podcast session I released with Kecia McDonald and Lauren Kaufman, reflecting on our George Couros interview. We speak about what we want for our learners or for ourselves or for our children might not be what is best for them or be what they need or want at that moment in time. 

'Who's teaching learners to advocate for themselves? How are we valuing what they can do?'
Kecia McDonald

In this session Kecia reflects on her journey as a mother and she shares such a powerful message about reflecting on her own expectations and being so proud of her son's ability to advocate for himself even when a school system may not be advocating for him because of his grades. 

It really made me think what is the point of school? Many people say it is to prepare children for their futures..... but what about their present? 

How is their self esteem and current realities being scaffolded to make them feel good or bad about themselves? How does this impact their present and their future?

If we are trying to set them up for success in their future, how are we setting them up for success in their present? 

We had our learner conferences this week where my learners got to share their learning so far with me, the teacher, and their parents. Many of my learners have English as their second language and so they were feeling really nervous about their ability to speak. Some learners have spent each of these conferences for the past few years saying nothing. 

So keeping this in mind I have been having conversations with my learners about what they would feel comfortable sharing. (ie what does success look like for them). Some learners could spend 20 minutes and beyond going off script and chatting about their progress and themselves. Others had a script to go off and others chose 1 thing they wanted to share. And this week myself and my co teacher have been sitting alongside them telling them they can. 

They. can. do. it. 

Now this isn't about unrealistic positivity where we are filling them with incorrect belief in their abilities this is just practical optimism to make them feel success where they are at currently. 

And as I am writing this we are coming to the end of my conferences and every learner so far has shared during the conference even the learners who did not say anything in months gone by.

​Now some may see this as small and insignificant but for me - seeing their smiles and pride in their faces is one of the best feelings I could ever ask for as a teacher. Going from not believing in themselves to actually seeing they can do it. 

So I think my reflections this week is definitely - Understanding and how does this have an impact on self esteem? How does meeting someone where they are at vs where we think they should be impact on their ability to feel and achieve success?

So that is my ramblings for the week......

Just sharing some photos from the week we have just had. We went being Tourists again last weekend. Which was great!! Rob, my partner in crime is doing a great job of searching where to go and then I get us there. We found some amazing temples and we even went a wee bit out of Tokyo to a place called Kamakura which was beautiful! 

I also wanted to share a picture of me leading some PD for some staff this week because we know how I use to get so nervous and frightened of speaking in front of people I never would have thought I would see the day when a one hour session didn't feel long enough. So I wanted to share it because I was actually really proud and it shows others that the more you do something that makes you feel a wee bit uncomfortable it can create opportunities you didn't even know you could achieve!! 

Hope you have another amazing week. 

Remember - our choices have an impact - what impact are you going to have? 

xoxo