Teaching Within the Culture of the Hope Wheel

   by  gmayster01 on & off ... 

Note: The following is an excerpt from the book "Innovative Voices in Education-  Engaging Diverse Communities." I wrote the closing chapter of this book, the one this excerpt (with minor changes) originates from.

A positive school culture is omnipresent and affects everything. People who work in positive school cultures would have a hard time defining them- they just are. 

The above statement came my way via Twitter some time ago. I've been thinking about it ever since. Does culture get thought about? What makes culture definable? Should we be able to define culture? Is there a template for a positive school culture?

If culture doesn't get thought about, it should. Perhaps this is the missing link in some schools... thinking about culture. There is lots of lip service paid toward the element of school culture, but how many actually make a deliberate effort to define their own school culture? With the assistance of my former colleagues during graduate school, I made the effort. The manifestation of our school culture evolved as a circular representation called the Hope Wheel.

I created the Hope Wheel during graduate school as part of my action research around emotional, social and moral education. I was struggling to visualize a paradigm that could encompass an intercultural perspective; one our very diverse school needed to shift toward. I returned to the roots of my professional teaching choosing a medicine wheel model to represent my evolving point of view. My experience working and living among First Nations people exposed me to timeless wisdom surrounding learning philosophy. To First Nations people, learning is the essence of living; it’s organic and natural, and for many, represented by the medicine wheel in one form or another.

Camp Everywhere...

I never experienced summer camp. The closest I got to a summer camp experience was what we called Cub Camp, a two day overnight camp when I was a Cub Scout many years ago. I got homesick and didn't think I was going to make it to the end, but I did. I also experienced some good, and some bad family holidays during the summers of my youth, but going to a real week long or longer summer camp never happened for me. I have heard lots of entertaining stories about summer camp experiences from friends who did go though. I'm going to focus on the good ones.

 Via http://summercampconfessions.tumblr.com/post/24196360964

My colleague Everett (@mrtetz) and I were talking last week. We were going back and forth about what we'd do with a million dollars. He has this idea to build a summer camp for kids from at risk environments. Beyond the essentials of providing a safe, non judgmental and supportive environment at this camp, he would like to offer ways for kids to connect; with activities that help build their esteem, and with people who support them. What a great idea, but how to do this connection thing? How would we get kids to learn about themselves, face their fears, try new things, push their boundaries and accept themselves on the way to making these important connections? No small order.

A "Starbucks" classroom...

 

We started with an inquiry question... "why aren't Starbuck's Coffee houses drive through only?" 

We discussed this question for quite some time... here's what we came up with:

• They wouldn't sell as much coffee (to which we asked why, and the answer was "people like hanging out at Starbucks")
• They like hanging out at Starbuck's for a number of reasons:
• The smell
• The coffee
• The treats
• The books (if the store is inside a chapters book store, which they often are in Canada...)
• The leather couches
• The fireplace on a cold winter day
• The free wifi
• The ambiance (we looked that one up...)
• The public art (done by local artists)
• The comradeship; hanging out with friends
• The patio (on warm summer days)
• The friendliness of the baristas (we looked that one up too)
• The background sounds (music, chatter about interesting topics)
• The "coolness" of it all... the environment as described by the above reasons. We felt it was a laid back, relaxed and enjoyable place to be
• We even figured out that every time you turn around in a Starbuck's coffee shop, you run into something (and further realized that what you run into is usually for sale:). We realized that cramped spaces don't have to be cramped in a bad way if they're set up right, and if the folks within the spaces get along OK. So we came up with this model of learning and living, and put a giant version of it on our wall.

We reference the Hope Wheel often. We use it to contextualize our learning, to solve problems, resolve conflicts, set goals and teach others (that's the "Elder" part of what we do in the Responsibility phase of the north.) It has become the social, emotional and intellectual platform that our physical learning space is supported by. It's the model we use to think about things. You can learn more about this learning model here.

So we took a look at our classroom and decided that we could create this type of environment to learn in, sans the coffee perhaps:)

We decided that couches, books, free wifi, public art (done by students), comradeship, friendliness and the "coolness" of it all would be easy to emulate.

We got rid of the desks and put tables in their place. We found a couch and a coffee table. We hung (and continue to hang) art created by students. We put some mats on the floor. We created a private corner office that we take turns using each day. We already had free wifi. We created some cool lighting effects with a couple of lamps. Recently we even took a donation of a free electric fireplace! How cool is that?

So now we learn in a "Starbuck`s classroom," and we really like it.

Comprehensive character curriculum...

flickr image via stevendepolo

During the 2012 NBC News Education Nation Summit titled, "Can Character Be Taught?", Russell Shaw referred to a concept; collaborating across difference. When we embrace collaboration across difference, we commit to examining the nature and impact of our working style and consider practicing in ways that are unfamiliar or even uncomfortable for us. At the core of this competency is the practice of taking perspective. Among other elements of the dialog that piqued my interest,  this concept is one educators need to be open to and explore with increased rigor. I wrote about this idea in chapter 17 of Innovative Voices in Education- Engaging Diverse Communities...

Culture is more than who we are, our skin color, where we come from or our ethnic or religious values; it’s the summation of all the elements of our lives that influence our thoughts, ideas, values and passions. The kind of school I want all kids to attend is one where thoughts, ideas, values and passions are nurtured and shared toward increased understanding of others. When we are exposed to the thoughts, ideas, values and passions of others, our eyes are opened to learning possibilities we may never had considered otherwise.

Alas, it is the differences among us that make life and learning interesting. Each one of us is at a different place and time along our own learning path, and there is no need for anyone to slow down, or catch up. We are where we are, and that is where we all need to be.

Why Empathy?

 Empathy Symbol image retrieved from http://www.empathysymbol.com/

This is a guest post by Larry Hartel, my principal at Glendale Sciences and Technology School. Click here to read it where it was originally posted at Empathy ReBoot, one of our school blogs.

Why Empathy?

Good question. Undoubtedly there are those who believe a successful inclusive school is one that tries to accommodate kids who don't really fit the mold of a 'regular' classroom. Perhaps they would view inclusion as a set of strategies enabling the rest of us to tolerate their presence in our classrooms. They may even go so far as to say they accept these kids. At Glendale we're not those people. Tolerating kids who are different isn't good enough for us. As we design a cultural shift toward full and ubiquitous inclusion at Glendale School, we're not even comfortable saying we've accepted the kids who are different from the rest. For our school to be truly "inclusive," it must be one that celebrates difference.

We are on a journey to learn how to celebrate the diversity of students we encounter within our school as a cultural reality worthy of celebration; to glare at strengths while only glancing at weakness. To do so, we must understand that inclusion isn't simply a set of strategies, but rather a reality in the world that schools should be reflecting and influencing. The world is a wonderfully diverse place. We have to reflect this if we are to create authentic and optimized learning environments for ALL students.

Smile... the world is good.

flickr image via ephotography

"Always smile back at little children.
To ignore them is to destroy their belief that the world is good." ~ Pam Brown 

This fall I began teaching at a new school. I am also the new vice-principal of my school. My old school and my new school are very different in many ways... different enough that they are almost incomparable. For the most part, the two schools side by side represent totally different educational contexts. I have been asked by many this fall to make comparisons between them, but I can't; they're like apples and oranges. They are both great schools doing great things but in most different ways. There is one way, however, that the two schools are identical. 

When I get asked to compare my old school to my new school, I simply say, "kids are kids." No matter where I've taught, or whatever context I was teaching in, I have always kept this notion at the forefront of my practice. Remembering that kids are kids no matter where in the world reminds me to make sure I help them preserve their innocent perspectives as long as they can. The world will happen soon enough... for now they're just kids, and they deserve to live in the world they dream of... the one that's good and happy and safe; the one that makes them smile just because they are excited to be a part of it.

When I walk down the halls, around our campus, and into classrooms every day, I remember to smile at kids, even before they smile at me. I greet them and take the time to speak with them as often as I can about anything they want to talk about. This is the best thing I can do as a teacher and school administrator to help kids feel a sense of welcome and belonging at my new school. I did this at my old school too, and every school I taught at before that.

The more I do it, the more I'm convinced that the kids are right. The world is good, and they are going to make it even better.

Badges to help tell our stories...

flickr photo via PinkMoose

I didn't spend much time involved with scouting as a child, but I do remember those badges. I still have some of my handy work from a long time ago... a birdhouse I built for my construction badge; a sardine can first-aid kit I put together for my survival badge and a velvet-covered piece of plywood with my beautiful string art creation nailed and strung to it for my creative art badge. Why have I kept these items for all these years? I think it's because they remind me of a simpler time when people noticed the effort I put into these things, and took the time to engage and acknowledge me with a badge.

On the surface I feel kind of silly admitting that these badges I received mean something to me, but they do. My Twitter tribe and I have been taking a deeper dive into the badge concept as of late. The conversation has me re-thinking the process of badging. Typically badges are awarded to display some degree of competence or effort in a particular domain, but in an educational context I see a slightly different purpose for badging in schools.

I maintain that students need to be engaged in writing their own learning stories. What if badges were used to highlight interesting and engaging elements of each of our learning stories? Further to this, what if badges could be awarded by any member of the school family who notices something interesting and engaging about another's learning story? Administrators, teachers, para-professionals, parents, community members and the students themselves... all of these people could be badge givers- all they would have to do is notice something about another; a specific talent (realized or not by the person possessing it,) a exemplary act; a feat of kindness... anything that allows us to say "good on ya!" to members of the school family that we notice and want to engage by complementing them with a badge.

Consider the possibilities that may emerge within this culture of badging... talents would be noticed with intent by badge givers and realized by the badge recipient. Every member of the school family would become a "badge scout," constantly on the look-out for others in the school nemisphere worth noticing... we'd all be displaying our relative skills and aptitudes, sharing them with each other, and growing our self-esteem in the process, but most of all as we collect our badges we'd be chronicling our learning journeys in a unique and interesting way.

Think of those bumper stickers folks place on their vehicles displaying that they've been to new and exciting places. I am fascinated to notice the places people have gone on their vacation travels as I follow them down the road. The badges we receive in school would be like those bumper stickers... visual snapshots of the places we've been on the learning journey that nobody can take away from us. Our badges would tell the story of our learning purpose and experience. They would become acknowledgments of our learning efforts, not rewards for making them. Students could use them to help tell their learning stories when others see their collections and ask questions about why they received them. I'v decided to introduce a badge project in my class this week.

Here's what I'm thinking. I already have a well-established developmental model within my class that I call the Hope Wheel. Everyone in my class is on the Hope Wheel path. It centers around the concept of hope as an action word and includes four elemental domains: respect in the east; understanding in the south; relationships in the west, and responsibility in the north. I'm going to explain to my students how a badge can be earned for having explored these domains to the point where competency is visible and lessons have been learned. This will be my introduction.

After this introduction I'm going to suggest to my students that they can acknowledge each other too by creating a badge for anything they deem to be worth noticing along the learning paths they travel with their classmates. They will use art class to design their badges, and I'll scan and print them on sticker paper so they can be peeled off and applied to a badge plate, (just a piece of paper they will adorn in a personalized way,) that will be displayed on the wall in class. My guess is that displaying these plates will create many opportunities for my students to talk about where they've been on their learning journeys with anyone who shows interest.

I'm excited to see how this project will evolve, especially as a result of the students taking control of the process.

Engaging Diverse School Communities...

I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with sixteen other authors, and the executive editor, Eileen Kugler (@embracediversiT) on a new book, Innovative Voices in Education: What it Takes to Engage Diverse Communities."

Eileen is also the author of, Debunking the Middle-class Myth: Why Diverse Schools Are Good for All Kids... awarded Book of the Year by the National Association for Multicultural Education and Delta Kappa Gamma International Women Educators Honor Society. The story of how I became involved in the writing of this book is a testimony to how powerful truly collaborative efforts can be, and in particular, how social media can play a remarkable role in bringing the world closer together. As I say in my chapter,

Exposing how we perceive the world, and in turn becoming open to alternate points of view causes the lens we look through to gain a broader and clearer scope. Exercising opportunities to see the world through the eyes of others allows us to challenge our own perceptions; to reflect on our purpose and the manner in which we influence the world. The interpersonal tools we access to negotiate cultural understanding become sharper and more focused when we open ourselves up in this way.

Social media provides us the opportunity to make connections with previously inaccessible people. In turn, our exposure to alternate points of view becomes a very real and immediate opportunity to grow deeper understanding of each other. If it wasn't for my personal learning network, I may have never met Eileen Kugler, and would have missed the opportunity to gain a broader and clearer scope toward diverse schools through my collaboration with the book project.

I met Eileen last fall via the #ecosys chat on Twitter. Following the Twitter discussion, Eileen sent me a DM saying she was intrigued by the conversation and inviting me to check out her website, http://www.embracediverseschools.com/. I learned that Eileen is dedicated to the mission of strengthening diverse schools and communities, and replied to her with an invitation to check out KARE Givers. She did just that.

What followed was the beginning of such a wonderful connection with Eileen and her new book project. After perusing my blog, Eileen asked if she could call me at some point for a brief conversation. We set up a time to speak on the phone, and at that point I had no idea where the conversation would lead. Eileen called and we spoke about a number of things related to diversity and culture, and the term interculturalism came up. As we spoke about this term, I realized that we shared many perspectives toward how intercultural schools enhance the teaching and learning process. We spoke for about an hour, and I felt a growing philosophical synergy with Eileen. As we wound down our conversation, Eileen mentioned her book idea, and then asked me if I would be interested in contributing. I was surprised to say the least, but also honored and thrilled to be asked to write for her. And so the journey began.

As I reflect on the fortunate and inspiring opportunity Eileen has provided me, I am left amazed at how social media made it all possible. Through my PLN, and my use of Twitter, I have made a new friend and colleague that I am so proud to associate and collaborate with. I am looking forward to learning more about the other authors, and can't wait to read the rest of the book. Eileen informed us all today that Innovative Voices in Education... should be out this fall. Watch for it. As she says, it will be "a very valuable book to anyone who cares about engaging students and families of diverse backgrounds."

I agree.
Thank you once again Eileen.

"EduKare"- A new paradigm for struggling urban schools...

Education reform is a hot topic. The media is all over it. So many stories, editorials, features, columns and documentaries revolve around the "drop-out factories," as some urban schools are infamously referred to, and what kinds of educational leadership tactics can be put in place to reform these institutions and their practice. I've been wondering when all this talk is going to turn into something tangible that will actually reform the way we teach and learn.

Michael Josefowicz (@ToughLoveforX), one of the key idea-tappers at #ecosys (Twitter chat every Wednesday at 9:00 EST) and I have been discussing some radical improvement possibilities for the so-called drop out factories of large, urban centers in North America. Michael is from Brooklyn and knows a thing or two about urban issues, and I have a lot of respect for his point of view. We're using the term EduKare to describe a very new and different perspective toward teaching and learning in our most challenging urban environments.

My Personal Paradigm Shift in the Context of Inclusion...

For a period of eight years I taught within segregated special education environments designed to address the needs of socially/emotionally and behaviorally challenged middle and high school students. When my journey began I was a full-fledged believer in segregated teaching and learning. My perspective was simple... if even one child felt excluded in an "inclusive" environment, could we really call it an inclusive environment?

Ours was a highly specialized educational environment supported by massive amounts of funding designed specifically to nurture a sense of belonging and purpose for our students, but it wasn't long before I started to question the legitimacy of what we did. Don't get me wrong; we did really great work, and we had visitors every month from far and wide seeking clarity about what we did for our students and how we did it because they wanted to emulate our effort. However, as the program evolved, I started wondering why what we did couldn't be transferred to any school context. As I understand now, the awareness I was developing was regarding the fact that no matter how "included" our students felt within our environment, we simply could not deny that they were excluded simply by virtue of their enrollment in our segregated/congregated environment. 

I really started to question whether what we were doing for kids were the most advantageous and least intrusive interventions possible. I reflected on my perspective toward disabilities and challenges in learning, and I began to consider the concept that perhaps in some ways we are all disabled and challenged; that the continuum of social, emotional, cognitive and behavioral issues affects all of us- so why would we segregate particular groups of individuals? Are we not all traveling on a learning journey that is unique and personal... like our learning fingerprint?

These questions plagued me, and I lost sleep. My perspective began to change. I thought a great deal about Occam's Razor and how we could simplify the process of helping our kids so that the process could be extended to any teaching and learning environment, with some customizing for each particular context. Then I met Nan Henderson and the thoughts I was dancing around in my head began to organize. What I was looking for wasn't a strategy, a program or another source of support for these kids; it was simply a philosophy... the philosophy of resiliency. It's free and it literally touches every element of learning, and teaching. To me, resiliency is the essence of inclusion and it's all about perspective- the lens we look through everyday in our effort to provide a caring environment in our schools and classrooms.

Looking at challenge (cognitive, social, emotional, behavioral) as opportunity and celebrating strengths within as asset-based model are benchmarks of a resiliency-based school culture. Every student is challenged in his or her own individual way... it's imperative that teachers learn what these challenges are so we can re-frame them as learning opportunities to be measured against themselves, not on a curve that's externally applied. Providing appropriate and effective strategies to support the teaching and learning process addressing these challenges can take many forms, and not all of them requiring extra funds. In its simplest form, supporting a resiliency-based school culture is as easy as wrapping a layer of love and caring around a student, and it takes only one person to do that at a minimum... a person that is so often a teacher.

He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout. 

But Love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in! 

Edwin Markham- "Outwitted"

I've created a workspace addressing the philosophy of resiliency in schools, and I invite collaborative contributions to the space from anyone who has questions or wants to contribute to the positive development of this idea. I used it to present a session at this year's Alberta Teacher's Association Special Education Conference. Please visit the 'Presentations' page at http://bit.ly/sLvMuO and share your thoughts.