Love
This is a really, REALLY tough time of year for teachers and students.
They come back from Spring Break only to face testing and admin in overdrive and red-lining their list of demands to “wrap things up” for this school year. *note – the definition of redlining is: “drive with (a car engine) at or above its rated maximum rpm or revolutions per minute”
Yep…sounds about right! Teachers and students are being driven to their maximum limits.
As a result, anxiety, anger, frustration, shaming, blaming, screaming and all other kinds of negative and “ugly” human behaviors are raging through schools.
And in a pandemic… well, that is just adding gas on an already out of control, raging fire!
So, what can teachers, students, parents, admin and everyone do right now?
Remember that love conquers all…love makes the world go round (revolutions)…all you need is love…
and the epitome of all quotes on love…
Love is love is love is love is love…. such simple, yet powerful words spoken by Lin-Manuel Miranda at the Tony Awards in 2016 following the Pulse Night Club shootings in Orlando, FL.
You can watch the speech here, but I’ll warn you…have a box of tissue handy!
This gets me every.single.time because it touches a place deep in my teacher heart about loving ALL children just they way they are, as Mister Rogers taught us.
Love them ALL…no matter what! There are days when it is so hard to do this in the classroom because of too many demands made on us as teachers.
Too much stress due to too many demands.
Too many emotions to process and deal with because of too many demands.
Too much testing and judging and shaming and blaming and… you get the picture.
Everything is too much, and yet not enough. It echoes through the halls and permeates the walls of every classroom, that is, if we will allow it to do so!!!
There are preventive measures, however, which are at the heart and spirit of teaching. I will be exploring some of these preventive measures and powerful antidotes in my upcoming blog posts. I actually started with the last post on kindness. You can check it out here.
What does LOVE look like in the classroom?
Love in the classroom looks like:
A teacher showing up every day in the classroom and doing their best for children.
A student showing up every day in the classroom and doing their best for their teacher.
A teacher calling, messaging, emailing or contacting a parent in any way to communicate anything that will help their child be more successful in school.
A student telling a teacher what they need in order to be successful in school.
A teacher standing at the door and greeting each student with a smile and a “hello, how are you today? I am glad you are here.”
A student greeting their teacher as they enter the classroom with a smile and a “hello, how are you today? I am glad to be here.”
A teacher who listens with all their heart and sees the innate good in every child.
A student who recognizes and respects the tremendous effort their teacher is putting forth on behalf of their education and well-being.
A teacher who seeks to grow in their understanding of the special needs of every child and, as a result, reaches out and touches that child’s life in special ways.
A student who seeks to do their best at all times and who is honest, sincere and forthright in all their actions and words.
A teacher who writes a little note, shares a kind word, sends a loving look to a child who is struggling and needs validation and encouragement.
A student who cares about what they are learning and trusts that the teacher is doing the best that they can in any given moment.
A teacher who gets to know their students’ personalities, likes/dislikes, learning styles, needs, home situation…context and background information to better build that special relationship needed for safety and trust in learning.
A student who talks to and treats their teacher as a person and not as a threat or as the enemy or as a non-person.
A teacher who recognizes, accepts, invites, includes and validates ALL children regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender expression, ability/disability, status, sexual orientation or any other differentiating factor they might bring to the classroom.
A student who recognizes, accepts, invites, includes and validates ALL teachers and classmates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender expression, ability/disability, status, sexual orientation or any other differentiating factor they might bring to the classroom.
Because love is love is love is love is love…. and it makes the world go round…and what goes around, comes around! It comes full circle, that circle of love!
Suggestion: Add this to your lesson plans every day:
Today, love visited my classroom and it looked like this:
As a teacher:
1.
2.
3.
As a student:
1.
2.
3.
Here are a few resources to help you become more enlightened and empowered to bring more love into the classroom:
https://www.genderinclassrooms.com/
https://gsanetwork.org/what-is-a-gsa/
https://onepulsefoundation.org/
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/preparing-cultural-diversity-resources-teachers
https://www.edutopia.org/article/creating-inclusive-classroom
https://www.edutopia.org/article/guide-equity-and-antiracism-educators
https://www.iste.org/explore/classroom/9-resources-teaching-anti-racism
Inspirational song:
Love Make the World Go Round by Jennifer López and Lin-Manuel Miranda
All You Need Is Love by the Beatles (note the symphony of instruments harmonizing and creating beautiful music, the LOVE-ly images, the smiles and the revolving world at the end!)
Photo credit:
“To Write Love On Her Arms circa 2007” by jessicalrone is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
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