Hello Everyone,
I want to use this newsletter to introduce you to some of the important community-based work we'll be doing this year and next. A former colleague of mine used to regularly tell his students, “The world is our classroom.” He would lead them out into the schoolyard to carefully observe and sketch the animals living there or take them on field studies to learn about the cultural and historic significance of different parts of the city. Other times he would invite them to share observations and concerns about things they noticed so their classmates could help them make sense of them. Indeed, the world is our classroom. And when we understand this we begin to see that an important part of our learning needs to be directed at making our community - our world - a better place for all.
So, how specifically does the community play such an important part in shaping curriculum? In our classroom this work falls within four goals I set for myself and for the kids: (1) celebrating every bit of who we are, (2) developing an understanding and appreciation for diversity, (3 identifying issues of injustice, and (4) learning to take action to improve our communities. To help you better understand each of these I will elaborate just a bit.
1. Celebrating Every Bit of Who We Are
It’s important to acknowledge and celebrate each of the kids not only for their similarities but for their differences as well. In my instruction, this means I’m careful to include picture books, news articles, historical studies and rich discussions that center all different aspects of the kids’ identities. These include, but are not limited to, their gender, race, ethnicity, family structure, socio-economics, religion, and interests.
2. Developing an Understanding and
Appreciation for Diversity
The communities we are connected to consist of many groups of people we may not necessarily see right here in our own classroom. Yet, we need to acknowledge and understand them as well. When our children understand different people’s experiences they learn to imagine a world beyond their own. This helps them become decision-makers who understand the value of collaboration and demonstrate a healthy curiosity about the world and the experiences of all those who live in it. In my instruction, this means I’m deliberate in including literature, news articles, historical studies, and rich discussions that introduce the class to communities of people we might otherwise overlook, misunderstand, pity, or even fear.
3. Identifying Issues of Injustice
We can all agree our community has a variety of issues it needs to address. Key among these is the fact some groups of people are affected more significantly and consistently by the existence of biases or prejudices than others. Kids understand this. Sit with a group of young children and they will eagerly share stories of times they’ve been wronged by others based on their gender, body size, athletic ability, ethnicity, or race. My job is to create opportunities for the kids to begin sharing these experiences with others and then build bridges between their own experiences and those shared by others in the classroom and the broader community.
4. Taking Action
If we are to begin dismantling these injustices we must first learn how. Over the course of the year my task is to help the kids move from critiquing the things they feel are unfair or unjust and begin developing and implementing plans for how we can become part of the solution. At times, this action will call on us to make changes within ourselves (say, “Now that I know better I’m going to stop teasing when a boy loses to a girl”). Other times, our plans for action will include efforts to educate others or even reach out to key decision makers, help them understand all we’re learning, and demand they take action to address this.
It’s important to note this community-based work isn’t something that’s added on to our curriculum. We don’t carve out a special time each day or get rid of any other studies to address community-related content. Rather, this work is integrated directly into what we’re already doing as learners.
For instance, if one of the kids shares a news article about funding issues in South Carolina schools I might build onto their discussion later in the year by introducing bar graphs that show disparities in school funding for different areas of our state as part of a larger inquiry into data and graphs (math). We could follow this up with visits from classroom guests who could help us better understand the geographic and economic differences between different parts of our state (social studies).
Or, as part of an inquiry into comprehension strategies I might deliberately select a text about segregation practices to elicit a particular line of questioning from the kids so we can simultaneously learn about reading more deeply and discuss what sorts of wrong minded beliefs make people feel justified in oppressing others based on their differences. If the kids are learning to question a text anyway, why not provide them opportunities to ask really important ones?
Of course, we’ll also create bar graphs showing our favorite decadent deserts and laugh hysterically at books about silly chickens scheming to outsmart clueless farmers. Second grade is full of so many amazing moments. Chief among these are the opportunities we’ll find together to not only address our personal needs but the needs of our communities at the exact same time. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us. In the meantime, I would love to hear any questions, thoughts, or experiences you’d like to share in response to this work. As with all our learning, I want this community-based work to build on the important discussions and community efforts you all are already making at home. If you’d like to share these please feel free to call, text, or email.
Have a great week,
Chris
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